IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF NETS AND NETTING
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields,
in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF NETS AND NETTING."-A communication
from abroad by Benjamin Arnold, of East Greenwich, Rhode Island,
and William John Hooper, of Woodberry, Cica, County of Baltimore,
State of Maryland, both in the United States of America.
Sealed the 21st January 1868, and dated the 23rd July 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
23rd July 1867.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF NETS AND NETTING," a communication
to me from abroad by Benjamin Arnold, of East Greenwich, Rhode Island,
and William John Hooper, of Woodberry, Cica, County of Baltimore, State of
Maryland, both in the United States of America, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to improvements in the manufacture of nets and
netting for fishing and other purposes, whereby greater strength and durability
are obtained than heretofore, whilst saving of time and cheapness in the
manufacture are effected.
According to this Invention it is proposed to use the twine of which the
nets are to be made direct from the 'spool on which it is wound when manu-

page_text: factured in lieu of using it in shuttles, as is usually the case, and also to
dispense with the process usually adopted of doubling and twisting.
In forming the net according to one arrangement the twines of which it is
composed are placed in proper position to be united, every alternate twine
being three times the thickness of the others; thus if the larger twine be
composed of three strands the smaller one will be comprised in one strand; if
the larger one be composed of six strands the smaller one will be composed of
two, and so on, but I do not confine myself to this proportion, as any other
proportions may be employed. A "half hitch" or twist is formed in one of
the larger twines and passed over a "bight" or loop formed in the same
twine; through this bight or loop a loop of the smaller twine next to it is
passed by means of a hook, and this loop is also passed through another loop
formed in the same twine; the "bight" or loop in the larger twine is now
drawn back through the "half hitch" or twist, bringing with it the loop and
strand of the smaller twine, and thus completing the fastening, leaving the
loop and strand of the smaller twine in position for forming the next knot or
fastening. Before drawing the loop of the smaller twine through the bight or
loop in the larger twine it may be twisted with the twine of which it is formed
in order to increase its strength and improve the appearance of the net when
completed. In order to complete the net is simply necessary to repeat the
operation above described with the rest of the twines, and at suitable intervals
or distances apart according to the size of mesh required.
"
According to another arrangement the net is formed of uniform sized twine,
or twist is formed
and is produced in the following manner :-A "half hitch
in the twine, and a "bight" or loop of the same is passed through such bight
in the same way as described in reference to the first arrangement; through
this loop or bight a hooked instrument is passed, which hook is made to take
hold of the twine and draw a loop of the same through the bight or loop and
through another loop formed in the twine sufficiently far to form the required
mesh, the fastening being effected by drawing the "bight" or loop back
through the half hitch, as described with reference to the first arrangement.
The same operation is repeated from side to side of the netting as often as
required according to the length of net to be produced. The second and
succeeding rows of meshes being formed in the same way as the first, the
"half hitch" or twist being formed about midway between the fastenings of
the preceeding row of meshes. In lieu of only one hook several may be
employed, in which case the knots or fastenings will be formed between the
last row of fastenings and the hooks in lieu of in the mesh loops, as in the
last-described arrangement, and the operations will be performed in one

page_text: direction only in lieu of backwards and forwards from side to side, as in the
last arrangement.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
21st January 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman, 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-seven, in the thirty-first year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said John Henry Johnson, Her special license that I, the said John Henry
Johnson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said John Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, or 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF NETS AND NETTING," a communication to me
from abroad by Benjamin Arnold, of East Greenwich, Rhode Island, and
William John Hooper, of Woodberry, Cica, Baltimore, State of Maryland,
United States of America, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said John Henry Johnson, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, 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 Henry Johnson, 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, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
This Invention relates to an improved manufacture of nets and netting for
fishing and other purposes, whereby greater strength and durability are

