NOVEL APPLICATION OF THE STEM OR STALK OF THE TOBACCO LEAP FOR VARIOUS USEFUL PURPOSES
Year: 1854

page_text: NOVEL APPLICATION OF THE STEM OR STALK OF THE TOBACCO LEAP FOR VARIOUS
USEFUL PURPOSES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Adcock at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 4th November
1854.
I, JOHN ADCOCK, of Marlborough Road, Dalston, in the County of Middle-
sex, Cigar Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "THE NOVEL APPLICATION OF THE STEM OR STALK OF THE TOBACCO LEAP POR
VARIOUS USEFUL PURPOSES" to be as follows:-
The stalk or stem of the tobacco leaf cannot, or at any rate has not, hitherto
been used for the purpose of smoking, but after being removed from the leaf
is usually sold by the cigar or tobacco manufacturer at a very reduced price
for the manufacture of snuff. As the stalk or stem forms a considerable por-
tion of the gross weight of the leaf, it follows that the sale of it at a greatly
reduced price involves a considerable loss to the tobacco manufacturer.

page_text: The object of the present Invention is to utilize the stalk or stem for the
manufacture of cigars or tobacco, and thus effect a considerable saving. To
effect this object, I propose to take the stalk or stem of the plant in the
state it is in when stripped from the leaf, and then manufacture the same
into a fabric or material somewhat resembling paper.
The ordinary process of manufacturing paper is the process I should pro-
pose to employ. The stalks must first be reduced to pulp in the ordinary
manner, then made into paper, or à fabric resembling paper, and when dry
and firm, this material may be used, 1st, for the wrapper or envelope of
cigars or cheroots, in place of the leaf tobacco, usually employed for the
purpose; 2nd, the cuttings and small pieces of this material may be used as
a "filler," instead of leaf tobacco, which would be much more expensive; 3rd,
the material or fabric, when made of the stalks or stems of tobacco, as above
mentioned, may be cut or shredded up into thin filaments, so as to resemble
ordinary manufactured tobacco, and in this state may either be smoked in
pipes or made up into cigars or cheroots.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Adcock in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
4th May 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
ADCOCK, of Marlborough Road, Dalston, in the. County of Middlesex, Cigar
Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of November, in the year of our Lord
-One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the eighteenth year of Her
reigu, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said John Adcock, Her special license that I, the said John Adcock, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
'Adcock, 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 "THE NOVEL APPLICATION OF THE
STEM OR STALK OF THE TOBACCO LEAP FOR VARIOUS USEFUL PURPOSES," upon the

page_text: condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Adcock, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and scal, 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 John Adcock, 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):-
The stalk or stem of the tobacco leaf cannot, or at any rate has not, hitherto
been used for the purpose of smoking, but after being removed from the leaf
is usually sold by the cigar or tobacco manufacturer at a very reduced price
for the manufacture of snuff. As the stalk or stem forms a considerable
portion of the gross weight of the leaf, it follows that the sale of it at a
greatly reduced price involves a considerable loss to the tobacco manufacturer.
The object of the present Invention is to make more profitable use of the
stalk than has hitherto been the case. To effect this object, I propose to
employ the stalk or stem (when properly prepared) for the manufacture of
cigars or tobacco, and thus effect a considerable saving. The stalk or stem
of the plant must be first stripped from the leaf, and then reduced to a state of
pulp, and then manufactured into a fabric or material something resembling
paper.
The ordinary process of manufacturing paper is the process I propose to
employ, and this process being well known, it will not be necessary to give a
detailed description thereof; I will therefore simply say that the stalks must
first be reduced to pulp in the ordinary manner, then made into paper, or a
fabric resembling paper; and when dry and firm, this material may be used,
first, for the wrapper or envelope of cigars or cheroots, in place of the leaf
tobacco, usually employed for the purpose; second, the cuttings and small
pieces of this material may be used as a "filler," instead of leaf tobacco,
which would be much more expensive; third, the material or fabric, when
made of the stalks or stems of tobacco, as above mentioned, may be cut up
or shredded into thin filaments, so as to resemble ordinary manufactured
tobacco, and in this state may either be smoked in pipes or made up into
cigars or cheroots.
Having now described my Invention, and the means of carrying the same
into effect, I claim converting or manufacturing the stalks or stems of the

page_text: tobacco plant into a tissue or fabric, and applying the same to the purposes for
which ordinary leaf tobacco has hitherto been employed, as above set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Adcock, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Fourth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
JOHN ADCOCK. (L.S.)