A New or Improved Hot-water Apparatus for Promoting the Pro- pagation and Germination of Plants, Cuttings, and Seeds, and for other like Horticultural Purposes.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 12th Dec., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 27th Aug., 1890-Accepted, 11th Oct.. 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
A New or Improved Hot-water Apparatus for Promoting the Pro-
pagation and Germination of Plants, Cuttings, and Seeds, and for
other like Horticultural Purposes.
I JOHN OLIVER CHAPMAN PHILLIPS of No. 73 Colmore Row Birmingham in the
County of Warwick Surgeon Dentist, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
My invention consists of a new or improved hot water apparatus for promoting the
propagation and germination of plants, cuttings and seeds and for other like horti-
cultural purposes the parts of the said apparatus being constructed combined and used
substantially as herein after described.
The said apparatus consists of a vertical annular boiler having an internal flue and
chimney the water space of the boiler being of so small a capacity that the heat from
a paraffin or other liquid hydro carbon lamp or a small gas flame situated at the base
or bottom of the flue suffices to rapidly heat the water in the said boiler and maintain
the water circulating in the hot water pipes in connection with the boiler at a nearly
uniform temperature.
I prefer to give to the boiler the form of an ordinary lamp chimney that is a chimney
cylindrical at its upper part and bulged or globular near its base or bottom so that the
said boiler can be fitted over the flame of an ordinary paraffin or other oil lamp or
over a gas flame the flame of the lamp or gas flame being situated in the bulged or
globular lower part of the boiler.
I use in combination with the boiler a coil or coils of piping which may either
consist of a series of concentric coils situated vertically; or a series of parallel coils
situated horizontally; or a series of coils otherwise arranged the end of the coil of
piping opening into the boiler at or near the top and constituting the hot water flow
pipe and the other end of the coil of piping opening into the boiler at or near the
bottom and constituting the return pipe.
The boiler and the flow and return pipes of the coil of water piping as well as the
oil lamp and its oil reservoir; or the gas flame when gas is the source of heat are situated
in a chamber or box wire frame or other support, and the coils of piping are arranged
in a frame supported by the chamber or box, or support described.
The said upper frame which is heated by the coils of piping contains the striking
box or propagating frame for striking the cuttings of plants or forcing plants or for
promoting the germination of seeds and for other like horticultural purposes.
The boiler and coils of piping having been filled with water the lamp or gas flame
is ignited and the water in the boiler thereby heated. As the water is heated it flows
along the upper pipe and through the coil of piping in connection with it and returns
to the boiler by the lower end of the coil of piping. In this way a rapid circulation
of the hot water through the coils of piping is set up and the forcing or propagating
frame or other like frame in which the coils of piping are situated is uniformly or
nearly uniformly heated.
A single arrangement of the hot water apparatus may be used; or two or more of
the said arrangements may be used in combination or the heat from the hot water
coils of piping may be used for heating greenhouses and the like.
Dated this 12th day of December 1889.
W. T. WHITEMAN,
Agent for the Applicant.

page_text: '
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved Hot-water Apparatus for Promoting the Pro-
pagation and Germination of Plants, Cuttings, and Seeds, and for
other like Horticultural Purposes.
I JOHN OLIVER CHAPMAN PHILLIPS, of No. 76 Colmore Row, Birmingham, in the
County of Warwick, Surgeon Dentist do hereby declare the nature of my invention
and the manner in which the same is to be performed to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
My invention consists of a new or improved hot water apparatus for promoting the
propagation and germination of plants, cuttings and seeds and for other like horti-
cultural purposes the parts of the said apparatus being constructed, combined and used
substantially as hereinafter described.
The said apparatus consists of a vertical annular boiler having an internal flue and
chimney, the water space of the boiler being of so small a capacity that the heat from
a paraffin or other liquid hydro carbon lamp or a small gas flame situated at the base
or bottom of the flue suffices to rapidly heat the water in the said boiler and maintain
the water circulating in the hot water pipes in connection with the boiler at a nearly
uniform temperature.
