IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PREPARATION OF SUPER-PHOSPHATE OF LIME
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the
Invention, of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PREPARATION OF SUPER-PHOSPHATE OF
LIME." A communication from abroad by Robert Barnhill Potts, of
Camden, in the State of New Jersey, United States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 4th February 1865.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PREPARATION OF
SUPER-PHOSPHATE OF LIME," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to make a dry super-phosphate of lime from
Navassso guano by adding sulphuric acid in small portions at a time, keeping
the batch agitated or stirred with such rapidity as to prevent as much as
possible the mass from heating.
A convenient mode of carrying out the Invention is to spread the guano
out on a floor, and then to add the sulphuric acid in the form of rain by

page_text: pouring it from watering pots or rose heads. By keeping the batch stirred
while the acid is being added the batch will be dry and granular, and ready
for sale in a few hours, instead of remaining a wet and sticky mass totally
unsaleable for many months, as is the case when the acid is added in
large quantities.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 3rd August 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-eighth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said William Edward Newton, Her special licence that I, the said
William Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said William Edward Newton, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time
and at all times thereäfter 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 PREPARATION OF SUPER-PHOSPHATE OF LIME," being a
communication from abroad, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said William Edward Newton, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under my, 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 performed, and cause the same to be filed in
the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and imme-
diately after the date of the said. Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Edward Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement (that is to say):-
The object of this Invention is to make a dry super-phosphate of lime from

page_text: guano by adding sulphuric acid in small portions at a time, keeping the batch
agitated or stirred with such rapidity as to prevent as much as possible the
mass from heating.
A convenient mode of carrying out the Invention is to spread out the guano
on a floor, and then to add the sulphuric acid in the form of rain. Bykeeping
the batch stirred while the acid is being added, the guano will be kept
moderately dry and granular, and ready for sale in a few hours, instead of
remaining as a wet and sticky mass totally unsaleable for many months, as is
the case when the acid is added in large quantities, as in the old process.
The old method of making super-phosphate of lime from guano consists in
adding the required quantity of sulphuric acid all at once, and working the
batch altogether without paying any attention whether it is hot or cold, wet
or dry; the mass is then wheeled away and left in piles to digest and dry,
which required from four to six months; even at the end of that time the
mass is generally wet and sticky, so as to be almost unsaleable, and required
so much labor and expense that the manufacture of super-phosphate from
Navasso guano has been entirely abandoned.
The improved process which forms the subject of the present Invention is
carried out in the following manner:-A quantity of guano,say two thousand
seven hundred and fifty pounds,is spread on a floor, and is sprinkled over with
sulphuric acid by means of watering pots, or other suitable mechanism. For
the quantity of guano above named, one thousand seven hundred and sixty
pounds of acid of fifty-two degrees Beaumé are required. While sprinkling
the acid on the guano the mass is to be kept continually agitated or stirred
with rakes or by suitable mechanism,so as to keep the guano in motion while
the acid is rained down on it. By these means the mass is prevented from
agglutinating or sticking together, and its heating is avoided. After the
whole quantity of acid has been added, the batch can be sifted immediately,
and after a day or two it can be barrelled up, and will be ready for sale.
It is obvious that the above-named proportion between the guano and
sulphuric acid may be altered according to the nature of the guano and the
strength of the acid, and the process can be carried out without regard to any
specific proportion.
Having now described this Invention of "Improvements in the Preparation
of Super-phosphateof Lime," and having explained themanner of carrying the
same into effect, I claim as the Invention secured to me by Letters Patent as
aforesaid the within-described process of making super-phosphate of lime
from Navasso guano by sprinkling the requisite quantity of sulphuric acid over

page_text: the guano in the form of rain, or as near as possible in that form, while the
mass is kept continually agitated.
In witness whereof,I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Twenty-sixth day of July, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (LS.)