CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PREPARATION AND TREATMENT OF FIBROUS AND MEMBRANOUS MATERIALS BOTH IN THE RAW AND MANUFACTURED STATE, WHEREBY THEY ARE RENDERED MORE DURABLE, ARE CONTRACTED OR EXPANDED, ARE CLEANED, AND ARE MORE CAPABLE OF RECEIVING AND RETAINING COLORS
Year: 1851

page_text: TO ALL TO W.
HESE PRESENTS SHAL COME, KICHARD
ARCHIBALD BROOMAN, of the firm of T. C. Robertson and Co., of 166, Fleet
Street, in the City of London, Patent Agents, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Tenth day of October
(One thousand eight hundred and fifty-one), in the fifteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Richard Archibald Brooman, my exors, adññiors, and assigns, Her especial
license, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Richard
Archibald Brooman, my exors, adñors, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Richard Archibald Brooman, my exors, adiñors, 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,
and in the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and also in
all Her said Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, the Invention of
"CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PREPARATION AND TREATMENT OF FIBROUS AND
MEMBRANOUS MATERIALS BOTH IN THE RAW AND MANUFACTURED STATE, WHEREBY
THEY ARE RENDERED MORE DURABLE, ARE CONTRACTED OR EXPANDED, ARE CLEANED,
AND ARE MORE CAPABLE OF RECEIVING AND RETAINING COLORS," communicated to
me from abroad; in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that I,

page_text: the said Richard Archibald Brooman, shall cause a particular description of
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, to be inrolled in
Ier 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
Richard Archibald Brooman, hereby declare that the nature of the said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, are fully described in
and by the following description thereof, reference being had to the Drawings
hereunto annexed, that is to say:-
The nature of the Invention consists in the formation of certain salts or
compounds within or in contact with fibrous and membranous materials (both
in the raw and manufactured state), or in the decomposition of certain salts
or compounds already existent in or combined therewith, whereby they are
in either case rendered more durable, or contracted, or expanded, or cleaned, or
made more capable of receiving and retaining colors, and the manner in
which the said Invention is performed is as follows:-
Where the material is of a fibrous nature, such as flax, I prepare it for
being treated as aforesaid, as well as for manufacturing purposes generally, by
nicans of a crushing and cleaning machine, of the construction represented in
the Drawings hereunto annexed.
Figure 1 is an end elevation of a crushing and cleansing machine. a, a, are
two fluted feed rollers, between which the flax enters, and is conveyed forward
by them to the four-sided toothed roller, brake, or bott hammer b; the upper
brake c, which is fixed to the slide d, and works in the framing e, e, is brought
down by the crank f, and connecting rods g, g. During the ascent of the upper
brake c, the catch or pall h acts upon a ratchet wheel of four teeth, on the end
of the revolving brake b, which, by a small toothed pinion working into an
inside spur wheel, gives motion to the fluted rollers a, a. On the other side of
the revolving brake or bolt hammer b is a square of iron, which, being pressed
upon by a lever actuated by a spring, keeps the revolving brake or bott
hammer in a proper position during the descent of the upper brake c. 7 is the
fly wheel, for equalizing the motion, n levers, o weights for weighting the feed
rollers a, a; p, the feeding board on which the flax is spread preparatory to
entering the feed rollers. The rapid and continuous ascent and descent of the
brake c, striking upon the flax between it and the brake b, breaks up and
separates the woody from the fibrous portions of the flax.