I prefer to give to the boiler the form of an ordinary lamp chimney, that is, a
chimney cylindrical at its upper part and bulged or globular near its base or bottom,
so that the said boiler can be fitted over the flame of an ordinary paraffin or other oil
lamp or over a gas flame, the flame of the lamp or gas flame being situated in the
bulged or globular lower part of the boiler; the boiler thus constitutes the chimney
of the lamp.
I use in combination with the boiler, a coil or coils of piping which may either
consist of a series of concentric coils situated vertically; or a series of parallel coils
situated horizontally; or a series of coils otherwise arranged, the end of the coil of
piping opening into the boiler at or near the top and constituting the hot water flow
pipe and the other end of the coil of piping opening into the boiler at or near the
bottom and constituting the return pipe.
The boiler and the flow and return pipes of the coil of water piping as well as the
oil lamp and its oil reservoir, or the gas flame, when gas is the source of heat, are
situated in a chamber or box, wire frame or other support and the coils of piping are
arranged in a frame supported by the chamber or box or support described. The said
upper frame which is heated by the coils of piping, contains the striking box or
propagation frame for striking the cuttings.of plants or forcing plants or for promoting
the germination of seeds and for other like horticultural purposes.
The boiler and coils of piping having been filled with water the lamp or gas flame
is ignited and the water in the boiler thereby heated. As the water is heated it flows
along the upper pipe and through the coil of piping in connection with it and returns
to the boiler by the lower end of the coil of piping. In this way a rapid circulation of
the hot water through the coils of piping is set up and the forcing or propagating
frame or other like frame in which the coils of piping are situated is uniformly or nearly
uniformly heated.
A single arrangement of the hot water apparatus may be used; or two or more of
the said arrangements may be used in combination; or the heat from the hot water
coils of piping may be used for heating greenhouses and the like.
I will now proceed to describe with reference to the accompanying drawing, the
manner in which my invention is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in front elevation (the doors being opened or turned back) and
Figure 2 in transverse vertical section a hot water apparatus constructed according to
my invention for promoting the propagation and germination of plants, cuttings and
seeds and for other like purposes.
Figures 3 and 4 represent plans of the apparatus, taken at different levels; Figure 3
represents a plan of the principal propagating chamber, box or forcing frame at the

page_text: upper part of the apparatus and Figure 4 represents a plan taken below the said
propagating chamber, box or forcing frame. The same letters of reference indicate
the same parts in the several figures of the drawing.
The apparatus represented is made of sheet tin or other sheet metal, but it may be
made of wood, wicker work or other strong and durable material. The said apparatus
is composed of a case or body divided into two parts by the horizontal partition at a,
the upper part b constituting the principal propagating box or forcing frame, which is
covered by a glazed frame 62 provided with sliding panes by removing which access
to the contents of the said box or forcing frame may be obtained. The lower part of
the body or case is divided by the vertical partition c into two chambers e and f, the
larger chamber e forming a supplementary propagating box, and the chamber f forming
a receptacle in which the small vertical annular boiler g and lamp are contained.
The boiler g has the form of an ordinary lamp chimney and is closed at top and bottom,
the said boiler constituting the chimney of the lamp, the annular space of the boiler
being of so small a capacity that the heat from the paraffin or other liquid hydro
carbon lamp situated at the base or bottom of the internal flue of the boiler suffices
to rapidly heat the water in the said boiler and to maintain the water circulating in
the hot water pipes in connection with the said boiler, as hereinafter described, at a
nearly uniform temperature.
