IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PREPARATION OF FLAX, HEMP, AND OTHER FIBRES PREVIOUS TO BEING SPUN."
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Garth Marshall, of Leeds, in the County of
York, Flax Spinner, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
PREPARATION OF FLAX, HEMP, AND OTHER FIBRES PREVIOUS TO BEING SPUN."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Garth Marshall
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
13th January 1862.
I, JAMES GARTH MARSHALL, of Leeds, in the County of York, Flax
Spinner, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE PREPARATION OF FLAX, HEMP, AND OTHER FIBRES PREVIOUS TO
BEING SPUN," to be as follows:-
The object of my Invention is to effect a better and finer division or
separation of the fibres of the material to be spun. For this purpose I pass
the flax, hemp, or other material either whilst in the raw state, whether before or
after being steeped, or when in a continuous sliver after having been heckled
or carded between several pair of rollers, with an increasing draft as the
material advances. This is effected by giving an increased rapidity of revolution
to the second pair of rollers through which the material passes as compared with
the first pair. The third pair in like manner revolving more rapidly than the
second pair, and so on, constantly increasing the rapidity of revolution of

page_text: the rollers as the material advances. The number of pair of rollers to be
used and the distances between the several pair of rollers will be varied
according to the requirements of the material to be operated upon, and the
subsequent operations to which it is proposed to subject it. In addition to
passing the material through the rollers, I saturate it thoroughly with water
or other suitable fluid. I prefer so saturating the material whilst in course
of transit through the rollers, but the saturation may be effected as a separate
process. After the material has been thus treated I dry and soften it by
With
passing it between rollers heated by steam or other suitable means.
this an apparatus may be combined for forming the material by well-known
mechanism into a lap suitable for feeding it on to carding engines.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Garth Marshall in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 12th July 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
GARTH MARSHALL, of Leeds, in the County of York, Flax Spinner, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-fifth year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said James Garth Marshall, Her special license that I, the
said James Garth Marshall, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said James Garth Marshall, 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 PREPARATION OF FLAX, HEMP,
AND OTHER FIBRES PREVIOUS TO BEING SPUN," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said James Garth Marshall, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Garth Marshall, do hereby
declare 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, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
The object of my Invention of improvements in the preparation of flax,
hemp, or other fibres previous to being spun is to operate upon the fibres of
flax, hemp, or other analogous plants, in such a manner as to effect a better and
finer division or separation of the fibres of the material to be spun, and to
reduce the fibres to one uniform length and degree of fineness. The process
I intend to employ for this purpose will enable me to operate upon and
prepare coarse fibres, such as codilla, flax, or hemp, either for ordinary flax
spinning, or by reducing the fibres to such a uniform fineness and length of
staple as will admit of their being mixed with cotton, wool, or other fibrous
substances, or as a substitute for some of them. To this end the codilla, flax,
hemp, or other material, either whilst in the raw state (whether before or
after being steeped, or when in a continuous sliver after having been heckled
or carded) is passed between several pairs of drawing rollers, with an
increasing draft as the material advances, so that the fibres may be drawn out
and made finer and more uniform in length. This is effected by giving an
increased rapidity of revolution to the second pair of rollers between which
the material passes, as compared with the first pair. The third pair in like
manner will be made to revolve more rapidly than the second pair, and so on
constantly increasing the rapidity of revolution of each pair of rollers as the
material advances. The number of pairs of rollers to be used, and the
distances between the several pairs of rollers, will be varied according to
the requirements of the material to be operated upon and the subsequent
operations to which it is proposed to subject the fibres. In addition to passing
the material between the rollers, as above mentioned, I saturate the fibrous
material thoroughly with water, or other suitable fluid or solution, for the
purpose of facilitating the drawing out of the fibres. In practice I find it
convenient to saturate the material whilst in course of transit between the
rollers; but if desired the saturation may be effected previously as a separate
I
process, and the material may be placed in the supply cans in a wet state.
also find it very advantageous to subject the sliver or material to a boiling or
This process may be.
cleansing process by any of the well-known means.
applied to such materials previous to its being passed through the rollers.
After the material has been thus treated I dry and soften it by passing it
between or over rollers, either plain or grooved, and heated by steam or other

page_text: suitable means.
The drying process is facilitated by the use of a fan to
produce a blast of either warm or cold air, which when passed through the
mass of fibres will dry the same. The material having been thus prepared
according to my improved process, may be formed into a lap suitable for
feeding it on to carding engines by means of any of the well-known mechanism.
In the accompanying Drawing I have shewn a sectional diagram of a
machine suitable for preparing flax, hemp, and other fibrous substances
according to my Invention.
Supposing the rough fibres have been formed into a coarse sliver in the
ordinary way, the sliver is placed in the can a, and one end is led into the
machine over a fixed curved breast plate 6 until it reaches the nip of the first
pair of rollers c, d, the lower of which should be of metal and fluted. The
upper roller d may be of wood, metal, gutta percha, hard rubber compound,
or other suitable material. The second pair of rollers c, d, may be of the
same kind and diameter as the first pair, but must be driven at an increased
speed. The third pair c³, d, may be of smaller diameter for the purpose of
reducing the length of the ratch between the rollers. The fourth and fifth
pairs c, d, and c', d', are of still smaller diameter, so that the ratch may be
reduced to the desired length of fibre. An increasing draught is given to all
these pairs of rollers, the rollers c and d rotating the slowest, and the small
rollers c, d, the quickest of the series; and in order that all the rollers may
nip tightly, the axles of all the nipping rollers are weighted, as shewn in the
Drawing. By this means the fibres will be pulled out, broken, and reduced
to the required length. The fibres as they pass between the drawing rollers
are moistened by water or any suitable chemical solution, which is injected
on to them from the perforated pipes e, e, e. The superfluous moisture which
is pressed out by the drawing rollers, and also by the pressing rollers f, f, will
fall into a trough g placed below for that purpose. The drawn out or reduced
fibres pass from the drawing rollers between the pressing rollers f, f, to
another series of pressing rollers.h, h, h, h, the lower ones of which are hollow,
and are grooved on their surfaces, and are heated by steam or otherwise.
These rollers h, h, are enclosed in a metal or other case, through which a
constant draft is kept up by the fan or blower i. By this means the
superfluous moisture will be driven off from the fibres, which will, moreover,
be softened by the action of the rollers h, h. The prepared fibres then pass
out of the machine through a suitable trumpet mouth into the receiving
can j.
Having now described my Invention, and the manner of carrying the same into
effect, I claim as the Invention secured to me by Letters Patent, as aforesaid,

page_text: preparing the fibres of flax, hemp, and other analogous plants by passing them
in a wet state between a series of drawing rollers, to which an increasing
draught is imparted, as herein set forth, previous to being spun, and whereby
all the fibres are reduced to one uniform length and degree of fineness.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Garth Marshall, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Ninth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
JAMES GARTH MARSHALL. (L.S.)
Signed and sealed by the said James
Garth Marshall, in the presence of
JAS. W. HAMILTON RICHARDSON,
Solicitor, Leeds.