CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN PRESERVING ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES
Year: 1851

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
MURDOCH, of Staple Inn, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, 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 Thirtieth day of January
(One thousand eight hundred and fifty-one), in the fourteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said James Murdoch, my exors, adññiors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full
power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said James Murdoch, my exors,
admiors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said James Murdoch, my exors,
adiiors, 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, in the Islands of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney,
Sark, and Man, and in all Her Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, the
Invention of CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN PRESERVING ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE
SUBSTANCES," communicated to me by a certain Foreigner residing abroad; in
which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said James
Murdoch, 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 Majesty's High Court of
Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of
the said part in recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being
thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear..

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
James Murdoch, have ascertained and set forth the nature of the said Invention,
and the manner in which the same may be carried into effect, in and by the
following description thereof, and by the Drawing hereunto annexed, reference
being had to the figures and letters marked thereon.
The Invention consists,-
Firstly, in a method of drying animal and vegetable substances (after they
have undergone such preliminary preparations as the nature of the different
substances may require), for the purpose of preserving the same; and,
Secondly, in a mode of treating animal substances with a view to preserving
them, which may be used either in conjunction with the drying process, which
constitutes the first part of the Invention, or independently of it, or combined
with any other processes which may be deemed suitable.
The mode of drying animal and vegetable substances, which constitutes the
first part of the Invention, consists in subjecting such substances (when suitably
prepared) to an artificial current of dry air, of a temperature more or less
elevated, but rather slightly than highly, and depending partly upon the nature
of the substances, and of the preliminary preparations which they have under-
gone. This current of dry air, by effecting suddenly a kind of transformation
of the substance submitted to it, prevents the substance from suffering during
the operation the action resulting from the decomposition, absorption, or
destruction of the principles opposed to the preservation of the substance in its
ordinary state, and which this current of dry air modifies, and destroys instantly
and completely, wherein the effect differs from that produced by drying these
substances in stoves or ovens, as these, if they do not burn nor dry them too
much, leave them too long exposed to the disorganizing effects of heat,
whereby phenomena of decomposition and transformation are produced, which
are opposed to the conditions necessary to a veritable preservation of the sub-
stances in their normal state. The apparatus for effecting the desiccation is
composed of three distinct parts, viz, first, a furnace or generator of heat to
dry the air before it is admitted into the drying chamber; second, a chamber
or compartment in which are to be placed the articles to be operated upon;
and, third, a suitable apparatus for drawing or forcing the dry air in a current
through the drying chamber. The temperature of the air, and also the
intensity of the current requisite, will depend upon the nature of the substances
operated upon, and suitable regulators must therefore be adapted to the appa-
ratus. In order to give a clearer explanation of the Invention, I have shewn
in the annexed Drawing an arrangement for carrying out the Invention; but
the form and disposition of the parts may be varied to suit the particular
purpose in view.

page_text: Figure 1 is a vertical section of the apparatus, and Figure 2 an end
elevation; and in each Figure the same letters are employed to indicate the
same parts. A is the chamber into which the air is drawn at a, by the action
of an exhausting fan or ventilator. B, a furnace. The flame and heated
gases from the fire 6 heat the pipes C, which traverse the furnace, and through
which the air entering at a passes into the chamber A', on its way to the
drying chamber, which it enters at the bottom at a'; and in its passage through
the heated pipes it is dried. D, an aperture fitted with a sliding cover, so as to
admit of its being wholly or partially opened to admit air into the chamber A'
in order to reduce the temperature of the air when it comes too hot from the
pipes C. The air thus admitted should be rather dry than hot. E, the interior
of the drying chamber E', into which the dry air passing from the chamber A¹
enters by the bottom E", the holes (e, e,) in which are so arranged that the
air which enters at greater force near the opening a' experiences a greater
resistance than it does on the opposite side, so as nearly to equalise the pressure,
which is effected by making the holes near the opening a smaller than those
on the opposite side. Ate are rods for suspending such animal or vegetable
substances as admit of such mode of support. At e¹ are shelves composed of
perforated metal wire, guaze net, or any open fabric, on which may be placed
substances that cannot be suspended from hooks or rods; the nature of the
substance determining the mode of supporting it in the drying chamber. The
drying chamber has on one side a close fitting door, but which does not appear
in the Drawing. F is a revolving fan or ventilator, with wings f, mounted
upon a central shaft f', beneath which is a cup f" to receive the drops of oil
which might fall from the socket or step in which the shaft works. G, two
bevilled wheels placed one upon the vertical shaft f', and the other upon the
horizontal shaft G', and serving to transmit to the fan the rotary movement
communicated to the shaft G' by the belt or strap h, which passes over the
small pulley h' (placed upon the shaft G'), and over the large wheel H, which
is placed upon the horizontal shaft which carries the fast and loose pulleys J, J,
which are set in motion by a belt or strap from the driving shaft, which may
be worked by any suitable prime mover. The operation of the apparatus is
evident; the air is drawn through the apparatus in the direction of the arrows
in its passage through the heated pipes C; its temperature is raised, and it
becomes dry; and in passing through the drying chamber it absorbs and
carries off the moisture of the substances exposed therein. Vegetables, such
as cabbage, spinach, cauliflower, &c., require no other preparation before being
placed in the drying chamber than to be picked and cleaned in like manner as
in preparing them for table, and this merely to expedite the drying process.

