IMPROVED MEANS OF PRESERVING ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES, AND APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH
Year: 1871

page_text: Filed 13th February 1873.
En the Matter of Letters Patent granted to THOMAS FREDERICK
HENLEY, of 56, St. George's Square, Pimlico, in the County of
Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVED MEANS OF PRESERVING
ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES, AND APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH,"
bearing date the Sixth day of May One thousand eight
hundred and seventy-one, and numbered 1233.
DISCLAIMER AND MEMORANDUM OF ALTERATION proposed to be
be entered by THOMAS FREDERICK HENLEY, of 56, St. George's
Pimlico,
A
'
Square, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer; JOHN GAMGEE,
of No. 1, Great Winchester Street Buildings, in the City of London
Esquire; and THOMAS LYNN BRISTOWE, of Denmark Hill, in the
County of Surrey, Esquire, the Patentee and Assignees of the said
Letters Patent.
WHEREAS by Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United
Kingdom, bearing date the Sixth day of May One thousand eight

page_text: hundred and seventy-one, No. 1233, Her present Majesty Queen Victoria
did give and grant unto the said Thomas Frederick Henley, his exc-
cutors, administrators, and assigns, and other persons with whom he
should agree, full power, sole privilege, and authority during the term of
fourteen years to make, use, exercise, and vend a certain Invention for
"IMPROVED MEANS OF PRESERVING ALIMENTARY SUBstances, and Apparatus con-
NECTED THEREWITH," within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, in such manner as to
the said Thomas Frederick Henley, his executors, administrators, or
assigns, or any of them, should seem meet, and the full benefit and
advantage of the said Invention during the said term of fourteen years,
which Letters Patent contained a condition that the said Thomas
Frederick Henley, his executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under their hands and seals, should particularly describe the
nature of the Invention, 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, otherwise the said Letters Patent should
utterly cease and become void :
And whereas the said Thomas Frederick Henley, in pursuance of the
said condition, did particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the
said Invention, and the manner in which the same was to be performed,
by an instrument in writing under his hand and scal, and did cause the
same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office according to the said
condition:
And whereas the said Letters Patent are now vested in the said
Thomas Frederick Henley, John Gamgee, and Thomas Lynn Bristowe:
And whereas since the filing of the Specification of the said Letters
Patent, and since the said Invention and Letters Patent became vested
in us, we have been advised that the apparatus claimed under the Patent
is not so novel and useful as would render it desirable to retain in the
Specification special claims for the same:
And whereas we have been advised that the claim for the process may
possibly admit of a wider interpretation than was intended, and thereby
endanger the validity of the Patent :
And whereas the description of the process might with advantage be
rendered more definite, we, Thomas Frederick Henley, John Gamgee,

page_text: and Thomas Lynn Bristowe, for the reasons aforesaid, are desirous of
disclaiming and striking out, and do hereby disclaim and strike out,
certain words from the title of the Patent and also from the said Speci-
and
A
fication the claims herein-after mentioned, and we also alter and
amend the first claim and strike out and amend certain of the descriptive
parts of the Specification so as to confine the description within the limits
of the amended claim and to render the details more satisfactory, that is
to say :-
"
We strike out from the title the words "and apparatus connected
therewith." At line 16, page 4, of the printed copy of the Specification
after the words "this Invention has for." we insert the word "its." At
lines 20 and 34 we alter the word "dessication" to "desiccation," and we
strike out the lines 31 and 32. At line 5, page 5, after the word "pres-
surc we insert the words "which is," and after the word "applied" in
the next line we insert the following words, " is to be maintained until
the weight of the meat is reduced about twenty per cent." At linc 17
we strike out the words "by which," and insert the following,
"and I
maintain the pressure for about half an hour. By this." The paragraph
commencing at the end of line 25 with the words "I may," and ending
with the word "press," we strike out. And we strike out the whole of
the paragraph commencing with line 34, page 5, and ending with line 7,
page 6. The first claim, commencing at line 11, we amend by striking
out the words "the employment of mechanical pressure for," and also
the words "during the process;" and after the word "as," in line 13, we
insert "and for the purpose." Lastly, we strike out the second, third,
and fourth claims, when the Specification will read as follows :-
This Invention has for its object the rapid and economical removal of
the fluid portions of alimentary substances intended for food, such as
meat or fish, by means of powerful mechanical pressure, through the
agency of which the said fluid portions may be abstracted, and a more
or less complete desiccation obtained with the consequent preservative
result on such substances, the process representing, in fact, a quick and
economical method of attaining similar objects, as by salting, drying,
smoking, &c., having, moreover, special advantages applicable to certain
localities and climates. In practice, the pressure may be obtained by
the employment of the hydraulic screw lever, or roller press, or any of
the various machines usually employed for obtaining powerful mechanical
pressure. From this initial point of applied pressure, various methods

