Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 9.djvu/570

 WILSON PACKINQ 00. V. CHICAGO PAOKINQ & PROVISION CO. 655 �this patentee says : "Both ends of the body are made sligbtly flaring, se as to forrn shoulders or offsets, against which the heads are to rest." Waiving tho; question whether this f sature of construction in a sheet-metal can could be the subject-matter of a patent, it is suffi- cient to say that we do not find this feature in the cans used by any of the defendants, while the complainants' cans put in evidence show that they do. not confine themselves to this forrn of construction. Ail the defendants' cans which are shown as exhibits in the case are made by turning a rim of the head down over the outside of the body or shell of the can and fastening the head in place with solder, and none of them have the "offset" ends called for by the specifications of this patent ; and, as we have already said, this seems to be the forrn of construction practically adopted by the plaintiffs, probably because all packers find they can make a can just as tight and useful, and more cheaply, by turning the head over the outside of the shell, than by following the exact description of the patent. But we also find, in the proof, that the cans shown to have been used by Gibbie and by Perl, as early as 1872, show the offset ends claimed by this patent. The "Gibbie" can has both the "rounded corners" and "offset ends," while the "Perl" can has "offset ends" as a distinctive feature of construction. We have, therefore, conical and pyramidal- shaped cans, and the "Gibbie" and "Perl" cans, with fiat sides, but rounded corners and offset ends, known and in use long before this inventor entered the field, and feel compelled to reach the conclusion that there was no novelty in the device of a pyramidal-shaped can with rounded corners and offset ends, as described in this claim. So that it seems clear to us that the first claim of this patent must be held void for want of novelty. �As to the third claim the proof shows that Marshall packed meat solidly in a can in 1864:. He says : �" I then subject a given quantity of the meat to pressure in a box or cylin- der until all air is driven out, and the space occupied by the meat agrees with the size of the package it is Intended to flll. When the meat is in its place the box is hermetically sealed, and in this state, retaining all its natritive qual- ities, the meat will remain perfeet as long as the package remains intact." �So Lyman, in his patent of 1870, described his process of packing meats solidly in cans as follows : �"I grinci or otherwise reduce the roughest parts to ahout the consistency of thiek mortar or putty, and then pack the best pieces in this reduced nieat and press it all into a compact mass in the can, the interstices being fllled with the rodueed meat flrmly pressed in, so as to expel the air, instead of fllling thsm with the gravy or, with water, as by the common rendes. Sometimes I grind ��� �