IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT OF ANIMAL BLOOD, ALSO OF FIBROUS MATERIALS, AND In the Manufacture of MANURES THERE- PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Frederick Snelling, of No. 6, Edith
Terrace, Victoria Road, Upton Lane, in the County of Essex, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT OF ANIMAL BLOOD,
ALSO OF FIBROUS MATERIALS, AND In the Manufacture of MANURES THERE-
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Frederick
Snelling at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 19th May 1875..
I, GEORGE FREDERICK SNELLING, of No. 6, Edith Terrace, Victoria
Road, Upton Lane, in the County of Essex, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT OF
ANIMAL BLOOD, ALSO OF FIBROUS MATERIALS, AND IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
MANURES THEREFROM," to be as follows:-

page_text: Secondly. To the treatment of shoddy and woollen and cotton rags in
a special manner.
Thirdly. To the manufacture of manures from the above ingredients
separately or combined with other ingredients, such manures containing
large fertilizing properties which free themselves by or in contact with t
moisture after application to or upon the soil.
According to my first treatment of blood I pour into an open vessel
or tray a given quantity of the blood of any animal or the blood of
several animals mixed, and combine therewith a certain quantity of
sulphuric acid, sufficient merely to fix the ammonia contained in the 1
blood. The sulphuric acid having been thoroughly incorporated with
the blood, I then combine the mixture by several separate saturations
with a certain quantity of sawdust of any description or of several
descriptions mixed, and dry the same after each saturation by exposure
to the sun, or to a dry atmosphere, or by exposure in pans over an open 1
fire, or by means of gas, or by sand baths, or by steam, or by any known
suitable means. The mixture thus manufactured I use as manure,
which when spread upon the ground and wetted by rain or otherwise
causes the blood to become moistened, and to set free its clements.
According to my second method I take a certain quantity of the
blood of any animal or of several animals mixed, and combine therewith
a certain quantity of sulphuric acid. I then stir the mixture until the
whole mass is thoroughly coagulated. I then break up the blood so
coagulated and allow it to stand for a few days exposed to the air, or I
proceed to dry the same at once by any of the preceding methods.
According to my third method I take a given quantity of the blood of
any animal or of several animals mixed, and place the same in an
earthenware vessel or pit lined with cement, and add thereto a certain
quantity of sawdust of any kind or of several kinds mixed, and stir the
same until the whole is well combined. I then add thereto a certain
quantity of sulphuric acid, and continue to stir the mass until the whole
is thoroughly coagulated. I then break up the compound and allow it
to stand, or I dry the same by any of the means previously described.
According to the second part of my Invention I take a certain
quantity of shoddy, woollen or cotton rags, or other fibrous material, and
saturate the same with a certain quantity of sulphuric acid. I then

page_text: submit the material to the action of a moderate heat in open or closed
earthenware pans or other suitable vessels (either immediately after
saturation or when the material has been allowed to stand a few days).
When by the action of heat the material is reduced to a thin pasty con-
sistency I add thereto a quantity of sawdust of any kind or of several
kinds mixed, for the purpose of absorbing the sulphuric acid so added
and any other moisture that may exist therein. I then either dry the
mixture or I proceed at once to add the mixture to a given quantity of
the blood of any animal or of several animals mixed, and stir the whole
mass until it is thoroughly coagulated. I then break it up and allow it
to stand, or I proceed to dry the mixture by any of the known
methods.
When it is not necessary to make a manure with a high standard of
nitrogen or ammonia I mix the shoddy, rags, or other material with a
quantity of sawdust, as above described, and after having thoroughly
dried the same I add thereto a small quantity of finely powdered dried
blood, and mix the same thoroughly.
I use the compounds prepared as above enumerated as manures or as
bases, to be afterwards further improved by the addition of super-
phosphates, bone dust, or dissolved bones, coprolites, or any of the
known phosphates of lime or chemical compounds used for agricultural
purposes, according to the nature of the manure I wish to produce
or the purposes and nature of the crops to which the manure is to be
applied.
The advantages of the above-mentioned manures and methods of
manufacture are,—
Firstly. By reason of the carbonic acid generated on the decom-
position of the sawdust the action of the other chemical elements is
strikingly augmented, the carthy phosphates are readily dissolved, and
the neutral alkaline and earthy carbonates of the soil are converted
into bicarbonates, and consequently more readily appropriated by the
crops..
Secondly. The process of reducing the blood compounds to a state of
perfect dryness is more readily accomplished than by any other means,
and at less cost.
Thirdly. That the blood compounds so prepared can be reduced to a
•

