AN IMPROVEMENT IN COMBINING MATTERS FOR WASHING AND CLEANSING;
Year: 1844

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, PETER
WARD, of West Bromwich, in the County of Warwick, Practical Chemist;
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Fourth day of March, in the seventh year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Peter
Ward, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I,
the said Peter Ward, my exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said Peter Ward, my exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the term
of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my
Invention of "AN IMPROVEMENT IN COMBINING MATTERS FOR WASHING AND
CLEANSING;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the
said Peter Ward, shall cause a particular description of the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in
Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent,
as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and
at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Peter Ward, do hereby declare that the nature of my Invention, and the manner

page_text: in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and ascertained in
and by the following statement thereof (that is to say) :-
My Invention has for its object the combining glue or gelatine and mucilage
with soda or potash, in such manner as to render the compound so produced
suitable for cleansing and washing. It is well known that soda, and also
potash in the state, generally, of subcarbonate, are very commonly used when
washing and cleansing, whether with or without soap, and I have discovered
that if glue or gelatine or mucilage be combined with soda or potash, in place
of using those matters alone, that a much more beneficial effect may be
produced, and much soap saved in washing and cleansing. And in order that
my Invention may be most fully understood, and readily carried into effect,
I will proceed to describe the means pursued by me.
I take any quantity of soda ash of commerce (subcarbonate of soda), and
crush and grind the same with edge stones or other convenient machinery,
applying to the alkali a solution of glue (the glue being dissolved in water,
in the proportion of about one hundred and twelve pounds of glue to forty-five
gallons of water), and I grind these matters together into a state of thick
paste or dough, and when they are well and perfectly combined and smooth
to the touch I spread the same on a floor of a room to dry for about four
hours, then turn the same with a shovel, and let the compound remain for
about ten hours, when it should be again turned over, and allowed to remain
for about ten hours longer, when the mixture will generally be in a dry state,
depending, however, on the state of the weather, and this drying may be
quickened by artificial heat, but I have not found it necessary to resort to the
same in practice. The mixture, thus prepared, I pass through a sieve of about
a quarter of an inch mesh; the lumps thus separated are broken up and again
sifted; the powder obtained is fit for use for the purpose of cleansing and
washing, and is applied in the same manner as the ordinary soda of commerce
is now very commonly applied (with or without soap) for like purposes, and
the combination of matters thus obtained and used will be found to be highly
useful for such purposes. And it should be stated, that, although I prefer to
use soda in the state of soda ash of commerce, it may be used in other states,
and potash may be substituted for soda and in like manner, or may be employed
thus, in combination with the soda; and, although I believe that the propor-
tion of quantities above given is the best, I do not confine myself thereto, and
other forms of gelatine than glue may be used. The combined matters (soda or
potash, and glue or gelatine) may be obtained by dissolving the glue and the
alkali used in water, but such means of obtaining the combination of glue or
gelatine and alkali, according to my Invention, is not so advantageous where

page_text: the same is to be carried from place to place, and I prefer the obtaining the
matters in a combined state by mechanical mixing and grinding above
described. When mucilage is to be used in place of or in combination with
glue or gelatine, then I take linseed, or, by preference, the oil cake of linseed,
and make a thick jelly therefrom, using as little water as possible, and I strain
off the insoluble matter therefrom, and I grind and mix the jelly or matter in
the character of jelly thus obtained with alkali, in the same manner as the
dissolved glue or gelatine.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the best means I
am acquainted with for performing the same, I would wish it to be understood
that I am aware that it has been before proposed to use animal gelatinous
matters, treated with alkaline lyes, and combining the same with oil or fatty
matters in the making of soap; and I mention this circumstance in order to
state that I do not claim the combining animal gelatinous matters with alkali
generally, my Invention requiring that animal gelatinous matters which may
be employed should be converted into glue or gelatine. And I would wish it
to be understood, that what I claim is, the mode of preparing matters for
washing and cleansing, by combining glue or gelatine and mucilage with soda
or potash, by grinding and mixing them mechanically or by solution, as herein
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Peter Ward, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Third day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-four.