Today in 1924, US Patent 1489442 A was issued, an invention of John W. Kauffmann, for his “Process of Making Duplicate Packages of Hops.” There’s no Abstract, but in the description it’s stated that he’s “invented new and useful Improvements in Processes of Making Duplicate Packages of Hops, which has for its object to render the process, more expeditions and considerably cheaper than has heretofore been done.” More specifically:

In making a large number of hop packages of equal weight, it is; necessary to open’ a bale of pressed hops, to take a given quantity, by weight, therefrom, to subject said quantity to pressure, and then to separate the unit obtained thereby into a plurality. of units, each of which is placed into a container, and this has hitherto been effected by subjecting the hops after the removal thereof from the bale to a considerably greater pressure than tliez same are subjected In the process which I employ and seek to secure by these Letters Patent I do not have to subject the hops to any greater pressure than the same are subjected to in baling them, and I can make a large number of hop packages of equal weight and size a single operation of the process. In carrying out this process I make a machine which is sufficiently illustrated in the drawing accompanying and forming a part hereof to enable a description of the process which is herein set forth to be understood by one skilled in the art.