IMPROVEMENTS IN JARS FOR PRESERVING FRUITS, MEATS, AND OTHER SUBSTANCES
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN JARS FOR PRESERVING FRUITS, MEATS,
AND OTHER SUBSTANCES."-A communication from abroad by John Jay
Squire, of New London, in the State of Connecticut, United States of
America.
Sealed the 16th November 1866, and dated the 7th June 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 7th June 1866.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN JARS FOR PRESERVING
FRUITS, MEATS, AND OTHER SUBSTANCES," to be as follows:-
This Invention of improvements in jars for preserving fruits, meats, and
other substances, consists, first, in forming pedestals on the bottoms thereof
so as to obtain a free circulation of the heating medium beneath them when
they are placed in such medium in the process of putting them up. Second,
in holding the covers of jars in place by means of elastic bands or straps or
their equivalents instead of by rigid metal or other fastenings as is usually
Price 8d7

page_text: Third, in forming a basin on the upper surface of the cover of
preserve jars, and making a hole in the centre of the cover for the purpose
of admitting of syrup or other liquid being poured into the jar after the
cover has been secured. Fourth, in forming lugs or hooks on the outside
of preserve jars near their mouths, and also forming projections or hooks on
the tops of the covers in order to receive the elastic fastening straps or bands
which secure the covers in place.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 7th December 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of June, in the year of our Lord
Onethousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the twenty-ninth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Edward Newton, Her special licence that I, the said William Edward
Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said William Edward Newton, 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 JARS FOR PRESERVING FRUITS, MEATS, AND
OTHER SUBSTANCES," being a communication from abroad, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said William Edward Newton, 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 William Edward Newton, 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 thefollowing

page_text: statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say)
This Invention of "Improvements in Jars for Preserving Fruits, Meats,
and other Substances "embraces several particulars, one of which consists in
providing the bottom of jars in which fruits, meats, or other substances are
to be preserved with pedestals or feet. Another consists in a novel mode
of securing and holding the cover in place, whereby it is held by an elastic
pressure in distinction of being held down in a positive or rigid and un-
yielding manner, so that in putting up fruit and other articles provision can
be made against the danger of bursting by the generation of gases from
fermentation. Another consists in forming a basin on the upper surface or
top of the cover and in making a perforation in the cover through which
the jar can be filled with syrup when desired.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1 is a side view of a jar made
according to the Invention; Fig. 2 is an axial section of the same; Fig. 3
is a perspective of the top, cover, or upper part of a jar.
A is the jar, and B its cover. They are (in this example) made of glass,
but they can be made of any other suitable material which will hold solids
and fluids. The cover is made concave, so as to form a basin, and the joint
which it makes with the mouth of the jar is packed by means of an elastic
packing ring C which rests on a square shoulder I formed in the neck of the
jar. The lower edge of the cover has a rebate J which fits upon the shoulder,
the packing ring C (when the cover is brought down) being interposed so
that the cover has a yielding bed to rest upon, the packing serving to close
up any irregularities in the surfaces of the shoulder and rebate and to prevent
leakage. The top of the cover B rises higher than the rim of the jar, and
it has also a rim O that overlaps it. This overlapping rim O may however
be omitted, but it is desirable that the rim of the cover should rise higher
than the mouth of the jar even when the cover is brought down snugly on
the packing ring. From the top of the rim of the cover rise several projections
1 placed at equal distances apart. These projections serve as hooks to
hold the elastic fastening herein-after mentioned. At suitable points on
the outside of the jar, near its mouth, are provided lugs or hooks E which,
like the vertical projections i) are also placed at equal distances apart. F
is an elastic strap or band which can be made of rubber or gutta percha, or
its compounds, and whose office it is to attach the cover to the body of the
jar and hold it securely so that the jar can be moved without danger of
displacing the cover by jcstling or otherwise. The band is stretched upwards
over and around the projections or hooks D) of the cover and downwards

