A METHOD OF MAKING A MACHINE OR MACHINES FOR CATCHING FLIES AND WASPS
Year: 1819

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
PINCHBACK, of Atherstone, in the Parish of Mancetter, in the County of
Warwick, Millwright, send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Third, by His
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
'minster, the First day of May now last past, for Himself, His heirs and
successors, did give and grant unto me, the said John Pinchback, His especial
license, full power, sole privilege and and authority, that I, the said John
Pinchback, my executors, administrators, and assigns, by myself and them-
selves, or by my or their deputy or deputies, servants or agents, or such others
as I, the said John John Pinchback, my executors, administrators, or assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times thereafter 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, and also in all His said Majesty's Colonies and Planta-
tions abroad, my Invention of "A METHOD OF MAKING A MACHINE OR MACHINES
FOR CATCHING FLIES AND WASPS;" in which said Letters Patent there is contained
a proviso obliging me, the said John Pinchback, by an instrument in writing
under my 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.

page_text: cause the same to be inrolled in His said Majesty's High Court of Chancery
within two calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent, as in and by the said Letters Patent, reference being thereto
had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
John Pinchback, do declare that the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly described and
ascertained in the following Specification, reference at the same time being had
to the Drawings in the margin thereof; that is to say:
Fig. 1 is a Drawing of one of my said machines, which consists of two
principal parts, namely, e, f, the trap by or in which the flies and wasps are to
be caught, and a, c, d, b, the cage in which they are to be secured when
caught. In Fig. 1, I have represented my said machine in a simple form, in
order that the nature of my said Invention, and the construction thereof, may
more easily be understood. a, b, is the top, and c, d, the bottom of the cage,
both of which are made of wood, about half an inch thick, and of any conve-
nient diameter, say from six to ten inches. In order to form the cage, I take
a piece of wove wire, the width of which is equal to the height of the said
cage, namely from a to c, and of such a length as to go compleatly round the
top and bottom, to which the edges of the said piece of wove wire are to be
fastened, by nailing or otherwise, and so as that the two ends of the said piece
of wove wire may be brought together and joined, so as to prevent the flies and
wasps from escaping. The distance of the wires,, or the size of the holes in the
said piece of wove wire, should be such as to prevent the passage of flies or
wasps between or through them. For the purpose of securing the common
fly; which becomes so troublesome in our houses, I employ wove wire, about.
twelve or fourteen wires in an inch. If wasps only are to be taken, of course.
the holes may be larger. The bottom of the trap e, f, is formed of a piece of
wood similar to the top and bottom of the cage, but about an inch less in
diameter. Round the edge of the said bottom of the trap I fasten a thin hoop.
of wood, about one inch and an half in width, so as that the upper edge of the
said hoop shall stand above the bottom of the trap, as is shewn in the Drawing..
Into the centre of the said trap at s; I fasten one end of the iron wire r, k, s,
which is about a quarter of an inch in diameter; and .I make the length of
the said wire about two inches more than the whole height of the cage a, b, c, d,
I also make the said wire r, s, pass through two holes in the centre of the top
and bottom of the cage. At the upper end of the said wire at r I make a ring
or eye, which prevents it falling out, and also serves to fasten a cord to it, by
which the trap may be drawn up close to the bottom of the cage, and

