Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 9.djvu/404

This page needs to be proofread.

BATE BEFEIGERATING CO. V. GILLETT. 389 �from the protection against atmospheric germs that is afforded by the fibrous material with which it ia covered, or from some other cause, — I think the weight of the evidence is that such a result, in fact, fol- lows, and that the combination of the complainant'B patent was the first which revealed it to the public. I have been led to this conclu- sion from the general testimony, and more particularly from the experiment which was ma de in Brooklyn during the progreas of the case, and which bas been detailed by Prof. Morton in the complain- ant's record, p. 182, as follows: �"On Thursday, February 19tli, I went over to Brooklyn to the store of Messrs. Coker Brothers, iS35 and 637 Fulton street. I there found two hind- quarters of beef which I was told were from the same animal and the car- cass of a sheep. These were photographed by Mr. Landy for the purpose of retaining a record of their similar condition. One of them was then covered with burlaps, or eotton cloth, (I have a specimen of that at home,) and a por- tion of the sheep's careass — that is, the middie part — was Ukewise covered with the same sort of material. ihe tliree pieces were then hung in a refrigerator, consistlng of a box with a partition on one side filled with ice, in which refrigerator they were locked. When the covering was put on I sealed a string, passing through the covering and the meat in each case, in such a way as would render it impossible to remove it without breaking the seal. I retained the seal and also the key of the ice-box, there being merely an npenlng into the ice compartment by which ice could be put in. On Mardi 8th I again went to the same place, opehed the safe, had the meat taken out, examined the seals, found them intact, had the coverings stripped ofE, and then compared the various pieces of meat. Of the two quarters of beef, that which had been covered with burlaps was bright and fresh, and showed no change of color or clamminess on its surface. That which was uneovered showed decided darkening in many parts, and was gener'ally moist and clammy to the touch, and showed in many places a white deposit resembling mould. The sheep's earcass showed in the uneovered portion a decided change of color in parts, and was also there moist, while in the covered part it appeared exactly as when it was plaeed in the box. * * * On rubbing the flnger upon the uneovered beef I noticed a slight musty smell, which was not per- ceived in a similar test of the covered beef." �This statement of the experiment and of the reault is fully con- firmed by the teatimony of David Levy, the butcher who slaughtered the bullock, and of Edward and W. K. Coker, on whose premises the trial took place; and it seems to be conclusive that the new and useful resulta claimed by the patentee do follow the covering of the meat with burlaps or eotton cloth, under the conditions set forth in the patent. �With such a construction of the patent not much attention need be given to the question oi infringement. ��� �