IMPROVEMENTS IN COM- BINING GUTTA PERCHA WITH CERTAIN MATERIALS, AND IN THE APPLICATION THEREOF TO WATERPROOFING FABRICS, AND IN THE MOULDING VARIOUS ARTICLES THEREPROM, IN FINISHING THE SURFACE OF ARTICLES MADE FROM GUTTA PERCHA OR GUTTA
Year: 1847

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
FORSTER, of Streatham, in the County of Surrey, Manufacturer, 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 Twenty-first day of
October, One thousand eight hundred and forty-seven, in the eleventh year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Thomas Forster, my exors, admors, and assigns, Her especial licence,
full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Thomas Forster, my
exors, adiñors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas Forster, my
exors, admors, 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, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN COM-
BINING GUTTA PERCHA WITH CERTAIN MATERIALS, AND IN THE APPLICATION THEREOF
TO WATERPROOFING FABRICS, AND IN THE MOULDING VARIOUS ARTICLES THEREPROM,
IN FINISHING THE SURFACE OF ARTICLES MADE FROM GUTTA PERCHA OR GUTTA

page_text: PERCHA COMBINED WITH OTHER MATERIALS, AND IN CLEANSING GUTTA PERCHA;" in
which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said Thomas
Forster, should cause a particular description of the nature of my said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, to be inrolled in Her 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
Thomas Forster, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to
the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon,
that is to say:-
My improvements consist in combining gutta percha with animal charcoal,
hydrate (milk) of sulphur, ground whalebone, fragrant essential oils, musk,
tonquin beans, orris root, or gum benzoin, and in applying all or either of the
above alone or in combination with caoutchouc or other matters to fabrics
or leather for clothing, and to fabrics for railway carriages, cart and rick
covers, wrappers for goods, &c., and bands and cords for driving machinery,
and other uses. The gutta percha is first cleansed according to the plan
herein-after described; it is then put into a hot masticating pan, such as is
described in a Patent granted to me on the sixth day of March, One thousand
eight hundred and forty-four, the proportions of gutta percha being four parts,
and animal charcoal one part, or gutta percha four parts, india rubber two
parts, and animal charcoal two parts; the latter should be of the finest
description and carefully sieved through a very fine sieve; when these matters
are thoroughly combined a portion of any solvent is to be added (by preference
oil of coal) in such proportions is are needful for the particular fabric to be
coated. I find equal weights of each to be good proportions. They may be
combined in the same machine, or any of them used for combining caoutchouc
with solvents, with this exception, that all the vessels used must be heated
with steam or hot water, by preference steam in external jackets. When the
gutta percha and solvents are well combined and are in a fit state to be spread
upon the fabrics, I add, if required, orris root or other perfumes in such pro-
portions as are necessary to give the goods the desired scent, but if caoutchouc
is a component part of the compound it is best to use orris root, tonquin
beans, musk, or gum benzoin only, as the fragrant essential oils are apt to act
injuriously upon the rubber in the course of time. If I require an article of a

