IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PRESERVATION OF VEGETABLE MATTERS
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William James Cantelo, of Southwark, in the
County of Surrey, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
PRESERVATION OF VEGETABLE MATTERS."
Sealed the 9th February 1858, and dated the 12th August 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William James Cantelo
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
12th August 1857.
I, WILLIAM JAMES CANTELO, of Southwark, in the County of Surrey.
Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE PRESERVATION OF VEGETABLE MATTERS," to be as follows:-
My said Invention consists in certain apparatus and the processes of
preparing and drying vegetable matters, in such a manner as to preserve them
in a state suitable for the purposes of food.
The drying apparatus I employ consists principally of steam or hot water
plates, hearths, or like arrangements, having their surfaces made of enamelled
metal, glass, earthenware, or the like, and is to be used at a temperature
sufficient to desiccate the vegetable matters simply laid thereon, without
injuring their properties, being generally about 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
Most vegetable matters I find require to be first prepared previous to drying
scalding them a sufficient time in steam or hot water.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William James Cantelo in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 12th February 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
JAMES CANTELO, of Southwark, in the County of Surrey, Gentleman, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twenty-first year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William James Cantelo, Her special licence that I, the said
William James Cantelo, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said William James Cantelo my executors, admi-
nistrators, 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 PRESERVATION OF VEGETABLE
MATTERS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William
James Cantelo, 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 William James Cantelo, 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 thereof, that is to say :-
Vegetable substances have been before preserved by evaporating the
moisture thereof, by placing such vegetable substances on trays or surfaces of
metal heated on their under sides. But in such cases the vegetables have
imbibed an objectionable flavour from the heated metal. Now my Invention
consists in drying vegetable substances by means of surfaces composed of
enamelled metal, slate, glass, earthenware, or like material, heated on the
under surface by hot water or steam.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, I will proceed more fully
to describe the manner of performing the same.

page_text: DESCRIPTION OF
Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of one mode of arranging drying apparatus
suitable for carrying out my Invention, and Figure 2 is a plan of the same.
A, A, A, is the strong frame suitable to support steam or hot water plates or
hearths B, B, B, the bottom sides and ends being of metal, but having the
top surface C, C, C, made of enamelled metal, slate, glass, earthenware, or
similar material. I prefer to use glass for the surface, and to heat the same
by the circulation of hot water below. The Drawing shows two hot water
vessels a, b, thus constructed, both communicating with the same cistern or
boiler covered over at top, and having a small stove D in a central tube or
flue by means of which the water may readily be maintained at an equable
temperature. I have shown the hot plates C, 17 feet long, 6 feet wide, and
with an internal space below for a depth of 3 inches of water below the
plates C. The vessels a, b, are divided equally with partitions c, d, which
cause the flow of hot surface water from the boiler to take the courses
indicated by the arrows, and the water then descends down tubular passages
e, e. When the surfaces C, C, C, are too extensive to be covered by one
slab, plate, or sheet of glass, slate, earthenware, or other like material, several
may be joined. Thermometers are used to indicate the temperature. It
will thus be observed that the drying apparatus I employ differs essen-
tially from ordinary drying plates or hearths, in having their surfaces of
enamelled metal, slate, glass, earthenware, or like materials, and I recommend
the same being used at a temperature sufficient to dissicate the vegetable
matters laid thereon without injuring their properties, which I find is generally
attained at about 120° of Fahrenheit; and at the same time the vegetable
substances will be found to retain more completely their own flavour uncon-
taminated with others, heretofore consequent on heated metallic contact.
would remark, that I have found in practice, that when using steam to heat
the surfaces, it is desirable to have steam pipes in a shallow vessel containing
water sufficient to cover such steam pipes; by these means the comparative
low temperature desired is more conveniently maintained over the whole
surface. Most vegetable matters require, previous to drying, to be scalded a
sufficient time by subjecting them to the influence of steam or hot water for a
few seconds which will vary up to a minute or more, according to the delicacy
or strength and composition of the vegetable substances.
I
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that I do not claim the use
of drying surfaces heated by steam or hot water, for drying vegetable sub-

page_text: stances in order to preserve them, when the heated surfaces on which such
vegetable substances are placed are of metal uncoated with enamel; but what
I claim is the preserving vegetable substances, by drying the same on surfaces
of enamelled metal, glass, slate, earthenware, or such like material, heated on
the under side by steam or hot water.
In witness whereof, I, the said William James Cantelo, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Eleventh day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
Witness,
JNO. ALCOCK.
W. J. CANTELO. (L.S.)