Improvements in the Cultivation of Plants to Adapt them for Use as Food for Cattle and other Animals.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Nov., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 3rd July, 1894-Accepted, 4th Aug.. 1894
Improvements in the Cultivation of Plants to Adapt them for Use
as Food for Cattle and other Animals.
A communication by FRANZ MAYERHOFER, of 13, Prannerstrasse, Munich, in
the Empire of Germany, Merchant.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, F.C.S., M.I.M.E. of The Agency for
Foreign Patent Solicitors, 6 Lord Street, Liverpool, and 6 Bank Street,
Manchester, both in the County of Lancaster and 323 High Holborn in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
:-
Many plants which are rich in nitrogen cannot be employed for cattle foods
because they contain deleterious, so called bitter alkaloids, such as cytisine,
cathartine, gentianine, and the like.
In order to allow of the plants being used for cattle food, these alkaloids must be
removed therefrom.
This is done by means of the following process, and, in order to explain it more
clearly, the lathyrus silvestris (wood vetch) of the family of leguminosa, a plant
which, in its wild state, is rich in alkaloids and nitrogen, is taken as a sample for
treatment. The young plants obtained by sowing the seeds of the wild plants,
with or without the use of chemical manures, are transplanted every year over a
period of 10 to 15 years. The ground employed may be any suitable cultivated
ground, but must in this case for the lathyrus plants be light, sandy, or stony. It
is preferable to enrich the same by the application of a chemical manure in order
to produce a rapid growth. In transplanting the sets, care must be taken that the
ground be cultivated to a suitable depth (about metre or more for the lathyrus
silvestris) but in such a way that no crude subsoil is brought to the surface in the
clods. Further, the composition of the soil must be altered from time to time; it
is, therefore, preferable to manure it every two years alternately with ground slag
from the Thomas process and kainit, and wood ashes. This alteration has for its
object to reduce the vital energy of the plants, by which means a diminution of
the alkaloids takes place, as well as by the following operations hereinafter
described.
When lifting and transplanting the lathyrus silvestris, the roots of the plants
nust be set back to about 10 or 12 metre, as the improvement of the plants is
easier to bring about when the growth is impeded.
In order to support and considerably accelerate this, artificial growths are
caused by the following process:-
By means of suitable instruments, the upper skin of the roots is scratched, so
that thin, parallel incisions result, which run from the top downwards. The
scratching must be done in such a way that, between the separate incisions,
there remain uninjured strips of skin. Finally, the roots (which, in lathyrus
silvestris, are about 5 millimetres in thickness) must also be divided, and this
must be done so as not to entirely separate them, but so that the point of the
roots remains intact. A slot only, must therefore be formed in the roots. Sinall
stones are inserted in these slots so as to keep them open, which stones become
gradually embedded and enclosed by the substance of the root.
By the constant transplanting of the lathyrus plants and the artificial production
of growths in the same, the following effect is obtained :-
The former spindle-shaped root becomes fascicular. Instead of
a smooth
pindle, the division of the neck of the root shows itself in several main roots,

page_text: which latter branch off into numerous smaller roots. The bine becomes thicker
and softer, and the amount of rough woody fibre contained in it is reduced. The
number of leaves is larger, the colour is darker, and the nutritive value is increased,
and, which is of the greatest importance, the bitter alkaloids disappear.
The amount of albumen contained is raised from 18 per cent. in the wild lathyrus
plants to from 30 to 33 per cent. in those which have been improved in this manner,
and the fat, from 1.5 per cent. to 5-8 per cent.
If, during the process of improving, the plants seem to be checked in their growth,
a stronger growth will take place later, owing to the numerous, fascicular roots,
and thus the object sought for is fully obtained.
The process such as hereinbefore described for the lathyrus plants may also be
employed in a similar manner for other plants which contain alkaloids, from
which plants, equally with lathyrus silvestris, the deleterious alkaloids are removed,
and the amount of proteine contained is increased.
Dated this 16th day of November 1893.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in the Cultivation of Plants to Adapt them for Use
as Food for Cattle and other Animals.