page_text: lighter color, I work as before fifteen parts of gutta percha, and add to it any
desired quantity of solvents, and when well incorporated I add six parts of
hydrate of sulphur previously rubbed through a fine sieve. It is essential
that the hydrate should be pure, the impure containing a large .quantity of
lime, being precipitated by sulphuric acid instead of muriatic acid, as I find
the more pure it is the more powerful is its coloring properties. I then add
any of the fragrant essential oils in sufficient proportion to produce the required
scent, or I add the solid fragrant materials before named, all being reduced
first to fine powder, and in all cases they should be added just previously to
using the composition. Any portion of caoutchouc may be added to the above
fifteen parts of gutta percha, but there must not be less than six parts of the
hydrate to each fifteen parts of the gum to have a good color.
For coarse
goods, such as carriage covers, &c., I take gutta percha four parts, ground
whalebone and hydrate of sulphur each one part, and one sixteenth part of
any mineral preservative of vegetable matter, by preference arsenic, and work
the whole in a masticating pan, and afterwards spread it upon the fabrics with
or without a solvent. If the fabrics are required to be of any particular color
I add to any of the above compositions the color necessary to produce it. It
is most convenient in coating thin fabrics, first to coat them with a solution
of india rubber by any of the usual modes, giving them two or more coats, and
when dry applying the gutta percha; this plan prevents the latter staining
the surface. In coating bands or cords :-If a band I take a woven one of
cotton, flax, or other fibrous materials, by preference flax, and saturate it with
a solution of any of the before-named compositions or gutta percha, in the
proportions of three parts solvent to one part of the gums, and when
thoroughly dry I pass them through a pair of rollers heated by steam to
compress them together; I afterwards coat them with any of the above
compositions without a solvent by passing them through a pair of rollers
grooved to the width of the band, as Figures 1 and 2, or if flat by
passing them through a pair of plain rollers and cutting off the superfluous
When the fabrics are to be combined or for moulding, I coat them
with a compound of gutta percha three parts, animal charcoal one part,
and one-sixteenth part of white arsenic, or other mineral preservatives of
vegetable matters, and a solvent, as before, if necessary; or I use gutta percha
four parts, Cornish white one part, and hydrate of sulphur one part; the whole
combined, as before, in a masticating pan; after which is to be added the
solvent;
with these compositions I coat woven or felted fabrics, paper, and
leather, or veneers of common wood as scale board, and afterwards combine
gum.

page_text: several of them together, according to the thickness required; and when
combined I heat them and bend or press them upon blocks into several useful
articles, as portmanteaus, boxes, trays, cornices, frames, buttons, toys, and
boards for book covers. For such articles as are required to be embossed, I
put a thick coating of the composition outside in proportion to the impress
required upon it; and I make the single fabric hot, and form it to the mould,
either by pressing into or upon it, first laying on one coat and then another,
until the article is as thick as required. The articles I thus form are masks,
lay figures, tea and other trays, inkstands, leaves of flowers, pill and other
boxes, and such articles as are usually made of papier mache, toys, &c. and
buckets, hats, caps, &c. In forming such articles as are required to stand
wet, as buttons, tea trays, military ornaments, &c., I first saturate the fabrics
with any water-repellant matter, by preference boiled linseed oil, and dry
them thoroughly in a stove, and then coat them with the composition of gutta
percha, and proceed as before described. In making panels for carriages,
doors, boxes, &c., I use slivers of wood, deal, as the cheapest, and coat them
with any of these compositions of gutta percha, using one part of them to two
parts solvent. When the solvent has thoroughly dried, take pieces of the
required size and heat them, and lay one upon the other, taking care to
reverse the grain of the wood by laying the straightway of the one the cross-
way of the other, and if they are required to be very tough, I lay also a coarse
canvas at back; or I use alternate layers of fabrics of wood, and then press
the whole while hot, and keep the pressure upon them until cold. The com-
positions I prefer for moulding without fabrics are, gutta percha four parts,
bone charcoal two parts, and one-sixteenth part of white arsenic, or gutta
percha four parts, ground whalebone or the rasping of horns and hoofs (from
button makers' waste) two parts. If I require a hard composition of a light
color, I use gutta percha three parts, ivory or bone dust one part, and Cornish
clay a half part. A large quantity of animal charcoal or bone dust will make
these compositions much harder at the expence of their toughness. In
moulding from moulds that are very deep, I use cores of wood roughly
shaped to the deep portions of the mould, first coating them with any of these
compositions, videlicet, one part of them to two parts solvent, drying them
in a temperature of ninety degrees, and then covering them with any of the
compositions without solvents, and pressing them into moulds until cold; the
object being to make the gutta percha available for the figure and minutiae of
the work, while the bulk being wood it will be lighter and much cheaper,
which is essential, the juice being high and still increasing. I also roll, mould,

