THE APPLICATION OF THE 'PIPETTE' TO THE EXTRACTING OF GOLD NUGGETS AND AURIFEROUS SAND, AND - OTHER MATTERS LYING UNDER WATER
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Ernest Bazin, Ingénieur, Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur,
of No. 10, Place Pereire, Paris, for the Invention of "THE APPLICATION OF THE
'PIPETTE' TO THE EXTRACTING OF GOLD NUGGETS AND AURIFEROUS SAND, AND -
OTHER MATTERS LYING UNDER WATER."
Sealed the 5th February 1878, and dated the 10th August 1877.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Ernest Bazin at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 10th August 1877.
ERNEST BAZIN, Ingénieur, Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur, of No. 10, Place
Pereire, Paris. "THE APPLICATION OF THE PIPETTE' TO THE EXTRACTING OF GOLD
NUGGETS AND AURIFEROUS SAND, AND OTHER MATTERS LYING UNDER WATER."
The object of the present Patent is to protect the Invention I have made for
fishing up or raising gold dust or nuggets from auriferous deposits or sands, or
generally for fishing up substances of value from under water by means of a well-
known apparatus, but which till now has only been made use of for the manipula-
tions of liquids, and which in laboratories is known as the pipette.
The pipette is generally used as follows:-It is dipped in the liquid, and the top
end of its pipe is then closed by applying the thumb thereto, and then raising the
pipette out of the liquid; the portion thereof which has entered the pipette is
removed with it, as it cannot escape from the pipette until the air is allowed to
come in at the top by the action of the operator, who thus suppresses and annuls
the atmospheric pressure, which alone keeps up the liquid in the pipette, while the
latter is being taken out of the liquid. I fish for and raise the auriferous sands in
the same manner, barring that wishing to fill the pipette with sand and not with
water, I take care to plug the top of my apparatus while lowering it into the water,
and only open the top orifice, till now closed, when the pipette has reached the
bottom, and is actually resting on the sand. As soon as the said top opening is
opened, water and sand, under the influence of the hydraulic pressure outside, pene.
trates into the pipette, displacing the air which it contained. This hydraulic

page_text: pressure fills the apparatus absolutely, as in the laboratory pipette, but does not
raise further the materials or stuff.
It is the hand of man that will have to lift from the bottom to the surface of the
water the mixture of water, mud, sand, or other substance contained in the pipette.
The hydraulic pressure therefore in this case causes the filling of the apparatus, but
not the raising above the water of substances heavier than water, and this, on
account of the very form of the pipette, which forming a receiver, obstructs the
passage of the elevating of the upward current as soon as it is about two-thirds full
of sand. For instance, if the receiving pipette is 10 inches high, and if the
operation takes place in, say 17 ft. of water, as soon as the pipette begins to work
it will penetrate into the sand, and will sink by all its height, should the layer of
sand be equally 10 inches thick, or more; this constitutes the filling of the pipette,
and not the raising of substances heavier than water by an upward current. I do
not consider the filling of the pipette to constitute a raising of material, as the
pipette only fills with sand on condition of sinking itself into the hole which it
creates by its own working. If the layer of sand was not as thick as the pipette is
long, and was only, say, 8 inches thick, the sinking of the pipette would evidently
be limited, and that limit being reached there would be a slight elevation of the
sand by about 2 inches on account of the current; but I cannot consider the raising
of material by 2 inches as anything worth mentioning, it is absolutely insignificant
and practically next to nothing, as the sand contained in the apparatus has still to
be lifted over 16 ft. 2 inches out of the 17 feet that I have supposed the depth to
be. The facts which take place therefore are really the action of filling the recipient
at the bottom of the water, and the raising of the stuff to the surface only comes
afterwards, being affected by hand labor or machinery.
One of the great advantages which I find in the use of the pipette in raising sand
or other substance laying under water is, that while raising the apparatus (which
operation must be done rapidly) a small quantity, it is true, of sand will be lost
while the apparatus is in the water, notwithstanding the closing of its upper
extremity, and that on account of the difference of density of the water and of the
sand or other substance, but this kind of leakage will stop as soon as the apparatus
gets out of the water, and there will be a settling down, and the operator will be
able at his convenience to empty the pipette by opening the top aperture of the
apparatus, and the heavy substances will come out first, so entirely separated from
the water that it will be possible to run the latter away entirely apart from any
of the other stuff.
DESCRIPTION.