A communication by FRANZ MAYERHOFER, of 13, Prannerstrasse, Munich, in
the Empire of Germany, Merchant.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, F.C.S., M.I.M.E., of The Agency for
Foreign Patent Solicitors, 6, Lord Street, Liverpool and 6 Bank Street,
Manchester both in the County of Lancaster and 323 High Holborn in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
Many plants which are rich in nitrogen cannot be employed for cattle foods
because they contain deleterious, so called bitter alkaloids, such as cytisine,
cathartine, gentianine and the like.
In order to allow of the plants being used for cattle food, these alkaloids must
be removed therefrom.
This is done by means of the following process, and, in order to explain it
more clearly, the lathyrus silvestris (wood vetch) of the family of leguminosæ, a
plant which, in its wild state, is rich in alkaloids and nitrogen, is taken as a sample
for treatment. The young plants obtained by sowing the seeds of the wild plants,
with or without the use of chemical manures, are transplanted every year over a
period of 10 to 15 years. The ground employed may be any suitable cultivated
ground, but must in this case for the lathyrus plants be light, sandy or stony. It is
preferable to enrich the same by the application of a chemical manure in order to
produce a rapid growth.. In transplanting the sets, care must be taken that the
ground be cultivated to a suitable depth (about metre or more for the lathyrus
silvestris) but in such a way that no crude subsoil is brought to the surface in the
clode. Further, the composition of the soil must be altered from time to time; it
is, therefore, preferable to manure it every two years alternately with ground slag
from the Thomas process and kainit, and wood ashes. This alteration has for its
object to reduce the vital energy of the plants, by which means a diminution of
the alkaloids takes place, as well as by the following operations hereinafter
described.
When lifting and transplanting the lathyrus silvestris, the roots of the plants
must be set back to about 10 or 12 metre, as the improvement of the plants
easier to bring about when the growth is impeded.
=

page_text: In order to support and considerably accelerate this, artificial growths are caused
by the following process:-
By means of suitable instruments, the upper skin of the roots is scratched, so-
that thin, parallel incisions result, which run from the top downwards. The
scratching must be done in such a way that, between the separate incisions, there
remain uninjured strips of skin. Finally, the roots (which, in lathyrus silvestris,.
are about 5 millimetres in thickness) must also be divided, and this must be done
so as not to entirely separate them, but so that the point of the roots remains
intact. A slot only must therefore be formed in the roots. Small stones are
inserted in these slots so as to keep them open, which stones become gradually
embedded and enclosed by the substance of the root.
By the constant transplanting of the lathyrus plants and the artificial production
of growths in the same, the following effect is obtained :-
The former spindle-shaped root becomes fascicular. Instead of a smooth spindle,.
the division of the neck of the root shows itself in several main roots, which latter
branch off into numerous smaller roots. The bine becomes thicker and softer, and
the amount of rough woody fibre contained in it is reduced. The number of leaves
is larger, the colour is darker, and the nutritive value is increased, and, which is of
the greatest importance, the bitter alkaloids disappear.
The amount of albumen contained is raised from 18 per cent. in the wild
lathyrus plants to from 30 to 33 per cent. in those which have been improved in this.
manner, and the fat, from 1.5
cent. to 5'8 per cent.
per
If, during the process of improving, the plants seem to be checked in their
growth, a stronger growth will take place later, owing to the numerous, fascicular
roots, and thus the object sought for is fully obtained.
The process such as herein before described for the lathyrus plants may also be
employed in a similar manner for other plants which contain alkaloids, from which
plants, equally with lathyrus silvestris, the deleterious alkaloids are removed, and
the amount of proteine contained is considerably increased.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is :-
A process for removing the deleterious alkaloids from plants of all kinds whilst
increasing the amount of proteine contained, consisting firstly in transplanting
periodically in suitable ground over a considerable period of time seedlings of such
plants, and secondly in producing artificial growths in the roots by cropping or
shortening the same before the setting of the plants, and by scratching and
partially slitting the outer skin of the roots at short intervals thus producing roots
with numerous branches, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
Dated thio
dox of
1804
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Agents.