IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PRE- PROAL
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Pillans, of 40, Brompton Crescent, in the
County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PRE-
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Pillans at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
29th December 1854.
I, JAMES PILLANS, of 40, Brompton Crescent, in the County of Middlesex,
do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
PREPARATION OF HEMATOSIN, AND FIBRINOUS AND SEROUS MATTERS," to be as
follows:-
I divide the blood of animals (that of oxen being the most suitable) into
two parts, by allowing the liquid part to separate from the coagulated clot.
The latter, or more solid portion, contains the hematosin, or coloring matter of
the blood, besides a certain proportion of serous matter still retained by it. I
then, by a series of knife blades arranged on a handle, cut this coagulated clot
into small pieces, or it may be ground conveniently betwixt two rollers, or in
a mill resembling a coffee or sausage mill, the effect in each case being to
break up the clot; or I attain the same end by pressing the clot, so as to obtain

page_text: all the moisture from it, thus separating the fibrine in a comparatively dry state.
I then introduce the article thus prepared into a drying room, through which
a current of hot air is made to pass. When quite dry I grind it into smaller
or larger pieces, or into powder, and it is then fit for being employed by the
Turkey red and other dyers, sugar refiners, and others, who at present use
blood in its natural state. The liquid or serous portion of the blood, when
purified, I dry in the same manner, and it is suitable for the use of printers of
textile fabrics, also for the fining of wine.
I claim, under this Patent, the separating and preparing of the solid colour-
ing portion of the blood, as well as the separating and preparing of the serous
portion of the blood, by the methods and for the purposes above stated.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Pillans in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
28th June 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
PILLANS, of 40, Brompton Crescent, in the County of Middlesex, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the eighteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said James Pillans, Her special licence that I, the said James Pillans,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others. as I, the said
James Pillans, my 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 PREPARATION OF HEMATOSIN, AND FIBRINOUS AND SEROUS MATTERS," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said James Pillans, by an instru-
ment in writing under my hand and seal, 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 immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.

page_text: .
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Pillans, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascetrained in and by the following
statement thereof (that is to say) :-
:-
I divide the blood of animals (that of oxen being the most suitable) into
two parts, by allowing the liquid part to separate from the coagulated clot.
The latter, or more solid portion, contains the hematosin, or coloring matter of
the blood, besides a certain proportion of serous matter still retained by it. I
then, by a series of knife blades arranged on a handle, cut this coagulated clot
into small pieces; or it may be ground conveniently betwixt two rollers, or in
a mill resembling a coffee or sausage mill, the effect in each case being to
break up the clot; or I attain the same end by pressing the clot, so as to obtain
all the moisture from it, thus separating the fibrine in a comparatively dry
state.
I then introduce the article thus prepared into a drying room, through
which a current of hot air is made to pass. When quite dry I grind it into
smaller or larger pieces, or into powder, and it is then fit for being employed
by the Turkey red and other dyers, sugar refiners, and others, who at present
use blood in its natural state. The liquid or serous portion of the blood, when
purified, I dry in the same manner, and it is suitable for the use of printers of
textile fabrics, also for the fining of wine.
The following is the method in which I prepare the hematosin, and the
fibrinous and serous parts of the blood of cattle, sheep, and other animals:-
FIRST OPERATION.
The blood must be obtained warm, and if possible should be caught as it
flows from the animal in shallow receiving vessels, the most convenient size
of which I find to be such as will contain about fourteen to twenty pounds of
blood; if circular and flat bottomed with perpendicular sides, which I find
on the whole the best shape, though they may be of any other, they would
thus be somewhere about thirteen and a half inches in diameter by about
three and a half inches deep; they may, however, be made smaller, particularly
when sheep's blood is operated on; or, on the other hand, somewhat larger
than above. It is convenient to have two handles on each vessel, attached
to its outer circumference near the bottom, the handles being opposite to
each other.
When the receiving vessels thus described have been filled with blood, or
nearly so, I allow them to stand for two to six hours, according to the weather;
if it be hot, less time is necessary than when it is cold; but the nature of the
blood, which varies greatly even in animals of the same species, also influences