I attach to this Specification a Drawing which represents a general view of a
complete pipette.
Fig. 2 represents in section the junction of the recipient and the tube.
Fig. 3 is a section by the centre of oscillation of the closing piece.
Fig. 6 shews another arrangement of this same part.
Fig. 5 shews how the pipette may be made to work horizontally.
The pipette has an ovoid form, somewhat lengthened, which constitutes the
recipient a of the apparatus, and which is terminated by a neck b, by which the
sand will enter and go out. At the opposite end the recipient a is prolonged by
the tube c, on which is fixed the first length of the directing tube.
This joint or
attachment is obtained, as that of the other two successive lengths, by the means
shewn in section, Fig. 2. The tube c has a thread at its extremity, & has a
circular shoulder c'; the next tube d screws on it, and at the same time a joint
is made in the shoulder c' by the tightening of the collar d', which presses on a
leather c placed between the two.
The part which finishes the directing tube d, Fig. 1, is closed at the top by a
stopper screwed into the tube, & to which a ring shape is given so that it may
be used also for holding the apparatus a little below the interior of tube d, com-
municating with the exterior by a small piping or kind of port h, kept closed by the

page_text: pressure of a piece p, similar in form and strength to the hammer of a muzzle-loading
gun. This piece p is placed over the pipe d, Fig. 3, which receives at this part
sufficient strength to enable oscillating centres to be found, which are formed here
by two screws v, v.
At the back the hammer p receives continuously the pressure
of the spring r, fixed by the screw t on the tube d.
Finally the part p presents a ring for attach the rope or little chain m, which
is kept in its place at various distances by guides attached to or formed in the
pipe d so as to be always handy to the operator.
The closing joint of the port hole h is made air-tight by a stopper p¹ of india-
rubber or any other substance placed at the head of the hammar.m
The pipette being fed with its directing tube and out of the water, the namer
p being closed, the apparatus is lowered till it reaches the sand bank of the gold-
bearing strata; at that moment by pulling in the chain m the port hole h is opened
by the hammer p being raised. Immediately the interior of the recipient a is put
in communication with the atmosphere, there is equilibrium of pressure, and there is
only the hydraulic pressure of the column of water (the height of which is exactly
the depth of the sand bank) which acts on the orifice of the neck b, and produces
the filling up of the recipient a. This filling up will take place rapidly by a mixture
of water and sand till the moment when that mixture has arrived to about 2/3 of
the capacity a; the stuff thus brought in obstructs then the further passage of the
current. At the same time the pipette has constantly been sinking, & that till
the end of its working, the chain m being then let loose the trigger will fall on the
branch pipe and will form again the air-tight joint. The crew then will at once
rapidly raise the apparatus out of the water either by hand or by any mechanical
appliance. On account of the small amount of air which will find itself into the
directing tube, and of the difference of density between the water and the sand, a
small amount of the sand will get out of the recipient a until the neck b has been
lifted out. The settling takes place, & when it will be wanted to empty the
pipette by opening the port h the sand and all heavy substances will be received
first, and so well separated froin the water that the said water may, if desired, be run
out in any other place.
Fig. 4 shews the working of a pipette by hand, and fitted with a system which
equilibriates the weight of the apparatus; when full, it is raised out of the water.
This style of pipette, weighing with its tubes, say, about 33 lbs., and displacing about
30 lbs. of water, must be equilibriated by a counterweight of about 26 lbs. This
counterweight can be obtained by means of a light pole acting as a spring, or with
a lever and a weight, but the simplest arrangement in my opinion is the one I show
in the Drawing, & which is composed of a fixed point or a light wooden frame
fitted up on to the floor of the boat to blocks n & n¹ connecting the weight n to
the pipe of the pipette. By this system the apparatus is maintained quite vertical
while it is raised or lowered.
Fig. 5 represents a horizontal arrangement of a large pipette. This pipette is held
by a fork t, and oscillates according to requirements by means of a pull rope at the
time of the raising when it is full, and it is wanted to prevent the sand from
escaping by means of the catch 8 when it gets out of the water, and takes the vertical
position it requires to have when it is being emptied, see dotted lines.
A flexible pipe d allows the oscillating motion of the pipette; a portion of this pipe
attached to its carrying frame is fitted with a cock p or a system of opening and
closing by a spring similar to the arrangements shown for the hand-sized pipette.
The weight of the pipette and its carrier must be sufficient to immerse the pipette.