page_text: of treatment of the substances in question present themselves, for
instance, the matters to be pressed may be operated on in their natural
or raw state, or they may be heated during, or as a part of, the pressing
operation.
of operating,
A
According to one mode under what may be termed the cold
pressure process, I cause the substance proposed to be desiccated (say raw
beef or mutton) to be reduced into small pieces, which are then to be
placed on press cloths in a stratum of from half an inch to one inch in
thickness, but I do not limit myself to these proportions, the said press
cloth having been previously placed on a light frame or form, the object
of which is to regulate the size and thickness of the press cake. The
press cloth is to be folded over the frame, removed, and the said cake or
cakes placed in the press, each cake alternating with an iron plate until
the press is charged; the pumps are now put in motion (where a
hydraulic press is the agent), and the pressure which is gradually applied
is to be maintained until the weight of the meat is reduced about twenty
per cent. The fluid portions of the meat operated on will flow off, and
may be led at once into a boiler for being evaporated, with the addition
of the usual condiments, so as to form a concentrated extract of meat.
The solid portions, or press cake, or desiccated meat being removed from
the press, may be rubbed with dry salt, cut up, and then packed in
suitable packages according to their destined use.
In other cases I employ heat and pressure combined, in which case I
cause the substances proposed to be operated upon to be placed in the
raw state on the press cloths and frames in the same manner as in the
cold process above described; but in lieu of the ordinary press plates
I make use of hot plates heated to a temperature which may be from
two hundred and fifty to three hundred degrees Fahrenheit, and I
maintain the pressure for about half an hour. By this means the
albuminoid elements are fixed within the meat, which is in fact cooked
and desiccated, at the same time little is lost except the watery portion
which evaporates.
Suitable condiments having been added during the operation, there
will be produced at once an excellent savoury meat biscuit, well adapted
for many food purposes, such as for the supply of troops on the march,
naval stores, &c., by a rapid and economical process, applicable in many
countries where meat is abundant and chicap, or where the climate exacts
the immediate employ of preserving agencies.

page_text: In many situations where fish is abundant and cheap, the pressure
process may be employed with advantage, and larger quantities may be
saved in the same time than by the ordinary methods of drying,
smoking, &c.
In the treatment of fish, I prefer to steam it or to plunge it in boiling
water after the removal of the bones and offal, after which it may be
pressed in the manner described.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim as my
Invention of preserving alimentary substances, extracting the fluid from
the solid portions of meat and fish in a raw state (with or without the
aid of heat), as and for the purpose hercin-before described.
In witness whereof, we, the said Thomas Frederick Henley, John
Gamgee, and Thomas Lynn Bristowe, have hereunto set our hands
and seals, the Thirteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Frederick Henley, of 56, Saint Georgo's
Square, Pimlico, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of
"IMPROVED MEANS OF PRESERVING ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES, AND APPARatus
CONNECTED THEREWITH."
Sealed the 18th July 1871, and dated the 6th May 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Frederick
Henley at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 6th May 1871.
I, THOMAS FREDERICK HENLEY, of 56, Saint George's Square, Pimlico,
in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVED MEANS OF PRESERVING ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES, AND
APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH," to be as follows:-
This improvement or Invention has for its object the rapid and
economical removal of the fluid portions of alimentary substances
intended for food, such as meat or fish, by means of powerful mechanical
pressure, through the agency of which the said fluid portions may be
abstracted and a more or less complete dessication obtained with the