page_text: state of fineness without the use of machinery and the expense incurred
in crushing.
Fourthly. That by the use of the sulphuric acid the blood is thoroughly
disinfected, and may be exposed immediately after mixing to the atmo-
sphere or to any description of heat for any length of time without fear
of putrescence, whether mixed with the sawdust or not; and further,
that putrescent blood so treated is deodorized, and may be used as a
manure when completed by any of the before-mentioned processes.
Fifthly. The blood compounds so prepared may be kept for any length
of time without losing any of their fertilizing properties or deteriorating
in any respect, the sulphuric acid and the sawdust combined acting as
the preservatives of the blood.
Sixthly. That by the above-mentioned method of dissolving the
shoddy and other material a large saving is effected in the use of sul-
phuric acid.
Seventhly. That by the use of the whole of the before-mentioned pro-
cesses the manufacture of blood manures can be carried on without
offensive smell, and may be conducted in the midst of largo towns
without danger to the health of the inhabitants.
According to the third part of my Invention I take a quantity of the
blood of any animal or of several animals combined, and mix therewith
a certain quantity of sulphuric acid and carbolic acid in the proportion
of one of the former to two of the latter, and stir the same until the
whole is thoroughly incorporated. I then allow the compound to stand
till such time as the water has become partly separated from the blood, a
which I strain off as it riscs, and proceed to dry the mass by any of the
means above described.
I claim for this preparation that when the fine powder produced is
distributed over the leaves and stems of plants it will altogether provent
the attacks of insects, such as the green fly, red spider, mealy bug, 8
slugs, and other plant pests; and if applied to the roots the attacks of
worms, ants, beetles, wire worm, and grub of all kinds; and further,
that should the plant be already attacked by either of these pests it will
destroy them within the space of a few minutes without injuring the
plants.

page_text: I also claim that this preparation will serve the threefold purpose of
a manure, a disinfectant, and a destroyer of insect life on plants in
general.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent;
filed by the said George Frederick Snelling in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 19th November 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
FREDERICK SNELLING, of No. 0, Edith Terrace, Victoria Road, Upton
Lane, in the County of Essex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the thirty-
eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said George Frederick Snelling, Her
special license, that I, the said George Frederick Snelling, my exe-
cutors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said George
Frederick Snelling, my exccutors, 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 THE TREATMENT OF ANIMAL BLOOD, ALSO OF
FIBROUS MATERIALS, AND IN THE MANUFACTURE OF MANURES THEREFROM," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said George Frederick
Snelling, 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 George Frederick Snelling, 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 the following statement thereof, that is to say;-

page_text: Firstly. To the treatment of animal blood in special manners.
Secondly. To the treatment of shoddy and woollen and cotton rags in
a special manner.
Thirdly. To the manufacture of manures from the above ingredients
separately or combined with other ingredients, such manures containing
large fertilizing properties which free themselves by or in contact with
moisture after application to or upon the soil.
According to my first treatment of blood I pour into an open vessel
or tray a given quantity of the blood of any animal or the blood of
several animals mixed, and combine therewith a certain quantity of sul-
phuric acid, sufficient merely to fix the ammonia contained in the blood.
The sulphuric acid having been thoroughly incorporated with the blood,
I then combine the mixture by several separate saturations with a certain
quantity of sawdust of any description or of several descriptions mixed,
and dry the same after each saturation by exposure to the sun or to a
dry atmosphere, or by exposure in pans over an open fire, or by means
of gas, or by sand baths, or by steam, or by any known suitable means.
The mixture thus manufactured, and forming the first part of my Inven-
tion, I use as manure, which when spread upon the ground and wetted
by rain or otherwise causes the blood to become moistened, and to set
free its elements.
According to my second method I take a certain quantity of the
blood of any animal or of several animals mixed, and combine there-
with, a certain quantity of sulphuric acid. I then stir the mixture
until the whole mass is thoroughly coagulated. I then break up the
blood so coagulated and allow it to stand for a few days exposed to
the air, or I proceed to dry the same at once by any of the preceding
methods.
According to my third method I take a given quantity of the blood
of any animal or of several animals mixed, and place the same in an
earthenware vessel or pit lined with cement, and add thereto a certain
quantity of sawdust of any kind or of several kinds mixed, and stir the
same until the whole is well combined. I then add thereto a certain
quantity of sulphuric acid, and continue to stir the mass until the
whole is thoroughly coagulated. I then break up the compound and
•