Its volume will be about 22 gallons, and it will be worked by means of the winch
t; it will even be able to work on pretty hard sand if a disaggregator is attached
to it.
The chains for working the apparatus may be prolonged when all loss of stuff

page_text: must be prevented at the raising of the pipette, and especially if heavy nuggets are
met with through the neck b, Fig. 2, and receive at its extremity a ball o so that in
lifting and pulling up the rope m¹ upwards the ball will act as a closing valve on
the neck b.
In Fig. 6 is shewn another arrangement for opening & closing the ports h of the.
pipette, formed as follows:-A pulling rod i, a spiral spring r, guided by the guides
g of the main rod, and a corking plug p having a washer of leather or india-rubber
p; the chain m is tied at the back to the ring g.
To resume; what I claim most specially is the application of the pipette to the
fishing of nuggets, auriferous sands, or other valuable substances laying under water;
the simplicity of the form of this pipette which allows me by means of the manoeuvre
which I have described to fill it with a mixture of water and sand, and to raise it
above the water without any marked loss of the substances which it contains, and
to empty it instantly. All these results being obtained by a single action, that of
opening or closing an opening attached to the top tube of the apparatus, and generally
a practical and workable arrangement of the whole system.
The dimensions & the forms of my angling pipette will naturally vary, according
to the depths and requirements; but what I claim is the application to the salvage
or raising of subaqueous riches, of the pipette with its form and principle without
complication, without interior compartments intended to retain the sands during
the ascension of the apparatus, without emptying valves or organs, and in a word
I claim for myself. the application of the pipette as I have described it, and as
it is shewn in the Drawings, certain as I am to obtain in practice working results
quite novel, & very superior to all those which have only been obtained with very
complicated apparatuses. The essential qualities which I here claim being the
filling up at the bottom, then the raising of the stuff without great loss during the
ascension, & the emptying of the said apparatus, the whole by the working of
the openings and the closing at the proper moments of the top aperture of the
apparatus.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent and of an
Order of the Lord Chancellor, filed by the said Ernest Bazin in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 23rd February 1878.
ERNEST BAZIN, Ingénieur, Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur, of No. 10, Place
Pereire, Paris. "THE APPLICATION OF THE 'PIPETTE' TO THE EXTRACTING OF GOLD
NUGGETS AND AURIFEROUS SAND, AND OTHER MATTERS LYING UNDEr Water.”
The object of the present Patent is to protect the Invention I have made for
fishing up or raising gold dust or nuggets from auriferous deposits or sands, or
generally for fishing up substances of value from under water by means of a well-
known apparatus, but which, till now, has only been made use of for the manipu-
lation of liquids, and which in laboratories is know as the pipette.
The pipette is generally used as follows:-It is dipped in the liquid, and the top
end of its pipe is then closed by applying the thumb thereto, and then raising the
pipette out of the liquid, the portion thereof which has entered the pipette is
removed with it as it cannot escape from the pipette until the air is allowed to
come in at the top by the action of the operator, who thus suppresses and annuls.
the atmospheric pressure, which alone keeps up the liquid in the pipette while the
latter is being taken out of the liquid. I fish for and raise the auriferous sands in
the same manner, barring that, wishing to fill the pipette with sand and not with
water, I take care to plug the top of my apparatus while lowering it into the water,
and only open the top orifice, till now closed, when the pipette has reached the
bottom and is actually resting in the sand. As soon as the said top opening is
opened, water and sand, under the influence of the hydraulic pressure outside,
penetrate into the pipette, displacing the air which it contained. This hydraulic
pressure fills the apparatus absolutely, as in the. laboratory pipette, but does not
raise further the materials or stuff.
It is the hand of man that will have to lift from the bottom to the surface of the
water the mixture of water, mud, sand, or other substance contained in the pipette.
The hydraulic pressure, therefore, in this case causes the filling of the apparatus,
but not the raising above the water of substances heavier than water, and this on
account of the very form of the pipette, which, forming a receiver, obstructs the
passage of the elevating of the upward current as soon as it is about two-thirds full
of sand. For instance, if the receiving pipette is 10 inches high, and if the operation
takes place in, say, 17 ft. of water, as soon as the pipette begins to work it will
penetrate into the sand and will sink by all its height, should the layer of sand be
equally 10 inches thick or more; this constitutes the filling of the pipette, and not
the raising of substances heavier than water by an upward current. I do not
consider the filling of the pipette to constitute a raising of material, as the pipette
only fills with sand on condition of sinking itself into the hole which it creates by
its own working. If the layer of sand was not as thick as the pipette is long, and
was only, say, 8 inches thick, the sinking of the pipette would evidently be limited,
and that limit being reached, there would be a slight elevation of the sand by
about 2 inches on account of the current, but I cannot consider the raising of
material by 2 inches as anything worth mentioning; it is absolutely insignificant,
and practically next to nothing, as the sand contained in the apparatus has still to
be lifted over 16 ft. 2 inches out of the 17 feet that I have supposed the depth to be.
