AN IMPROVEMENT IN MANUFACTURE OF PAPER BY THE APPLICATION OF A ROOT NOT BEPORE USED FOR THE PURPOSE
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Barling, of 7, High Street, Maidstone, in
tlie County of Kent, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVEMENT IN
MANUFACTURE OF PAPER BY THE APPLICATION OF A ROOT NOT BEPORE USED FOR
THE PURPOSE."
Sealed the 4th March 1856, and dated the 4th December 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Barling at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, ou the 4th
December 1855.
I, JOSEPH BARLING, of 7, High Street, Maidstone, in the County of Kent,
do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF PAPER BY THE APPLICATION OF A ROOT NOT BEPORE USED POR
THE PURPOSE to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object the manufacture of paper by the application
of the root of the hop plant.
It has before been proposed to employ the hop bine for making paper, and
the ordinary practice is to leave the roots in the ground. Now I have dis-
covered that the root of the hop plant is peculiarly suited for making paper,
and this I do by cleansing the roots and separating the fibre by means here-

page_text: tofore employed when separating the fibres of other vegetable matters, and
such fibres are then reduced into pulp and made into paper, either alone or
combined with other pulp.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Joseph Barling in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
3rd June 1856.
4
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
BARLING, of 7, High Street, Maidstone, in the County of Kent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the nineteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors; give and grant unto me,
the said Joseph Barling, Her special licence that I, the said Joseph Barling,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Joseph Barling, 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 "AN IMPROVEMENT IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER BY THE APPLICATION OF A ROOT NOT BEFORE USED FOR
THE PURPOSE," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Joseph
Barling, my executors or administrators, by an instrument 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 immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.
.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Joseph Barling, 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
thereof, that is to say :-
Firstly, the root I have discovered to be fit to make into paper is that of the
hop plant "humulus lupulus;" this root is composed of a fibrous network well
adapted to be made into paper.
In cultivated hops there is a portion of this root cut away every year, which

page_text: part is commonly called or known by the name of a hop set, it being that part
of the plant from which hops are chiefly propagated. The main root of the
hop plant remains in the ground many years; they are occasionally grubbed or
taken up either from an excess of hops in cultivation, or from any particuar
disease affecting them, or from the cultivators requiring to change the sort.
Now my discovery is, that either the main root, or the set which is annually
cut off the main root, is well adapted to make paper, and to the best of my
knowledge, such parts of the hop plant have not before been used or applied
for that purpose.
My Invention for converting the said roots into paper is this: in the case
of the main root having been grubbed up, I first treat the roots in a manner
I have found best adapted to preserve them for the purpose aforesaid. This
treatment consists in removing as much of the earth or dirt as is practicable
while the roots are in a damp or green state. I then spread out the roots
in a convenient place to let them dry; in drying, the roots shrink, and by
beating them when so shrunk much dirt is removed from them. This drying
and removal of dirt kills the root, and enables it to be packed, stored, and
preserved without injury till required for use; but if the roots of the hop
be heaped together in a damp or dirty state, they will sprout and grow, and
soon become rotten and spoilt; or instead of the before-described plan, the
roots may be cut in a green or wet state, and afterwards dried for preservation
till used.
My treatment of that part of the root which has been cut off from the main
root, and before described as a hop set, is the same in principle; viz., when such
hop sets are cut, I lay them out to dry, arranging them so that they can be'
most conveniently gathered up; in most cases a portion of the bine is left on
the set, and when the set is dry I gather and tie them up in bundles, most con-
venient to move or pack in stacks or barns, ready for use.
When requiring to
use either the main roots or hop sets to make into paper, I
first cut the same
into pieces by any convenient means; a strong circular action chaff-cutter
answers this purpose very well, but when the roots are very large they may be
prepared for the chaff-cutter by being broken or cut by a chopper. The roots
or sets are so cut, that in the after process of boiling they may expose a large
portion of their surface to the action of the boiling solvent, and be most equally
acted on thereby; for the further exposing surface to the action of the solvents
in boiling, the cut roots may be passed between rollers contrived to tear or
crush the same;
I have found cutting without crushing to act very well.
The roots being so prepared are next put in a boiler. I prefer to make use