page_text: I have what I call a straining vessel, of the same shape as the receiving one,
only it must be somewhat wider, say, by about two or three inches, but without
restricting it to these precise dimensions, which I state as such as I find
convenient; in depth it may be the same, or a little less than the receiving
vessel, and its bottom must be pierced with a number of small holes (its sides
also if preferred), which may conveniently be made round, and of about one
quarter of an inch in diameter; but they may be of any other figure, or some-
what larger or smaller. It is also convenient to have two handles on this vessel,
one on each side, fixed on its external circumference, nearly on a level with
the bottom. After the blood has remained in the receiving vessel for the time
above stated, I transfer it (in the shape of a clot) to the straining vessel, having
first poured off any serum that may have separated itself, and set it aside, to
be used as hereafter to be explained.
A convenient substitute for this straining vessel is one of similar size and
shape, but of which the bottom and sides are formed of two detached pieces.
The bottom is to be pierced like the other, with small holes; the sides thus
consist of a broad hoop, and if found more convenient said hoop may be
formed by a straight band of elastic material, which admits of being bent into
a circle, and retained in that position by a clasp or other fastening. The part
forming the detached bottom, when the clot has to be transferred from the
receiving vessel, must be placed over the mouth of the latter, which is then to
be turned upside down; by this proceeding the clot is made to rest on the said
bottom. When this is effected, and before removing the receiving vessel, the
hoop or elastic band is to be put over it, so as to embrace it round its circum-
ference, while said hoop or band rests on the detached bottom near its edge,
thus forming a recipient for the clot when the receiving vessel is lifted off,
which must now be done.
ying in the straining vessel (constructed 3
in either of the above modes) is to be cut, by means of a knife, or several
blades arranged on a handle, into small pieces; it may, however, be cut into a

page_text: few large pieces, or even not cut at all; but I prefer the first-named method,
as giving a better result. When the clot is thus cut, the serum it contains
begins to flow from it. At first, it is so highly colored by the hematosin that
this portion must be set aside, so that it do not mix with the subsequent
portions, which would be otherwise injured. It is impossible to give any
precise directions as to the quantity that must be thus set aside, as it varies
in different animals even of the same species; the eye alone, guided by long
practice, can decide when the serum has ceased to flow of too dark a colour.
As soon as this occurs, the straining vessel containing the clot must be
lifted up and placed over another of similar shape, which may be called
the depositing vessel, so that the serum which drains through the holes of the
straining vessel shall fall into it, with which view it should be a trifle wider
than the straining vessel, to prevent the serum dropping beyond it, and its
sides may be either perpendicular or sloping inwards. The latter arrangement
is convenient, particularly when the straining vessel has been made compara-
tively wide.
The depositing vessel must have a hole pierced in its bottom, of about an
inch in diameter, or other convenient size, which is to be stopped by a cork,
a piece of vulcanized india-rubber, or other suitable substance; through this
substance is to be inserted a tube, of sufficient diameter to allow of the
flow of the liquid through it, and which must be long enough to project
about two inches, more or less, in the inside as well as on the outside of the
vessel; it must fit accurately, but it must also admit of being moved up and
down, and its upper orifice must be covered or plugged so long as the serum
is dropping to prevent its running through; in some cases it may be con-
venient to have more than one hole fitted with the apparatus in question.
An arrangement also very suitable is to have instead of the hole and tube
a narrow moveable sluice, fitted accurately into the circumference of the
depositing vessel at one or more points, and admitting of being gradually and
gently lowered. A third substitute would be a syphon, the orifice of whose
shorter leg should project inside the depositing vessel, and admit of being
gradually lowered; in fact, many analogous contrivances might be used. In
each of the above and other similar arrangements, the gradual flow of liquid
may be regulated by means of a float, or other self-acting apparatus.
Into a depositing vessel, as thus described, the serum is allowed to drain,
till it appears that most of it readily obtainable from the clot has flowed out;
the period required for this is usually ten to twenty hours (more or less in
exceptional cases), depending on the temperature of the weather, and the
facility with which the serum leaves the clot, which varies considerably.

