IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PRESERVATION OF ORGANIC AND OTHER SUBSTANCES
Year: 1846

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN RYAN,
of the Royal Polytechnic Institution, Doctor of Medicine, Professor of
Chemistry, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Iler
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing dato
at Westminster, the Seventeenth day of October, in the tenth year of Her
reign, did give and grant unto me, the said John Ryan, my exors, adiñors,
and assigns, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that
I, the said John Ryan, my exors, adiñors, and assigns, and such others as I,
the said John Ryan, my exors, adiñors, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times hereafter during the
term of years therein mentioned, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed,
and in the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and also in
all Her said Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, my Invention of cer-
tain "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PRESERVATION OF ORGANIC AND OTHER SUBSTANCES;"
in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said John Ryan,
shall cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under
my hand and seal, to be enrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chan-
cery 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 John Ryan, do hereby declare that the nature of my Invention,

page_text: and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, refe-
rence being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the figures and
letters marked thereon (that is to say):-
My improvement consists or has reference to the means of preserving
organic and other substances, by supplying thereto certain gases, which are
unfriendly to combustion and decomposition, and they may be applied either in
combination with air or in licu thereof. The gases I employ are what are
termed "non supporters of combustion," and those I prefer are either a mixture
of carbonic and chlorohydric acids, or a mixture of carbonic and acetic or
pyroligneous acids. For preserving animal matters I prefer a mixture of car-
bonic and pyroligneous acids in a gaseous form, because of the presence of a
small quantity of kreasote in the pyroligneous acid, and in some cases I add to
my materials a little kreasote, so as to allow it to pass over with the gases into
the vessel or receptacle containing the substance to be proserved. To obtain
these gases I use any of the suitable carbonates, but I prefer carbonate of lime
in the form of marble. To the marble I add in some cases the common chlo-
rohydric acid of the shops, diluted with half its bulk of water in this case; I
get over as the product a mixture of carbonic and chlorohydric acid gases;
and if I find it necessary to render the mode of preservation more complete I
add to the diluted acid a small quantity of kreasote, in the proportion of half
a dram to two quarts of the liquid. In this case the mixed acids carry over
with them a portion of the krensotic vapour, in which condition it communicates
no taste or odour to the substances to be acted upon. In other cases, to obtain
the carbonic acid of the marble, I employ rough or unpurified pyroligneous
acid, which contains small quantities of krcasote, by which means I get over
a mixture of carbonic and pyroligneous acids, and the vapour of the kreasote.
Where coarse pyroligneous acid cannot be obtained, I use either the acetic
acid of the shops, to which I add a small quantity of kreosote, in the propor-
tions of half dram to two quarts of the acid, or the common commercial vinegar
with the same quantity of kreosote. However, I prefer the employment of
rough pyroligneous acid in all cases when it can be obtained. In the preserva-
tion of vegetable substances, or in the preservation of fermented liquids, I
should never employ the vapour of kreosote, but carbonic acid alone obtained
by the action of the chlorohydric or other suitable acid containing no kreosote.
For preserving fermented liquids, such as beer or wine, I have found it neces-
sary to wash the carbonic acid by passing it through a small vessel containing
clean water, so as to remove any of the chlorohydric or acetic acid. When
organic matters, such as meat; are to be preserved, they must be previously

