CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT OF WHEAT, RICE, AND OTHER FARINACEOUS GRAINS
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Hutchinson, of Liverpool, in the County
of Lancaster, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
TREATMENT OF WHEAT, RICE, AND OTHER FARINACEOUS GRAINS."
Sealed the 4th August 1871, and dated the 7th February 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Hutchinson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
7th February 1871.
I, EDWARD HUTCHINSON, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for " CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT OF WHEAT, RICE, AND OTHER FARINACEOUS
GRAINS," to be as follows:—
This Invention relates to wheat, the flour from which is used for
manufacturing purposes, and also to rice and other grains, which can
be used for manufacturing, domestic, and cattle feeding purposes,
and consists in submitting the grain to the action of steam for about
four minutes, the time being a little more or less according to the size and
quality of the grain and the temperature of the steam, it being under-

page_text: stood that the time required in each case cannot be largely increased or
diminished with impunity.
When the grain has been subjected to this treatment and the moisture
removed by passing it through a chamber of a warm temperature it will
be found to be so softened and improved that, the flour ground from it
will be greatly superior to what it would have been had no such
treatment taken place, and when paste or size is made from the
flour it will be found to be of greatly increased strength and superior
quality.
The apparatus for enabling the steam to act upon the grain may be
made in a variety of ways, but one which I find to be very simple and
efficient consists in making a shallow passage between sheets of wire cloth,
network, or gratings extending in an inclined, zig-zag, or serpentine
direction from the upper part of the building to a hopper or receptacle
at the lower part, in which hopper or receptacle there is a slide or valve
to regulate the delivery according to the requirement of the grain.
This shallow passage is enclosed in a casing of a corresponding shape, and
in it there are several pipes having long slits opening on the wire cloth,
network, or gratings, and through these slits the steam passes to fill
the casing and act upon the grain as it descends slowly by its own:
gravity to the hopper or receptacle, from whence it passes through the
warm chamber in order that the steam may escape from the grain
without condensation.
It will be seen that this system is perfectly distinct from the employ-
ment of steam for simply drying the grain or steaming it for food, for in 2
these cases some minutes of time either way may be of no great
importance, whereas in this Invention the time the steam acts has to be
carefully determined in order that the before-mentioned peculiar effect
may be obtained, for when too little time has been allowed there is.no
useful effect, and if too much the grain is spoiled.
3
In some cases the stationary casing and passage for the descent of the
grain from above to below may not be convenient, and therefore I vary
the apparatus so that the steaming can be effected on a single floor or in
any other desired manner, it being only necessary to apply the steam
the required time to thin layers of grain to improve its quality for 3
manufacturing, domestic, or cattle feeding purposes.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Edward Hutchinson in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 4th August 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD
HUTCHINSON, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Edward Hutchinson, Her special
license that I, the said Edward Hutchinson, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Edward Hutchinson, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, shall 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 "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT OF WHEAT, RICE, AND OTHER FARINACEOUS
GRAINS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Edward
Hutchinson, my executors or administrators, by an instrument 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Edward Hutchinson, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, that is to say :-
This Invention relates to wheat, the flour from which is used for
manufacturing purposes, and also to rice and other grains, which can
be used for manufacturing, domestic, and cattle feeding purposes, and
consists in submitting the grain to the action of steam for about four
minutes, the time being a little more or less according to the size and
quality of the grain and the temperature of the steam, it being under-
stood that the time required in each case cannot be largely increased or
diminished with impunity.

page_text: When the grain has been subjected to this treatment and the moisture
removed by passing it through a chamber of a warm temperature, it will
be found to be so softened and improved that the flour ground from it
will be greatly superior to what it would have been had no such treat-
ment taken place, and when paste or size is made from the flour it will
be of greatly increased strength and superior quality.
The apparatus for enabling the steam to act upon the grain may be
made in a variety of ways, but one which is very simple and efficient
consists in making a shallow passage having on one or both sides sheets
of wire cloth, network, or gratings extending in an inclined, zig-zag,
or serpentine direction from an upper floor of the building to a lower
one, there being slides or valves to regulate the delivery as required.
This shallow passage is enclosed in a casing of a corresponding shape,
and at one or both sides there are pipes having long slits, through
which the steam passes to act upon the grain as it descends by its
own gravity to the warm chamber, where the steam escapes from the
grain without condensation.
In order that my Invention may be clearly understood, I annex the
accompanying Sheet of Drawings, in which Figure 1 is a vertical
section, Figure 2 a front view, and Figure 3 a transverse section of
one arrangement of apparatus in which the grain is steamed as it
descends, the following letters of reference indicating the several parts.
The grain is supplied to the hopper a from whence it passes down a
shallow zig-zag passage b, there being at the top and bottom slides c to
© regulate the delivery. At the back of the passage there is a case d con-
taining steam pipes e connected to cross pipes f opening into the
passage b, and one side of this passage is covered by wire cloth or
network h, between which and an inner cover k there is a space to allow
the steam to circulate, and this cover with the wire cloth connected to
it is fixed firmly to the case d, the whole being enclosed by the sides /
and external cover m, and kept firm and tight by the bolts and keys n.
The steam pipes fhave slits through which the steam passes to act on
the grain as it descends, and as before stated the descent is regulated by
the slides c. At the bottom of the passage and case there is a shoot o
leading to the warm chamber; but instead of the shoot there may be a
box or receptacle from which the grain is removed to the chamber by
an ordinary Archimedean screw or other means, and in the chamber the
grain is either turned over and passed onwards by manual labour or by

page_text: the ordinary self-acting machinery. The steam pipes e are connected to
the pipe p communicating with the steam boiler, there being a valve or
cock for regulating the supply of steam to the apparatus, or shutting
it off, as required.
It will be seen that this system is perfectly distinct from the employ-
ment of steam for simply drying the grain or steaming for food, for in
these cases some minutes of time either way may be of no great
importance, whereas in this Invention the time the steam acts has to be
carefully determined in order that the before-mentioned peculiar effect
may be obtained, for when too little time has been allowed there is no
useful effect, and if too much the grain is spoiled.
In some cases the stationary casing and passage for the descent of the
grain from above to below may not be convenient, and therefore I vary
the apparatus so that the steaming can be effected on a single floor, or
in any other desired manner, it being only necessary to apply the steam
the required time to thin layers of grain to improve its quality for
manufacturing, domestic, or cattle feeding purposes.
Having now described the nature and particulars of my said Invention
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it to be
understood that I claim, the improvements in the treatment of wheat,
rice, and other farinaceous grains, as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Hutchinson, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Second day of August, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.