IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF TREATING FLAX, AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Thomas Hughes, of the Firm of Hughes
and Son, Patent Agents, 123, Chancery Lane, London, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF TREATING FLAX, AND IN
APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN."-A communication from abroad by
Lewis McDonald Hills, of the City and County of New Haven, and
State of Connecticut, United States of America.
Sealed the 22nd January 1869, and dated the 23rd July 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Thomas
Hughes at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 23rd July 1868.
I, EDWARD THOMAS HUGHES, of the Firm of Hughes and Son, Patent
Agents, 123, Chancery Lane, London, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF TREATING FLAX AND
IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN," a communication to me from abroad
by Lewis M'Donald Hills, of the City and County of New Haven, and
State of Connecticut, United States of America," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to remove the glutinous matters
enveloping the primary or cell fibres of flax so that they can be more

page_text: readly separated irom each other by picking, caramg, or other surtable
machinery.
I will first describe the mechanical devices which can be used to
facilitate the chemical treatment. A skeleton cylinder is placed within
a tank, which tank holds the chemical solutions, while the cylinder
contains the flax and is slowly rotated during the process, the lower half
of said cylinder being immersed in the different solutions while the upper
half is above and out of the same. This secures a thorough circulation
of the solution as gravity drains off the solutions from the upper half of
the cylinder while the slow rotation of the cylinder constantly immerses
the lower half of the same. The tank may be made open at the
top, but a cover can be fitted at the top to exclude the air when desired.
The skeleton cylinder can be made of various materials, but wood is
probably the best, on account of the chemical action of alkalies and
acids on the cheap metals. The cylinder is made skeleton or openwork
in structure so as to admit the solutions and retain the flax. The
central shaft can be made of wood, or if of iron it should be covered
with vulcanized rubber or other protection to prevent its corrosion by
acids. Arms extend from the shaft to support the main body of the
oylinder. There should be a longitudinal open space in the centre of
the cylinder immediately around the shaft of one fóót or eighteen inches
in diameter as an escape for the solutions from. the upper half of the
cylinder. It will also answer the purpose of introducing an air blast
through the flax to dry it and to aid in the disintegration of the fibre
at the close of the process. This open space should be surrounded
with longitudinal slatwork to keep the flax in the body of the cylinder
from filling it. The heads or ends of the cylinder except this open
space may be closed with planks or boards. The outside or circumference
of the cylinder may be covered with slats made of plank two or three
inches wide, with spaces between a little less than the width of the
slats. The cylinder should also be divided into quarter sections of slat-
work the same as on the outside to keep the flax in position. Two
or three movable pieces can be left on each section for filling and
emptying the sections.
In the accompanying Drawings Fig. 1 is a cross section of the
cylinder just described; and Fig. 2 a corresponding section shewing an
arrangement of double network carrying rollers and squeezing
devices.

page_text: A is the open central space in the cylinder; B, B, are the slatted
partitions; C is the outside of the skeleton cylinder; D is the central
shaft.
Another mechanical arrangement having some advantages over the
cylinder just described consists in employing a tank two or three times
as long as wide, in which is placed an endless network in which the
flax in enclosed. The twine of which the network is composed is
covered with vulcanized rubber to prevent the action of the chemicals
upon it. The network is double, and contains the flax between the
two thicknesses. It is suspended over rollers at the ends of the tank,
and is carried around like an endless belt by motion given to the rollers.
On the outside of the network other rollers nearly in contact with
those sustaining the network are placed to act as pressure rollers to
press out the solutions from the flax; other sustaining rollers are used
in addition to those above described to aid in sustaining the loaded
network to prevent undue strain on the netting. The operation of this
arrangement is similar to that of the skeleton cylinder, with the advantage
of being able to use pressure rollers to press out the different solutions;
it also facilitates washing the flax. E is the interior, and F the exterior
portion of the double network; G and H are the main rollers over
which it passes; I, I, are the sustaining rollers; J is a pressure roller,
which is weighted or provided with springs connected with its bearings.
so that it may yield. Better results can be obtained from unrotted. flax
than from that which has been rotted. With the cylinder or network
loaded with the flax, cold water or warm water below the temperature
of 110° Fahrenheit is introduced and allowed to remain ten or fifteen
minutes, when it is withdrawn and fresh water introduced. Alternate
cold and warm water is used until five or six changes have been
made within the space of two or three hours. The warm water in the
last one or two applications can be raised to 120° or 130°. After two.
or three hours the warm water process should be arrested and the flax
treated by boiling water for an hour, or it should be treated with
ground beans or peas in cold water, the soluble portion only being used
for half an hour, when the liquid should be withdrawn and the flax
rinsed with cold water. This arresting of the process should be per-
formed as soon as the flax shews any indication of fermentation by
turning brown. The flax should next be treated with alkali. To a
given quantity of caustic soda ash or carbonate of soda add twice the
amount of lime. This lime in solution in a caustic state aids in dis-

