CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS USED FOR WATERING GRAIN
Year: 1847

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, 1, JOHN
GEDGE, of 4, Wellington Street, Strand, in the County of Middlesex, Gen-
tleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Eighth day of February,
One thousand eight hundred and forty-seven, in the tenth year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said John
Gedge, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full power, sole privi-
lege and authority, that I, the said John Gedge, my exors, admiors, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said John Gedge, my exors, adññors, or assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at
all times 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, the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS USED FOR WATERING GRAIN," communicated to me
from abroad; in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the
said John Gedge, shall cause a particular description of the nature of the
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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

page_text: 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
John Gedge, do hereby declare that the nature of the Invention communicated
to me, and the manner in which the same is performed, are fully described
and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being
had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked
thereon (that is to say):-
The Invention consists of a certain arrangement or combination of ma-
chinery to be used for watering grain. It is well known that foreign grain
previous to its being shipped is highly dried, otherwise the moisture that it
would absorb in the voyage would be injurious, and tend to turn it mouldy,
or would cause it to heat. It is also well known that there is an objection
to corn being brought in this highly dried state, because the miller when
grinding it finds considerable difficulty in separating the meal from the
pellicle, the consequence of which is that the pellicle and the meal become
mixed together, and give to the meal a bad colour. To overcome this
objection, and to remove the difficulty, corn has been submitted to a process
of watering, which is generally done by means of a watering pot, when the
grain is spread over a floor, but this is necessarily very unequal in its operation,
the water scarcely or not at all touching some parts of the grain, and it is
found to wet overmuch some other parts, thus injuring the quality of the meal.
Now the object of this Invention is to arrange or combine machinery in
such a manner that the watering process may be so carried on as to ensure that
the water shall be equally and uniformly distributed over the surfaces of the
grain, so that each grain of corn receives the quantity of water it requires.
Figure 1 shows a section of the machinery arranged according to my Inven-
tion. Figure 2 is an end view in section, showing the hopper into which the
grain falls after being watered, when the machinery is worked in combination
with the grinding stones of a mill; and Figures 3 and 4 shew views of some
of the parts detached on a larger scale. Figures 5 and 6 show on a larger
scale the tube w and the hopper 3. The corn is to be cleansed from dirt or
stones before being watered, and it is raised up to and caused to fall into the
hopper a, by means of an endless chain of cups, as shewn in the Drawing,
or by any suitable means. This hopper a is placed at the upper part of a
long tube w, and the grain passes down this tube through the opening b,
shewn at Figure 5. ' is a valve by which the opening may be closed er
opened more or less, according to the quantity of the grain required to fall
down into the apparatus d, which is used for distributing water. This ap-

page_text: paratus d is formed into two chambers e and f, shown at Figures 3 and 4,
placed the one above the other. At the end of these chambers are two
other chambers g and h of shorter lengths. There is a communication
between these four chambers forming one channel, leaving a space i between
them. The underneath part of the chamber e and the upper part of the
chamber have a series of small perforated holes 'k, through which the
water flows in numerous jets as it comes from a reservoir ?, down the pipe m,
into the apparatus; the pressure caused by the weight of the water forming
as many spouts n as there are small holes: or in some cases in place of holes
I have small slits in the chambers, when a larger flow of water is required:
and the grain as it passes from the inclined plane c comes in contact with
the water coming from the holes, and the water coming from the chamber
that may not come into contact with the grain falls into the channel o, and
runs away by the pipes p, p. 'The water coming from the chamber f is
dashed against the upper part q, from which it falls down into the passages
r, r, and runs away through the tubes. The grain-thus becomes wetted in
passing from the inclined plane c, through the watering apparatus d. It then
passes through the inclined plane a' into the cylinder t, where it is to be
agitated by a rapid movement of a cylinder, motion being given to the cylinder
by means of a strap on the wheel o', by which agitation the moisture obtained
by the grain in its passage through the stream of water becomes sufficiently
absorbed, so as to render it in a fit state for grinding. This arrangement of
machinery may be employed in connection with the ordinary mill stones for
grinding, in which case the grain would pass from the cylinder through the
hopper to the grinding stones. The tube w, as shewn at Figure 6, is
divided into two parts, by means of a board v fastened to the centre of the
tube. This dividing board is so placed that the corn is divided into two
streams, and therefore does not touch the axle in falling. Between the
cylinder & and the support of the bearing of the axis of the cylinder is
placed two inclined planes a¹ of zinc or other suitable material, which prevent
any of the grain from falling into the reservoirs 6', placed below the watering
apparatus & and the cylinder t, the reservoir ¹ being intended to receive
the superfluous water coming from the pipes p, p, and s, and the water which
dropping from the grain falls down through the cylinder t. This cylinder is
provided with iron plates perforated with small holes, through which the water
dropping from the grain runs off. In the bottom of the reservoir & is a hole
into which a pipe c' is to be placed for carrying off the water contained therein.
In order to prevent the holes in the apparatus & from being choked up with
dirt or any sediment contained in the water, there is placed a partition e'

page_text: across the chamber below the opening d', so that the water coming from the
pipe d¹ must pass into the upper chamber e before it enters the lower one f,
and when it is required to clean out the chambers the cocks f¹ and g₁ are
to be opened, in order that a powerful stream may carry off any sediment
contained in the chambers e, f, g, h. The cock g' is only to be shut when you
wish to stop the watering operation, and to hinder the water of the reservoir
1 from entering the apparatus d. The cock is then to be closed, when the
operation will proceed as before. The pipe p' is intended to carry the
water into the reservoir L. The screw in the pipe d' is intended to give the
apparatus & a suitable angle, regulated according to the incline of the plane c.
Having thus described the nature of the Invention communicated to me,
and the manner of performing the same, I would remark that I do not
confine myself to the precise details given, so long as the peculiar character
of the Invention be retained; but what I claim is the combining or arranging
machinery for watering grain, as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Gedge, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Fifteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-seven.