page_text: allow it to stand, or I ary the same by any of the means previously
described.
According to the second part of my Invention I take a certain
quantity of shoddy, woollen or cotton rags, or other fibrous material, and
saturate the same with a certain quantity of sulphuric acid. I then
submit the material to the action of a moderate heat in open or closed
earthenware pans or other suitable vessels (either immediately after
saturation or when the material has been allowed to stand a few days).
When by the action of heat the material is reduced to a thin pasty con-
sistency I add thereto a quantity of sawdust of any kind or of several
kinds mixed, for the purpose of absorbing the sulphuric acid so added
and any other moisture that may exist therein. I then either dry the
mixture or I proceed at once to add the mixture to a given quantity of
the blood of any animal or of several animals mixed, and stir the whole
mass until it is thoroughly coagulated. I then break it up and allow
it to stand, or I proceed to dry the mixture by any of the known
methods.
When it is not necessary to make a manure with a high standard of
nitrogen or ammonia I mix the shoddy, rags, or other material with a .
quantity of sawdust, as above described, and after having thoroughly
dried the same I add thereto a small quantity of finely powdered dried
blood, and mix the same thoroughly.
I use the compounds prepared as above enumerated as manures or
as bases, to be afterwards further improved by the addition of super-
phosphates, bono dust, or dissolved bones, coprolites, or any of the
known phosphates of lime or chemical compounds used for agricultural
purposes, according to the nature of the manure I wish to produce
or the purposes and nature of the crops to which the manure is to be
applied.
The advantages of the above-mentioned manures and methods of
manufacture are,—
Firstly. By reason of the carbonic acid generated on the decom-
position of the sawdust, the action of the other chemical elements is
strikingly augmented. The earthy phosphates are readily dissolved, and
the neutral alkaline and earthy carbonates of the soil are converted
into bicarbonates, and consequently more readily appropriated by the

page_text: Secondly. The process or reducing the blood compounds to a state of
perfect dryness is more readily accomplished than by any other means,
and at less cost.
Thirdly. That the blood compounds so prepared can be reduced to a
state of fineness without the use of machinery and the expense incurred
in crushing.
Fourthly. That by the use of the sulphuric acid the blood is thoroughly
'disinfected, and may be exposed immediately after mixing to the atmo-
'sphere or to any description of heat for any length of time without fear
of putrescence, whether mixed with the sawdust or not; and further,
that putrescent blood so treated is deodorized, and may be used as a
manure when completed by any of the before-mentioned processes.
Fifthly. The blood compounds so prepared may be kept for any length.
of time without losing any of their fertilizing properties or deteriorating
in any respect, the sulphuric acid and the sawdust combined acting as:
the preservatives of the blood.
Sixthly. That by the above-mentioned method of dissolving the
shoddy and other material a large saving is effected in the use of sul-
phuric acid.
Seventhly. That by the use of the whole of the before-mentioned pro-
cesses the manufacture of blood manures can be carried on without
offensive smell, and may be conducted in the midst of large towns
without danger to the health of the inhabitants.
According to the third part of my Invention I take a quantity of the
blood of any animal or of several animals combined, and mix therewith
a certain quantity of sulphuric acid and carbolic acid in the proportion
of one of the former to two of the latter, and stir the same until the
whole is thoroughly incorporated. I then allow the compound to stand
till such time as the water has become partly separated from the blood,
which I strain off as it rises, and proceed to dry the mass by any of the
means above described.
I claim for this preparation that when the fine powder produced is
distributed over the leaves and stems of plants it will altogether prevent
the attacks of insects, such as the green fly, red spider, mealy bug,
slugs, and other plant pests; and if applied to the roots the attacks of

page_text: worms, ants, beetles, wire worms, and grub of all kinds; and further,
that should the plant be already attacked by either of these pests it will
destroy them within the space of a few minutes without injuring the
plants.
I also claim that this preparation will serve the threefold purpose of
a manure, a disinfectant, and a destroyer of insect life on plants in
general.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Frederick Snelling, have
hereunto set my hand and scal, this Seventeenth day of
November, One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five.
AVHTT MI