page_text: solving the acid portion of the glutinous matter in the flax. When the
alkaline solution has been introduced into the tank the temperature
should be gradually raised to the boiling point. The flax should be
boiled for three or four hours, after which the alkaline solution should
be withdrawn and water let into the tank to wash the flax thoroughly,
after which it may be steeped in a hot weak solution of soda or its
carbonate, or a cold solution of common salt or chloride of calcium or
muriatic acid, or any two or three of the last-mentioned ingredients may
be used together in the same solution. The use of these last-mentioned
ingredients is not absolutely necessary to the successful disintegration of
the fibre, but more delicate results and easier bleaching can usually be
obtained by it. After washing from the above solutions the flax is
ready for bleaching. To any given quantity of chloride of lime may be
added an equal or less quantity of lime (which has been previously
neutralized with muriatic acid to change it to chloride of calcium).
Water can be added to this mixture to obtain any desired degree of
strength, and the length of time required in bleaching will depend on
the strength and temperature of the solution. The addition of chloride
of calcium or other metallic chlorides changes the chloride of lime
solution from an alkaline to a neutral or acid character, and aids in
dissolving the alkaloid portion of the gluten among the fibres not soluble
in alkalies.
Another mode of bleaching, whether the above solution or ordinary
chloride of lime is used, is to immerse the flax in the solution and then
withdraw the solution and expose the flax to atmospheric air. To
facilitate the process air can be forced through the flax in the cylinder from
the opening in the centre thereof. This can be done by means of a fan
blower or air pump and connections, which may be readily constructed
by mechanics. I beleive that the oxygen of the atmosphere in the
presence of chlorine takes the active form of ozone and attacks the
carbon of the gluten. Disintegration is more easily effected in this
manner than by chloride alone. After bleaching the flax should be
washed clean of the solution, and then be treated with good effect by
soda or lime, or the chlorides of sodium or calcium either separately or
combined. The solutions can be used hot or cold, but the hot solution
produces the best effect. The use of alkali after bleaching is not
necessary but renders the subsequent treatment easier. The flax after
being washed should receive a weak bath of muriatic acid or sulphuric
acid with a portion of cider or malt solution added diluted with water

page_text: to remove all the alkali that may remain in the ax, and should then be
treated with a weak solution of urine in water to remove all the chlorine
that may be present in it and to soften the fibre. The flax should next
be treated to a weak boiling solution of soap, then rinsed, and again
treated to a weak solution of urine heated to 120° or 130°, again washed
and exposed to the air for a short time, and then treated to a weak
solution of cider diluted with water, after which it is ready to dry
without washing out the cider solution. Warm air from 90° to 110°
forced through the flax in the cylinder aids both in drying it and in its
disintegration. Vinegar, beer, malt, or other ferment or any other product
of fermentation can be substituted for cider with good effect, or cider can
be used instead of urine with similar results.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Edward Thomas Hughes in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 23rd January 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD
THOMAS HUGHES, of the Firm of Hughes and Son, Patent Agents, 123,
Chancery Lane, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of July, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Edward Thomas Hughes, Her special
licence that I, the said Edward Thomas Hughes, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Edward Thomas
Hughes, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
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
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF TREATING FLAX, AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED
THEREIN," a communication to me from abroad by Lewis McDonald Hills,
of the City and County of New Haven, and State of Connecticut, United
States of America, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Edward Thomas Hughes, my executors or administrators, by an

