A New or Improved Food, and Method of Manufacturing the same.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 9th Feb., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 7th Nov., 1895-Accepted, 8th Feb.,
1896
[Communicated from abroad by LAWRENCE HENRY GREENE, of Cornilia Works,
Durban, in the Colony of Natal, Manufacturer.]
A New or Improved Food, and Method of Manufacturing the same.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, F.C.S., M.I.M.E., of The Agency for
Foreign Patent Solicitors, 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, and 6, Bank Street,
Manchester, both in the County of Lancaster, and 31, High Holborn, in the
County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention has for its object the manufacture of a new or improved food from
a gramineous plant found largely in Natal known as Amabeli, Kafir Corn and
sometimes Cornilia Africana, though whether that be its recognised botanical name
I have been unable to ascertain. The method Mr. Greene adopts at present of
preparing the food is as follows:-
Having selected the grain (red colour for preference), which should be as new as
possible: It is first thoroughly washed and all the floating particles skimmed off
and thrown away or given to fowls, of which they are very fond. The grain is
then steeped in soft water for 24 hours and then taken out and placed in sacks and
kept in a warm place until it begins to sprout or germinate which it will do, if the
grain be fresh, in about 12 hours: it is then dried in an American evaporator, after
which it is ready for roasting which is done in a revolving cylinder over a charcoal
fire, care being taken not to burn the grain. Before grinding the grain it is
thoroughly cleansed which is done by stamping it with cushioned stamps and then
winnowed to free it from the outer skin, or cuticle (this grain has two skins) which
by this time is reduced to a powder. After grinding, the flour should be kept in
air-tight vessels to retain the aroma of the malt.
One peculiar property of the malt of this grain is, that it imparts this property to
a much larger bulk than itself, and from experiments that have been made it has
been found that the best food is made from an admixture of about half parts by
weight, of the best flour thoroughly well baked in earthen vessels and one part
of malt. This is well and thoroughly mixed together and then passed through a
fine sieve. Before the final sieving there is to be added to every 50 lbs. of the
food three ounces of a preparation of fine table salt and bicarbonate of potash in
the proportion of two of salt to one of bicarbonate of potash.
This preparation must be well mixed and then the whole baked in an oven
and stirred occasionally while baking. The mixture should be kept in a close
earthen vessel ready for use. This mixture should be reduced to an impalpable
dust.
§ Wahma 1905
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
31, High Holborn, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: жинили
1, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, F.C.S., M.I.M.E., of The Agency for
Foreign Patent Solicitors, 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, and 6, Bank Street,
Manchester, hoth in the County of Lancaster, and 31, High Holborn, in the
County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
This invention has for its object the manufacture of a new or improved food from
the seed of a gramineous plant found largely in Natal known as Amabeli, Kafir
Corn and sometimes Cornilla Africana though whether that be its recognised
botanical name I have been unable to ascertain. In the slang of the colony the
plant is frequently termed mealies.
This grain being extremely easy to raise being very prolific and capable of being
raised on the same ground to the extent of two or three crops a year is a great
favourite with the Zulus and hitherto it has formed the almost exclusive vegetable
diet of that people. It is however not used by the Whites to any extent as the taste
is to them a disagreeable one.
Now this invention consists in a process of preparing this Kafir corn whereby
the disagreeable taste is eliminated and a very agreeable one substituted and also
whereby it is made remarkably digestible and wholesome.
The process is as follows:-
:―
After
Having selected the grain, red colour by preference and as new as possible, it is
first thoroughly washed and all the floating particles skimmed off and thrown away
or given to the fowls or other stock, these latter are remarkably fond of it. The
washed grain is steeped in soft water for 24 hours then taken out and placed in sacks,
bins or the like in a warm place until it begins to sprout or germinate which it will
do if the grain be fresh, in about 12 hours. It is now dried, Mr. Greene uses for
this purpose an American evaporator, but almost any kind of the grain driers now
on the market can be applied for this purpose with little or no alteration.
being dried it is roasted in substantially the same manner that coffee is roasted.
Mr. Greene does it in a revolving cylinder over a charcoal fire, care must be taken
that the grain is only roasted, not burnt. The roasted grain is then thoroughly
cleaned, this is done by stamping it with cushioned stamps placed closed together
and allowed to fall alternately or a few at a time, and these not contiguous to each
other. The stamps are preferably about four inches by six and coated with
tolerably stiff india-rubber for half an inch. They are lifted about eight inches
and allowed to fall, and weigh each of them about 1 cwt. and a half. A battery
can be worked by tappets like a quartz stamping mill. The Kafirs perform the
operation in a small way for their own use by placing the grain in a tub and
treading it with their bare feet the grain being about six inches deep. By this
stamping or treading the outer skin which is very brittle is removed without the
somewhat soft kernel being injured. The outer skin is now winnowed from the
kernel in an ordinary winnowing machine the kernel is ground either in a stone or
in a roller mill or other grinding device to any required fineness, the meal thus
formed should be kept in air tight vessels in order to save the aroma.
One
particular quality of the meal made in this way is that it imparts its valuable
digestible properties to a much larger bulk than itself of other meal and from
experiments that have been made the best and most palatable food is made of a
mixture of about one part by weight of the best flour previously thoroughly well
baked and two parts of the meal already described. These are thoroughly mixed
together and for every 50 lbs. of the mixture three ounces of a preparation of two
parts of fine table salt and one part bi-carbonate of potash is added the whole are

page_text: thoroughly mixed by passing through a fine sieve. This preparation is then
baked in an oven and stirred mechanically while baking. The resulting mixture
is immediately put into tins or other air tight packages and will keep for a
long time.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
1. A food formed of Kafir corn malted to a certain extent, dried, baked or roasted,
and ground, and either used alone or mixed with other farinaceous matter sub-
stantially ducanibed
Dated this 7th day of November 1895.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
31, High Holborn, London, W.C., Patent Agents for the Applicant.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
31, High Holborn, London, W.C., Patent Agents for the Applicant.