The height of the flame of the lamp in the internal flue of the boiler may be seen at
the glazed sight hole i. The vertical annular boiler g is suspended in the chamber f
by the flow and return hot water pipes k and I connected respectively with the top
and bottom of the annular water space of the boiler (see Figures 1 and 2). The flow
pipe from the boiler g passes out of the boiler chamber f and along the back and sides
of the chamber e and rising through the partition a joins at m the horizontal coil of
piping p, p on the upper side of the principal propagating box or frame b. The coil of
piping p, terminating at q near the middle of the said box or frame b, is connected with
the return hot water pipe lin connection with the boiler g, the said pipe / circulating
about the chamber e for heating it in the following way. The hot water pipe 7 passes
from the coil p and descends at the back of the chamber e and passes along one side
thereof and returns across the front of the chamber and along the other side of the
chamber to the back thereof. It then descends to the opposite side of the chamber e
passing along the side and again crossing the front of the chamber is connected to the
lower part of the annular boiler g as indicated by the arrows in Figure 1. In the
chamber e is a series of shelves or ledges at r, r on which trays rest (indicated in
dotted lines) containing the plants cuttings or seeds to be propagated or germinated
the said trays being heated by the heat given out by the return pipe and by a portion
of the inflow pipe k.
The two chambers e, fare closed by the hinged doors e² and f³, the said doors being
capable of being opened independently of one another.
The coils of piping k, p, l'and the boiler g are filled with water at the funnel or
reservoirs situated at one corner of the upper and principal box or chamber b, the
said funnel or reservoir s being provided with the filling pipe t passing to the return
pipe (see Figures 1 and 2) and with the overflow pipe and stop cock at u. The boiler g
and coils of piping represented having been filled with water, the lamp his ignited and
the water in the boiler g thereby heated. As the water is heated it flows along the
pipe k to the coil of piping p on the bottom of the box or chamber b and returns by
the coil of piping in the supplementary propagating chamber e to the boiler as
indicated by the arrows. Thus a rapid circulation of the hot water through the coils
of piping is set up and the box or chamber 6 and the supplementary chamber e are
thereby uniformly or nearly uniformly heated.
The chamber or frame b and the trays supported in the chamber e are nearly filled
with cocoa nut fibre or with the other materials commonly employed.
The frames or chambers heated in the manner described may be used for growing
cucumbers and melons as a substitute for manure in generating heat; or as an
incubator and for other like purposes where heat is required.
By using a larger boiler than that represented, it may be employed for heating a

page_text: compound or double apparatus, that is, two series of flow and return pipes may be
connected with the same boiler, one series of pipes heating one apparatus and another
series a second apparatus.
Instead of utilizing the heat from the return hot water pipes by causing the said
pipes to pass in a tortuous direction about a chamber beneath the principal box or
frame, the said under chamber may be omitted, when a simpler form of apparatus is
required, and the box or frame or chamber be supported on legs and the boiler g and
lamp be arranged beneath the middle of the said box or chamber; or in place of the
box or chamber b, a deep tray furnished with the coil of piping p may be employed, a
removable glazed top being used to cover the said tray. Instead of the horizontal
coil represented in the chamber, frame or tray b, a series of vertical coils may be used.
I do not limit myself to the number, size or position of the coils employed. In place
of an oil lamp for heating the boiler g a gas flame may be used.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my invention
and the manner in which the same is to be performed I declare that I claim as
my invention;-
The new or improved hot water apparatus for promoting the propagation and
germination of plants, cuttings and seeds and for other like purposes herein before
described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, the said apparatus consisting
essentially of a vertical annular boiler in connection with flow and return pipes and
coils of piping by which the propagating chambers, boxes or
forcing frames or other
like chambers boxes or frames are heated, the water space of the said boiler being of
so small a capacity that the heat from the oil or other lamp at the base of the boiler
suffices to rapidly heat the water in the said boiler and maintain the water circulating
in the hot water pipes and coils in connection with the said boiler at a nearly
uniform temperature, the several parts of the apparatus being constructed, combined
and used substantially as described and illustrated.
Dated the 25th day of August 1890.
JOHN OLIVER CHAPMAN PHILLIPS.