page_text: deposited in a suitable air-tight box or receptacle, the description of which
would be useless, as many forms and arrangements may be resorted to, it being
only essential to prevent the admission of atmospheric air therein.
By referring to the accompanying Drawing will be seen the self-acting gas
apparatus, used for the purpose of generating the, gases, which apparatus must
communicate with the box or receptacle containing the substances to be pre-
served, and consists of another vessel, a, a, a, Figure 1, which may be constructed
of glass or other suitable material to contain the acid. b, b, is the inner vessel
containing several pieces of broken marble c, c. d is a false bottom, on which
the broken pieces of marble c, c, rest, and having perforations to allow the acid
to rise through and come in contact with the marble c, c, contained in the inner
vessel b, b. d is a bent tube furnished with a stopcock e, to which may be
joined a flexible tube f, which communicates from the inner vessel b, b, contain-
ing the marble, to the air-tight safe or box containing the substances to be
preserved. When it is necessary to charge the inner vessel 6 with marble,
the flange g of the outer vessel a, a, a, must be removed by unscrowing the
screws g', 9, and to charge the outer vessel a, a, a, with liquid, it is poured in
through the inlet h. Figure 2 represents a plan of Figure 1, taken through
the line 1, 2, Figure 1.
Figure 3 shews another arrangement of apparatus which I sometimes employ,
the difference being only that the tube f, communicating with the safe, passes
down into and through the interior of the apparatus. Figure 4 is a plan of
Figure 3; the letters of reference in Figures 1 and 2 indicate similar parts in
Figures 3 and 4.
I will now proceed to describe the manner in which this gas generator acts.
So long as the safe door is open the pressure of the air or gas on the surface of
the liquid in the outer vessel a, a, a, forces it up through the false bottom into
contact with the pieces of marble c, c, and the gases are given off, passing
through the tube into the air-tight box, or when the safe door is closed the
vessel becomes filled up with the gases mixed with air, and eventually unablo
to contain more; the pressure upon the liquid in the inner vessel b, b, is
suflicient to drive it out into the outer vessel a, a, a, leaving the marble dry,
therefore all action ceases when the safe door is opened, or in case of leakage
the action recommences, and only ceases again when the safe is once more
filled. When applied to a cask containing fermented liquids they should be
allowed to run out slowly, or, a vacuum being suddenly formed, the pressure of
the air in the vessel may drive out the acid into the cask. The gas generator
may be formed of iron glazed on its inner surface, or of pure lead, or of earthen-
ware, or of glass; for ordinary meat safes glass would be the best. For

page_text: preserving meat in cases I should use very considerable pressure, and for the
purpose I should employ an apparatus made of wrought iron, or of pure lead,
of strength sufficient to bear a pressure of six or eight atmospheres. I should
attach the tube of this apparatus to the case containing the meat or other
organic matter, and, having left a small perforation in another portion of the
same case, I should admit the mixture of carbonic and other acids and vapours
as before described, so as to drive out the atmospheric air through the perfora-
tion; I should then close it by some suitable solder or other means, and pass
the gases into the case until considerable pressure be obtained. The pressure
I prefer would be that of about two atmospheres. In filling large iron cases
or tanks it would be necessary to regulate the pressure by a safety valve
attached either to the generator or the tank. In filling small tin cases this
would not be necessary. For preserving provisions fresh at soa tanks or safes
made of iron or other suitable material might be employed, and one large
apparatus used with tubes leading to the various tanks, each tube having an
independent stopcock, so as to cut off any supply of gas while the meat was
about to be removed from the tank or case. In employing the gases under
pressure as before described, I do not propose to keep the gas generator con-
stantly attached, but, after filling the vessel, it would either be secured by a
proper stopcock or suitable solder, so as to prevent the gases escaping, after
which the apparatus may be entirely removed away.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of car-
rying the same into effect, I wish it to be perfectly understood that I do not
confine myself to the precise details herein described, so long as the peculiar
character and principle of my said Invention be retained; and I do not claim
the preserving of organic or other substances by the application of carbonic
acid, hydrochloric acid, or other gases, nor the apparatus by which the same
may be generated. But what I do claim is,-
First, the preserving of organic and other substances by supplying thereto a
mixture of the gases, acids, or vapours in the manner above described; and
Secondly, the constructing of a self-acting apparatus for generating the gases,
and its application to supplying the receptacle containing the substances to be
preserved as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Ryan, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Seventeenth day of April, One thousand eight hundred
and forty-seven.
JOHN (L.s.) RYAN.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Seventeenth day of April, in the
year of our Lord 1847, the aforesaid John Ryan came before our said Lady
the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification aforesaid, and
all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form above written.
And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the
Statute made for that purpose.