IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SIZE
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frederick Crace Calvert, of the City of Manchester,
Professor of Chemistry, and Charles Lowe, of Halifax, in the County of
York, Analytical Chemist, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF SIZE."
Sealed the 6th October 1857, and dated the 14th July 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederick Crace Calvert
and Charles Lowe, at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 14th July 1857.
We, FREDERICK CRACE CALVERT, of the City of Manchester, Professor of
Chemistry, and Charles Lowe, of Halifax, in the County of York, Analytical
Chemist, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SIZE," to be as follows:-
Our Invention consists in the application, employment, or use of calcined
amylaceous substances, salts of soda, potash, magnesia, and ammonia, and
mucilage, as a substitute for animal size, in stiffening, sizeing, preparing, and
finishing yarns, textile fabrics and paper, and such like purposes.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Frederick Crace Calvert in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 18th January 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, FREDERICK
CRACE CALVERT, of the City of Manchester, Professor of Chemistry, and
CHARLES LOWE, of Halifax, in the County of York, Analytical Chemist, send
grecting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twenty-first year of Iler
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us,
the said Frederick Crace Calvert and Charles Lowe, Her special licence
that we, the said Frederick Crace Calvert and Charles Lowe, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Frederick Crace
Calvert and Charles Lowe, our executors, administrators, and 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
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SIZE," upon the condition (amongst
others) that we, the said Frederick Crace Calvert and Charles Lowe, our
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our, or their,
or one of their hands and seals, 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 we, the said Frederick Crace Calvert and Charles
Lowe, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement (that is to say):-
Our said Invention consists in the application, employment, or use of calcined
amylaceous substances, salts of soda, potash, ammonia, magnesia, and mulicage,
as a substitute for animal size, in stiffening, sizeing, preparing and finishing
yarns, textile fabrics, paper, and such like purposes. Our new size has no
unpleasant odour when newly prepared, neither does it acquire any by keeping,
and it is likewise much less liable to mildew goods finished by it, than when
animal size has been used. It is prepared as follows:-First, the soluble

page_text: matter of an amylaceous nature that we employ in the preparation of our
size is obtained by the calcination of starch obtained from vegetable matter.
This calcination may be effected, either on the starch alone, or on starch
mixed with mineral or organic acids, processes which are well known and
commonly employed. The starch may be also rendered soluble by the action
of various ferments, as, for instance, by diastase, the practical application of
which process is well understood by British gum makers. The salts of potash,
soda, ammonia, and magnesia that we employ are those commonly found in
the market, and are therefore well known; but we prefer sulphate of soda, on
account of the facility and cheapness with which it can be obtained; but
equivalent proportions of any of the other salts, may be substituted for it in
manufacturing the size. The vegetable mucilage we employ, is obtained fromi
linseed (which we prefer), hempseed, plants, and seeds of the orders Plantagi-
nacca, Boraginacea, and Malvacea. The ingredients and proportions wo
prefer for fustian cloth of seven ounces to the yard, are the following:-
Linseed mucilage derived from
42 of seed.
We do not however confine ourselves strictly to these particular ingredients
and proportions, as they may be varied according to the class or style of goods
to be stiffened, sized, prepared, or finished with the size, as will be easily
understood by any practical man, acquainted with sizcing and stiffening.
We commence the preparation of our size, by boiling together in a vessel
of iron or other suitable material, for half an hour, the relative proportions of
vegetable mucilageous matter or sced and water given above. The vegetable
matter or seed may be either crushed or otherwise, and the boiling may be
carried on either by steam or a direct fire as most convenient. When the
mucilageous matter has been extracted by boiling, the fibrous portions of the
vegetable are separated by throwing the whole into a wooden cask or chest, the
bottom of which is formed of wire gauze. By this means filtration of the fluid
mucilicage takes place, and the fibrous vegetable matter remains in the chest.
A suitable vessel is placed beneath the filter to receive the mucilage, which is
then reconveyed to the boiler, and the mineral salts and soluble amylaceous
matter gradually dissolved in the liquor with constant stirring. We find it well
to introduce at this stage of the manufacture about half an ounce of sulphate
of zinc to the gallon of size. When the whole of the mineral salts, and soluble
amylaccous matter is dissolved, the fluid is once more filtered, and is then

page_text: ready for use. The methods and machines employed in the application of our
new size are those now in use for the application of animal size in stiffening,
sizcing, preparing and finishing yarns, textile fabrics, paper, and such like
purposes, and therefore being well known require no specific description.
We wish it to be distinctly understood that we do not confine ourselves to
the proportions of the materials given above.
We are aware that soluble amylaceous substances and salts of soda, potash,
ammonia, and magnesia, and also that vegetable mucilageous substances have
been heretofore used and employed separately in stiffening, sizeing, preparing,
and finishing yarns, textile fabrics, paper, and such like purposes.
We do not claim the application of any particular ingredient of the size,
but what we do claim is, the manufacture of an improved size by a com-
bination or admixture of soluble amylaceous substances, salts of soda, potash,
magnesia, and ammonia, and vegetable mucilage in manner above described,
and the application, employment, or use of the same, as a substitute for the
animal size now in use for stiffening, sizeing, preparing, and finishing yarns
textile fabrics, paper, and such like purposes.
:
In witness whereof, we, the said Frederick Crace Calvert and Charlos
Lowe, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twelfth day of
January, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
MLY HIG
F. CRACE CALVERT. (L.S.)
CHAS. LOWE.
(L.S.)
F. CRACE CALVERT. (L.S.)
CHAS. LOWE.
(LS.)