page_text: or press either of the above compositions into sheets or bands, with the addi-
tion of colors or perfumes or both. The articles I make from these
solid compositions, videlicet, without fabrics, are carriage and other wheels,
ornamental leaves and scrolls for furniture, military and other ornaments, for
harness, trays, frames, cornices, leaves, and flowers. When the articles are to
be painted with light grounds, the composition containing the hydrate of
sulphur should not be used, or such colors employed as are not likely to be
acted upon by it. The quantity of perfumes to be used in any of these com-
positions must depend upon the purity of the material used for that purpose.
I find, however, that of orris root half a pound to every five pounds of the
composition is necessary; of benzoin, two ounces to every five pounds; of the
essential oils, half an ounce to five pounds is about the proportion. My
improvements in finishing the surfaces of fabrics or leather prepared with
gutta percha or its combinations is, by coating them with transparent colors,
made by combining with any oil varnish, or with a fixed drying oil, such
transparent colors. My mode of doing this is as follows:-Suppose the fabric
is coated with gutta percha and animal charcoal, or lamp black, the color
would be a dull black. To improve upon this plan I take 10 lbs. of linseed
oil and twenty ounces of Prussian blue, grind it and mix, then boil the whole
gently until it is as thick as treacle, which is readily seen by trying a drop on
a bit of glass, which will speedily cool and shew its consistence. When cold
it will be found to be a brown transparent varnish. Apply a thin coat to the
surface of the cloth; it will be dry in a few hours, and in drying will absorb
oxygen and become blue, thus giving the cloth the fine color of black ena-
melled leather. If other colors are required, say red, the fabric should be
coated with gutta percha and vermillion. Take one pound of any oil varnish
or pale linseed, nut, or poppy oils, previously made drying by any of the ordi-
nary methods, and three ounces of crimson lake, well grind them together
and coat the fabric with a thin layer of it. If the fabric has been embossed
or corked to imitate Morocco leather they will not be bad imitations of the
article. Of course any color made be made upon this plan, suitable glazing
colors being chosen, and such may be obtained from any artist's colorman.
To cleanse gutta percha according to my improvements, I first cut up the
blocks into small pieces with a knife worked by an eccentric motion, as shewn
in Figures 3, 3*, or it might be otherwise worked. These pieces I then pass
cold through a pair of crushing rollers; they are then well washed in water at
eighty degrees, not warmer, and then put while wet into a cold masticating
pan, as Figure 4, the same being similar to one described in the Patent
granted to me on the Sixth of March, One thousand eight hundred and forty-

page_text: four, with the addition of the openings at the bottom. As the rollers revolve
the gutta percha is completely broken into fragments; if it is inferior, almost
to powder, if good it will be broken into small fibrous pieces which will fall
through the openings into a receiver; these fragments are well washed in cold
water in a tank having a sieve of wire with about thirty-six meshes to the
square inch; the sand and wood will fall through this to the bottom of the
vessel and leave the gutta percha at the top; this is to be collected and
drained and then put again into the masticator, the openings at bottom being
closed with plugs, and steam turned into the jacket. As soon as the heat and
motion has got the straps together it is to be taken out of the vessel and put
into one like Figure 5, which is full of water to the line, and kept hot by the
steam pipe b; it is then well worked, the surface water being floated off if
necessary once or twice during the operation through the cock (c), and when
necessary the tank may be emptied by this cock, and also the cover of the
opening (a) may be removed to take away the sand and any foreign matter
that will have fallen through the opening, and when the gum is thoroughly
cleansed it may be finished in a hot and dry masticator. I find this machine
answer well also for cleansing india rubber.
I claim for combining gutta percha with animal charcoal, ground whale-
bone, hydrate of sulphur, fragrant essential oils, musk, tonquin beans, orris
root, or gum benzoin, and for applying them alone or in combination with
caoutchouc or other matters to fabrics.
.
I claim for combining gutta percha with ground bones, horns, hoofs, whale-
bone, or shavings of these matters, or animal charcoal, hydrate of sulphur, with
or without perfumes or coloring matter, and applying the same alone or in
conjunction with fabrics, or veneers of wood, to the manufacture of various
articles.
I claim the uniting with gutta percha fabrics previously rendered repellants
of water by any of the usual methods.
I claim for the use of cones of wood as herein described.
I claim for finishing the surfaces of fabrics coated with gutta percha as
herein described.
I claim for cleansing gutta percha as herein described, and for the machinery
applicable thereto.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Forster, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-eight.
THOMAS (L.S.) FORSTER.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Nineteenth day of April, in the
year of our Lord 1848, the aforesaid Thomas Forster came before our said
Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification afore-
said, 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.