The facts which take place, therefore, are really the action of filling the recipient at
the bottom of the water, and the raising of the stuff to the surface only comes
afterwards, being affected by hand labor or machinery.
One of the great advantages which I find in the use of the pipette in raising sand
or other substance laying under water, is that, while raising the apparatus (which
operation must be done rapidly) a small quantity, it is true, of sand will be lost,

page_text: while the apparatus is in the water notwithstanding the closing of its upper extremity,
and that on account of the difference of density of the water and of the sand or
other substance; but this kind of leakage will stop as soon as the apparatus gets
out of the water, and there will be a settling down, and the operator will be able at
his convenience to empty the pipette by opening the top aperture of the apparatus,
the heavy substances will come out first so entirely separated from the water that
it will be possible to run the latter away entirely apart from any of the other
stuff.
complete pipette.
Fig. 2 represents in section the junction of the recipient and the tube.
Fig. 3 is a section by the centre of oscillation of the closing piece.
Fig. 6 shews another arrangement of this same part.
Fig. 5 shews how the pipette may be made to work horizontally.
The pipette has an ovoid form, somewhat lengthened, which constitutes the
recipient of the apparatus, and which is terminated by a neck b, by which the
sand will enter and go out. At the opposite end the recipient a is prolonged by the
tube.c, on which is fixed the first length of the directing tube. This joint or attach-
ment is obtained, as that of the other two successive lengths, by the means shewn 2
in section, Fig. 2. The tube c has a thread at its extremity and has a circular
shoulder c¹; the next tube d screws on it, and at the same time a joint is made in
the shoulder c¹ by the tightening of the collar d², which presses on a leather c placed
between the two.
The part which finishes the directing tube d, Fig. 1, is closed at the top by a 2
stopper screwed into the tube b, to which a ring shape is given, so that it may be
used also for holding the apparatus a little below the interior of tube d communi-
cating with the exterior by a small piping or kind of port h kept closed by the
pressure of a piece p similar in form and strength to the hammer of a muzzle-loading
gun.
This piece p is placed over the pipe d, Fig. 3, which receives at this part 3
sufficient strength to enable oscillating centres to be found, which are formed here
by two screws v, v. At the back the hammer p receives continuously the pressure
of the spring fixed by the screw t on the tube d.
Finally, the part p presents a ring for attaching the rope or little chain m which
is kept in its place at various distances by guides attached to or formed in the pipe d 3
so as to be always handy to the operator; the closing joint of the port hole h is
made air-tight by a stopper p¹ of india-rubber or any other substance placed at the
head of the hammer p.
WORKING OF THE APPARATUS
The pipette being fitted with its directing tube and out of the water, the 4
hammer p being closed, the apparatus is lowered until it reaches the sand bank of
the gold-bearing strata; at that moment, by pulling in the chain m, the port hole h
is opened by the hammer p being raised. Immediately the interior of the recipient a
is put in communication with the atmosphere there is equilibrium of pressure, and
there is only the hydraulic pressure of the column of water (the height of which is
exactly the depth of the sand bank) which acts on the orifice of the neck band
produces the filling up of the recipient a. This filling up will take place rapidly by
a mixture of water and sand till the moment when that mixture has arrived to
about 2 of the capacity a; the stuff thus brought in obstructs then the further
passage of the current. At the same time the pipette has constantly been sinking, 5
and that till the end of its working the chain m being then let loose the trimering
The pipette being fitted with its directing tube and out of the water, the
hammer p being closed, the apparatus is lowered until it reaches the sand bank of
the gold-bearing strata; at that moment, by pulling in the chain m, the port hole h
is opened by the hammer p being raised. Immediately the interior of the recipient a
is put in communication with the atmosphere there is equilibrium of pressure, and
there is only the hydraulic pressure of the column of water (the height of which is
exactly the depth of the sand bank) which acts on the orifice of the neck b and
produces the filling up of the recipient a. This filling up will take place rapidly by
a mixture of water and sand till the moment when that mixture has arrived to
about 2 of the capacity a; the stuff thus brought in obstructs then the further
passage of the current.