page_text: of a boiler capable of bearing steam at high pressure, and so arranged that it
can be revolved, by which revolving the contents are shifted or stirred up.
]
put into the boiler containing the roots, a solution of caustic alkali, by
I prefer
preference soda made caustic by lime in the usual well-known way.
to let the solution cover the roots, but not to fill the boiler; the object of not
filling the boiler is to allow room for the roots to shift or be stirred up as the
boiler revolves, and also to allow room for the steam to collect and press on
the surface of the liquor. When such pressure exceeds fifteen pounds to the
square inch, the temperature of the liquor is raised above 212 degrees of
Fahrenheit, and thereby acts more powerfully in dissolving the gummy matter
and softening the fibre of the roots, by which they are better fitted to be made
into paper.
The alkaline solution I make use of for such boiling is of the strength of about
3 to 4 degrees of Beaumé's hydrometer; less strength will do, but stronger solu-
tion will effect the object better, in a shorter time; with the strength named, and
about nine hours boiling, the roots are ready for use, except that the coloring
matter and excess of alkaline solution is to be discharged by washing; this
washing may be effected in part or wholly in the revolving boiler. I prefer,
however, in part to wash in the boiler, and to complete the washing in the
usual rag-washing engine.
The washing in the revolving boiler is thus performed:-The alkaline solu-
tion being withdrawn or blown out of the boiler, either as waste or for further
use, I let water into the boiler, warm or boiling water preferred; the roots are
to be boiled therein for an hour or more, and well, stirred up or shifted, to
expose all parts to the washing; this shifting or stirring is performed, as before
described, by the revolution of the boiler..
The water is then run off, and the operation repeated till the roots are clean
enough for the purpose required. I prefer, however, to pass the roots from the
washing in the boiler into a rag-washing engine, by the action of which the
substance of the roots is opened, and the colouring matter, &c. more effec-
tually discharged. Where it is required more completely to neutralize the
remaining trace of alkali, a small quantity of acid may be put in the engine
towards the completion of the washing; about one quart of sulphuric acid to
the engine will be generally found sufficient. From this washing the roots are
let into the beating engine, and therein converted into pulp, as as in the usual
way, and may be made into paper millboards or other kinds of board.
When, however, it is intended to make such roots into white or bleached
paper, they are, after washing, and being reduced to half stuff, to he let into an

page_text: engine or vat, and submitted to a solution of chloride of lime or other bleaching
agent.
The whiteness will, however, be improved by passing the stuff after drawing
it from the bleach into a bath of clean water, to which has been added so much
sulphuric acid as to render such bath of about the same degree of sourness as
lemon juice; the stuff being brought to the desired colour, is to be washed
in clean water to free it from the acid, and afterwards made into paper in the
usual way.
I claim as new and useful, and as my discovery, the application of the
roots of the hop plant (bumulus lupulus) to the purpose of paper-making,
and that whether the said roots be the refuse of the hops cultivated for
other purposes or hops cultivated purposely for making into paper, and
either alone or in combination with other paper-making materials.
I claim also as new and useful, and as my Invention and discovery, the
means before described of preparing such roots for paper-making purposes, by
cleansing, drying, and storing the same.
I also claim as new and useful, and as my discovery and Invention, the
boiling of such roots in an alkaline solution, to soften such roots and extract
therefrom the coloring and other matters, and thereby fit the said roots to be
made into paper, millboards, or other kinds of boards.
I do not confine my Invention to the particular strength of the alkaline.
solution herein described, or to the particular method of applying such alkaline
solution; what I claim is, the boiling of such roots with alkaline solutions,
whether the said roots be immersed therein, or such solutions be caused to
percolate through such roots, or by any method by which such boiling
alkaline solutions be made to act on the said roots, for the purpose aforesaid.
I do not claim the use of boiling alkaline solutions as new, or as my Inven-
tion or discovery, for purposes of preparing substances to be made into
paper, but as new and useful, and as my Invention and discovery, as applied
to the root of the hop plant, for the purposes aforesaid.
The solvents I make use of for acting on the said roots for dissolving the
gummy or colouring matter of the same are the alkalies soda or potash, either
in a mild or caustic state, and used either alone or in combination with sul-
phur, and known as alkaline sulphurets, or a combination of sulphur and lime,
known as sulphuret of lime. By preference I use caustic soda or sulphuret of
seda; the caustic soda I make use of is of the strength of about 4° of Beaumé's
bydrometer.
I do not claim the use of the solvents above described as new for the
purpose

page_text: of extracting the gummy or colouring matter from vegetable fibres, but as new
in their application to the root of the hop plant for the purpose of preparing
such root for paper-making purposes.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Barling, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Second day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
JOSEPH BARLING. (L.8.)
Witness,
JOSEPH JOHN BARLING,
of. No. 7, High Street, Maidstone, Kent.