AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE MANUFACTURING OF ROSIN
Year: 1834

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WEBSTER
FloCKTON, of Horsleydown, in the Borough of Southwark, Turpentine Distiller,
send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King William the
Fourth, by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain,
bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-third day of August, in the fifth
year of His reign, did, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Webster Flockton, His especial licence, that I,
the said Webster Flockton, my exors, adññors, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Webster Flockton, my exors, adñiors, or assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during
the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-
Tweed, my Invention of "AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE MANUFACTURING OF ROSIN;"
in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso obliging me, the said
Webster Flockton, by an instrument in writing under ny hand and seal,
particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be.
inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months
next and immediately after the date of the said recited Letters Patent,
as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at
large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Webster Flockton, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention

page_text: to consist in cooling down rosin immediately on its leaving the still, by
running it directly from the still into coolers or refrigerators (instead of running
it into mere receivers, ladling it while in a melted and heated state from those
receivers into wooden moulds or casks, and there allowing it to cool gradually
as heretofore), by which improvement in the process of manufacturing rosin I
do away entirely with the use of the ladle and wooden mould, and produce
the article in a cold solid marketable state much sooner after it leaves the still
than heretofore, and of a superior quality.
And in further compliance with the said proviso, I, the said Webster
Flockton, do hereby describe the manner in which my said Invention is to be
performed, by the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
Instead of the ordinary receiver, I place a large shallow water-tight vessel
or tank, which I call a cooler or refrigerator, and which may be made of iron,
wood, or of brick cemented, or other suitable material, at the option of the
manufacturer, in any convenient situation near to the still, and sufficiently
below the level of the discharge cock or plug of the still to admit of a shoot
being placed from the cock or plug to the cooler, at an inclination that will
admit of the liquid rosin flowing from the still into the cooler. I fill this
cooler (which is about nine inches in depth) about one third full of clean cold
water (if rain water, and filtered, so much the better, but clean spring water will
do); when the rosin is ready to be drawn off from the still, I discharge it at once
by means of the shoot before mentioned into this water in the cooler, allowing
a thin surface as possible over the water; while at a high temperature the rosin
will spread over, and, for a few minutes, float upon the surface of the water,
extending to the sides of the cooler; but in a very short time it cools, becomes
solid, contracts from the sides, and sinks to the bottom of the cooler, a con-
tinued supply of cold water being kept up until a complete cooling is effected.
The water being drawn off, the rosin will be formed on the bottom of the
cooler, either of a clear pale yellow, or beautifully transparent, according to its
kind, and may be at once broken into pieces and put into casks or mats for
sale. Now whereas the rosin may be run from the still into bot or warm
water in the first instance to form a surface, the heated water being then
drawn off and cold water supplied till a perfect cooling is effected; but I
prefer running it into cold water at once, as herein-before described.
Another mode of effecting my said improvement is as follows:-I run the
rosin into pots of porous or unglazed earthenware, to be of the form of an
inverted cone (such as are in use among sugar bakers being applicable to the
purpose), standing them within vats or cisterns of such dimensions as shall be
most convenient, containing cold water, which saturating the pores of the
earthenware prevents the rosin from sticking or adhering to the sides.

page_text: In order that my method may be fully understood and carried into effect, I
will describe the Drawing hereunto annexed, first observing that similar letters
in the various Figures refer to similar parts whenever they occur.
A is a
vat or cistern furnished with a cast-iron cover B, having holes in it suited to
the dimensions of the earthenware vessels, the edges of which vessels are level
with the surface of the said cover, thus enabling me to fill them by means of
the shoot, as before described. The cover B rests upon a ledgo about two
inches below the top of the cistern, as shown by the second line I. Having
filled the cistern and earthen vessels with the water from the pipe E, I with-
draw it by means of the cock G a short time previous to running the rosin, to
allow of the water passing into the pots D. I make them with a small hole
at the apex or conical end, which hole is necessary to effect a complete satura-
tion of the earthenware. As soon as the water is withdrawn I run the rosin,
and immediately upon the pots being filled with rosin, I admit the water into
the vat or cistern A by means of the supply pipe E, which instantly flows
around the pots D, and is allowed to run over at the pipe F until the rosin has
been sufficiently cooled; the iron cover B may then be removed, the water
withdrawn, and the pots D lifted out to discharge the rosin contained within'
them. The cistern A is fitted with an iron shaft C to steady and support the
pots, having holes H perforated in the shelf to allow a free passage to
the water.
And whereas I claim as my Invention the discharging of the resinous
contents of the still into coolers or refrigerators instead of into mere receivers
as heretofore, and cooling the rosin as rapidly as possible by artificial means,
as I have herein-before described, immediately on its being drawn off from
the still.
And such my Invention being, to the best of my knowledge and belief,
entirely new, and never before used within that part of His said Majesty's
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called England, lis said
Dominion of Wales, or Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, I do hereby declare
this to be my Specification of the same, and that I do verily believe this my
said Specification doth comply in all respects fully, and without reserve or
disguise, with the proviso in the said hercin-before in part recited Letters
Patent contained; wherefore I do hereby claim to maintain exclusive right and
privilege to my said Invention.
In witness whereof, I, the said Webster Flockton, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty-five.
WEBSTER (L.S.) FLOCKTON.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Seventeenth day of February,
in the year of our Lord 1835, the aforesaid Webster Flockton came before
our said Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Speci-
fication aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in
form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped
according to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Inrolled the Seventeenth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and thirty-five.