IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM COOKING APPARATUS
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Forsyth, of the Stakeford Foundry, Maxwell-
town, in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright, North Britain, Engineer, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM COOKING APPARATUS."
Sealed the 8th May 1857, and dated the 17th March 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Forsyth at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
17th March 1857.
I, GEORGE FORSYTH, of the Stakeford Foundry, Maxwelltown, in the Stewar-
try of Kirkcudbright, North Britain, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM COOKING APPARATUS," to be
as follows, that is to say:-
This Invention relates to the arrangement and construction of steam cook-
ing apparatus to be used for preparing food for cattle, horses, and other
animals.
By means of this improved apparatus it is intended to raise steam in a
boiler, and convey it by pipes to an inner vessel in which the roots or other
food intended to be prepared are placed. A pressure of steam of about two
pounds on each square inch is sufficient to carry out the process in a
satisfactory manner.
Under one modification the apparatus consists of an iron vessel or boiler
open at the top, and fitted in the brickwork of an ordinary furnace, the flues
of which are so arranged that the heat circulates round the whole of the lower

page_text: part of the boiler. Within the boiler is placed another vessel of a cor-
responding form but smaller in diameter. This vessel is made with a broad
flanged edge to correspond with the diameter of the outer shell of the boiler.
The two vessels are bolted together by bolts and nuts, and the junction of the
two edges is made steam-tight. By means of this arrangement a considerable
space is left between the inner and outer vessels, and this forms the interior
of the boiler and steam chest. Two or more steam pipes are tapped into or
otherwise secured, and made to communicate with the space between the
vessels. These pipes branch upwards from the space between the two vessels,
and then are bent downwards into the space, their lower open ends being bent
to pass into holes near the bottom of the inner vessel, so as to be capable
of conducting steam directly amongst the food placed therein. Each of the
steam pipes is furnished with a stop-cock, by means of which the steam from
the space between the vessels may be admitted to the interior of the inner
vessel or shut off as desired. From another part of the flange which covers
the space between the vessels there is a vertical pipe fitted at its upper
extremity with a safety valve. The water feed pipe of the boiler is carried
through the brickwork of the furnace, and through an aperture in the upper
part of the boiler; the pipe is then bent downwards until it reaches the
bottom of the boiler at that part immediately over the fire. The upper end of
the feed pipe is carried into a tank or reservoir from which the supply of
water for the boiler is taken. A stop-cock for regulating the flow of water is
fitted in the feed pipe between the tank and the brickwork. of the furnace.
At another part of the apparatus a pipe furnished with a stop-cock is carried
through the brickwork and into the boiler; this pipe is for the purposes of
testing the height of the water within the boiler, and it is therefore placed
at a suitable elevation for that purpose. The inner vessel is fitted with a
cover by which the steam admitted thereto from the boiler is confined.
In operating with this steam cooking apparatus, it is preferred to use the
steam at a pressure varying from one to two pounds on the square inch, and
care being taken to place the cold water tank sufficiently high that the weight
of the column of water will overcome the pressure of the steam. The
apparatus being thus arranged, the roots or other materials to be cooked are
placed in the inner vessel, the steam is then turned on, and as it rushes from
the extremities of the steam pipes at the lower part of the inner vessel, it
passes up through the whole mass of the roots or other materials. By means
of this Invention food for cattle, horses, and other animals is cooked in a
rapid and efficient manner.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Forsyth in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
17th September 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
FORSYTH, of the Stakeford Foundry, Maxwelltown, in the Stewartry of Kirk-
cudbright, North Britain, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said George Forsyth, Her special license that I, the said George
Forsyth, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said George Forsyth, 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 "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN STEAM COOKING APPARATUS," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said George Forsyth, by an instrument in writing under my hand
and seal, 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 George Forsyth, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement in writing, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and
to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
My said Invention relates to the arrangement and construction of steam
cooking apparatus to be used for preparing food for cattle, horses, and other
animals. By means of this improved apparatus it is intended to raise steam
in a boiler, and convey it by pipes to an inner vessel in which the roots or
other food intended to be prepared are placed. A pressure of steam of about
two pounds on each square inch is sufficient to carry out the process in a
satisfactory manner.
Under one modification the apparatus consists of an iron vessel or boiler
open at the top, and fitted in the brickwork of an ordinary furnace, the flues

page_text: of which are so arranged that, the heat circulates round the whole of the
lower part of the boiler. Within the boiler is placed another vessel of a
corresponding form but smaller in diameter. This vessel is made with a
broad flanged edge to correspond with the diameter of the outer shell of the
boiler. The two vessels are bolted together by bolts and nuts, and the
junction of the two edges is made steam-tight. By means of this arrange-
ment a considerable space is left between the inner and outer vessels, and
this forms the interior of the boiler and steam chest. Two or more steam
pipes are tapped into or otherwise secured, and made to communicate with
the space between the vessels. These pipes branch upwards from the space
between the two vessels, and then are bent downwards into the space, their
lower open ends being bent to pass into holes near the bottom of the inner
vessel, so as to be capable of conducting steam directly amongst the food
placed therein. Each of the steam pipes is furnished with a stop-cock, by
means of which the steam from the space between the vessels may be
admitted to the interior of the inner vessels or shut off as desired. From
another part of the flange which covers the space between the vessels there
is a vertical pipe fitted at its upper extremity with a safety valve. The water
feed pipe of the boiler is carried through the brickwork of the furnace, and
through an aperture in the upper part of the boiler; the pipe is then bent
downwards until it reaches the bottom of the boiler at the part immediately
over the fire. The upper end of the feed pipe is carried into a tank or
reservoir from which the supply of water for the boiler is taken. A stop-cock
for regulating the flow of water is fitted in the feed pipe between the tank
and the brickwork of the furnace. At another part of the apparatus a pipe
furnished with a stop-cock is carried through the brickwork and into the
boiler; this pipe is for the purpose of testing the height of the water within
the boiler, and it is therefore placed at a suitable elevation for that purpose.
The inner vessel is fitted with a cover by which the steam admitted thereto
from the boiler is confined.
In operating with this steam cooking apparatus, it is preferred to use the
steam at a pressure varying from one to two pounds on the square inch, and
care being taken to place the cold water tank sufficiently high that the weight
of the column of water will overcome the pressure of the steam. The
apparatus being thus arranged, the roots or other materials to be cooked are
placed in the inner vessel, the steam is then turned on, and as it rushes from
the extremities of the steam pipes at the lower part of the inner vessel, it
passes up through the whole mass of the roots or other materials. By means