At the same time the pipette has constantly been sinking,
and that till the end of its working; the chain m being then let loose, the trigger

page_text: will fall on the branch pipe and will form again the air-tight joint; the crew then
will at once rapidly raise the apparatus out of the water either by hand or by any
mechanical appliance. On account of the small amount of air which will find itself
into the directing tube, and of the difference of density between the water and the
sand, a small amount of the sand will get out of the recipient a until the neck b
has been lifted out. The settling takes place, and when it will be wanted to empty
the pipette by opening the port h, the sand and all heavy substances will be received
first, and so well separated from the water that the said water may, if desired, be
run out in any other place.
Fig. 4 shews the working of a pipette by hand, and fitted with a system which
equilibriates the weight of the apparatus; when full it is raised out of the water.
This style of pipette weighs with its tubes, say, about 33 lbs., and displacing about
30 lbs. of water, must be equilibriated by a counterweight of about 26 lbs. This
counterweight can be obtained by means of a light pole acting as a spring, or with
a lever and a weight, but the simpliest arrangement, in my opinion, is the one I
shew in the Drawing, and which is composed of a fixed point or a light wooden
frame fitted up on to the floor of the boat to blocks n & n¹, connecting the
weight n to the pipe of the pipette. By this system the apparatus is maintained
quite vertical while it is raised or lowered.
Fig. 5 represents a horizontal arrangement of a large pipette. This pipette is
held by a fork t and oscillates, according to requirements, by means of a pull rope
at the time of the raising when it is full and it is wanted to prevent the sand from
escaping by means of the catch s, when it gets out of the water and takes the
vertical position it requires to have when it is being emptied, see dotted lines.
A flexible pipe d allows the oscillating motion of the pipette; a portion of this
pipe attached to its carrying frame is fitted with a cock p or a system of opening
& closing by a spring, similar to the arrangements shown for the hand-sized
pipette.
The weight of the pipette and its carrier must be sufficient to immerse the pipette.
Its volume will be about 22 gallons, and it will be worked by means of the winch t;
it will even be able to work in pretty hard sand if the disaggregator is attached
to it.
The chain for working the apparatus may be prolonged when all loss of stuff
must be prevented at the raising of the pipette, and especially if heavy nuggets are
met with, through the neck b, Fig. 2, and receive at its extremity a ball o, so that
in lifting and pulling up the rope m¹ upwards, the ball will act as a closing
valve on the neck b.
In Fig. 6 is shewn another arrangement for opening & closing the port h of
the pipette, formed as follows:-A pulling rod i, a spiral spring r guided by the
guides of the main rod, and a corking plug p, having a washer of leather or
india-rubber pl; the chain m is tied at the back to the ring q.
To resume; what I claim most specially is, the application of the pipette to the
fishing of nuggets, auriferous sands, or other valuable substances laying under water;
the simplicity of the form of this pipette which allows me by means of the mancevre
which I have described, to fill it with a mixture of water and sand and to raise it
above the water without any marked loss of the substances which it contains, and
to empty it instantly. All these results being obtained by a single action, that of
opening or closing an opening attached to the top tube of the apparatus, and generally
a practical and workable arrangement of the whole system.
The dimensions and the forms of my angling pipette will naturally vary according
to the depths and requirements, but what I claim is the application to the salvage
or raising of subaqueous riches, of the pipette with its form and principle without
complication, without interior compartments intended to return the sands during
the ascension of the apparatus, without emptying valves or organs, and, in a word,
I claim for myself the application of the pipette as I have described it, and as it is
shewn in the Drawings, certain as I am to obtain in practice working results quite

page_text: novel, and very superior to all those which have only been obtained with very
complicated apparatuses. The essential qualities which I here claim being the
filling up at the bottom, then the raising of the stuff without great loss during the
ascension and the emptying of the said apparatus. The whole by the working of
the opening and the closing at the proper moments of the top aperture of the
apparatus.
In witness whereof, I, the said Ernest Bazin, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, this Twentieth day of February, in the year of our Lord 1878.
Witnesses to the signature,
"Ernest Bazin,"
HENRY WILLOUGHBY,
British Vice-consul at Paris,
EMILE BASSOT,
4, Rue Droust, Paris.
ERNEST BAZIN. (L.S.)