AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE MANUFACTURE OF A FABRIC APPLICABLE TO SAIL AND OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1841

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, MATHIAS
NICHOLAS LA ROCHE BARRÉ, of 'Saint Martin's Lane, in the County of
Middlesex, Cotton Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Seventh day of October, in the fifth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Mathias Nicholas La Roche Barré, Her especial licence, full power, sole
privilege and authority, that I, the said Mathias Nicholas La Roche Barré,
my exors, adiñors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Mathias Nicholas
La Roche Barré, my exors, adiňors, or assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the terin 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 MANUFACTURE OF A FABRIC APPLICABLE
TO SAIL AND OTHER PURPOSES;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a
proviso that I, the said Mathias Nicholas La Roche Barre, should cause a
particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner

page_text: the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court
of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said in part 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
Mathias Nicholas La Roche Barré, do hereby declare that the nature of my
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are
fully described and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof,
(that is to say):―
My Invention relates to a mode of making a strong fabric of cotton
applicable to sails and other purposes where a similar strong fabric is required.
And such Invention consists in forming each warp thread of two or more yarns
of cotton twisted together, and each shoot of the weft of four or more yarns
of cotton. And in order that my Invention may be most fully understood I
will proceed to explain the means pursued by me.
In preparing a warp suitable for making sail cloth of cotton I cause two or
more yarns of cotton produced by a throstle or other similar spinning machine,
which yarn for such purpose is preferable to mule-spun yarn, and I use the
lower numbers, say from No. 3 to No. 30. The higher the number of the
yarn the stronger (for a given substance) will be the fabric produced, but
the using of the higher numbers of yarn will necessarily advance the cost of
production, the manufacturer will therefore use the size yarn most suitable
for the result he desires to obtain. In making sail cloth of cotton of about
the substance generally suitable for the larger class of sails I use No. 3 yarn,
and I make each warp thread by twisting two yarns together, and I do the
same for the weft thread to be used with such warp; and it is desirable here to
to remark, that I prefer in all cases to use the weft of the same strength
and composed of the same yarn as the warp, in order to obtain an uniformity
of strength of the fabric, taking care that the weft should be well beaten up
twice or more times when weaving, and causing there to be as nearly as
possible as many shoots of weft in each inch of the fabric as there are warp
threads in an inch; and to accomplish this object I use several threads similar
to the warp threads for each shoot of the weft, but such exact correspondence
of the number and strength of the weft threads is not absolutely necessary to
the production of very strong and excellent sail cloth. The spinning of cotton
yarn by throstle and other similar machines, where the spinning is continuous,
being well understood, and the means of twisting several yarns together for
various purposes being also well understood, it will not be necessary to enter
into any description of the machinery used for those purposes. All that will

page_text: any
be necessary in order clearly to describe my Invention will be to explain the
peculiar character of the fabric produced, and the means of producing the
same:-A warp having been produced, each thread of which being composed
of two or more single yarns twisted together, the same will be warped on to a
warp beam, which will be of a size and strength according to the substance
of the fabric to be produced, as heretofore practised when making sail cloth
of hempen thread or yarn, and such warp will be introduced into the loom
as heretofore practised, and as is generally well understood by weavers; and it
will be evident that the warp so introduced into a loom may be worked into
desired pattern, according as the warp threads are relatively raised and
lowered for successively opening a shed for the passage of the shuttle, but I
prefer in all cases that the fabric should be produced by raising and lowering
equal quantities of the warp threads at each time of forming a shed for the
passage of the shuttle; and I usually make the fabric by causing each shoot of
the weft to float alternately under and over two warp threads; by this means I
am enabled to produce a very strong and lasting fabric of cotton, suitable for
the making of sails, and I have found that cotton so manufactured will last a very
long time, notwithstanding its being subject to variable states of circumstances of
wet and dry, and heat and cold, to which sails are usually liable; and from the
circumstance of the strength and lasting properties of such cotton sail cloth
it will be found applicable for all purposes of making tents, and rick and
other covers, and a very great variety of purposes to which sail cloth and
canvas of hemp are now applied. If the sail cloth be required to be of
greater thickness than that which is produced from each warp thread, being
composed of two yarns of No. 3 of cotton yarn twisted together, this may be
accomplished by using a larger number of yarns twisted together, using the
same number of warp threads to each inch of the warp, but if greater strength
be required with about the same thickness or substance, then I use more yarns
than two twisted together, and of a higher number of cotton yarn than No. 3,
and by thus varying the number of yarn used, and also by varying the number
of yarns combined in each warp thread, the strength of the fabric produced
by following my Invention will be varied according to the degree of strength
and thickness or substance desired. In place of simply twisting all the yarns
together to make a warp thread, I twist two or more yarns together into a
strand, and then twist two or more such strands together for making each
of the warp threads in the same manner as cables are made. By this means
a very strong and close fabric may be preduced, but the expence of manu-
facture will be increased. It should be stated, that in making such fabrics
the best cotton should be employed.

page_text: I will now give an example of a very-strong sail cloth or fabric according
to my Invention; in doing so I will suppose No. 3 yarn to be used, and
that the sail cloth is to be twenty-four inches wide. In making this fabric
I twist together two yarns of No. 3, with fifteen to twenty-five turns to the
inch (but this may be varied), and such twisted yarn I use for such thread of
the warp, using eight hundred and forty warp threads for the warp, that is,
thirty-five to the inch; and I use similar twisted yarns, but not so hard twisted,
for the weft, each shoot of the weft being composed of five such twisted double
yarns, whereby each shoot of the weft will be equal to ten single yarns; and I
introduce seven shoots of weft in each inch of length of the fabric, consequently
there will be a quantity of the yarn No. 3 equal to seventy single yarns, and
as there are thirty-five warp-threads to each inch of the warp, and each warp
thread consisting of two yarns, there will be seventy single yarns for each
inch of the warp, thus, producing an equalibrium. of warp and weft, which I
consider should at all times be aimed at in making sail:cloth of cotton; at the
same time I do not confine myself to using so much weft as above explained.
'I will now give another example, and in doing so I will suppose that No. 15.
yarn is used. I take three of such yarns and twist them together for each warp
thread, and use one thousand six hundred and eighty warp threads for a
fabric of twenty-four inches wide, that is, seventy warp. threads in each inch;
and I introduce tèn shoots to the inch, each shoot being composed of seven
threads, similar to the warp threads, but not so hard twisted. In this manner
of weaving cotton the workman will be able to produce a fabric according to
my Invention, varying in substance and character according to the No. of yarn
and the number of single yarns of which each warp thread is composed, and vary-
ing the number of yarns of which each shoot of weft is composed accordingly..
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the best means I
am acquainted with for performing the same, I would have it understood that
I make no claim to the spinning yarns of cotton, nor to the machinery used
for twisting or weaving, which are employed in carrying out my Invention.
But what I claim is, the mode of manufacturing a fabric of cotton, suitable
for sails and for other purposes, by applying warp threads, each composed of
two or more yarns of cotton twisted together when combined with the use
of weft composed of four or more yarns for each shoot as above described.
'
In witness whereof, I, the said Mathias Nicholas La Roche Barré,
have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of March,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-two.
M. N. LA ROCHE BARRÉ. (L.S.)

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-first day of March, in the
year of our Lord 1842, the aforesaid Mathias Nicholas La Roche Barré
came before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged
the Specification 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 Seventh day of April, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and forty-two.