page_text: cage
accordingly I fasten a string or cord thereto, and I make the said string or
cord to pass over a pully at h, and also through holes near the middle of the
cage and trap to any convenient distance below the trap, as at i. To the lower
end of the string or cord, as at u, I attach ȧ weight sufficient to counter-
balance the trap, so that the trap may be placed at a distance from the cage,
or close to it, and remain in either position without being held.. To the top of
the I affix an iron frame, as at i, g, j, strong enough to bear the weight
of the whole machine, and by which the said machine may be conveniently
suspended from the ceiling of a room, or in any other situation required. This
frame also serves as a support to the pulley h. Through the bottom of the
cage I make three or more holes from three quarters of an inch to an inch
and an half in diameter; as shewn in Fig. 2, at 1, 2, 3, and in Fig. 1, at 1, 2, 3.
It is most convenient to make these holes.round and conical, and I accordingly
make them so. Into each of the aforesaid holes I insert and fasten therein. a
piece of wove wire (similar to that herein-before described for forming the
cage), rolled or turned up into a conical shape, with the smaller end projecting
upwards about two inches in the inside of the cage, as shewn at l, m, p. The
opening through the upper end thereof I make about one quarter or three
eighths of 'an inch in diameter, so as to permit flies and wasps to pass through
them. Through the top of the cage I make one hole of about three inches
diameter, for the purpose of removing the flies or wasps whenever it may be:
thought expedient; and I provide a cover to the said hole, which may be slid.
on or off, or opened or shut at pleasure. It will be evident from the fore-
going description, and. by an inspection of the Drawings, that if the machine is
suspended, or otherwise held stationary in an upright position, that the relative
position of the trap and the cage will be such as is represented in Fig. 1,
namely, the trap will hang at a little distance below the bottom of the cage,
and that by pulling the end i of the string or cord the trap may be raised up
until the upper edge of the wooden hoop is brought close to the under side of
the bottom of the cage, as shewn in Fig. 3.
. It only remains, therefore, for me to describe the manner of using my said
machine for the purpose of catching flies or wasps, which I do in manner
following; that is to say, I place my said machine in a situation most resorted
to by the flies or wasps, and upon the trap e, f, I place a small quantity of
sugar, honey, treacle, or any other substance upon which flies and wasps are
known to feed, and whenever a sufficient number has alighted upon or in the
trap, or under the cage, I suddenly raise the trap by pulling the string; the
flies or wasps, or both, are thus enclosed between the trap and the bottom of
the cage. In this situation all light is excluded from the trap excepting that

page_text: which enters through the holes 1, 2, and 3, in the bottom of the cage; and as
these insects always make towards the light, I accordingly find that they very
soon leave the trap by creeping through the conical wire passages into the
cage; and as soon as all have left the trap, which I infer from seeing no more
creeping through the passages, I again lower the trap, and leave it to be
visited by another set.
I further declare, that although I have described my said Invention as
being made of the materials herein-before mentioned, I do not mean to
say that I use those materials exclusively, but occasionally I substitute tin
plates, or any other fit material, instead of wood, for making the top and
bottom of the cage and bottom of the circular rim of the trap. And instead of
the wove wire which I have described as surrounding, or as an inclosure to
the cage, I use glass or any other translucent or transpanent material which I
find fit for the purpose intended, namely, of securing the flies, &c. And
although I have described only one mode of constructing, suspending, and
raising and lowering the trap, yet I do not rest my claim to the exclusive
privileges granted to me by the aforesaid Letters Patent upon the peculiar
form, dimensions, or mechanism of the detached or any of the single parts of
my said machine; for it is obvious that the materials to be employed, the form
of the machine or of the several parts thereof, and the modification of the
machinery employed therein, may be easily and almost infinitely varied at the
discretion of any person who is competent to make such a machine.
And lastly, I do declare that my said Invention consists in the employment
of such means for the aforesaid purpose as shall possess the following pro-
perties; namely, a hollow vessel (similar to the one which I have herein-before
denominated the trap) whose bottom and sides must be impervious to light, or
nearly so; also, another part (which I have herein-before denominated the
cage) so constructed that the interior of the said other part or cage may be
illuminated; and that when these parts, namely, the trap and the cage, are
brought together, by either making the trap approach the cage or the cage
approach the trap, the trap may become a darkened chamber, with the excep-
tion of the light which may pass through the passages of communication in the
bottom of the cage, and which passages are made in the form of a cone, to
prevent the return of the flies and wasps from the chamber, as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Pinchback, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Thirtieth day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and nineteen.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the same Thirtieth day of June, in
the year above mentioned, the aforesaid John Pinchback came before our
Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification, and all
and every thing therein contained, in form above. And also the Specifi-
cation aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute in that
case made and provided.
Inrolled the same Thirtieth day of June, in the year above written.

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