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
FORSTER, of Streatham, in the County of Surrey, Manufacturer, 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 Twenty-first day of
October, One thousand eight hundred and forty-seven, in the eleventh year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Thomas Forster, my exors, admors, and assigns, Her especial licence,
full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Thomas Forster, my
exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas Forster, my
exors, admors, 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, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN COM-
BINING GUTTA PERCHA WITH CERTAIN MATERIALS, AND IN THE APPLICATION THEREOF
TO WATERPROOFING FABRICS, AND IN THE MOULDING VARIOUS ARTICLES THEREFROM,
IN FINISHING THE SURFACE OF ARTICLES MADE FROM GUTTA PERCHA OR GUTTA

page_text: PERCHA COMBINED WITH OTHER MATERIALS, AND IN CLEANSING GUTTA PERCHA;" in
which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said Thomas
Forster, should cause a particular description of the nature of my said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, to be inrolled in Her 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
Thomas Forster, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to
the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon,
that is to say:-
My improvements consist in combining gutta percha with animal charcoal,
hydrate (milk) of sulphur, ground whalebone, fragrant essential oils, musk,
tonquin beans, orris root, or gum benzoin, and in applying all or either of the
above alone or in combination with caoutchouc or other matters to fabrics
or leather for clothing, and to fabrics for railway carriages, cart and rick
covers, wrappers for goods, &c., and bands and cords for driving machinery,
and other uses. The gutta percha is first cleansed according to the plan
herein-after described; it is then put into a hot masticating pan, such as is
described in a Patent granted to me on the sixth day of March, One thousand
eight hundred and forty-four, the proportions of gutta percha being four parts,
and animal charcoal one part, or gutta percha four parts, india rubber two
parts, and animal charcoal two parts; the latter should be of the finest
description and carefully sieved through a very fine sieve; when these matters
are thoroughly combined a portion of any solvent is to be added (by preference
oil of coal) in such proportions is are needful for the particular fabric to be
coated. I find equal weights of each to be good proportions. They may be
combined in the same machine, or any of them used for combining caoutchouc
with solvents, with this exception, that all the vessels used must be heated
with steam or hot water, by preference steam in external jackets. When the
gutta percha and solvents are well combined and are in a fit state to be spread
upon the fabrics, I add, if required, orris root or other perfumes in such pro-
portions as are necessary to give the goods the desired scent, but if caoutchouc
is a component part of the compound it is best to use orris root, tonquin
beans, musk, or gum benzoin only, as the fragrant essential oils are apt to act
injuriously upon the rubber in the course of time. If I require an article of a

page_text: lighter color, I work as before fifteen parts of gutta percha, and add to it any
desired quantity of solvents, and when well incorporated I add six parts of
hydrate of sulphur previously rubbed through a fine sieve. It is essential
that the hydrate should be pure, the impure containing a large quantity of
lime, being precipitated by sulphuric acid instead of muriatic acid, as I find
the more pure it is the more powerful is its coloring properties. I then add
any of the fragrant essential oils in sufficient proportion to produce the required
scent, or I add the solid fragrant materials before named, all being reduced
first to fine powder, and in all cases they should be added just previously to
using the composition. Any portion of caoutchouc may be added to the above
fifteen parts of gutta percha, but there must not be less than six parts of the
hydrate to each fifteen parts of the gum to have a good color. For coarse
goods, such as carriage covers, &c., I take gutta percha four parts, ground
whalebone and hydrate of sulphur each one part, and one sixteenth part of
any mineral preservative of vegetable matter, by preference arsenic, and work
the whole in a masticating pan, and afterwards spread it upon the fabrics with
or without a solvent. If the fabrics are required to be of any particular color
I add to any of the above compositions the color necessary to produce it. It
is most convenient in coating thin fabrics, first to coat them with a solution
of india rubber by any of the usual modes, giving them two or more coats, and
when dry applying the gutta percha; this plan prevents the latter staining
the surface. In coating bands or cords:-If a band I take a woven one of
cotton, flax, or other fibrous materials, by preference flax, and saturate it with
a solution of any of the before-named compositions or gutta percha, in the
proportions of three parts solvent to one part of the gums, and when
thoroughly dry I pass them through a pair of rollers heated by steam to
compress them together; I afterwards coat them with any of the above
compositions without a solvent by passing them through a pair of rollers
grooved to the width of the band, as Figures 1 and 2, or if flat by
passing them through a pair of plain rollers and cutting off the superfluous
gum. When the fabrics are to be combined or for moulding, I coat them
with a compound of gutta percha three parts, animal charcoal one part,
and one-sixteenth part of white arsenic, or other mineral preservatives of
vegetable matters, and a solvent, as before, if necessary; or I use gutta percha
four parts, Cornish white one part, and hydrate of sulphur one part; the whole
combined, as before, in a masticating pan; after which is to be added the
solvent; with these compositions I coat woven or felted fabrics, paper, and
leather, or veneers of common wood as scale board, and afterwards combine

