APPLICATION OF A NEW MATERIAL OR MATERIALS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF BRUSHES AND FOR OTHER PUR- POSES, AND FOR IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF STREET SCAVENGERS, AND SIMILAR BROOMS OR BRUSHES
Year: 1856

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Edward Poitiers at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 4th March
'1856.
I, EDWARD POITIERS, of 12, Malden Terrace, Haverstock Hill, London, in
the County of Middlesex, at present in Manchester, Gentleman, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for THE APPLICATION OF A NEW
MATERIAL OR MATERIALS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF BRUSHES AND FOR OTHER PUR-
POSES, AND FOR IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF STREET SCAVENGERS, AND
SIMILAR BROOMS OR BRUSHES, to be as follows:-
The material, the application of which constitutes my Invention; and which
is new in the manufacture of brooms and brushes, is to be obtained from the
leaflets of various members of the "palm" tribe, such as the "cocoa nut"
palm, the "
grugu palm," and several "arecas" also, and to these my Inven-
tion principally refers, from the leaflets of the "rung" or "worung palm,"
several "arecas" of similar, if not identical conformation of leaflet, and from
the leaflets of the "elais guiniènsis" or common palm oil tree, which latter
named palms are to be obtained in vast quantities in and throughout tropical
Africa.
The material is the "rib" or "spine" running through the centre of the
leaflet of the palms above mentioned, and forming at its base the footstalk, by
which the leaflet is attached to the leaf stem. This spine, or rib, may be

page_text: readily detached from the leaflet. by the thumbnail, or by any suitable instru-
ment, and is from eighteen inches to three feet in length, and varying from
the thickness of a small goose quill at the base or thicker end down to the
thickness of an ordinary bristle; and is highly suitable for the manufacture of
brushes, more especially of the coarser description, and is a valuable sub-
stitute for whalebone or cane in the manufacture of flue brushes, and for the
materials now in use for making coarse brooms, &c. The finer ends, tapering
to the ends of the leaflet, are suitable for the manufacture of finer brooms and
brushes, and the fibres disposed in the structure of the leaflet parallel to its rib,
are suitable to the manufacture of soft brushes, such as hat, velvet, and tooth
brushes, &c. These ribs or spines may also be manufactured into baskets of
various sorts, and may be used as a substitute for whalebone and cane in the
manufacture of riding whips.
My Invention as to "new materials" relates to the before-mentioned mate-
rials, vix., the portion or portions of the leaflets of certain suitable palm trees,
and may be taken to mean their sole and unmixed application for the purposes
herein set forth.
My Invention as to "improvements in brushes, &c." refers to the admixture
of the new material with those now in use, or hereafter to be applied for these
or similar purposes, whether to give greater support and stability to weaker
materials or to lessen the cost of the broom or brush; and furthermore, where
the bases or thicker ends of the ribs are used, a manner of applying them, to
be hereafter particularly described, by which the use of wire, pitch, or any
fastening or fixture will be rendered in many, if not all cases; unnecessary.