page_text: consequent preservative result on such substances, the process represents
in fact a quick and economical method of attaining similar objects, as
by salting, smoking, or drying, having moreover special advantages
applicable to certain localities and climates. In practice the pressure
may be obtained by the employment of either the hydraulic, screw, lever,
or roller press, or any of the various machines usually employed for
obtaining powerful mechanical pressure. From this initial point of
applied pressure various methods of treatment of the substances in
question present themselves, for instance, the matters to be pressed may
be operated on in their natural or raw state or they may be heated during
or as a part of the pressing operation, or again, the pressure may be
applied only after the substances have been subjected to a preliminary
heating.
I proceed to describe a mode of operating which I call the cold
pressure process for carrying out the principle of my Invention. I cause
the substance proposed to be dessicated (say raw beef or mutton) to be
reduced into small pieces, which are then to be placed on press cloths in
a stratum of from half an inch to one inch in thickness, but I do not
limit myself to these proportions, the said press cloth having been
previously placed on a light frame or form, the object of which is to
regulate the size and thickness of the press cake. The press cloth is to
be folded over, the frame removed, and the said cake or cakes placed in
the press, cach cake alternating with an iron plate until the press
is charged. The pumps are now put in motion (where a hydraulic press
is the agent) and the pressure gradually applied. The fluid portions of
the meat operated on will flow off, and may be led at once into a boiler
for being evaporated, with the addition of the usual condiments, so as to
form a concentrated extract of meat. The solid portions, or press cake,
or dessicated meat being removed from the press may be rubbed with
dry salt, cut up, and then packed in suitable packages according to their
destined usc.
In other cases I employ heat and pressure combined, in which case I
cause the substances proposed to be operated on to be placed in the raw
state on the press cloths and frames in the same manner as in the cold
process above described, but in lieu of the ordinary press plates I make
use of hot plates licated to a temperature which may be from 250 to 300
degrees Fahrenheit, by which means the albuminoid elements are fixed
within the meat, which is in fact cooked and dessicated at the same time,

page_text: little is lost except the watery portion which evaporates. Suitable con-
diments having been added during the operation, there will be produced
at once an excellent savoury meat biscuit well adapted for many food
purposes, such as for the supply of troops on march, or for naval stores,
by a rapid and economical process applicable in many countries where
meat is abundant and cheap, or where the climate exacts the immediate
employ of preserving agencies. I may also subject the substances to
be preserved to the action of steam in suitable chambers previously to
submitting them to the press.
In many situations where fish is abundant and cheap the pressure
process may be employed with advantage, and larger quantities may be
saved in the same time than by the ordinary methods of drying or
smoking. In the treatment of fish I prefer to steam it, or to plung cit
in boiling water after the removal of the bones and offal, after which
it may be pressed in the ordinary manner, as above described.
The apparatus mainly consists of rollers so placed in their framings
that one is in advance of the other, and this causes the liquid portion of
the material under operation to be kept back by the action of the rollers
instead of passing through between them with the solid portions as
heretoforc.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas Frederick Henley in the Great Scal Patent
Office on the 6th November 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
FREDERICK HENLEY, of 56, Saint George's Square, Pimlico, in the
County of Middlesex, send greeting.
--
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of May, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-fourth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Thomas Frederick Henley, Her special licence
that I, the said Thomas Frederick Henley, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas Frederick Henley, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with,
and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the