page_text: instrument 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 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 Edward Thomas Hughes, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the accompanying
Sheet of Drawings (that is to say) :-
The object of this Invention is to remove the glutinous matters
enveloping the primary or cell fibres of flax so that they can be more
readily separated from each other by picking, carding, or other suitable
machinery.
I will first describe the mechanical devices which can be used to
facilitate the chemical treatment. A skeleton cylinder is placed within
a tank, which tank holds the chemical solutions, while the cylinder
contains the flax and is slowly rotated during the process, the lower
half of said cylinder being immersed in the different solutions while the
upper half is above and out of the same. This secures a thorough
circulation of the solution as gravity drains off the solutions from the
upper half of the cylinder while the slow rotation of the cylinder
constantly immerses the lower half of the same.
The tank may be
made open at the top, but a cover can be fitted to the top to exclude
the air when desired. The skeleton cylinder can be made of various
materials, but wood is probably the best on account of the chemical
action of alkalies and acids on the cheap metals. The cylinder is made
skeleton or openwork in structure so as to admit the solutions and retain
the flax. The central shaft can be made of wood, or if of iron it should
be covered with vulcanized rubber or other protection to prevent its
corrosion by acids. Arms extend from the shaft to support the main
body of the cylinder. There should be a longitudinal open space in the
centre of the cylinder immediately around the shaft of one foot or
eighteen inches in diameter as an escape for the solutions from the
upper half of the cylinder. It will also answer the purpose of introducing
an air blast through the flax to dry it, and to aid in the disintegration
of the fibre at the close of the process. This open space should be

page_text: surrounded with longitudinal slatwork to keep the flax in the body of
the cylinder from filling it. The heads or ends of the cylinder except
this open space may be closed with planks or boards. The outside or
circumference of the cylinder may be covered with slats made of plank
two or three inches wide with spaces between a little less than the width
of the slats. The cylinder should also be divided into quarter sections
of slat work the same as on the outside to keep the flax in position.
Two or three moveable pieces can be left on each section for filling and
emptying the sections.
In the accompanying Drawings Fig. 1 is a cross section of the cylinder
just described; and Fig. 2 a corresponding section shewing an arrange-
ment of double network carrying rollers and squeezing devices.
A is the open central space in the cylinder; B, B, are the slatted
partitions; C is the outside of the skeleton cylinder; D is the central
shaft.
Another mechanical arrangement having some advantages over the
cylinder just described consists in employing a tank two or three times
as long as wide, in which is placed an endless network in which the
flax is enclosed. The twine of which the network is composed is covered
with vulcanized rubber to prevent the action of the chemicals
upon it.
The network is double and contains the flax between the two thicknesses.
It is suspended over rollers at the ends of the tank, and is carried around
like an endless belt by motion given to the rollers. On the outside of
the network other rollers nearly in contact with those sustaining the
network are placed to act as pressure rollers to press out the solutions
from the flax. Other sustaining rollers are used in addition to those
above described to aid in sustaining the loaded network to prevent undue
strain on the netting. The operation of this arrangement is similar to
that of the skeleton cylinder, with the advantage of being able to use
pressure rollers to press out the different solutions; it also facilitates
washing the flax. E is the interior, and F the exterior portion of the
double network; G and H are the main rollers over which it passes;
I, I, are the sustaining rollers; J is a pressure roller, which is weighted
or provided with springs connected with its bearings so that it may
yeild. Better results can be obtained from unrotted flax than from that
which has been rotted. With the cylinder or network loaded with the
flax cold water or warm water below the temperature of 110° Fahrenheit
is introduced and allowed to remain 10 or 15 minutes, when it is

