IMPROVEMENTS IN PREPARING WOOD FOR LIGHTING OR KINDLING FIRES
Year: 1844

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
GEEVES, of Little Portland Street, in the County of Middlesex, Cork and Cork
Gun Wadding Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Twelfth day of February, in the seventh year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Geeves, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said William Geeves, my exors, adiñiors, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said William Geèves, my exors, adñiors, 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 PREPARING WOOD FOR LIGHTING
OR KINDLING FIRES;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso,
that I, the said William Geeves, shall cause a particular description of the
my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be enrolled in Her said 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
William Geeves, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,

page_text: 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 Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon
that is to say): :-
My Invention has for its object the combining several bars or pieces of
wood together, leaving a space between each two neighbouring bars or pieces,
both longitudinally and vertically, so that when several such bars or pieces
made into one frame are lighted for the purpose of kindling a fire the flame
may move freely both horizontally and vertically, the pieces of wood used for
combining the main bars or pieces together only entering for a short distance
into the edges or ends of the main bars or pieces. And in order that the
Invention may be most fully understood and readily carried into effect, I will
proceed to describe the Drawing hereunto annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 represents a plan of a frame of bars of wood combined together
according to my Invention and suitable for kindling a fire; Figure 2 shows
an end view thereof, and Figure 3 shows a side view. a, a, are the main
bars or pieces of wood, which are to be combined together in such manner as
to retain them securely, yet that there shall be a space left both vertically and
horizontally from end to end between each two neighbouring pieces or bars a, a,
as shewn by the Drawing. In the bars or pieces a, a, are saw cuts or notches
made, as shewn, or at the ends, to receive the pieces of wood b, c, c, which are
driven into the cuts or notches; and in some cases, in driving in the pieces c,
I introduce a portion of paper or rag d, saturated with any readily inflammable
matter, to render the use of the other paper when kindling a fire unnecessary;
and I also sometimes dip the wood composing the bars a, a, and b, c, c, into any
suitable inflammable matter, as has heretofore been practised with other fire-
wood, in order to improve its quality for kindling fires. I would here remark,
that although I have shewn six bars or pieces of wood a, a, combined by three
pieces b, c, c, these numbers may be varied; and I would state that I am
aware that bars of wood have before been combined by making cuts therein, in
such manner that two sets of bars, each being cut half way through in two or
more places in a corresponding manner. They are joined together at those
cuts in such manner as to produce frames of bars divided into rectangular
compartments, and in such manner that there are only vertical spaces between
each two neighbouring bars, which mode of arrangement is not only expensive,
but bas other disadvantages; and I mention this arrangement in order to state
that I do not claim the same, my Invention consisting of the mode of com-