AN IMPROVED PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR PRESERVING OR CURING MEAT, FISH, FAT, AND SIMILAR SUBSTANCES
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Harris Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake,
and Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for an Invention of
"AN IMPROVED PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR PRESERVING OR CURING
MEAT, FISH, FAT, AND SIMILAR SUBSTANCES." A communication from abroad
by Anderson Fowler, of the City and State of New York, United States of
America, Merchant,
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Harris Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 12th December 1881.
16
HENRY HARRIS LAKE of the Firm of Haseltine Lake and Co. Patent
Agents, Southampton Buildings, London. AN IMPROVED PROCESS AND APPARATUS
FOR PRESERVING OR CURING MEAT, FISH, FAT, AND SIMILAR SUBSTANCES."
A communication from abroad by Anderson Fowler, of the City and State of
New York, United States of America, Merchant.
This Invention comprises the treatment of meat whether in pieces or carcasses
also fat, fish, and the like, by subjecting them to the action of electricity in such a
manner as to effect what I term a partial disintegration or structural change in the
condition of the meat, fat, or fish as the case may be, whereby the meat or like
organic substance is rendered capable of more readily absorbing and uniting with
preservative substances such as salt, saltpetre, salycilic-acid or other materials
employed, or capable of being used for the curing and preservation of organic
substances of the character mentioned, than would otherwise be the case, the pre-
servative agent being applied either in a dry form or in the form of a solution or
in any intermediate condition.
In the practice of my Invention I take the meat, fat, or fish, as the case may be,
and place the same in the curing or preservative substance the latter being either
dissolved in water or other suitable menstruuin or placed in its solid, granular, or
other form or condition around or in contact with the meat or other organic
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page_text: substance to be preserved, and the whole being placed in any suitable receptacle
such for example as a box or the ordinary barrels, casks or the like used for holding
cured or pickled meat. I then arrange a suitable source of electricity in such
manner that one or more currents will be caused to traverse the meat or like
organic substance, and preferably also the preservative substance around the same.
The receptacle however must be so constructed that the current of electricity will
pass through the meat or like organic substance and preferably also through the
preservative substance; and not around the sides of the receptacle. One of the
poles of the electric circuit may be arranged at the bottom of the receptacle
containing the meat or other like organic substance to be preserved, and the other
of the said poles may be provided at the top of said receptacle, or the two poles
may be placed at opposite sides of the said receptacle, the arrangement being such,
that in the most approved practice of said Invention, the current of electricity will
be caused to traverse the preservative substance around or in contact with the
meat and the meat or other like organic substance itself the result being that a
structural disturbance is caused within the mass of the meat or like organic
substance which materially changes its character so far as concerns its power of
absorbing and combining with the salt, saltpetre or other curing or preservative
agent. From this there result two positive advantages; first, the rapidity with
which the preservative agent combines with the meat or other like organic
substance enables the curing process to be effected in a mere fraction of the time
required by the old or usual methods; second, the preservative substance, or agent
uniting more intimately with the meat or like organic substance causes a more-
perfect chemical combination, as it may be termed, between said preservative agent
and the meat or like organic substance itself, and thereby insures a more perfect
curing and more thorough preservation of the meat or like organic substance than
is effected by the old or usual methods.
My Invention also comprises certain novel combinations of parts constituting
suitable apparatus for carrying into effect my process just herein before described.
Thus for example I provide a receptacle the two opposite sides of which are made
of metal or other suitable conductor of electricity supported upon a base or bottom
composed of some material which is practically a non-conductor of electricity. The
ends of this receptacle are also composed of material which is a non-conductor of
electricity. I connect one of the sides aforesaid with one pole of a suitable galvanic
battery and connect the opposite side of said receptacle with the opposite pole of
said battery; the receptacle itself being filled to a greater or less extent with the
meat, fat, or the like, and with the preservative substance as hereinbefore indi-
cated. The battery is set in operation and its current passes through the contents
of said receptacle from one side thereof to the other, thereby subjecting the meat,
fat, or similar substance to be preserved to the action of the current with the
results herein before explained. When desired one of the sides of the receptaclo
may connect with the appropriate pole of the battery by a ground-connection so
termed. There may be substituted in place of the battery any other suitable
source of electricity or galvanic action capable of producing a current to act upon
the contents of the receptacle as just set forth. When a more rapid operation or
a more intense effect is required I employ a modified construction of the apparatus.