page_text: When they are withdrawn from the drying chamber they are so dry and fragile
that before they can be handled they require to be exposed for a short time to
the ordinary atmosphere, in order to restore flexibility to them, after which
they may be pressed and packed in cases or jars, or in any other similar
manner, as in the case of other dry materials; or they can be placed in sacks,
when it is requisite that the articles, as cauliflowers and similar articles,
although reduced to one quarter their volume, should still retain their shape.
As to carrots, turnips, parsnips, and similar vegetables, it is preferable to cut
them into slices, as also beetroot; but this latter does not require to be com-
pletely dried. Potatoes, preparatory to desiccation, should be steamed, skinned,
and passed through a vermicelli press, or other suitable apparatus, to divide the
mass; and in this state it should be placed on sieves or perforated shelves in
the drying chamber, and exposed to the current of dry air. When dried, the
substance has the appearance of yellow tapioca. The temperature requisite
will vary from about sixty-five degrees to eighty-five degrees Fahrenheit,
according to the nature of the substances; that is to say, according as they
contain more or less water. The same causes also determine the duration of
the operation, which will vary from twenty-four to forty-eight hours. Fish
may be prepared for desiccation in the following manner:-After being gutted,
cleaned, and the larger sorts split in two, they are to be sprinkled with
common salt, to absorb the first portion of moisture, coagulate the albumen,
and thereby render the parts firmer; after which, deep incisions are to be
made in them to cause them to dry more quickly, and they are then to be
submitted to the action of the drying chamber; but a surer and more speedy
result will be obtained by cutting them into smaller pieces. When the fish is
withdrawn from the drying chamber it may be smoked, or it may be packed in
jars, which it is preferable should be hermetically sealed. Flesh may be
perfectly preserved by cutting it into small pieces, and submitting it to the
action of a current of dry air, at a temperature of about eighty-five degrees
Fahrenheit, it the drying chamber; but it may be preliminarily prepared by a
different process, having for it object to coagulate, and in some sort to decom-
pose its albumen and geline. And this process, whether separately or in
conjunction with the drying process above described, or with any other
preserving process, constitutes the second part of this Invention.
This process is conducted as follows:-A saline liquid is prepared, composed
of ten and a half ounces of chloride of aluminum, ten and a half ounces of
chloride of sodium, and three and a half ounces of nitrate of potash. The
whole dissolved in about two and a quarter wine pints of water; the liquid
thus prepared having a specific gravity of about twelve degrees by Baumé's

page_text: aerometer. The animal after being killed, and bled to whiteness, is then
injected with the liquid, in quantity depending upon its size. Then, after
skinning the carcase, cleaning it, and cutting it up into joints, the pieces are
cooled by exposing them to the atmosphere for a few minutes, and are then
suspended in the drying chamber, deep incisions having been first made in
the several pieces in order to render the operation more rapid. For fowls
and game, the quadrupeds should be injected through the heart, and the birds
through the larynx. After the meat has been subjected to either or both of
these processes, various subsidiary means may be employed to complete, so to
speak, the preservation; thus, if it is desired that the meat should remain
exposed to the air, it should be steeped in a hot and very concentrated solution
of gelatine to form an envelope of varnish, in order to prevent the fat from
turning rancid by the action of the air. If the meat is to be smoked, it
should be submitted to that process immediately it is withdrawn from the
drying chamber, or it may be simply enclosed in cases hermetically sealed.
Glue. From the difficulty of thoroughly drying sheet glue, made in summer,
such glue will not keep well, but by effecting the drying by the process herein-
before described, the desiccation is promptly and thoroughly effected, and the
glue will be effectually preserved. It should be spread upon network shelves,
in the chamber; but in order that the sheets may not adhere to the meshes,
the temperature at the commencement should not exceed eighty-seven
degrees, nor be below seventy-five degrees Fahrenheit; but at the end of a
quarter of an hour it should be maintained at from sixty degrees to seventy
degrees.
Having thus described the nature of the Invention, and the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I declare that I claim in respect thereof,-
Firstly, the exposure of animal and vegetable substances in a close chamber
to a forced current of dry air, in order to dry such substances, for the purpose
of preserving the same independently of any preliminary or subsidiary processes
which may be adopted as auxiliary to such preserving.
Secondly, I claim the injecting the carcases of animals with the saline liquid
herein-before described, for the purpose of preserving the same, whether such
injecting be employed alone or in conjunction with the desiccating process
before described, or with any other preliminary or subsidiary processes that
may be deemed advisable.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Murdoch, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Thirtieth day of July, One thousand eight hundred and
fifter ons
JAMES (L.B.) MURDOCH.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Thirtieth day of July, in the
year of our Lord 1851, the aforesaid James Murdoch 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.
Enrolled the Thirtieth day of July, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-one.