page_text: When the proper interval has elapsed, the straining vessel is moved from
over the depositing one, and the serum now collected in the latter (to which
the small quantity obtained before cutting the clot has been previously added)
is allowed to stand till it becomes clear, for which twelve to twenty-four hours
are generally required, subject to the exception as to temperature, just alluded
to. The straining vessel, after having been removed from the depositing one,
be placed over another, exactly like the last named, or even over a plain,
flat, or other dish or recipient, whereby a small additional quantity of clear serum
may be had, by allowing the clot to drain till there is a risk of its becoming
decomposed; the straining vessel must then be put aside, or it may be put
aside at once on being removed from the first depositing one; in either case
the clotted part left in the former is to be kept, in order to be treated as here-
after to be described:
may
FOURTH OPERATION.
The clear serum now contained in the depositing vessel or vessels must be
drawn off by gradually lowering, either by the hand or self-acting contrivance,
the sluice, before alluded to, or the tube or syphon, or other similar apparatus,
so that the grounds alone remain at the bottom, which must be added to the
highly-colored serum obtained when the clot was cut.
I have minutely described the kind of receiving, straining, and depositing
vessels I find convenient, but the process can be also performed in corre-
sponding vessels, different in size and form; and provided the same method
of proceeding be followed, and the object for which each is intended kept in
view, the result will be the same, though the quantity of product may vary.
By these several operations I have now obtained the blood separated into
three distinct portions; viz, first, the clot in a comparatively dry state, com-
prising hematosin, a portion of serum, and all the fibrine; second, a portion
of serum highly colored by hematosin; third, the clear serum. And I proceed
to describe the treatment of each.
.
The first portion may be treated in one of two methods: it may either be
cut up by a knife, or series of blades arranged on a small handle or frame,
or similar contrivance, into smaller pieces, and then placed in a well-ventilated
drying room on trays or shelves, those of wire work being convenient; or it may
be put between rollers or into a press, by which nearly all the moisture left in
it may be squeezed out. This liquid part, as well as the solid part remaining
in the press, or resulting from the rollers, which latter is mostly fibrine, is then
to be transferred to the drying room and dried on separate trays or shelves,
the temperature in this as well as in the preceding case being kept under that

page_text: at which hematosin coagulates, so that when dry it may remain soluble in
I find about one hundred and ten to one hundred and fifteen degrees
a convenient heat..
water.
The second portion of the blood, that is, the serum highly coloured by
hematosin, can be added to the liquid part, resulting from the press or rollers
in the preceding operation, so as to be dried along with it. Should the clot
be dried without being pressed or rolled, this second portion of blood can be
dried separately. When these two portions of blood, which I distinguish by
the name of hematosin, are dry, they may for convenience sake be ground
to powder, and they are suited in a greater or less degree, particularly, with
the exception of the fibrinous part, for certain manufacturing processes, for
instance, in dyeing and sugar refining.
I now come to the third portion of the blood, or clear serum, which is to
be placed in the drying room, and at a temperature as above described, on
level shelves or trays, and in shallow strata, and when it is quite dry it is to
be removed; it is then, after being ground, if necessary, in a fit state to be
employed under the name of albumen, or other, by printers of textile fabrics,
chiefly for fixing ultramarine blue, and other colours that can be fixed by egg
albumen; also for fining various liquids; as indeed for the other purposes for
which said egg or other albumen is suited. Instead of drying at once the
clear serum in its natural state, it may be previously mixed when either cold
or warm with a small portion (about p. is usually sufficient) of oil of tur-
pentine; some of the other vegetable, particularly volatile oils, are also more
or less suitable, preferring such as have been exposed to the air. A further
addition may be made, if desired, of 10 or 20 p., or even more, of pure water,
which appears to have a favorable effect in some degree, though it retards
the drying; and ultramarine or other suitable color may also be added in the
proportion in which the two articles can be used together; an addition of
thickening material may also be made. The whole is then to be placed in
the drying room, and managed as the pure serum, taking care that under
no circumstances it is to be exposed to a heat high enough to coagulate it.
The utensils and apparatus alluded to above may be made of a great variety
of materials, and I will proceed to name some of them.
For the receiving, straining, and depositing vessels, glass, the material
made from iron slag, gutta percha, vulcanized caoutchouc, zinc, and iron pro-
tected by glaze, enamel, or otherwise, will answer (the flexible materials being
used only for the bands); tin and tinned vessels should be avoided, if possible.
as tending to discolor the serum. For the tubes, sluice, or syphon of the
depositing vessel, glass may be named as convenient; and for the trays or

page_text: shelves of the drying room, glass, the material made from iron slag, zinc and
iron, glazed or otherwise protected; earthenware does not answer well for this
apparatus, or vessels above alluded to, principally from the difficulty of getting
it sufficiently level. When the tube or sluice is fitted into the depositing
vessel it is well to lubricate it with oil, to make it move easily; in fact, oil or
other fatty substance may be useful also to rub on the other vessels.
In mentioning the above materials, I do not intend to limit my Specifi
cation to them, but to extend it to any others (of which there are many) not
prejudicially affected by blood, and that admit of being suitably formed into
the shapes required for the apparatus.
I claim, under this Patent, the separating and preparing of the solid
coloring portion of the blood, as well as the separating and preparing of the
serous portion of the blood, by the methods and for the purposes above stated.!
In witness whereof, I, the said James Pillans, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of June, in the year
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
JAMES PILLANS. (L.S.)
Witness,
WALTER CHARLES BACON, Clerk,
38, Allsop Terrace, New Road, London.