IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS OF PRESERVING PROVISIONS, AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Davies, of No. 1, Serle Street, Lincoln's
Inn, in the County of Middlesex, and No. 28, Enoch Square, in the
City of Glasgow, Civil Engineer and Patent Agent, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS OF PRESERVING PROVISIONS, AND IN THE
APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN." - A communication from abroad by
Alexandre Lecomte, of Montmartre, Paris, France.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Davies at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 24th
September 1861.
I, GEORGE DAVIES, of No. 1, Serle Street, Lincoln's Inn, in the County
of Middlesex, and No. 28, St. Enoch Square, in the City of Glasgow,
Civil Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS OF PRESERVING PROVISIONS, AND IN
THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN," (a communication to me from abroad by
Alexandre Lecomte, of Montmartre, Paris, France), to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to the preservation of provisions in metal cases, and
applies principally to the process of cooking the same, comprising also a small
addition to the means or apparatus employed in such process, whereby an
economy of time, and also great improvement in the flavor and nutritious
qualities of the provisions are effected.

page_text: In the usual process of cooking provisions for preservation, they are placed
in metal cases with a hole in the top, and these cases are placed in a hot
water bath, or "bain marie," and boiled until it is supposed that the whole of
the air and gases have been expelled. They are then closed hermetically, and
the boiling is continued till the cooking is considered complete. In this
process, it not unfrequently happens that the cases burst, owing to the whole of
the air and gases not having been expelled previously to the final closing of the
case, and also in most cases it is found necessary to employ a great heat to
annihilate the gases that might have been left, and hence the cooking of the
provisions is carried to such an extent that they are reduced to a state of jelly
and fibre.
According to this Invention, the provisions are placed in metal cases having
a small hole at the top, as before; heat is then applied, and as soon as the
contents commence to boil, a second vessel; having a corresponding hole at the
bottom, is placed over the first named vessel. Into this latter vessel the liquid
rises, and (if required) water is added (to a greater or less depth according to
circumstances), and the consequence is, that the air and gases instead of passing
off directly into the atmosphere, are compelled to bubble through the water,
and a great portion of the aroma and flavor of the provisions which would
otherwise have been lost is retained. As soon as the boiling is complete, and
the gases are supposed to be expelled, then (if water has been added) the upper
vessel and its contents are removed. The opening is then closed, and the
cases are again boiled until the cooking is consided complete. This process
allows of a greater heat being applied at first, without loss; and hence the
time of cooking is greatly shortened, and the provisions being consequently
cooked quicker, not only is the flavor retained, but the appearance and
nutritious qualities of the provisions when prepared for use are almost equal to
those of freshly cooked provisions.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Davies in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
22nd March 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
DAVIES, of No. 1, Serle Street, Lincoln's Inn, in the County of Middlesex, and
No. 28, St. Enoch Square, in the City of Glasgow, Civil Engineer and Patent
Agent, send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said George Davies, Her special licence that I, the said George
Davies, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said George Davies, 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 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 "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE PROCESS OF PRESERVING PROVISIONS, AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED
THEREIN," being a communication to me from abroad by Alexandre Lecomte,
of Montmartre, Paris, France, upon the condition, amongst others, that I, the
said George Davies, 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 George Davies, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following.
statement in writing, and on reference to the accompanying Drawings, that is.
to say:
This Invention relates to the preservation of provisions in metal cases, and
applies principally to the process of cooking the same, comprising an addition
to the means or apparatus employed in such process, whereby an economy of
time, and also great improvement in the flavor and nutritious qualities of the
provisions are effected.
In the usual process of cooking provisions for preservation, they are enclosed
in metal cases with a hole in the top, and these cases are placed in a calcium
water bath or "bain marie," to be heated and boiled until it is supposed that
the whole of the air and gases have been expelled. They are then closed
hermetically, and the boiling is continued till the cooking is considered com--
lete, and in most cases it is found necessary to employ a great heat, to
nnihilate the gases that might have been left, and hence the cooking of the
provisions is carried to such an extent that they are reduced to a state of jelly
and fibre.