page_text: Figures 2 and 3 represent a modification of the machine just described.
The operations of this machine commence with placing the flax on the feed
board h, and offering it to the drawing rollers a, a, (Figure 3). The flax
having passed an inch or two through these rollers, is seized by the oscillating
fluted rollers b, b, which are moved up and down in the framing c by the
crank d and connecting rods e, c. f and g are two parts of a bott hammer,
consisting of a fluted cylinder f and a toothed hammer g; his the feed board;
i, the fly wheel; h, k, the driving riggers or pullies.
To produce a contracting, or, as it is technically termed, "milling" or
"felting" effect on the goods operated upon, I so combine certain substances
as to form a compound, or salt, incorporated bodily therein, or intimately
combined therewith, taking care that the combination is not preceded by
decomposition. For example, I steep the goods in dilute sulphuric acid, and
then, without any intermediate washing, immerse them in caustic soda, whereby
a sulphate of soda is formed, which produces the desired result; other acids
than sulpheric and other hydrates than soda may be substituted. If I employ
oleic, or any other similar organic acid instead of sulphuric, a compound is
formed in the material itself, and the same result obtained.
To produce an expansive effect, or one the opposite to contraction, or milling,
or felting, I first saturate the material with some compound (say, for example,
a carbonate), which, on subsequent contact with an acid, will suffer de-
composition, accompanied by the escape of gas. I sometimes employ, instead of
an acid, some salt, such as alum, which having an acid reaction, decomposes the
first compound and sets free the gas; mere heat alone may be made to serve
the same purpose as the acid body, and so also cold may be substituted for the
alkaline action. Thus milling or felting may be produced by immersing a
heated body suddenly in a cold medium, and expansion effected by reversing
the process.
To clean or decolorize a fibrous or membranous substance: I first produce
chemical decomposition in the substance itself. By decomposition here is
meant the separation of the constituents forming a compound body, which
separation must always be accompanied by an evolution of gas. Thus, if a
substance be immersed in a carbonate, and then exposed to the action of
sulphuric acid, carbonic acid in the state of gas is evolved, and a sulphate of
the base is formed. Instead, therefore, of following the ordinary chlorine
bleaching process, I proceed in the following manner: suppose white China
silk is the article to be operated upon, I first immerse it in a solution of
sulphate of magnesia, then transfer it to a bath of carbonate of potash or soda,
upon which an insoluble carbonate of magnesia is formed in the silk; I then

page_text: dip the silk, so impregnated in an acid, which will decompose the carbonate
and form a soluble salt, which is afterwards easily removed by washing; a
good compound for cleansing as well as for milling and felting purposes is
formed by combining some oily, fatty, or resinous compound (hydrocarbons)
with an alkaline carbonate or hypochlorite. In this case a hot solution of
carbonate of soda is first prepared, and there is then added to it cold oleine, fat,
resin, or other suitable hydrocarbon, until the base is saturated. To facilitate
the combination of oily, fatty, or resinous compounds with alkalies, I saturate
cloth or other porous material, such as pumice stone, with the oily, fatty, or
resinous compounds, and then boil it in an alkaline solution, by which means
I obtain a larger surface to act upon.
To preserve animal or vegetable substances, I form a salt or compound of
an antiseptic nature within their cells or fibres, taking care that the combina-
tion is not preceded by decomposition, or accompanied by the evolution of any
gas. Thus, for example, to preserve meat, I immerse it first in muriatic, nitric,
or acetic, or saccharic acid, or other equivalent compound, and then into a
solution of some basic hydrate, which, with the preceding acid or any other
equivalent acid or compound, will form in the meat itself an antiseptic salt.
The meat thus treated will be perfectly wholesome, and will keep so for a
long time.
To preserve and tan hides and skins, I form in like manner within those
substances some conservative salt, for example; I steep them in tannic or
other similar acid, and then immerse them in a mixture or solution of some
hydrate, such as those of soda, lime, magnesia, baryta, or alumina. As it is
important, however, to avoid the formation of tannates of soda or potash, on
account of the deep colour communicated by them to the hides, I prefer
those bases which with tannic acid give the least amount of color, such, for
example, as magnesia.
To preserve wood, canvas, and other like fabrics, I form a salt within the
fibres thereof, by first immersing them in some suitable acid, such as sulphuric,
pyroligneous, or muriatic, and then in a solution or mixture of some suitable
base. If I wish to produce color in wood or any other vegetable substance, as
well as to preserve it, I use a solution of catechu or some other coloring material,
and afterwards a solution of caustic soda or potash, whereby rubinate of soda.
or potash is formed within the fibres of the substance.
To promote the germination of seeds, and cause them to throw out powerful
first and second sets of leaves, whereby they may the more rapidly and
effectually absord food from the air, I form some fertilizing or stimulating
compound within the seeds themselves, in manner following:-I steep the

