AN IMPROVED MATERIAL PARTICULARLY ADAPTED FOR THE SCOURING, CLEANSING, AND FULLING OF WOOLLEN OR OTHER CLOTHS
Year: 1861

page_text: Sealed the 21st March 1862, and dated the 24th September 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Fawcett at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 24th
September 1861.
I, JAMES FAWCETT, of Wakefield, in the County of York, Corn and Fulling
Miller, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED
MATERIAL PARTICULARLY ADAPTED FOR THE SCOURING, CLEANSING, AND FULLING OF
WOOLLEN OR OTHER CLOTHS," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists of an improved preparation which is especially
applicable to the purpose of scouring, cleansing, and fulling woollen and other
cloths.
I propose to use lichen, commonly called Iceland moss, or Irish, or other
moss, which is to be boiled in a large quantity of water in any suitable vessel,
by which process a liquid will be produced capable of forming a firm and
strong jelly; or the lichen may be steamed if it is considered preferable so to

page_text: work. The liquor should be freed from the refuse of the lichen by straining
it, or by any other method, in order to obtain a clean jelly.
Another process which I propose to adopt is to dry the lichen, and grind it
into a powder; water is then to be added, and the whole is to be boiled or
steamed. In this mode of manufacture no residuum or sediment occurs, and
a jelly is produced without the necessity of straining the liquor. The next
process is to add to the jelly soda or soda ash, which is to be intimately and
thoroughly incorporated with the jelly, whereby a composition will be formed
suitable for scouring or cleansing woollen or other cloths, effecting a great
saving of soap and other materials which are commonly used for such pur-
poses. The material or jelly can also be used for fulling woollen and other
cloths, effecting a considerable saving in soap, and if it be desired, dispensing
entirely with its use.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Fawcett in the Great Sea! Patent Office on the 24th
March 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
FAWCETT, of Wakefield, in the County of York, Corn and Fulling Miller, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said James Fawcett, Her special licence that I, the said James
Fawcett, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such other as I, the
said James Fawcett, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 "AN
IMPROVED MATERIAL PARTICULARLY ADAPTED FOR THE SCOURING, CLEANSING, AND
FULLING OF WOOLLEN OR OTHER CLOTHS," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said James Fawcett, my executors or administrators, by an in-
strument 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

page_text: 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 James Fawcett, 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, that is to say:-
This Invention consists of an improved preparation which is especially
applicable to the purpose of scouring, cleansing, and fulling woollen and other
cloths, and for other manufacturing and domestic purposes.
In order that my said Invention may be completely understood, I now proceed
to describe the best means I am acquainted with for carrying the same into
practical effect, as follows:-
I use lichen, commonly called and known as Iceland moss, or Irish, or other
moss containing gelatinous matter, which I boil in a large quantity of water
in any suitable vessel, by which operation a liquid will be produced capable of
forming a firm and strong jelly; or the lichen may in some cases be steamed,
when considered preferable for certain purposes. The liquor should be freed
from the refuse or insoluble portions or residue of the lichen by straining it,
or by any other method, in order to obtain a clear and firm jelly.
I also adopt another process, which is, to dry the lichen or other moss, and
grind it into a powder, and when required for use, I add water, and either boil
or steam the whole. By this operation or mode of manufacture a jelly is
produced, which becomes perfectly free from residuum by straining.
Having thus produced a clear and firm jelly, I then add to it soda or soda
ash, or other alkali, which is to be intimately and thoroughly incorporated and
mixed with the jelly, whereby a composition will be formed suitable for
scouring or cleansing woollen or other cloths, or for other manufacturing pur-
poses, effecting a great saving of soap and other materials, which are commonly
used for such purposes.
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66
Having now described the nature and object of my said Invention of "An
Improved Material particularly adapted for the Scouring, Cleansing, and
Fulling of Woollen or other Cloths," and the manner in which the same is
to be performed, I would remark in conclusion, that I do not confine myself
to the use of any particular description of moss, as any kind possessing the
required properties will answer well; nor to any particular proportion of soda
or soda ash, or other alkali, to be mixed with the jelly made from such lichen
or moss, as the proportions may obviously be varied to suit the particular pur-
pose for which the material is intended; but what I claim as my Inven-
tion, and therefore desire to be secured to me by the herein in part recited

page_text: Letters Patent is, the manufacture of the material described as herein fully
specified for the purposes set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Fawcett, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twentieth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
Witness,
ALEX. PRINCE,
Agent for Patents,
4, Trafalgar Square,
Charing Cross.
JAMES FAWCETT. (L.S.)