In this I provide an oblong box preferably of non-conducting material and
preferably horizontal, and with open ends, so that a box or case of smaller size may
be pushed through the same from end to end. I provide at, or in, the sides of this
box insulated bearings preferably in the same axial line and which receive and
sustain shafts each of which should be provided with a suitable driving-pulley at its
outer end. The inner ends of these shafts project inward through the sides of the
box aforesaid and each has upon its said inner end a flat disc of preferably circular
form and in planes substantially parallel with the sides of the box. These discs
are adjacent to said sides but not in contact therewith; so that a space is left
between the said discs sufficient to permit the passage of the smaller case herein-
before designated as capable of being pushed through the box. The two shafts

page_text: aforesaid are connected with a dynamo-electric machine as for example the well-
known "Gramme" machine, or any equivalent apparatus, in such manner that a
current will be established to pass from one of the said discs to the other. The
smaller case herein before referred to and any number of similar cases having the
meat, fat, or other article to be preserved and the preservative substance placed
together in said case or cases, the same are passed lengthwise through the box, one
after another, and consequently pass in succession between the two discs; the latter
being meanwhile rotated in opposite directions by suitable belts acting on their
pulleys or by other appropriate means. As the cases are passed in succession
between the said discs under the circumstances above stated, the electric current
passing with more or less intensity from one of the discs to the other is caused to
traverse the cases and the contents thereof as the said cases and contents are passed
along between the discs and the meat, fats, or other like article placed in con-
nection with the preservative substance is acted upon by the electrical current with
the same results as herein before explained. My said Invention therefore comprises
not only the novel process of curing and preserving meats, fats, fish, and like
organic substances by subjecting then simultaneously to the action of salt, salt-
petre, salycilic-acid or other suitable preservative substance or agent, and the action
of a current of electricity, but it also comprises the several novel combinations
of parts included in the several constructions of the apparatus hereinbeforo
explained.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Henry Harris Lake in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
10th June 1882.
HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co. Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "AN IMPROVED PROCESS AND APPARATUS
FOR PRESERVING OR CURING MEAT, FISH, FAT, AND SIMILAR SUBSTANCES."
A communication from abroad by Anderson Fowler of the City and State of
New York, United States of America, Merchant.
This Invention relates to the treatment of meat, whether in pieces or carcases,
also fat, fish, and the like by subjecting them to the action of electricity in
such a manner as to effect what I term a partial disintegration or structural
change in the condition of the meat, fat or fish, as the case may be, whereby the
meat or like organic substance is rendered capable of more readily absorbing, and
uniting with preservative substances, such as salt, saltpetre, salycilic acid or other
materials employed, or capable of being¯used, for-the-curing-and-preservation-
of organic substances of the character mentioned than would otherwise be the
case, the preservative agent being applied either in a dry form or in the form of a
solution.
The said Invention also comprises improved apparatus hereinafter described for
electrically treating meat, fat, fish and the like, that is to say, I provide a vessel
or receptacle having conducting sides and non-conducting ends and bottom, in
combination with suitable means for transmitting an electric current from one
of the said sides to the other and through the substance placed in the space
between them. Also a novel combination of circuit wires and a galvanic battery
or other source of electricity with the said parts.