page_text: seeds in phosphoric acid, and then in ammonia, potash, or lime, whereby a
phosphate of one of those bases is formed within the seeds.
To increase the power of absorbing and retaining colouring matters in
animal and vegetable substances, I form mordants, or the constituents of the
mordants therein, as follows: if, for example, I wish to use acetate of soda
as a mordant, I do not immerse the material in a solution of that salt, but I
dip it in acetic acid, then in caustic soda, without any intermediate washing.
I may mention the employment as mordants of certain alkaline combinations
with hydrocarbons, such as of turpentine with potash, naptha with potash, soda,
fusel oil, with potash, &c. Or the coloring matters or their constituents
may be combined in the fibre, fabric, or membrane itself. Fabrics and
membranes may also be printed by similar means. Thus, the pattern may be
stamped by the acid or alkali, and the whole article then immersed in the
solution of the base or acid, the mordant will only act on the spots where
the acid is in contact with the cloth or membrance.
I
may mention also that salts may be formed or decomposed for the purpose
aforesaid by the action of gaseous bodies on them; as, for example, by exposing
hydrate of soda to sulphurous acid, chlorine or carbonic acid, also by exposing
a carbonate in solution to sulphurous acid or chlorine gas. In all the fore-
going processes, and in the examples given, the effects produced are supposed
by the Inventor to be the result of some peculiar electrical condition com-
municated to the fibres, fabrics, or membranes, by the combination or decom-
position of salts in intimate contact therewith.
Aware of the enormous developement of electricity which accompanies
chemical action, he believes that by altering the electrical condition of animal
and vegetable substances a state of polarity is produced, or what is usually
denominated a negative or positive result, on which the power of any substance
to contract or corrugate (milling and felting) to resist decomposition, or to
receive and retain colors mainly depends. He further considers that electric
currents move in two opposite directions, either centrifugal or centripetal, and
that many of the phenomena attendant upon the absorption or loss of color, as
in dyeing and bleaching, or the twisting or corrugation of fibres, as in milling
or felting, or the resistance of decay, as in tanning and salting, depend upon
the kind of electricity developed at the time, and that such condition of
electricity can be established by the means herein-before described. It seems
to follow, moreover, from the principle laid down, that by simply reversing
some of the processes, given as examples, an opposite effect should be produced;
and so, in point of fact, it is found, that if the process given for preserving meat
is reversed, its decay is accelerated. The principal materials to which these

page_text: processes are applicable are the following: flax, hemp, cotton, jute, manilla,
hemp, esparto, aloe, pine apple leaf, and generally all vegetable fibres, and
yarns or fabrics made therefrom; woods, roots, leaves, seeds, and fruits; meat,
skins, hides, hair, wool, silk, animal fibre, fish, and all products thereof.
Among the salts most suitable to be employed are the following: rubinates,
such as rubinates of magnesia, alumina, &c.; tannates, such as tannates of
magnesia, lime, ammonia, soda, and potash, &c.; sulphates, as of magnesia,
soda, &c.; salts with an acid reaction, as alum; carbonates, as those of
magnesia, soda, &c.; hydrates, as those of lime, soda, potash, alumina,
magnesia, &c.; acetates, as of soda, magnesia, alumina, indigo, &c.; acids of
every description may be used, such as acetic, muriatic, sulphuric, nitric,
tannic, silicic, &c.; and any of the hydrocarbons, such as resins, oils, sugars,
starch, &c. The foregoing compounds, however, are merely mentioned as
examples, for the Inventor does not confine himself to these alone, but claims
a right to the use of all known chemical equivalents.
And having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that the improvements claimed
as embraced by the said Invention are as follows:-
First, the crushing and cleansing machines, respectively represented in
Figures 1 and 2, and in Figure 3, and before described, that is to say, in
so far as regards the combination of conducting crushing and oscillating
rollers with a "bott hammer," in the manner herein represented, and herein-
before described.
Second, the treatment of fibrous and membranous substances both in the
raw and manufactured state, by forming or decomposing salts or compounds
within or combined with the same, whereby they are rendered more durable,
or are contracted, or expanded, or cleaned, or made more capable of receiving
and retaining colors, as herein-before exemplified and described.
Third, the use of tannate and rubinate of magnesia for the treatment of
membranous and fibrous substances, such as hides and skins, wood, &c., as
herein-before described.
And, fourth, the employment for cleaning fibrous and membranous sub-
stances of a compound of an alkaline, carbonate, or hypochlorite with a fatty
or oily, or resinous body, as before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard Archibald Brooman, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Tenth day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two.
R. A. (L.S.) BROOMAN.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Tenth day of April, in the year
of our Lord 1852, the aforesaid Richard Archibald Brooman 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.
Enrolled the Tenth day of April, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-two.