The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1882-04-21
THE WORK OF INVENTORS.
Some Funny Patents Which Have Been Is
sued From Washington.

Some Of the applications made for patents
are very amusing, but however funny the
idea, II 1t Is only original with the applicant,
the patent can be secured. The rights Of
the American inventor are sacred, and no
Commissioner of Patents dares infringe up
on them. 1t will be sad news to many a
prudent housewife to learn that every time
she pricks hole in an egg with pin she is
violating the patent of an American invent
or, but such is the case. Years ago an in
ventIve genius devoted himself to discover
ing method to prevent eggs from cracking
during the process Of boiling. He solved
the problem by pricking q pin-hole in one
end Of the egg, through which the air in the
shell was allowed to escape, and this pin
hole he duly patented according to law.
Precisely how he manages to collect his
royalty is q mystery, but the fact remains
that he has q legal claim for royalty on
every pin-hole made in an egg before boil
ing. An application has recently been made
for the patent of . machine to prevent
young orphan chickens from being lonely.
This is an invention which should, and
probably will, commend itself to Mr.. Bergh.
The inventor claims that hundreds of chick
ems Matched out in the artificial incubators
become lonely because they miss the "cluck !!
cluck! I" of the mother hen, which Is the lul-
aby of all we'll regulated chickens Matched
In the natural way, and many are killed by
this loneliness. He has arranged q system
of clock-work which produces q noise some
what similar to that Of the hen, which he
proposes to attach to the incubator, and on
this machine the patent Is asked. A patent
has issued on clog for fowls, designed to
prevent them from scratching in gardens. 1t
consists of a wire in the shape of hairpin,
sharp at the points. This Is attached to the
feet of the fowl in such way that when 1t
attempts to scratch the points enter the
ground and prevent the claws from reaching
IL. Hens have ever been the subject oi
much patent thought on the part Of invent
| ors. A nest designed to deceive them into
laying more than the one egg daily, which
every respectable bird contributes to the
farmers larder, has been devised and pat
ented. Il has false bottom, through
which the egg drops as soon as laid, and the
patient hen, feeling that she has failed in hel
| duty, proceeds to lay another and another
until her treasury becomes exhausted or sh'
discovers the deception. A beehive hal
been patented, the doors of which are attach
ed to the hen-roest in such q manner tha
when the fowls 60 to roost they close th'
hive and thus secure the inmates against th'
ravages Of the bee moth, and at daylight
when the hens leave the roost, the hiV'
doors are opened and the bees set at liberty
Even the faithful horse has been made tlu
subject Of optical delusion by the inventors
A patent has been secured for what Is know
as horse fence. 1t consist simply Of q wir
frame placed eyer the head Of the horse, s.
that when he approaches q fence with tn
laudable desire of jumping it, he sees tn
wires above his head, mistakes them 70
part Of the fence, and concludes that il
is too high for him to leap.