page_text: under and around the hooks or lugs E of the jar, the cover being so set in
the mouth of the jar as to bring the projections or hooks D) between the
lines of the hooks or lugs E. The strap or band draws the cover down-
wards and presses it upon the packing ring C so as to close the joint at that
place. The cover is perforated at the bottom of its basin by a hole G in
which is fitted a cork or plug that can be taken out at pleasure. By means
of the perforation Ga jar which has been filled with fruit or other articles
and whose liquid contents have become lessened in volume by contraction
from cold, or otherwise, so as no longer to fili the jar, may be filled up by
pouring a supply of the proper liquid into the basin of the cover and then
withdrawing the cork or plug from the hole G when the gas or air which
may be in the jar will escape through the hole and the liquid will flow down-
wards through it into the jar. When the jar is full the cork or plug is
replaced and the rest of the liquid in the basin of the cover is poured out by
tilting the jar. The rim of the jar and the rim or edge of the cover may
be notched to receive the strap or band F, if desired, to allow it to come
flush with the periphery of the rim. The letter H desiguates pedestals or
fect that are made on the bottom or under surface of the jar. They are in
this example three in number, but their number inay be increased if desired.
They are placed at points about equally distant from each other along the
circumference of the bottom of the jar. The object of the pedestals or feet
His to raise the bottom of the jar above the supporting surface with which
the pedestals or feet come in contact so as to allow a circulation of water
beneath the jar during the process of putting up fruit and other articles for
preservation as herein-after explained. In putting up fruits and other sub-
stances and articles for preservation in a jar of this character, the jar is filled
with such fruit or other article and is then placed in a vessel containing
water, the temperature of which is carried to a suitable height so as to heat
its contents and drive off a portion of the liquid contained therem in the form
of vapor or steam. The water should be deep enough to come nearly to
the top of the jar. When the heating process has been carried on a sufficient
length of time the fruit or other article may be corked up. The time varies
with different articles, and to drive off a considerable part of the atmospheric
air which is present in the jar, the jar is removed from the hot water and is
covered by putting the cover in place in its neck or mouth, and the strap or
band fis applied in the manner shewn in the Drawing. The cork or plug
is then placed so as to close the perforation G in the cover. When the
contents of the jar have partially contracted in cooling the basin of the cover
is filled with hot or warm syrup or water, and the cork or plug is taken out

page_text: and the syrup allowed to run into the jar through the perforation G until
it is full, when the cork or plug is to be replaced and the rest of the syrup
in the basin of the cover is to be removed by tilting the jar. The jar is
now ready to be placed aside.
of
gas
use.
It will be observed that by this Invention the cover is held down by an
elastic or yielding force which will allow the cover to be raised for the escape
from fermentation in the jar, and will again close the cover so soon as
the gas has passed out. In jars which have unyielding and rigid fastenings
the gas cannot escape without bursting the jar and destroying it for future
But by means of this Invention should fermentation take place in a
jar the gas will remain confined until its lifting force is greater than the
binding force of the elastic strap or band. The latter will then be overcome,
and the cover will be raised after the manner of a safety valve, and the gas
will escape from beneath it, so soon as it has escaped the strap or band
will restore the cover to its place and the jar and cover and its contents
will also be preserved uninjured. When jars with smooth or flat bottoms
are used, their bottom surfaces are every where in contact with the bottom
surface of the boiler or vessel in which they are placed to be heated, and
consequently the circulation of the hot water under the bottoms of tho jars
is prevented, and the heat of the fire is allowed to come directly against
them subjecting the jars to being cracked by reason of the differences in
temperature to which their bottoms and sides are subjected. The same
remark is true of jars whose bottoms are concave in the centre while the
circumference of their edges is smooth and unbroken so as to prevent the
circulation of water beneath them while they are in the hot water vessel.
The present Invention obviates this objection by raising the bottoms of the
jars above the bottom of the water vessel or boiler so as to allow a free
circulation of water beneath the jars, and thus secure more uniformity in
the temperature to which the different parts of the jars are exposed. In
like manner with this provision jars are protected from breaking when
removed from hot water when air is then the encircling medium.
Having now described the Invention which has been communicated to me
as aforesaid, and having explained the manner of carrying the sume into
effect, I claim as the Invention secured to me by Letters Patent as
aforesaid.
First, constructing jars for preserving fruits, meats, and other substances
with feet or pedestals on the bottoms thereof so as to obtain a free cir-
culation of the heating medium beneath them when they are placed in such
mediumn in the process of putting them up as herein described.

page_text: Second, I also claim holding the covers of jars in place by means of elastic
bands or straps, or their equivalents, as described.
Third, forming a basin on the upper surface of the cover of preserve jars
and making a hole in the centre of the cover as and for the purpose herein
set forth.
Fourth, forming lugs or hooks on the outside of preserve jars near their
mouths and forming projections or hooks on the tops of the covers in order
to receive the elastic fastening straps or bands which secure the covers in
place as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, the Seventh day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)