page_text: several of them together, according to the thickness required; and wher
combined I heat them and bend or press them upon blocks into several usefu
articles, as portmanteaus, boxes, trays, cornices, frames, buttons, toys, and
boards for book covers. For such articles as are required to be embossed, 1
put a thick coating of the composition outside in proportion to the impress
required upon it; and I make the single fabric hot, and form it to the mould
either by pressing into or upon it, first laying on one coat and then another
until the article is as thick as required. The articles I thus form are masks
lay figures, tea and other trays, inkstands, leaves of flowers, pill and other
boxes, and such articles as are usually made of papier mache, toys, &c. and
buckets, bats, caps, &c. In forming such articles as are required to stand
wet, as buttons, tea trays, military ornaments, &c., I first saturate the fabrics
with any water-repellant matter, by preference boiled linseed oil, and dry
them thoroughly in a stove, and then coat them with the composition of gutta
percha, and proceed as before described. In making panels for carriages,
doors, boxes, &c., I use slivers of wood, deal, as the cheapest, and coat them
with any of these compositions of gutta percha, using one part of them to two
parts solvent. When the solvent has thoroughly dried, I take pieces of the
required size and heat them, and lay one upon the other, taking care to
reverse the grain of the wood by laying the straightway of the one the cross-
way of the other, and if they are required to be very tough, I lay also a coarse
canvas at back; or I use alternate layers of fabrics of wood, and then press
the whole while hot, and keep the pressure upon them until cold. The com-
positions I prefer for moulding without fabrics are, gutta percha four parts,
bone charcoal two parts, and one-sixteenth part of white arsenic, or gutta
percha four parts, ground whalebone or the rasping of horns and hoofs (from
button makers' waste) two parts. If I require a hard composition of a light
color, I use gutta percha three parts, ivory or bone dust one part, and Cornish
clay a half part. A large quantity of animal charcoal or bone dust will make
these compositions much harder at the expence of their toughness. In
moulding from moulds that are very deep, I use cores of wood roughly
shaped to the deep portions of the mould, first coating them with any of these
compositions, videlicet, one part of them to two parts solvent, drying them
in a temperature of ninety degrees, and then covering them with any of the
compositions without solvents, and pressing them into moulds until cold; the
object being to make the gutta percha available for the figure and minutiae of
the work, while the bulk being wood it will be lighter and much cheaper,
which is essential, the juice being high and still increasing. I also roll, mould,

