Waterbury evening Democrat., 1890-10-28
CURIOUS INVENTIONS.

Queer Contrlvances Discovered In the
 United States Patent once.
 Slot machines have had great run in the last three years The number of patients granted for them run up into the hundreds. One patent, which has not been put on the market yet, I believe, is for universal provider." Drop a nickel in the slot and turn the indicator to the proper point and you can get freezing drink, or drink to warm your blood; postage stamps or ginger snaps; cigarettes or cigars.
 Some of the farm patents which have been taken out are curiously useless. One inventor patented, a great many years ago. pair of stilts to be used by horse blowing Q side hill Another man proposed to take out patent for tying a weight of specific gravity to cows tail to keep her from switching it when you are milking" The examiner wrote to the applicant that his sugges- tion was old, and referred him to Don Quixote," and the device of Sancho Panza, to keep his mule from praying by tying weight to its tail An odd patent granted many years ago was for a shoe to be worn by horses in the field. The shoe was in fact a corn-planter, and 1 when the horse walked across the field with it. he Theoretically punched holes in the ground and deposited seed in them. One inventor has patented device to keep the moth-miller out l of bee-hives He noticed that the miller l got into the hives at the time the chick ems went to roost and, utilizing this coincidence, he proposed to construct an | automatic device by which the roasting ! of the chickens would close the hives. In his application the inventor says: But I expect that after time the miller may get sense enough to keep watch of the chickens and come in a few minutes earlier" A chicken hopple" is among the agricultural pat ents- It is guaranteed to walk the chicken out of the garden as soon as he begins to scratch. Another invention, which combines the uses of agriculture and war, is 8 "cannon-plow," the iron beam of which is in effect a cannon from which the peaceful agricul turist can pour desolation into the ranks of a party invading his field. The inventor of this device is, believe, the man who devised the ''pocket-book pistol"-in ap- pearance pocket-book. but in practice a single-barreled pistol. A "hen-sur- priser" is among the rural devices. II is patent nest, designed to drop the egg through into safe retreat, so that the hen looking around and thinking that perhaps she has failed in her duty to the community, will lay another.
 One of the warlike devices which has never been brought into active service is pair of springs to fit to the hind hoofs of mule On the back of the mule a mountain howitzer is to be mounted, and from that position it is tc be fired, the recoil being taken up by the springs, which will thus prevent the breaking of the mules legs.
 An effort has been made to patent tht Lords Prayer-the applicant claiming new device in that the rapid repetition of the prayer will cure stammering This patent has not been granted.
 An inventor has taken out a paten
 for sinking boiler into the earth t. such depth that natural heat will de
 velop steam in it. Another proposes t. put springs under house to proven damage in case of earthquakes sug
 gestion that might have been very val } uable, if Charleston could have antici
 pated her celebrated disaster in time t get mounted.
 An application, which is still hung u
 in the Patent Office, is for a patent on
 device ito enable dog to turn a shor
 corner" The specification calls for tn l attachment of palm-leaf fan to tn
 dogs tail, to enable him to change hi 7 course more readily.-Onoe Week.