IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT AND APPLICATION OF CERTAIN MATERIALS AFTER HAVING BEEN
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Walker of Saint Andrews Chambers, Park Row,
Leeds, in the County of York for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
TREATMENT AND APPLICATION OF CERTAIN MATERIALS AFTER HAVING BEEN
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Walker at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 5th February 1883.
JAMES WALKER of Saint Andrews Chambers, Park Row, Leeds, in the County of
York "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT AND APPLICATION OF CERTAIN
MATERIALS, AFTER HAVING BEEN FOULED IN THE PROCESS OF PURIFYING COAL GAS
FOR THE PROTECTION OF PLANTS OR TREES FROM THE ATTACKS OF INSECTS
"
My Invention relates to the treatment and utilisation of the materials which
have been used in purifying coal gas as described in the Specification of my former
Patents N° 5269. A.D. 1881., N° 387. A.D. 1882 and N° 1561. A.D. 1882 which
materials after such use contain various matter such as carbonic acid or oxide,
bisulphide of carbon, tarry matter, naphthaline, ammonia, sulphur, cyannate of
ammonia and ferrocyanide, fatal to insect life, and I prepare the said fouled mixture,
and apply it as hereinafter fully described with the object of destroying the insects
which cause such destructive ravages on the grape vines, and also for the
eradication and extermination of the insects which attack the hop Bine, rose trees,
and such like plants and also the insects which attack the apple and other fruit
bearing trees.
First, in preparation for grape vines apple or other fruit bearing trees I take the
fouled mixture of coke dust and lime from the purifiers with as little exposure to
the atmosphere as possible, and I put it into a revolving grinding pan with rolls
D

page_text: or other suitable machine, and I crush or grind it into a powder or paste so fine that
it will make a thick creamy wash or paint when water is added and stirred well
into it.
I take the powder or paste when so ground and I pack it in bags barrels or casks
and it may at once be transported to where it is wanted for use, to be applied to
the stocks of grape vines or the fruit bearing trees to be operated on in the manner
following, or in such other manner as may be suited to special requirements. This
paint paste or wash is only intended to be used on the stems or stocks which have
bark like vines and not on plants or Bines of hops-I take the powder or paste
from the bags casks, or cases of the mixture prepared as above stated in sufficient
quantity to do the work then required to be done in the intended operation and I
place such portion in a vessel, and I add as much water thereto as will make when
well stirred together a thick creamy wash or paint as aforesaid. I then take a brush
and paint the preparation on the stocks of grape vines, apple or other fruit bearing
trees I repeat this process when the previous application has dried on the aforesaid
stocks under this treatment, from day to day till a good coat of the mixture
adheres to the stocks-This is intended to repel the insects from piercing the stocks
or roots for the purpose of depositing their eggs by reason of the poisonous nature
of the paint as aforesaid but should the eggs be deposited on the surface, making
them from the same cause innoxious by the deleteriousness of the paste destroying
their vitality
In preparing the fouled mixture of coke dust and lime in the grinding pan or
other suitable machine for a paste or powder as aforesaid, I may in some cases add
thereto the waste peroxide of iron that has been used in purifying gas after the
sulphur has been burnt out in the proportion of about one part of the said burnt
peroxide of iron to ten parts of the fouled mixture of coke dust and lime or other
suitable proportions. This peroxide of iron having had the greater part of the
sulphur burnt out in making sulphuric acid therefrom but which generally contains
a residue of sulphur of at least six per cent and is therefore of itself destructive to
insect life I grind these ingredients well together in the pan or other machine as
aforesaid and I add the burnt peroxide of iron with the object of making the
paint or wash of the mixture of coke dust and lime and the burnt peroxide of iron
to set harder when dried and thus become more inpenetrable to the action of the
insects' attacks for a lodgment on the aforesaid stocks and roots.
Or Secondly, for treating the foliage of grape vines, hop Bines rose trees and
other plants I make a sulpho liquor from the aforesaid ground or pulverised fouled
mixture of coke dust and lime in the manner following-I take any given quantity
or weight of the said fouled coke dust and lime ground as aforesaid or unground
as it comes from the purifiers according to the extent and number of plants to be
treated and I place it in a suitable vessel or vessels and I then add about twenty gallons
of water to every one hundred-weight of the fouled mixture aforesaid and I stir
the water and materials well together till it is completely lixivated and I then let
it stand about twenty four hours stirring it once or twice during the first twelve
hours or thereabouts so that no portion of the mixture shall escape the action of the
water at the end of the twenty four hours and I draw off the clear liquor which
has now become a sulpho of a density of by Twaddel's Hydrometer., or counting
by the density of Ammonia 12 ounces liquor of a pale golden shade the water
having absorbed the soluble impurities the mixture of coke dust and lime had
extracted from the gas and which liquor by analysis is shown to contain hydro-
sulphite of lime, sulphate of lime, hydrate of lime, ferro cyanide, and cyanate of
ammonia. Or I take the fouled mixture of coke dust and lime in its unground
state as from the purifiers and I treat it in all respects as above stated for making
the said sulpho liquor breaking any lumps it may contain as I put it into the water
so that the water shall have full action upon it in extracting the soluble impurities
aforesaid and if requisite I repeat the steeping of the fouled mixture aforesaid by
adding other water as often as a liquor is given off sufficient in strength.-I use