page_text: or press either of the above compositions into sheets or bands, with the addi-
tion of colors or perfumes or both. The articles I make from these
solid compositions, videlicet, without fabrics, are carriage and other wheels,
ornamental leaves and scrolls for furniture, military and other ornaments, for
harness, trays, frames, cornices, leaves, and flowers. When the articles are to
be painted with light grounds, the composition containing the hydrate of
sulphur should not be used, or such colors employed as are not likely to be
acted upon by it. The quantity of perfumes to be used in any of these com-
positions must depend upon the purity of the material used for that purpose.
I find, however, that of orris root half a pound to every five pounds of the
composition is necessary; of benzoin, two ounces to every five pounds; of the
essential oils, half an ounce to five pounds is about the proportion. My
improvements in finishing the surfaces of fabrics or leather prepared with
gutta percha or its combinations is, by coating them with transparent colors,
made by combining with any oil varnish, or with a fixed drying oil, such
transparent colors. My mode of doing this is as follows:-Suppose the fabric
is coated with gutta percha and animal charcoal, or lamp black, the color
would be a dull black. To improve upon this plan I take 10 lbs. of linseed
oil and twenty ounces of Prussian blue, grind it and mix, then boil the whole
gently until it is as thick as treacle, which is readily seen by trying a drop on
a bit of glass, which will speedily cool and shew its consistence. When cold
it will be found to be a brown transparent varnish. Apply a thin coat to the
surface of the cloth; it will be dry in a few hours, and in drying will absorb
oxygen and become blue, thus giving the cloth the fine color of black ena-
melled leather. If other colors are required, say red, the fabric should be
coated with gutta percha and vermillion. Take one pound of any oil varnish
or pale linseed, nut, or poppy oils, previously made drying by any of the ordi-
nary methods, and three ounces of crimson lake, well grind them together
and coat the fabric with a thin layer of it. If the fabric has been embossed
or corked to imitate Morocco leather they will not be bad imitations of the
article. Of course any color made be made upon this plan, suitable glazing
colors being chosen, and such may be obtained from any artist's colorman.
To cleanse gutta percha according to my improvements, I first cut up the
blocks into small pieces with a knife worked. by an eccentric motion, as shewn
in Figures 3, 3, or it might be otherwise worked. These pieces I then pass
cold through a pair of crushing rollers; they are then well washed in water at
eighty degrees, not warmer, and then put while wet into a cold masticating
pan, as Figure 4, the same being similar to one described in the Patent
granted to me on the Sixth of March, One thousand eight hundred and forty-

page_text: four, with the addition of the openings at the bottom. As the rollers revolve
the gutta percha is completely broken into fragments; if it is inferior, almost
to powder, if good it will be broken into small fibrous pieces which will fall
through the openings into a receiver; these fragments are well washed in cold
water in a tank having a sieve of wire with about thirty-six meshes to the
square inch; the sand and wood will fall through this to the bottom of the
vessel and leave the gutta percha at the top; this is to be collected and
drained and then put again into the masticator, the openings at bottom being
closed with plugs, and steam turned into the jacket. As soon as the heat and
motion has got the straps together it is to be taken out of the vessel and put
into one like Figure 5, which is full of water to the line, and kept hot by the
steam pipe b; it is then well worked, the surface water being floated off if
necessary once or twice during the operation through the cock (c), and when
necessary the tank may be emptied by this cock, and also the cover of the
opening (a) may be removed to take away the sand and any foreign matter
that will have fallen through the opening, and when the gum is thoroughly
cleansed it may be finished in a hot and dry masticator. I find this machine
answer well also for cleansing india rubber.
I claim for combining gutta percha with animal charcoal, ground whale-
bone, hydrate of sulphur, fragrant essential oils, musk, tonquin beans, orris
root, or gum benzoin, and for applying them alone or in combination with
caoutchouc or other matters to fabrics.
I claim for combining gutta percha with ground bones, horns, hoofs, whale-
bone, or shavings of these matters, or animal charcoal, hydrate of sulphur, with
or without perfumes or coloring matter, and applying the same alone or in
conjunction with fabrics, or veneers of wood, to the manufacture of various
articles.
I claim the uniting with gutta percha fabrics previously rendered repellants
of water by any of the usual methods.
I claim for the use of cones of wood as herein described.
I claim for finishing the surfaces of fabrics coated with gutta percha as
herein described.
I claim for cleansing gutta percha as herein described, and for the machinery
applicable thereto.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Forster, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-eight.
THOMAS (L.S.) FORSTER.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Nineteenth day of April, in the
year of our Lord 1848, the aforesaid Thomas Forster came before our said
Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification afore-
said, 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 Twentieth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight bundred and forty-eight.