page_text: obtained, combined with economy of time in manufacture and greater cheap-
ness of production.
The essential feature of this Invention consists in using one half of the
twines or cords, or every alternate one of the full size that that would be used
if the netting were made in the usual way, whilst the other half or the rest of
the twines consist of a single strand of the full-sized twines when that twine
bas three strands, and two strands when the full-sized twine has six strands,
and so on, that proportion giving an equality in strength and proper appear-
ance to the netting, but other proportions may be used.
The full-sized twines a, a, shown in the accompanying Drawing and the
strands or small twines are placed alternately in position, and are knotted
together right and left, that is to say, every full-sized twine is knotted and
looped to the strand at the right of it, and then the same twines are knotted
and looped to the strands to the left hand of them, so as to form a net (see
Figure 1), where full-sized twines are represented in black, and the strands
in red. Figures 2 and 3 show how a loop is formed in the full-sized twine to
loop the strand through; Figures 4, 5, 6, 7, represent the knot in different
stages of its formation, and Figure 8 shows the knot when finished,
Figure 2 shows a half hitch a, so called, prepared to put over the
bight in the same twine as seen in Figure 3. In Figure 4 this loop is
shown in black lines, and also a loop c and strand a in red lines, prepared to
be looped through the bight b. Figure 5 shows how the strand a is drawn
first through the bight 6 and then through the loop c, as seen in Figure 6.
Previous to drawing the strand a through the bight and loop a twist may be
thrown in, twisting the loop c and the strand a together, as seen in Figures
5, 6, 7, & 8. This twisting is not a necessity in making the netting, as it
can be made without it, but as it improves the appearance and strength of the
netting I prefer to introduce it; it can be done by twisting the loop c round
the strand a by means of the hook that holds it. Figure 7 shows the looped
strand ready for the tightening up of the knot by drawing the two ends z
and of the black twine, which pulls the bight 6 out of the half hitch a,
and draws through in place thereof in an opposite direction the looped ends of
the strand twine g, see Figure 8, forming apparently a knot called "fisherman's
knot" or "weaver's knot," but which cannot be so readily "upset" or
slipped" owing to its looped formation. It will be seen by reference to
Figure 8 that the loop c and strand a of the red twine are left in proper shape
to proceed to make the next knot, in doing which it would pass through the
same operation as that just described with its left-hand black twine.
loops made in the full-sized twine may be formed in various ways, but the one
The

page_text: here described is considered the best, and, as before stated, the size of the
small twine or strand may be varied, but one-third in size of the full-sized
twine is preferred.
Having described the means of using together the large and small twine or
strand, the other part of the improvement, namely, using the small twine or
strand alone in making nets and netting, may be described as follows:-
Figure 9 represents a piece of netting showing the manner in which the
netting operation proceeds from loop to loop; Figure 10 shows how a part of
the knot is made with the loop of the last row of meshes, a half turn having
been made in it. In Figure 11 the lower part of the half turn a is laid upon
one of the arms s of the mesh loop, and in Figure 12 the same arm is brought
through the half turn, making, as in Figure 4, a bight of twine projecting
through a half hitch, so called, and is ready for the passage of the hook o
upon which the loop of the fresh twine (strand) is held. In Figure 13 the
hook o having passed through the free strand c is caught by it and is drawn
(see Figure 14) back through both the mesh loop and strand loop until
enough of the strand is drawn through the loop to form the next mesh.
Figure 15 shows the loops all ready to be drawn up into a knot, which is
done by tightening the mesh twine and drawing the bight out of the half
hitch, which, as before stated, draws the small twine through the same and
secures it (see Figure 16). The same process is gone through with the next
loop back and forward across the side or end of the piece of netting until it
has attained the required dimensions.
Figure 17 shows a variation in the work where a number of twines or
strands and hooks are used at the same time, and the knot loops are made in
the twine between the last row of the knots and the hooks instead of in the
mesh loop. Figure 18 shows a half turn taken in the twine through which
an arm of the same is drawn, as in Figure 12. Figure 19 shows the hooks o, o,
with the loops 2, 2, of the strand twine on them passed through the loops d, d, to
catch and draw through the free strand twines. In Figure 20 the strands are
drawn through, and in Figure 21 the knots or loops or loops are shown ready to
be drawn up as before (see Figure 16), which finishes the knots, and the twines
and hooks, as in Figure 17, are ready to go through the same operation with
the twines next to them always in one direction, instead of backwards and
forwards, as in Figure 9, as before mentioned, the strands and loops on the
hooks may be twisted together between the knots or not, as may be preferred,
and the manner of making the loops in the twine may be varied without
materially changing the principle upon which the knot constructed.
Some of the advantages of making nets and netting in this way are, that it

page_text: can be made faster, as the twine can be used from the large spools upon
which it is made, and the great loss of time usually taken to fill shuttles is
avoided; it can also be made cheaper, as the process of doubling and twisting
the twine previously is dispensed with (partly in the first mode described, and
wholly in the two last), and the knot is not liable to slip.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel and
original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
First, making nets or netting of a full-sized twine in connection with the
small twine or strands, substantially as herein-before described.
Second, twisting a part of the twine whilst in process of netting, as set
forth.
Third, making nets and netting wholly of small-sized twine or strands,
substantially as specified.
Fourth, twisting the whole of the twine whilst in process of netting, as
described.
Fifth, making nets and netting with a looped knot, substantially of the con-
struction herein set forth.
Sixth, as a new article of manufacture, nets and netting made substantially
by any of the herein-before described modes.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have this my
Specification set my hand and seal, this 21st day of January, One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
TRADY