Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 8.djvu/844

 830 FBDEBAL BEPOBTEB. �necessary beat, wbich may be done by passing steam into the water only, or steam may be let into the cbamber above the water if de- sired. ' 'ki\. �Tbe device used by defendant operates upon precisely the same prinoiple as that of complainant; that is, it bas a tank or cbamber within whieb the tobacco holder is placed. Thebottom of the tank is snpplied with water, wbich is heated by an outside steam generator or beater; and the only difference between thetwo devices of the com- plainant and defendant is that the defendant's tobacco bolder is not made tight so as to exclude moisture, except tbrough the pores of the wood, the defendant in practice using the ordinary tobacco cases, in which the leaf tobacco cornes packed, to hold their tobacco during their process of resweating. In other words, the defendant opens the doors in his tank, and slides the ordinary tobacco case, full of tobacco, into this steam box, and allows it to remain there until the tobacco bas become resweated, which is in no respect different from the pro- cess of Eobinson, except as bereinafter noted. But it is claimed that this is a substantial difference, because it is insisted that complainant's claim requires bis tobacco holder to be tight, while the defendant's tobacco holders are not tight. �I think, bowever, the word "tight," as used in his claim, is to be construed, in the light of his specifications, as meaning suffioiently tight to subserve the purposes to be accomplished. The term, as used bere, musthe held, I think, to mean comparatively or approximately tight; close enough to exclude an excess of steam or moisture, and open or porous enough to allow the warm moisture to sweat or per- colate into the tobacco- holder, so as to warm and moisten its con- tents; and it would seem that slight crevices or openings arising from defective mecbanical construction, if not large enough to admit fiteam in such quantity or volume as to wet the tobacco, would not violate this patentee's rule of construction. �The patentee, as I have already said, describes in bis specifications the kind of tank be requires for bis process. He says : �" It is usual to soften the leaves of tobacco, as is well known, in order to prepare them for being manufaetured into cigars and other manufactured goods, and to bring out a good and nniform color. This has been done here- tofore in various ways, and, among others, by dampeiiing the leaves and exposingthem to heat while in that condition. The object of this invention is to provide improved means of exposing the leaves to the action of steam for the purposes above set forth ; and to that end my invention consists of a tobacco-holding vessel, made of wood, sufflciently porous to permit the steam ��� �