page_text: "
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 "IMPROVED MEANS OF
PRESERVING ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES, AND IN APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH,
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Thomas Frederick
Henley, 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 Thomas Frederick Henley, do
hereby declare the nature of my 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 :-
This Invention has for object the rapid and economical removal of
the fluid portions of alimentary substances intended for food, such as
meat or fish, by means of powerful mechanical pressure, through the
agency of which the said fluid portions may be abstracted, and a more or
less complete dessication obtained with the consequent preservative
result on such substances; the process representing in fact a quick and
economical method of attaining similar objects, as by salting, drying,
smoking, etc., having moreover special advantages applicable to certain
localities and climates. In practice the pressure may be obtained by the
employment of the hydraulic, screw, lever, or roller press, or any of the
various machines usually employed for obtaining powerful mechanical
pressure. From this initial point of applied pressure various methods of
treatment of the substances in question present themselves, for instance,
the matters to be pressed may be operated on in their natural or raw
state or they may be heated during or as a part of the pressing operation;
or again the pressure may be applied only after the substances have
been subjected to a preliminary heating.
According to one mode of operating under what may be termed the
cold pressure process, I cause the substance proposed to be dessicated
(say raw beef or mutton) to be reduced into small pieces, which are
then to be placed on press cloths in a stratum of from half an inch to
one inch in thickness, but I do not limit myself to these proportions, the
said press cloth having been previously placed on a light frame or form,

page_text: the object of which is to regulate the size and thickness of the press
cake. The press cloth is to be folded over, the frame removed, and the
said cake or cakes placed in the press, cach cake alternating with an
iron plate until the press is charged; the pumps are now put in motion
(where a hydraulic press is the agent), and the pressure gradually
applied. The fluid portions of the meat operated on will flow off and
may be led at once into a boiler, for being evaporated with the addition
of the usual condiments so as to form a concentrated extract of meat.
The solid portions or press cake or dessicated meat being removed from
the press may be rubbed with dry salt, cut up, and then packed in
suitable packages according to their destined use.
In other cases I employ heat and pressure combined, in which case I
cause the substances proposed to be operated upon to be placed in the
raw state on the press cloths and frames in the same manner as in the
cold process above described, but in lieu of the ordinary press plates I
make use of hot plates heated to a temperature which may be from 250
to 300 degrees Fahrenheit, by which means the albuminoid elements
are fixed within the meat, which is in fact cooked and dessicated at
the same time; little is lost except the watery portion which evapo-
rates. Suitable condiments having been added during the operation,
there will be produced at once an excellent savoury meat biscuit well
adapted for many food purposes, such as for the supply of troops on the
march, naval stores, &c., by a rapid and economical process, applicable
in many countries where meat is abundant and cheap, or where the
climate exacts the immediate employ of preserving agencies. I may
also subject the substances to be preserved to the action of steam in
suitable chambers previously to submitting them to the press.
In many situations where fish is abundant and cheap the pressure
process may be employed with advantage, and larger quantities may be
saved in the same time than by the ordinary methods of drying,
smoking, &c. In the treatment of fish I prefer to steam it, or to plunge
it in boiling water after the removal of the bones and offal, after which
it may be pressed in the manner described.
I also in some cases employ a cylindrical vessel with a perforated or a
gauze end or cover, through which the fluid portions of the meat will
flow when pressure is applied by the plunger or piston. The piston may
also be perforated or provided with gauze, so that the fluid portions will
flow through it as well as through the end cover, by this means the time

page_text: occupied in the pressing process will be much expedited whether heat be
applied or not. In such a case I can dispense with the press cloth or
cloths if found necessary. When rollers are used for expressing the
fluid from the solid portions of the meat or fish I so arrange them in
their framing that one is in advance of the other, for the purpose of
preventing the fluid portion passing through between the rollers with the
solid portions.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim as my
Invention of preserving alimentary substances,—
"The employment of mechanical pressure for extracting the fluid
from the solid portions of meat and fish in a raw state with or without
the aid of heat during the process as herein-before described.
Secondly. I claim the process of preparing, wrapping in cloths, and
the after treatment of meat or fish in a raw state, as horcin-before
described.
Thirdly. I claim the employment of a perforated or gauze cylinder
end alone or in combination with a perforated or a gauze piston or
plunger when such is or are used for the purpose of extracting the fluid
from the solid portions of meat or fish as hercin-before described.
Fourthly. The employment of rollers set one in advance of the other,
in the manner and for the purposes set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Frederick Henley, have
hercunto set my hand and seal, this Fourth day of November,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
one.