The said Invention further comprises a novel combination with an oblong box or
tube, through which another box is adapted to pass lengthwise, of discs connected
with suitable means for generating and maintaining a current of electricity,
whereby the contents of the last named box when passed through the first
named box and between the said dises are subjected to the action of the electricity
to produce the results hereinbefore named. Also the combination, with the
several parts last indicated, of a dynamo-electric machine arranged to pass
the current of electricity from one to the other of the said discs and through the
contents of the case or box, which is passed through the larger box, and between
the discs as aforesaid. Also the combination with the several parts last
mentioned of. insulated bearings and of insulated pulleys, whereby the electric
current is suitably directed, and prevented from passing away from the apparatus.
Also the combination of one or more cases or boxes having sides capable
of conducting electricity, and non-conducting ends, top, and bottom, a box or tube
through which the first mentioned box or boxes may be passed, the discs arranged
upon opposite sides of the said box or tube, and suitable means for generating and
maintaining a current of electricity to pass from one of the said discs to the other,
through the contents and through the conducting sides of the case or box which
is passed through the larger box and between the aforesaid discs.
In the accompanying Drawing:-
Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the cask for receiving the meat or
other substance to be cured or preserved, with the ends of suitable circuit wires
connected with the said cask; this form being considered suitable when a liquid
pickle is used as the preserving chemical or agent.
Figure 2 is a like view of a cask for similar purposes, but having the ends

page_text: of the circuit wires arranged for use in connection with a dry preservative agent,
in which the meat or like substance to be preserved is packed within the said
cask.
Figure 3 is a sectional view on the line x, x Figure 2, and shewing more
clearly the arrangement of the ends of the circuit wires.
Figure 4 is a vertical transverse sectional view representing certain of the
combinations of parts comprised in the said Invention.
Figure 5 is a side view of the same.
Figure 6 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of certain other combinations of
parts comprised in the said Invention.
In the practice of the said Invention, I take the meat, fat, or fish, as the case may
be, and place the same in the curing or preservative substance, the latter being
either dissolved in water or other suitable menstruum or placed, in its solid,
granular or other form or condition, around, or in contact with, the meat or other
organic substance to be preserved, the whole being placed in any suitable receptacle,
such, for example as the ordinary barrels, casks, and the like, used for holding
cured or pickled meats. I then arrange a suitable source of electricity in such a
manner that one or more currents will be caused to pass through the meat or like
organic substance, and through the preservative substance around the same. Tho
receptacle, however, must be so constructed that the current of electricity will pass
through the meat or like organic substance, and preferably also through the
preservative substance, and not around the sides of the receptacle. One of the poles
of the circuit may be arranged at the bottom of the receptacle containing the meat
or like organic substance to be preserved, and the other of the poles may be
provided at the top of the said receptacle, or the two poles may be placed at
opposite sides of the said receptacle; the arrangement being such that the current
of electricity will be caused to pass through the preservative substance around, or
in contact with, the meat, and also through the meat or like organic substance
itself, the result being that a structural disturbance is caused within the mass of
the meat or like organic substance, which materially changes its character, so far as
concerns its power of absorbing and combining with the salt, saltpetre, or other
curing and preservative agent. From this there result two positive advantages:—
first, the rapidity with which the preservative agent combines with the meat or
like organic substance, enables the curing process to be effected in a mere fraction
of the time required by the old or usual methods; second, the preservative
substance or agent uniting more actively and intimately with the meat or like
organic substance causes a more perfect chemical combination, as it may be termed,
between the said preservative agent and the meat or like organic substance, and
thereby ensures a more perfect curing and more thorough preservation of the meat
or like organic substance, than is effected by the old or usual methods.
In Figure 1 is represented the cask having the meat or other substance to be
preserved packed therein, with the chemical or preservative agent in the form of a
solution or liquid, in which case the ends of the circuit wires extend into the liquid
and connect therewith; when the preservative agent or chemical is in a sub-
stantially dry or powdered form as is the case, for example, with cominon salt or
the like, the ends of the circuit wires E are extended inside of the heads of the
cask in the form of spirals so as to present a larger surface of contact with the
preservative agent or chemical, this spiral form of the ends of the circuit wires
being more clearly illustrated in Figure 3.
