A NEW ARTIFICIAL MANURE
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Stevens, of 31, Charing Cross, in the County
of Middlesex, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "A NEW ARTIFICIAL
MANURE." A communication from abroad by Hypolite Louis Marie.
Planchais, of 42, Rue Laffitte, Paris, in the Empire of France.
Sealed the 3rd October 1861, and dated the 24th April 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Stevens at the.
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 24th
April 1861.
I, CHARLES STEVENS, of 31, Charing Cross, in the County of Middlesex,
Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "A NEW
ARTIFICIAL MANURE," and that it has been communicated to me from abroad
by Hypolite Louis Marie Planchais, of 42, Rue Laffitte, Paris, in the Empire.
of France, to be as follows:-
The ingredients in their several proportions used in making the manure-are-
as follows:-Thirty parts of woollen rags or wool cuttings,. thirty-six & a
half parts of soda in crystals, eleven parts of slacked lime in powder,.six.&. a.
half parts of powdered sal-ammoniac, & seventy parts of the liquid part of
sewerage matter. Or, instead of using the sewerage liquid,, a manure of
equally fertilising properties is obtained by taking ten. parts of woollen. rags or
wool cuttings, nine parts of sub-carbonate of soda in crystals, three parts of
slacked lime in powder, a tenth of one part of powdered sulphate of iron;.
a fifth of one part of sulphate of magnesia, one part of sulphate of ammonia,
three & a half parts of finely powdered phosphate of lime,. & twenty-one parts.
of water (by weight)..

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Charles Stevens in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
24th October 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
STEVENS, of 31, Charing Cross, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fourth year of ller
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Charles Stevens, Her special licence that I, the said Charles
Stevens, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Charles Stevens, 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 "A NEW ARTIFICIAL MANURE," a communication to me from abroad by
Hypolite Louis Marie Planchais, of 42, Rue Laffitte, Paris, in the Empire of
France, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Charles
Stevens, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
my, or their, or one of their hands and scals, 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 Charles Stevens, do hereby declaro
the nature of my said. Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, that is to say:-
My Invention consists of a new fertilising liquid manure, and is composed of
the under-mentioned ingredients in the following proportions:-Woollen rags 10
kilogrammes, or about 22 lbs. ; crystals of sub-carbonate of soda 9 kilogrammes,
or about 19 lbs. 13 oz.; lime, slaked with about three-quarters of a pint of
water to every 2 lbs., 3 kilogrammes or about 6 lbs. 10 oz.; sulphate of iron
in coarse powder 100 grammes, or about 3 oz.; sulphate of magnesia 200
grammes, or 6 oz. sulphate of ammonia 1 kilogramune, or about 2lbs. 3 oz. ;

page_text: finely powdered phosphate of line, rendered soluble, 3 kilogrammes, or about
7 lbs. 11 oz.; water 21 litres, or about 4 gallons.
The lime in the above proportion is first placed in a receptacle, and about
2 gallons of water gradually poured on it, both are well mixed, and the
water thus impregnated with lime is poured off into a cast-iron boiler, which
must be capable of containing double the quantity of liquid intended to be
made; rather more than a gallon of water is then thrown on the remains of
the lime, which is well crushed and mixed with it, this water is then poured
into the boiler; should any lime be left at the bottom, a little more water can
be mixed with it as before, and then poured off into the boiler, leaving any
impurities or grit that may have settled at the bottom after this third washing.
A moderate fire is then made under the boiler, and to the lime water the
19 lbs. 13 oz. of crystals of sub-carbonate of soda is added, the liquid is then
allowed almost to boil, care being taken to stir it frequently; when the soda
is almost dissolved, the wool is thrown in a little at a time by degrees as it
dissolves, so that the boiler does not become too much loaded, the liquid
must be stirred well in order to prevent the heavy matters settling to the
bottom, and so burning, and it must also be prevented from boiling too fast,
as in so doing it swells and would boil over, in the event of it so doing, about a
piut of water must be thrown in, and the fire slackened. When the wool is per-
fectly dissolved, which generally takes place after being moderately boiled about
of an hour, and the liquid reduced to 7 gallons, which is about the quantity
the above proportions of ingredients must be boiled to, the liquid is made to
pass through a coarse sieve, so that the cotton, often mixed with wool and other
impurities, can be separated from it into a barrel, where it is allowed to cool,
the sulphate of iron, the sulphate of magnesia, the sulpbate of ammonia, and
the phosphate of lime are then mixed with a small quantity of the liquid, and
when they are well dissolved, the mixture thus made is thrown into the rest
of the liquid, which is then agitated and left to stand for twenty-four hours,
stirring it three or four times during that period, it can then be put in barrels
or other vessels which must be closed as hermétically as possible; when
required for use the liquid must be well stirred.
Before employing the manure, the ground must be freed as much as pos-
sible from weeds, and when the manure is intended for wheat, barley, rye, or
similar grain, the following is the manner I consider best to use it :-To ten
parts of grain take one part of the manure, and pour it gradually over the
grain, mix them well, so that the grain becomes coated with the manure, then
allow it to stand for 3 hours, taking care to stir five or six times during that
period to prevent the grain from becoming heated.

page_text: The grain thus prepared is then mixed with what I call fertilising powder
composed of equal parts of baked chalk (platre), and phosphate of lime, both
finely powdered, well mixed and sifted, this powder is thrown on the prepared
grain a little at a time, which is gently stirred till all the grains have become
coated with the powder which prevents their sticking together. It is not
advisable to sow the grain thus prepared in wet weather, as the rain would
wash off the manure, should it be however be prepared, it may be kept without
inconvenience by spreading it out, and occasionally stirring it.
In making use of the liquid manure for fruit trees, a greater quantity of
phosphate of lime must be present, this can be added by first mixing the
phosphate with a little water or liquid manure, (should it be dry) then well
pounding it, and mixing it gradually with the fertilising liquid in about the
following proportions:-4 ounces of phosphate of lime to 1 of a pint of fer-
tilising liquid.
When used for potatoes or other tubercles, a small quantity is placed round
the bulb sufficiently near, but so as not to touch. The fertilising liquid pre-
pared with the powdered phosphate of lime, máy also be used to water plants,
in which case it is mixed with water, about five parts of water going to one of
the liquid, the quantity of water may of course vary according to the strength
of the plant. Woollen rags of all kinds. may be used for making the liquid,
or in their place feathers, hair, skins, or the horns and hoofs of animals, (the
latter reduced to powder or fine pieces), in short all substances of a similar
nature and composition.
Having thus described my Invention, what I claim and desire to secure by
Letters Patent is, the fertilising liquid manure herein-before described, to be
used with or without the addition of phosphate of lime, reserving the right of
increasing or diminishing the several proportions above indicated, so as to suit
the various plants to which the liquid may be applied.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Stevens, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
CHARLES STEVENS. (L.S.)