IMPROVEMENTS IN PRESERVING VEGETABLE, ANIMAL, AND OTHER SUBSTANCES FROM IGNITION AND DECAY
Year: 1840

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, BARON
CHARLES WETTERSTEDT, of Limehouse, in the County of Middlesex, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Eleventh day of August, in the fourth year of Her reign, did, for
Herself, Her Heirs and Successors, give and grant unto me, the said Baron
Charles Wetterstedt, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said Baron Charles Wetterstedt; my exors, adñors, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Baron Charles Wetterstedt, my exors,
adñiors, 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, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
PRESERVING VEGETABLE, ANIMAL, AND OTHER SUBSTANCES FROM IGNITION AND
DECAY;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said:
Baron Charles Wetterstedt, shall cause a particular description of the nature
of my Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
enrolled 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
Baron Charles Wetterstedt, do hereby declare that the nature of my said.

page_text: Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully
described and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference
being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters
marked thereon, that is to say:
My Invention relates, first, to certain compositions to .be.applied. to prevent
ignition. Secondly, my Invention relates to certain means of applying metal
or compounded metal plates to render buildings more fireproof. And, thirdly,
my Invention relates to an apparatus to contain water to be suspended near
fires, in order to be in readiness in the event of a female's or children's
clothes, &c. taking fire..
And in order to my Invention being most fully understood and readily
carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the means pursued by me,
and which will be found fully to answer the purpose. In preparing com-
positions according to the first part of my Invention, I use soda of com-
merce, and dissolve it in water, so as to produce a saturated solution,
and I decant off the clear liquor by preference with a syphon, and evaporate
such clear liquor, slowly in shallow vessels till, on taking out a drop of the
liquor and dropping it on a plate of glass, it crystallizes quickly. The liquor is
then allowed to cool and crystallize, and the mother waters are drawn off and
further evaporated, and again crystallized to be used for common purposes.
The crystals obtained spread out to dry, and I prefer that they should be dried
on canvass stretched on frames. . The crystals are then pulverized in mortars,
and to each five or six parts by weight thereof I-apply one part of-the best glue-
or gelatine, such glue ог gelatine being dried and ground in the same manner;
and the matters when mixed are ground together in mortars, which will
produce a paste or composition for the best purposes, such as muslins, calicoes,
and such like fabrics, in order to prevent them taking fire; and I would remark
that the quantity of glue used will be varied in proportion to the degree of
stiffness desired to be given to the fabrics. The paste so produced is then to
be spread out on stretched canvass or frames to a depth of half an inch to an
inch; and place the frames in a chamber into which I conduct carbonic acid. gas;
and let the paste or composition remain subjected to the gas for about twelve
hours; or the paste-or composition may be submitted to the action of the atmo-
sphere for twenty to thirty days, and well
I then take out the
frames, and stir up the paste or composition, and again submit it to the action
of carbonic acid gas as before, and for a like time. In using this composition
I take one pound and dissolve it in a quart of warm water, and into this liquor
I dip the fabrics to be rendered fireproof; and well saturate them, and then
express the excess of liquor in like manner to what is now done in starching
.

