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| Most of the patents prior to 1836 were lost in the Dec. 1836 fire. Only about 2,000 of the almost 10,000 documents were recovered. Little is known about this patent. There are no patent drawings available. This patent is in the database for reference only.
“For improvements in the Preparation of Hemp and Flax for Spinning, consisting of instruments for dressing, or separating the hurl, in either a rotted or unrotted state, and shortening the hurl and fibre, in such a manner as to be drawn, roped, spun, and woven, the same as cotton or wool; La Fayette Tibbitts, New Amherst County, Virginia, August 1.
The specification of this patent commences with the observation that the hemp and flax dresser in general use in this country, is a French invention, patented by Messrs. Hines and Bain, which consists of several pairs of horizontal fluted rollers, so arranged that the flax, or hemp, to be broken, passes between them in succession, there being a feeding and receiving apron, and other necessary appendages.
The improvement now proposed, consists in arranging the rollers in pairs around a large spur wheel, there being pinions on the ends of the lower, or inner rollers, taking into the teeth of the spur wheel; the feeding and receiving aprons being fixed so as to suit the arrangement of the rollers.
The part of the preparation of hemp and flax, by shortening the hurl or fibre, consists in cutting, pulling, or tearing to pieces, and separating or loosening the fibre, which is effected by a slight alteration of the ordinary cotton or wool machinery. The claim is to the particular positions of the fluted and other rollers in the brake, and the manner in which they receive their motion by a large rotary, vertical spur wheel" and to the principle of shortening the hurl or fibre of hemp and flax, so as to be carded, drawn, roped and spun, the same as cotton or wool, without restricting myself to any particular form of instruments for effecting the same, as above mentioned.
At p. 252, there is an account of a patent obtained by Messrs. Barnum and Stevenson, for a machine for the same purpose as that of Mr. Tibbitts, in which the rollers are arranged round a large spur wheel, in a way similar to that above described; the claim to novelty, therefore, on this point, is not uncontested. The claim to the principle of shortening the hurl, or fibre of hemp and flax, so as to be carded, &c. may serve to prove that Mr. Tibbitts is uninformed of what has been done, or rather attempted, both in England and here, in that particular. Considerable sums have been expended upon this project, and the plan has been abandoned, because it was found to be the very reverse of a useful improvement. Should Mr. Tibbitts succeed in making yarn and cloth from chopped hemp and flax, his claim to the principle cannot be sustained, and we apprehend that he will not attempt the practice, if he takes the trouble to ascertain what has already been done in this way at Patterson, in New Jersey, and elsewhere.”
Journal of the Franklin Institute Vol. 8, Nov. 1829 pgs. 327-328
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