page_text: this sulpho liquor either in its full strength or diluted with any suitable proportion
of water according to the work I want to do-I wash on both sides the leaves with
a sponge or brush with the liquor at its normal strength or I syringe the plants
therewith when suitable diluted with water by the pressure of some hand or
garden, or other engine or machine with a rose of fine holes that shall cause the
dilution to fall over the plants in a fine spray or mist so as not to waste the liquor
and to do this as often as it is requisite to destroy any insects which settle or exist
on the plants-I take the steeped mixture after drawing off the liquor as aforesaid
and spread it on the surface or mix it into the soil at the roots of the plants to
become a fertiliser to the soil, so that no part of the mixture shall be lost or
wasted.
In treating apple or other fruit trees that are attacked with noxious insects I
wash the diseased parts with the above liquor then I paint with a brush the bark
where the insects are with the paint or wash as aforesaid several times over if
necessary till the colonies of insects are finally destroyed.
My experiments go to prove that this treatment of the grape vines, hop Bines,
rose trees, apple or other fruit trees or plants are in no way injured by the materials
specified or the mode of application herein prescribed

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said James Walker in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 4th August
1883.
"
JAMES WALKER, of Saint Andrew's Chambers, Park Row, Leeds, in the County
of York " IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT AND APPLICATION OF CERTAIN
MATERIALS AFTER HAVING BEEN FOULED IN THE PROCESS OF PURIFYING COAL
GAS FOR THE PROTECTION OF PLANTS OR TREES FROM THE ATTACKS OF INSECTS
My Invention relates to the treatment and utilization of the materials which
have been used in purifying coal gas, as described in the Specifications of my
former Letters Patent N° 5269 A.D. 1881, N° 387 A.D. 1882, and N° 1561
A.D. 1882; which materials, after they have been used in purifying the gas, have
hitherto been cast out from the purifiers as of no further use or value, but which I
find contain various matters extracted from or deposited by the gas in its passage
through these materials in the purifying process, such as bisulphide of carbon, tarry
matter, naphthaline, sulphur, ammonia, cyanate of ammonia, ferrocyanide, carbonic
acid, or oxide, in various proportions, all of which are fatal to insect life.
This fouled mixture I take and prepare in several ways as an insecticide for the
destruction of phylloxera and other insects which attack grape vines, aphides, and
mould on hop bines, rose trees, greenhouse plants, shrubs, apple or other fruit-
bearing trees, and for the destruction of wire worms in wheat and other arable
lands, and the insects that attack sheep, and the fly and caterpillars which attack
and destroy the turnip crop. I prepare and apply the said material for these
several purposes, either in a powdered state, or in a liquor which has been in
contact with the said ground or unground materials, according to the nature of
the work I require to have done, as hereinafter fully described and set forth.
I remove the fouled mixture of coke dust and lime, when it has been cast out of
the purifying boxes, without delay, into a suitable shed or building, and with as
little exposure to the weather as possible, and I put it into a grinding pan to crush
any lumps it may contain-I then place the crushed material into cisterns, or
tanks, of any size, according to the extent of the operations I have to carry on and
the quantity of the fouled mixture I have to deal with-I prefer that the tanks,
or cisterns, shall be made of good 3 inch pitch pine planks well bolted together,
2 feet 9 inches or 3 feet deep, with a suitable tap placed about half way up each
cistern, or tank, through which the liquor can be drawn free from the matter
deposited, and I fill into each of the said tanks, or cisterns, as much water as will
occupy half of the space therein, and to the extent of 320 gallons to every ton of
the fouled materials to be immersed-I then throw into the tank as much of the
crushed materials from the grinding pan aforesaid as will give the proportions of
gallons of water before named to every ton of material to be immersed, stirring
them well together while the materials are added, till the water and materials are
thoroughly lixiviated and mixed together-I then let them stand for 24 hours, or
upwards, stirring them again during the first 12 hours several times, so that every
portion of the solid matters shall come under the action of the water, and I allow
the water to stand until it is a sulpho alkaline liquor by its absorption of the
soluble impurities with which the fouled mixture of lime, coke dust, or breeze, has
become charged from the gas while in the purifiers, and until it has settled into a
fine and clear liquor of a pale golden colour and of the density of 6, Twaddel's
hydrometer, or thereabouts. I then draw off the supernatant liquor into other
tanks, cisterns, or vessels, and it is ready for use to wash sheep (or it may, if too
strong, be further diluted with water, at the discretion of the operator before