Referring to Figure 6 A¹ A¹ are metallic plates which constitute the opposite
sides of a receptacle in which the article to be subjected to the action of electricity
is placed. The said receptacle is provided with ends B' suitably fitted to the ends
of the metallic sides A'. The ends B' may be made of wood or wicker work as
indicated by the interlaced lines in the Drawing; wood being, comparatively
speaking a non-conductor of electricity. The bottom C¹ of the said receptacle is
also made of wood or other non-conductor of electricity. The ends B¹ instead of
being made of wicker-work or wood, may be made of metal or other suitable

page_text: material but must be insulated from the metallic sides A' so that a current of
electricity intended to be passed-from one of the said sides to the other, and through
the intervening space will not be diverted from the said intervening space by being
conducted around the ends or bottom of the receptacle. The two opposite plates A¹,
are connected with the two opposite poles of a suitable battery D' by means of
metallic wires or connections E¹, any appropriate means being provided for
breaking the circuit through. the said wires when required. If preferred one of
the wires, E¹, may make a ground connection with the battery instead of
communicating directly therewith, the construction and arrangement of the parts
being such that when the battery is in full operation and the circuit is complete,
the electric current will be caused to pass from one of the plates A' to the other
through the space intervening between them, or rather through the meat, fat, fish,
or the like, suitably packed in the said space. The meat, fat, fish, or the like,
as the case may be should be packed in salt, saltpetre, or other preservative
substance, in such manner as to be simultaneously acted upon by the current of
electricity and by the preservative substance.
If desired, the ends of the receptacle may be made of conducting material and
have the circuit wires attached thereto, while the sides thereof are of non-conducting
material, or in lieu of this, the receptacle may be made with non-conducting circum-
ferential walls, and a conducting top and bottom; the object being, so far as relates
to the construction of the receptacle itself, that it shall possess two conducting
portions-opposite-to-each-other-and-with-a-space between,.so_that_the_substance to
be treated with electricity will be subjected to the action of the electric current
transmitted from one of the said conducting parts to the other.
A is an oblong box or tube, which may be of rectangular transverso section, as
shewn in Figure 4. This box A is preferably horizontal in position and with open
ends, so that a case or box B of smaller size may be pushed through the same from
end to end, and so that any desired number of such cases or boxes B may be pushed
in succession through the said oblong box or tube A. Provided at, or in, the two
opposite sides of the box A are bearings a which are insulated from the sides of the
box A by any suitable means, and each of which receives the journal of a horizontal
shaft b, the shafts b being preferably in the same axial line and each provided with
a fast and loose pulley c c¹ through which, by means of suitable belts, it may be
rotated or stopped as occasion may require. Upon the inner end of each shaft bis
is placed a metallic disc C preferably of circular form, and attached to its shaft bat
its centre. The discs C are placed within the box A adjacent to, but not touching,
the inner surfaces of the sides thereof, and with a space between them sufficient to
permit the passage lengthwise of the said box, A, of the cases or smaller boxes Bas
hereinbefore indicated. Between the hubs of the pulleys cc' and the shafts b to
which they are attached, is interposed any suitable non-conducting packing or
substance which will prevent the transmission of the electric current from the said
shafts b, to the said pulleys. Placed upon each of the shafts, 6 and working
preferably in a circumferential groove in each, is a collar or ring f to which are
attached the circuit wires E which connect in the usual manner through a ground-
connection or otherwise, with a dynamo-electric machine F such, for example,
as the. well-known "Gramme " machine, or any suitable battery or appropriate
source of electricity, in such a manner that the current of electricity generated
will pass from one of the discs C to the other and through the space
between them. Each smaller case or box B, has its sides which pass adjacent
to the discs C of metal, which is a good conductor of electricity, whereas the
bottom, top, and ends of the said smaller case or box B, should be either of some
material that, relatively speaking, is a non-conductor of electricity, or they should
be insulated from the sides of the said box, by the interposition of strips of glass
or other suitable non-conductor of electricity; the object being to prevent the
electric current from passing around through the top, bottom, or ends instead of
from one of the sides to the other of the case B and thus ensure the passage of the
electric current through the interior of the said case from one side to the other, and

page_text: consequently through the substance or substances placed or packed therein in
order that the electric current may act upon the said substance or substances...