page_text: such fabrics. The fabrics are then to be mangled or ironed; but when ironing
fabrics so treated the irons used should not be so hot as are generally used. In
preparing the composition for more common fabrics the soda and the glue need
not be so pure; in other respects the composition is to be prepared and used in
the same way as above described. When the composition is to be applied to wood,
I take seven or eight parts of soda of commerce, and grind it and mix it with one
part of ground glue, or dissolve the glue with equal part water, and so mix the soda
together by means of grinding it in a mortar the same as for the foregoing compo-
sition, and thus obtain a paste which, in like manner, is to be submitted to the action
of carbonic acid or to the action of the atmosphere for fourteen or fifteen to thirty
days, when it will be ready for use. In using such composition, I dissolve one
pound in a quart of warm water, and this liquor I brush over the wood to be
protected from the action of fire, and repeat such application three or four
times, or
use immersion. For floors, staircases, and such like
wood work this application once or twice will be sufficient, and I allow
each quantity applied to be absorbed and dried before repeating the application;
and it should be stated that floors which are from time to time washed that the
application should be made after each washing; and it may be proper to state
that wood so prepared may be painted or otherwise coated with colours, and
the application may; if desired, he also made after such painting or coating.
I will now describe the second part of my Invention, which relates to means
of applying sheets of metal to prevent fire, and also streams of water to put it
out should it take place.
:
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
I
P
Figure 1 represents the section of a room partly covered with metal plates,
and in such manner as to leave spaces, and let them simply contain air, or I
fill up'such spaces with a suitable nonconductor of heat; I, however, prefer to
take unslacked lime, and put it into a little more water in a tub than will slack
it; 'then I throw in about the same quantity of unslacked lime and stir it, and
in the passing off of the steam and vapours the whole will be rendered very
open and light, and particularly fit for a nonconductor; useful as fittings to
prevent inflammable objects from fire. a, a, are a series of plates of iron, or
other suitable metal, which are bent at their sides so as to allow of the same
being nailed or fastened to the surfaces of the room as is shown; 6 being an
instrument to drive in the nails, the plates being sprung away from each other,
as is shown at a' in the section, Figure 2; and I also place similar cases, c, c,
over the ceiling, as is shown, leaving similar spaces between the plates and the
surface to which they are fixed, as is shown at Figure 1. And in order to
supply water to each room of a house, I apply as a cornice a pipe or pipes d,
.

page_text: clearly perforated with small holes, and connect such pipe to a force pump, or
it might be to a reservoir of water at a greater elevation than the room; and
where the pipes of several rooms are in common connected to the same force
pump or reservoir, I have cocks and pipes so applied that the water should
be only directed to those parts or rooms where fire has taken place. Figure 3
shows a section of a roof with metal coverings and with water pipes. e, e,
are the covering plates of metal used which are turned up at the sides as is
shown; e being the projections by which the plates are affixed to the boarded
roof; and are projections by which the covering f is applied, the covering
embracing the parts makes the joints water tight. g is a pipe having branch
pipes, such pipe g being connected with a force pump; hence, in the event of
fire, a constant flow of water over the roof can be obtained. Figure 4 is part
of a plan of the same roof. Figure 5 is a section of two plates as fixed.
Figure 6 shows a single plate, and also one of the joint coverings g. Figure 7
shows another arrangement of parts for covering a roof with metal plates to
render such roof more fireproof; the metal plates are bent somewhat
differently, and the cover f for the joints is consequently formed differently, but
the nature of each part is clearly shown in the Drawing, and will readily be
constructed and applied by a workman. The metal I prefer for such covering
of roofs is what is called "Wettersdet's marine metal," -but. other metals or
combination of metals may be used, Figure 8 represents a mode of applying
water in the event of fire; wis a pipe which is capable of revolving when
filled and pressed on by water, in like manner to what is known as "Barker's
Mill;" x being a stuffing box in which the hollow axis of the pipe w turns;
y is a pipe which is connected to a reservoir of water placed at an elevated
point. In case of fire in the room water is permitted to flow, and by means
of the revolution of the pipe w the water will be thrown against the ceiling
and the sides of the walls, falling from the ceiling on every part of the floor.
I will now describe the third part of my Invention, which is shewn at
Figure 9. It consists of the vessel z, which is intended to hang at the fire
side, and at all times to contain water; and in the event of the dress of a
female or children, &c. taking fire, they may at once empty such water over
her or them; or should some other person be in the room, he or she may throw
the water from the vessel z by holding it over the head of the person on fire,
and turning it over.
In witness whereof, I, the said Baron Charles Wetterstedt, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, the Tenth day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-one.
CHARLES (L.S.) WETTERSTEDT.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Tenth day of February, in the
year of our Lord 1841, the aforesaid Baron Charles Wetterstedt came before
our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specifica-
tion 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 Eleventh day of February in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-one.
Inrolled the Eleventh day of February in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-one.