Carol,
You're being too literal and restrictive in reading the patent ... these are suggestions of some materials the inventor found useful/workable ... check-out these fine webpages discussing milk bottle closures:
" After the introduction of a number of other closure types, the ligneous (cardboard) disk was introduced along with the "common sense" milk bottle in 1889 (patented September 17). Commonly called a cap seat by modern archaeologists and collectors, a ledge was molded inside the mouth of the "common sense" bottle for the insertion of the special ligneous disk. This method of closure was easy to use and acceptable for limited periods of time and transportation over short distances. The ligneous disks originally sold for 40¢ per thousand and were available in lots of 1,000, 5,000, and 10,000 in sacks and 50,000 lots in barrels. The disks were marketed as cheap, sanitary, and easier to use than prior closures. The combination of the common sense bottle and the ligneous disk revolutionized the dairy industry, and the disk continued in use as long as glass containers were the industry norm (Gallagher & Munsey 1969:333; Jones & Sullivan 1989:161; Rawlinson 1970:13, 32-34). An ad in the Champion Milk Cooler Co. Dairy Supplies Catalog of 1899 states that the "caps are used but once and therefore are always clean and carry no filth or disease" (Tutton 1994:14).
An ad in the J. S. Biesecker Catalog of 1900 offers this description of the cap on the common sense milk bottle:
The cap or cover is made of heavy wood fibre, prepared so as to resist the moisture from within and without, and when pressed into the neck of the Jar to the shoulder with the thumb or finger it forms a tightly fitting cover. The operation of capping is quickly and easily accomplished, and when completed is perfectly tight, and can be handled in any position and transported without danger or leakage. The disc can be removed when the milk is required for use by inserting the blade of a penknife or any other sharp instrument and lifting the cap out. The cap can again be used and will seal the Jar reasonably tight, but their nominal cost allows the dealer to discard them after using them once (Tutton 1994:16).
Thatcher (1902:8) noted that:
The selection of woods for preparing [the caps] for the board machines, the method and process of manufacture of the board, the printing and cutting of the caps and the process required in the paraffining and water proofing all call for our personal supervision and constant watchfulness to produce a cap that will perform all the exacting and trying requirements and guard against the slightest defect in taste or odor.
Thatcher caps were available in three qualities: the Thatcher Cap (40 cents per thousand); the Star Cap (30 cents per thousand); and the Crescent Cap (24 cents per thousand) and were available in five diameters (see Table 1).
Table 1 - Thatcher Cap Diameters (following Thatcher 1902:9)
Designation Diameter (inches)
No. 1 1 7/8
No. 2 1 5/8
No. 3 1 6/8
No. 0 1 1/2
No. 4 2 5/8
"
... more here ...
http://alamo.nmsu.edu/~lockhart/AlamMilk/chap2/chap2.htm
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