page_text: According to this Invention the provisions are placed in a metal case, the
lid of which is properly soldered, and has a small hole at the top, as before, to
which (if preferred) a small tin tube is soldered. Heat is then applied, and
as soon as the contents commence to boil the vessel is put in connection with
a second vessel having a corresponding hole at the bottom, to which is also
soldered a small taper tin tube, which is inserted in the tube or hole of the lid
of the first-named vessel. If the vessel in which the provisions are placed to
be preserved contains much liquid, the steam formed inside the same pressing
upon that liquid forces it to rise into the upper vessel, and it there serves as
a water valve, which allows the gases to pass by, bubbling into the atmosphere,
but retains the aroma and flavor of the provisions that otherwise might have
been lost, and when this first process of cooking or boiling is considered com-
plete, the temperature of the case is lowered by raising it out of the bath into
the atmosphere, and a partial vacuum being thus formed inside the lower
vessel or case, the pressure of the atmosphere forces the liquid to re-enter the
vessel underneath. The temperature is then again raised, the connection
between the two vessels is cut off, the hole in the lid is closed, and the case is
again lowered into the bath and boiled until the operation of cooking is con-
cluded. But if the case contains very little liquid, as soon as the boiling
begins and steam is given off freely, the connection between the two vessels is
then made, and boiling water is added in the upper vessel, and through that
bed of water, as above stated, the gases bubble out during the whole time that
the operation of boiling continues, and thus all the aroma, flavor, and nutritious
qualities of the provisions to be preserved are retained. When this first boiling
is considered complete (the duration of which may vary from one quarter of
an hour to one hour or more, according to the greater or lesser size of the
case, and the substance to be preserved, and the heat applied) the connection
between the two vessels is then cut off, the upper vessel is removed with the
water which it contained, if water had been poured therein; but if not, the
temperature is lowered until the contents re-enter the lower vessel. The hole
of the vessel containing the provisions is then stopped or closed by pinching
together the small tube, or otherwise, and the boiling is then continued, an
the heat is augmented according to the substance to be preserved, varying
from 212 to 250 degrees Fahrenheit, or more, and when the cookin
is considered concluded, the cases are removed from the bath and lel
to cool. By this process all the oxygen gas that might remain in the cas
when closed passes under the influence of heat into the state of carboni
acid gas, and thereby the elements of fermentation and decay are destroyed
This process allows of a greater heat being applied at first for the purpos

page_text: of expelling all the gas without loss of flavor, and hence the time of cooking
is greatly shortened, and the provisions being consequently cooked quicker,
not only is the flavor retained, but the appearance and nutritious qualities
of the provisions when prepared for use, are equal to those of freshly cooked
provisions.
Where the provisions are required to be cooked in large quantities and
several cases or vessels are boiled at one time, it is more convenient to
substitute a long trough or troughs for the upper vessel. This trough or
troughs is or are arranged above a series of vessels or cases, and furnished
with several flexible pipes provided with stop-cocks connected to its under side,
so that their ends can be brought over the small openings or tubes in the
several vessels or cases, and thus the one or two troughs answers the same
purpose for all the vessels or cases under operation.
Such being the nature and object of the said Invention, for "Improvements
in the Process of Preserving Provisions, and in the Apparatus employed
therein," I will now proceed to describe more in detail the manner in which
the same is to be or may be performed or carried into practical effect, and in
order that the same may be distinctly understood, I have annexed hereunto a
Sheet of Drawings illustrative thereof, and have marked the same with figures
and letters of reference corresponding with those in the following explanation
thereof, that is to say:-
In the annexed Drawing, Figure 1 illustrates the arrangement first above
described. a, a, is the case or vessel containing the provisions to be preserved.
This case is closed entirely with the exception of a small opening in the lid at b,
to which a short tube is soldered; c, c, is the upper vessel open at the top, and
having a small hole in the bottom at d, provided with a taper tube capable
of fitting inside the tube of the vessel a, a, as before described. When the
first cooking is complete and the vessels are separated the tube b is closed by
compression with a pair of pincers, or by soldering.
Figure 2 shows a transverse vertical section, and Figure 3 a partial plan
view of the second above described arrangement. a, a, a, a, are the cases
containing the provisions to be preserved, which are suspended in the "bain
marie" or calcium bath b, b, by means of an open trough or grating c, c,
capable of being raised or lowered and supported by chains d, d, passing over
pullies above. The calcium bath b, b, is heated by means of steam pipes e, e, e, e;
ff, are two troughs containing the water, which acts as a water valve, as
above described. The water in these troughs is kept at the boiling point by
means of steam pipes g, g, and the troughs are provided below with flexible

page_text: tubes h, h, furnished with stop-cocks for making the connections between the
troughs f, f, and the cases a, a, a, a, under operation.
The mode of using this apparatus is above described, with the exception that
the temperature of the cases a, a, a, a, and their contents is raised by lowering
them deeper into the calcium bath, and is lowered by raising them out of the
same into contact with the air, which cools them.
Having now described the nature and object of the said Invention for
"Improvements in the Process of Preserving Provisions, and in the Apparatus
employed therein," together with the manner in which the same is to be or
may be performed or carried into practical effect, I would remark in conclusion
that I claim as new the peculiar method of and apparatus for cooking or
preserving provisions, as herein-before described and illustrated by the annexed
Drawings, or any modification thereof, operating in substantially the same or
in a similar manner.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Davies, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
GEORGE DAVIES. (L.S.)