page_text: being employed for the purpose) to destroy the parasitic insects that attack them, and
I apply the liquor as above prepared in the ordinary way well known to all sheep
breeders The deposit in the tanks I cast out and treat as hereinafter described and
refill the tanks, or cisterns, with fresh materials and water, and repeat the same
operations continuously, so long as I have materials to treat and liquor to
produce
After immersing the fouled mixture of Coke dust and lime and having extracted
the soluble impurities it contained, which are mostly obnoxious to vegetation,
I take the deposit when thrown out of the tanks, or cisterns, and put it into
grinding mills or pulverizers, adding, as placed therein, one tenth part, or there-
abouts, of burnt peroxide of iron which has been used in purifying the gas by the
extraction of sulphur therefrom, and has had the sulphur burnt out for making
sulphuric acid, but which burnt peroxide still retains sulphur sufficient to be
destructive to insect life, and I grind the mixture, in a wet state, into a fine
impalpable powder, so that no grit is felt in passing through the fingers-I then
dry and place it in bags, or barrels, or other suitable packages for transport to
where it is required to be used-This material so prepared may be applied in the
manner following:-To grape vines when affected with phylloxera, or apple or
other fruit trees, with insects, I add as much water as will make a paint of ordinary
consistence, which I apply with a paint brush on to the stocks of the vines and
fruit trees infected, so as to prevent the lodgement of insects, or their eggs; and
for application to the leaves of the vines, and for the foliage of other plants or
shrubs, I make a liquor by adding 10 or 12 pints of water, or other suitable
proportion (more or less), to every one pound of the powdered material mixed
therewith, stirring it well together so that the whole quantity of powder treated
may be taken up by the water-This will reduce the admixture to a milky state
capable of being syringed on to the leaves of the vines, hop-bines, rose trees, plants,
or shrubs, in a fine spray, as often as the vines, hop-bines, plants, or shrubs,
require treatment for the destruction of the insect pests infesting them-If it be
preferred, after mixing the powder into the water as above described, to have a
clear liquor rather than a milky one with the powder being kept afloat and
dispersed through the syringe on to the vines, hop-bines, plants and shrubs, as
aforesaid, it may be left to stand and settle until clear and then be used with the
syringe in like manner, or instead of using the syringe as aforesaid, the leaves of
the vines, plants, or shrubs, may be washed by hand with a sponge, brush, or
other suitable article, either with the liquor in its milky, or its clear state, as may
be decided by the operator
The residuum, after the clear liquor is withdrawn, can be used as a fertilizer by
digging it into the soil, or for the protection of the roots of the fruit trees, or grape
vines, by spreading it on the surface of the soil, or by digging it well into the soil
above the roots, to prevent the insects descending thereinto-or, I take the
aforesaid residuum, after it has been cast out of the tanks, and I mix with it
one fourth part, or thereabouts, of the aforesaid burnt oxide of iron (more or less),
and pulverize them together into a fine powder, which I apply to arable land
infested with wire worn, so as to destroy them-This object may be effected by
spreading over the surface of the soil a sufficient quantity of the powdered mixture
prepared as aforesaid and working it into the soil by ploughing or harrowing, or
by any other process used in preparing the land for the cereal crops, so that the
soil surrounding the seedling plants shall be so impregnated with the powder that
if it does not poison the worms, it will prevent their approaching the roots for
their usual food, and thus save the crop from the deterioration usually inflicted
upon wheat and other grain plants attacked by these insects when the crop is left
without protection-The powder will also act as a fertilizing manure to the crop,
and may be used as a top dressing for grass and other crops by hand distribution-
or, I employ the aforesaid pulverized powdered mixture for the protection of
the turnip crop from the attacks of the fly, or black or other caterpillar-I apply
the powder to this crop as follows:-I take the pulverized powder in a dry state

page_text: and put it into the ordinary turnip seed drill, as soon as it appears the fly is on
the plants, and the same when the caterpillars have come upon them, and drill the
dust over every ridge of the plants attacked, in sufficient quantity to dust their
leaves but not to cover them up-About 5 cwt to 10 cwt will suffice for the
treatment of one acre of turnips
Having thus described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into
effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel and original
and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the hereinbefore in part
recited Letters Patent is :-
First The preparation, manufacture, and use of the liquor obtained from the
fouled materials herein before mentioned, for the treatment of plants, and for the
purposes of a sheep wash, in the manner hereinbefore described
Secondly-The preparation, manufacture, and use of a powder from the fouled
materials herein before mentioned, for the treatment of turnip crops, and for the
treatment of arable land generally, in the manner, and for the purposes, herein-
before described
In witness whereof I the said James Walker have to this my Specification set
my hand and seal this twenty seventh day of July One thousand eight hundred
and eighty three.