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1844, THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT’S JOURNAL, 89 application of certain vessels for preserving fruit and other articles of provi sion; and, secondly, to a mode of stopping the vessels containing the fruit, &c., with corks or bungs. In carrying out the first part of these supposed improvements, the patentee, for the purpose of affording greater facility to private families in preserving meats, constructs a vessel of two or more parts made to fit one another, so that the vessel can be enlarged or diminished ac cording to the size of a jar, containing the fruits or other matters to be pre served to be placed within it. This vessel is made at the lower end to fit an aperture, formed in the boiler of an ordinary kitchen range, so that the steam generated in such boiler can be turned to some useful account; this vessel is provided with a perforated bottom in order to allow the steam from the boiler to pass into the same ; the jars containing the fruit or other article of food in tended to be partially cooked, are successively placed within the aforesaid vessel, and subjected to the steaming process, when they have remained a sufficient length of time, the jars or vessels containing the fruit, which are made with a conical neck or opening, are to be tightly corked wiih as much expedition as possible, for this purpose the inventor forces the corks or bungs into the necks of the jars by means of a screws which constitutes the second part of the invention ; and consists in the application of a screw to the cork or bung, similar to that used in an ordinary screw press, this screw r is to be kept constantly applied to the stoppers of the vessels until the contents are nearly c ool. The patentee claims the mode of constructing a vessel or vessels in such manner that they may be applied to the boiler of an ordinary kitchen range, in order to preserve provisions in jars by the application of steam ; and, secondly, to a mode of constructing apparatus for stopping jars and securing such stoppers till the contents of the vessels are cooled. MUNTZ’S METAL SHEATHING PATENT. In the Court of Common Pleas, Feb. 8 to 13. (Sittings at Nisi Prius, at Westminster, . before Lord Chief Justice Tindal and a Special Jury.) MUNTZ V. FOSTER/JlAND OTHERS. The trial of this cause, which lasted five days, commenced on Thursday, the 8th inst., and concluded on Tuesday evening, the 13th inst. about seven o’clock. The Attorney-General, the Solicitor-General, Sir T. Wilde, Mr. Serjeant Bompas, Mr. M. I). Hill, and Mr. Cowling were counsel for the plaintiff; and Mr. Kelly, Mr. Jervis, Mr. Serjeant Clmnnell, and Mr. Webster appeared for the defendants. This action was brought for an alleged infringement of a patent granted on the 22d of October, 1832, to Mr. G. F. Muntz, M.P. for Birmingham, for “ an improved manufacture of metal plates for shenthlng the bottoms of ships and other such vessels.” Copper sheath ing for ships was lately in such general use, that it mny not be recollected by the major part of the public that it was only about 50 or 00 years ago that the practice of sheathing the bottoms of vessels with metal was introduced, in order to protect the bottom from the barnacles and seaweed which adhered to a rough surface, and impeded the sailing of the vessel. Expensive as the process of coppering the bottom was, on account of the prime cost of the metal, the expense of rolling it into sheets, and the corrosion to which the metal was subjected by Hie action of sea water, the use of copper was found to be attended with this further inconvenience, viz., that being fastened to the bottom of the ship with iron nails, the iron very quickly rusted, the fastenings ceased to hold the metal, and the copper came off. Great as these drawbacks against the use of copper for this purpose were, the coppering of the bottoms of ships yielded advantages which more than counter balanced the inconveniences by which the process was attended, and in order to make the invention still more useful Sir Humphry Davy turned his attention to the subject, and en deavoured to devise some method for counteracting the rauid oxydation which took place; as formerly the copper bottom of a ship rarely lasted longer than five or six years. It struck Sir H. Davy that if a portion of zinc were applied to the copper it would counteract the process of oxydation, and a vessel sheathed with copper and zinc plates, in accordance with his theory, was sent a voyage to a distant part of the world, from which it returned perfectly uninjured, so far as the bottom was concerned, by the salt water, but at the same time it was as foul as if there had been no metal at all upon the bottom. The experiment had succeeded too well; it had prevented any oxydation from taking place. The problem, therefore, still remained to be solved, whether any metallic composition could be found for the sheathing of ships, by the use of which the bottom could be kept clean, and at the same time too great a degree of oxydation might be prevented. To the solution of this problem Mr. Muntz, who is a metal roller at Birmingham, directed his mind, and com menced a series of practical experiments, for the results of which he took out a patent in 1832. The invention slowly but steadily attracted the notice of the shipping interest of the country; and it appeared that in 1834, in the port of London, 20 ships were sheathed with metal under Muntz’s patent, the number gradually increasing, till, in the year 1843, there were in the same port 257 vessels sheathed with the new composition, of which 17,047 cwt. were sold in the last-mentioned year. The composition was a mixture of copper and zinc, which was cheaper than copper, was more easily worked, and lasted longer, being also sufficiently hard to allow of its being fastened to the sides of the ship with nails of the same composition. The specification of the plaintiff’s patent thus described the nature of his invention:— “ I take that quality of copper known to the trade by the appellation of * best selected copper,’ and that quality of zinc known in England as ‘ foreign zinc,’ and melt them to gether in the usual manner, in any proportions between 50 per cent, of copper to 50 per cent, of zinc, and <53 per cent, of copper to 37 per cent, of zinc, both of which extremes, and all intermediate proportions, will roll at a red heat; but, as too large a proportion of copper increases the difficulty of working the metal, and too large a proportion of zinc renders the metal too hard when cold,Jand not sufficiently liable to oxydation, I prefer the alloy to consist of about 60 per cent, of copper to 40 per cent, of zinc.” It was proved by the testimony of several witnesses who were examined on the part of the plaintiff, and who were not contradicted, that any person acquainted with the trade of a metal roller could manufacture this composition from the description of the invention contained in the spe cification ; and it appeared that between February and April, 1843, the defendants had made a quantity of sheathing, amounting in value to about 700/. or 800/., some of which was sold by them in Liverpool, and which was declared, upon subjecting it to a minute analysis, to be as nearly as possible composed of the same proportions of copper and zinc as those pointed out in the plaintiff’s specification as the best alloy for the purpose, namely, 60 per cent, of copper and 40 per cent, of zinc. The defence set up was, that there had been no infringement of the patent; that the invention was not new, and that Mr. Muntz was not the first and true inventor; and, also, that the specification was bad for uncertainty, &c. Upon the li'st point, the infringe ment, the evidence seemed very clear; but the main ground of defence was, that in the yrar 1800 a Mr. Collins took out a patent for a composition for sheathing ships, which it was argued was substantially the same invention as that which the plaintiff claimed as his own. The specification of Collins’s patent said, “ The yellow sheathing (the sheathing in question) consists chiefly of zinc and copper. The compound must be heated, and in that state rolled. 100 parts of copper and 80 of zinc afford a good composition ; but the proportions may be varied, or other metallic substances added, provided the property of bearing the mechanical process, when added, is not destroyed.” Evidence was given on the part of the defendants to show that some of the metal sheathing made by them aftpr April, 1843, was made from the specification in Collius’s patent alone, and several wit nesses were also called to prove, on their behalf, that a composition of copper and zinc, in the proportion of 60 per cent, of the former to 40 per cent, of the latter, had been made in the years 1828 and 1820, but it did not appear that any plates of this composition had ever been applied to the sheathing of ships. The defendants also raised various objections to the specification of the plaintiff’s patent. Lord Chief Justice Tindal, before he proceeded to charge the jury, told them that if they* were desirous of hearing the whole of the evidence read over which had been given during the five days through which the trial had lasted, he should wish to take another day for the purpose of reading it through, in order that he might save their time; but if, having heard the evidence, to which they had paid great attention, and having taken copious notes, they did not require that assistance he would at once proceed to call their attention to the points on which they would have to give verdict. Tne jury immediately said, that it would not be at all necessary for his Lordship to read over the evidence to them. The Lord Chief Justice then left it to them to say, in the first place, whether there had been any infringement of the patent granted to the plaintiff, assuming the patent to be good; secondly, if so, whether the manufacture was a new inve tion, or whether it had been already made public by Collins’s patent; and, thirdly, whether the specification of the plaintiff’s patent was sufficiently plain und intelligible to enable other persons to make the composition for which the patent Lad been granted. His Lordship also gave it as his opinion, upon t he matters of law arising in the case, that the nature of the plaintiff’s invention was well described by the ti.tle of the patent—“ An improved manufacture of metal plates for sheathing the bottoms of ships or other such vessels;” that ncithur “ best selected copper” nor “ foreign zinc” formed part of the invention, which consisted in the discovery of a composition for sheathing by which a proper degree of oxydation was ob tained, and no more ; that rolling the metal at a red hent was not claimed as part of the invention; and that the invention did not particularize any proportions but those of-60 per cent, of copper and 40 per cent, of zinc, as applicable for the purpose of making his metallic sheathing, although he had designated other proportions between the extremes of which the metals would melt at a red heat. Mr. Kelly tendered a long bill of exceptions to this ruling. The jury retired at half-past six to consider their verdict, and after an absence of about ten minutes returned into court, and found for the plaintiff— Damages, 40s. MADDEN'S IMPROVED KNIFE CLEANER. The accompanying engraving is a representation of a new Knife Cleaner, Polisher, and Sharpener, the invention of Mr, Madden, of George Street, Adelphi. It performs what it professes to do in a very effectual manner, with one half the labour and time by the old method, making no dust or noise. The great merit of the invention is its compactness and porta bility. The machine is fixed upon a stand 12 in. long by 8 in.; it consists of two parallel cheeks of iron, the interior faces of which are slightly bevilled, and lined with buff’ leather; these cheeks are pressed together by two springs by which they are suspended: on the top of the cheeks is a groove to receive the brick-dust. When a knife is to be cleaned, it is placed be tween the cheeks at one end, and drawn backwards and for wards, which causes a small portion of the brick-dust to drop down, and by which means the knife is thoroughly cleaned. The price of the machine is 15s.