page_text: of this Invention food for cattle, horses, and other animals is cooked in a rapid
and efficient manner.
And in order that my said Invention may be properly understood, I shall
now proceed to describe the several illustrative Figures on the explanatory
Sheet of Drawings, which I have hereunto appended for the purpose of showing
certain modifications under which my improvements may be judiciously carried
out in practice.
Figure 1 of my Sheet of Drawings is an elevation, partially in section, of
one modification of a steam cooking apparatus arranged according to my
improvements; Figure 2 is a plan of the same. The outer boiling vessel A
is used for generating the steam by means of which the roots or other matters
are cooked. This vessel is of a hemispherical form at its lower part, and it
is made with a flange at the upper part, which rests upon the brickwork B in
which the vessel A is set. A furnace C is built in the lower part of the
brickwork, the heated matters and smoke which rise from the fire pass
through the flue D, which encircles the lower part of the vessel A. The
flue D is carried into a suitable chimney or shaft, which serves to convey
away the non-combustible matters given off by the fire. Within the vessel A is
fitted another vessel E of a corresponding form but smaller in diameter. The
two vessels A and E are united to each other by means of the circular plate
or segmentally shaped plates of metal F, which is or are secured to the flanges
of the vessels A and E by means of bolts and nuts, so as to form a steam-
tight chamber between the vessels. Water is conveyed from a cistern or
reservoir G, which is placed at a sufficient height above the boiler that the
water by its columnar weight will flow into the boiler against the pressure of
the steam. In using this apparatus the working pressure of the steam need
not exceed two pounds upon the square inch; therefore a very moderate
elevation, say, for example, four or five feet, will be sufficient. The water is
conveyed from the cistern G into the vessel A by means of the pipe H, which
is curved downwards from the part where it enters the boiler, and terminates
at the lowest part of the boiler, where it receives the greatest amount of heat
from the fire beneath. By this means the cold feed water as it flows in
through the induction pipe H comes into contact with the hottest part of the
boiler; at the same time the heated particles of water are unimpeded in their
progress upwards to the surface. The flow of cold water through the in-
duction pipe His controlled by the cock I, so that the water may be entirely
shut off or allowed to flow in a continuous stream into the vessel A according
to the consumption of steam. The steam as it is generated flows through the

page_text: steam cocks J, which are screwed into the plate F. These cocks are con-
nected by means of "elbow pieces" with the steam pipes K, which enter the
vessel E at its lower part. The cooking vessel E is made with a perforated
false bottom, and the steam enters the vessel below this perforated plate, and
rises upwards among the roots placed in the vessel to be cooked. The steam.
prevented from escaping by means of the cover L, which is made to fit the
vessel E closely. Such portion of the steam as may become converted into
water of condensation flows downwards and through the apertures in the false
bottom to the space beneath it. The water of condensation may be drawn off
from time to time by means of a suitable pipe carried through the brickwork
setting. The height of the water in the outer vessel A is regulated by means
of a guage cock M, which is fitted so as to be just above the proper water
level. This apparatus may also be fitted with another guage cock placed
below the water level, which serves to show when a deficiency of water occurs
in the boiler. And to avoid any injury arising from the steam attaining too
great a pressure, a self-acting safety valve N is fitted so as to open and
discharge the steam when it rises above a certain predetermined force. The
quantity of steam admitted to the cooking vessel E is regulated and controlled
by means of the steam cocks J, so that in working the vessel no more steam
need be admitted than is sufficient to effect the cooking operation without
waste of heat. This improved cooking apparatus may be used in conjunction
with the oscillating pan ordinarily used in preparing food for cattle, the
cooking vessel E serving instead of an ordinary boiler. In this manner one
kind of food may be prepared in the oscillating pan whilst another sort is
cooked simultaneously in the cooking vessel E, or the cooking apparatus may
be used in conjunction with a cylinder for holding turnips or other roots.
The cylinder is suspended by a chain passed over a pulley fitted overhead, the
chain having a counterweight attached to its free end. By this means the
cylinder may be readily lowered into or drawn out of the cooking vessel, or
turned upon its axis, and the contents delivered into a wheelbarrow or other
receptacle. In this way large quantities of food suitable for horses, cattle,
and other animals may be cooked or prepared in a highly economical and
expeditious manner.
Ilaving now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I may observe, in conclusion, that I do not confine or restrict
myself to the precise details or arrangements which I have had occasion to
describe or refer to, as many variations may be made therefrom without

page_text: leviating from the principles or main features of my Invention; but 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, the general arrangement and construction of apparatus for cooking
food suitable for cattle, as herein-before described.
Second, the system or mode of cooking roots and other matters by means
of a steaming apparatus, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Forsyth, have hereunto set my
band and seal, this Fourteenth day of September, One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-seven.
GEORGE FORSYTH. (L.S.)