page_text: This
withdrawn and fresh water introduced. Alternate cold and warm water
is used until five or six changes have been made within the space of two
or three hours. The warm water in the last one or two applications
can be raised to 120° or 130°. After two or three hours the warm water
process should be arrested and the flax treated by boiling water for an
hour, or it should be treated with ground beans or peas in cold water,
the soluble portion only being used for half an hour, when the liquid
should be withdrawn and the flax rinsed with cold water.
arresting of the process should be performed as soon as the flax shows
The flax should
any indication of fermentation by turning brown.
next be treated with alkali. To a given quantity of caustic soda
This
ash or carbonate of soda add twice the amount of lime.
lime in solution in a caustic state aids in dissolving the acid portion
of the glutinous matter in the flax. When the alkaline solution has been
introduced into the tank the temperature should be gradually raised to
the boiling point. The flax should be boiled for three or four hours,
after which the alkaline solution should be withdrawn and water let into
the tank to wash the flax thoroughly, after which it may be steeped in
a hot weak solution of soda or its carbonate or a cold solution of common
salt, or chloride of calcium, or muriatic acid, or any two or three of the
last-mentioned ingredients may be used together in the same solution.
The use of these last-mentioned ingredients is not absolutely necessary
to the successful disintegration of the fibre, but more delicate results
and easier bleaching can usually be obtained by it. After washing from
the above solutions the flax is ready for bleaching. To any given
quantity of chloride of lime may be added an equal or less quantity of
lime (which has been previously neutralized with muriatic acid to change
it to chloride of calcium). Water can be added to this mixture to obtain
any desired degree of strength, and the length of time required in
bleaching will depend on the strength and temperature of the solution.
The addition of chloride of calcium or other metallic chlorides changes
the chloride of lime solution from an alkaline to a neutral or acid character,
and aids in dissolving the alkaloid portion of the gluten among the fibres
not soluble in alkalies.
Another mode of bleaching, whether the above solution or ordinary
chloride of lime is used, is to immerse the flax in the solution and then
withdraw the solution and expose the flax to atmospheric air. To

page_text: from the opening in the centre thereof. This can be done by means of a
fan blower or air pump and connections, which may be readily constructed
by mechanics. I believe that the oxygen of the atmosphere in the
presence of chlorine takes the active form of ozone and attacks the carbon
of the gluten. Disintegration is more easily effected in this manner
than by chloride alone. After bleaching the flax should be washed
clean of the solution, and can then be treated with good effect by soda
or lime, or the chlorides of sodium or calcium either separately or
combined. The solution can be used hot or cold, but the hot solution
produces the best effect. The use of alkali after the bleaching is not
necessary, but renders the subsequent treatment easier. The flax after
being washed should receive a weak bath of muriatic acid or sulphuric
acid with a portion of cider or malt solution added diluted with water
to remove all the alkali that may remain in the flax, and should then be
treated with a weak solution of urine in water to remove all the chloride
that may be present in it, and to soften the fibre. The flax should next
be treated to a weak boiling solution of soap; then rinsed, and again
treated to a weak solution of urine heated to 120° or 130°, again washed
and exposed to the air for a short time, and then treated to a weak
solution of cider diluted with water, after which it is ready to dry without
washing out the cider solution. Warm air from 90° to 110° forced
through the flax in the cylinder aids both in drying it and in its dis-
integration. Vinegar, beer, malt, or other ferment, or any other product
of fermentation can be substituted for cider with good effect, or cider can
be used instead of urine with similar results.
Having now fully described the said Invention, what I claim as new
and desire to secure by Letters Patent in the treatment of flax to
remove the gelatinous matter enveloping the original or cell fibres is
as follows:-
1. Treating by the aid of the endless double network arranged re-
latively to the rollers G and H and to the tank, substantially as and for
the purposc herein specified.
2. In connection with the above subjecting it to the action of the
pressure roller J arranged as represented.
3. The alternate application of warm and cold water, substantially in
the manner and for the purpose herein described.
4. The treatment in the soluble protein solution obtained from ground
beans or other equivalent, substantially as specified.

page_text: 5. The treatment with the chloride of sodium or its equivalent after
the treatment with the alkali before the bleaching, substantially as
herein specified.
6. The employment of metallic chlorides in the bleaching bath,
substantially as and for the purpose herein specified.
7. Blowing atmospheric air through the interstices after the material
to be bleached has been immersed in a solution containing chloride of
lime whether this solution is prepared in the ordinary manner or as
above described.
8. The use of alkaline solutions after bleaching, substantially as and
for the purpose herein specified.
9. Treating the flax with a solution of muriate or sulphuric acid
in connection or combination with a cider, malt, or other ferment
solution.
10. The alternate treatment of the fax with the bleaching and acid
solution until it is sufficiently bleached.
11. The treatment with urine in connection with the treatment with
soap, substantially and as for the purpose herein specified.
12. The treatment with cider or equivalent vegetable acid solution
at the termination of the process.
13. The use of atmospheric air forced through the flax in connection
with an alkaline solution saturating the flax as a bleaching and disinte-
grating agent, substantially as herein specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Thomas Hughes, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of January,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
nine.
E. T. HUGHES. (L.S.)