A PERFORATED CAGE FOR LEECH VASES
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Bradley Shillcock, of Bromley, in the County
of Kent, Pharmaceutical Chemist, for the Invention of "A PERFORATED
CAGE FOR LEECH VASES."
Scaled the 17th July 1866, and dated the 20th January 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Bradley Shillcock
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
20th January 1866.
I, JOSEPH BRADLEY SHILLCOCK, of Bromley, in the County of Kent, Phar-
maceutical Chemist, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"A PERFORATED CAGE FOR LEECH VASES," to be as follows, that is to say :-
The cage which constitutes this Invention is formed by affixing a number
of perforated discs one above another between a perforated lid and a finely
perforated bottom plate. The contour of these discs and bottom plate must be
made to fit closely the inside of the vase for which the cage is intended. The
vases which I prefer to use in conjunction with the said cages are those of a

page_text: cylindrical, oval, or other parallel-sided form. The perforations in the plates or
discs are of various sizes, the larger perforations being nearest the bottom.
The object of this cage is that the leeches having to pass through the perfo-
rations are thereby cleansed and kept healthy. The finely perforated bottom
plate as the cage is raised affords the necessary facility for removing one or
more of the leeches when required.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Joseph Bradley Shillcock in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 20th July 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
BRADLEY SHILLCOCK, of Bromley, in the County of Kent, Pharmaceutical
Chemist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the twenty-ninth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Joseph Bradley Shillcock, Her special licence that I, the said Joseph
Bradley Shillcock, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said Joseph Bradley Shillcock, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "A
PERFORATED CAGE FOR LEECH VASES," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said Joseph Bradley Shillcock, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to
be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Joseph Bradley Shillcock, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement:-
The cage which constitutes this Invention is formed by affixing a number

page_text: of perforated discs one above another, by preference upon a centre stem, at,
the top of which I fix a perforated lid with a dipping flange, which flange is.
intended to embrace the top of the vase. The vases which I prefer to use in
conjunction with the said cages are those of a cylindrical, oval, or other
parallel-sided form, globular or other shaped vases may also be fitted there-
with, the interiors of which by the introduction of the cages are divided into
a series of compartments. The perforated cages may be made of zink or
other suitable material, and the perforations must be of sufficient size to allow-
the leeches or other aquatic animals to pass through them from one compart-
ment to another. The peripheries of the discs should be of the same form as
the interior of the vases, and of such dimensions as will allow the leeches or
other aquatic animals to pass freely between the said periphery and the sides
of the vases, and must be regulated accordingly. In some cases the edges of
the discs may be corrugated. The edges of the perforations and the peripheries
of the discs are rounded, so that there may be no rough, jagged, or sharp
angles to injure the leeches or other aquatic animals passing the same. The
object of the cage thus formed is to cause the leeches or other aquatic animals
to pass through the perforations and corrugations, whereby they cleanse them-
selves and are kept perfectly clean and healthy. The discs and central stem
may be enamelled when required. The usual mode of forming the cage is to
make the central stem of tin or turned iron or brass, and to cover it between
the discs and between the top disc and the lid with short lengths of white or
coloured glass or porcelain tubes or pipes. In practice I prefer the latter
mode of construction with zine discs, but the cage may be made wholly of
glass or other plastic material; if desired a clear space should be left between
the lowest disc and the bottom of the vase to allow the leeches or other aquatic
animals to move about freely under the same.
The accompanying Drawing shews the form of vase which I prefer, and the
cage which I use in conjunction therewith.
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of both complete, and Fig. 2 a plan of one of
the discs with a plain periphery; Fig. 3 shews a disc with the periphery
corrugated.
a is the cylindrical vase; b, the perforated metal top of the cage; c, the
side flange thereof; d, the central stem to which the discs are affixed, and
which may be made to unscrew in the centre or at each disc; e, the perfo-
rated discs, two, three, or more of which may be used as desired; f, a knob
fixed to the lid for lifting the cage in and out of the vase.
I claim the cage formed as herein described, the dimensions and shape of

page_text: the periphery discs being varied according as the shape of the vase for whichr
the same is intended may require for leeches or other aquatic animals.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Bradley Shillcock, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
JOSEPH BRADLEY SHILLCOCK. (L.S.)