The meat fat, fish, or similar organic substance to be preserved, should be packed
in the smaller cases or boxes B and surrounded by a suitable preservative agent,
such as salt saltpetre, or salycilic acid.
During the operation of the apparatus the dynamo-electric machine F, is placed
in operation to generate the desired electric current, and simultaneous therewith
the discs C are caused to rotate in opposite directions by the revolution of the
fast pulleys on their respective shafts b. The smaller cases or boxes B being
closed, and having the substance to be cured or preserved packed therein, are
passed longitudinally through the box or tube A and between the discs C. As
each case or box B passes into the space between the discs C, the electric current is
caused to pass through the conducting sides of the case or box B and through the
contents thereof; this action being exerted upon the entire contents of the case or
box B.
Inasmuch as the said case or box is caused to pass between the discs C, and
inasmuch as the cases or boxes B may be very rapidly passed, one after another,
through the box or tube A and between the discs C, it follows that the operation
of subjecting the contents of each case or box B to the action of the electricity, is
very rapidly accomplished, and from the rotation in opposite directions of the
discs C, and from the intensity of the current derived from the dynamo-electric
machine, a powerful effect is produced upon the meat, fat, fish, or like organic
substance acted upon by the electric current, and the process of thus treating
organic substances with electricity is rendered very cheap as well as very intense
in its action and thorough in its results.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent and the manner of performing the same I wish it understood
that I claim
First The herein described process or method of curing and preserving meat,
fat, fish, and like organic substances, by subjecting them simultaneously to the
action of salt, saltpetre, salycilic acid, or other suitable preservative substance or
agent, and to the action of a current of electricity, the electricity acting simul-
taneously upon the preservative substance and upon the substance to be preserved,
substantially as, and for the purpose, herein set forth.
Second: In an apparatus for electrically treating meat, fat, fish, and like
substances, a vessel or receptacle having conducting sides and non-conducting ends
and bottom, in combination with suitable means for transmitting an electric
current from one of the said sides to the other, and through the substance placed
in the space between them, all substantially as, and for the purpose, herein set
forth.
Third In an apparatus for electrically treating meat, fat, fish, and like
substances, the combination of a vessel or receptacle having conducting sides and
non-conducting ends and bottom, the circuit wires, and a galvanic battery all
substantially as, and for the purpose, herein set forth.
Fourth In an apparatus for subjecting organic substances to the action of
electricity, the combination of the oblong box or tube A, the discs connected with
suitable means for generating and maintaining a current of electricity, and one or
more cases or boxes B, adapted to pass through the box A and between the said
discs, and to contain the substance to be treated, all substantially as, and for the
purpose, herein set forth.
Fifth In an apparatus for subjecting organic substances to the action of
electricity, the combination of the discs, arranged to rotate in opposite directions,
the box or tube A, one or more cases or boxes B constructed to pass through the
box A and between the discs, and a dynamo-electric machine arranged to pass a .
current of electricity from one to the other of the said discs, and through the
contents of a case or box B, as the latter is passed through the box or tube A, all
substantially as, and for the purpose, herein set forth.

page_text: Sixth-In an apparatus for subjecting organic substances to the action of
electricity, the combination of the insulated bearings and pulleys with the shafts,
the discs, the box or tube A, and one or more cases or boxes B adapted to be
passed through the box A and between the said discs, all substantially as, and for
the purpose, herein set forth.
In witness whereof I the said Henry Harris Lake have hereunto set my
hand and seal this Tenth day of June in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty two.
HENRY H. LAKE. (L.S.)