Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-04-18
TTPoN THE WOMEN OF THIS CoUNTR

TPON THE WOMEN OF THIS COUNTRY
- large part Of the glory of the patent CEN
tennisl celebration has been cast Within the
last century they have entered, for the first
time In the history of the world. as competitors
with men in the field of original contrivsnce.
30 rapidly have their steps in this direction
accelerated that in the last two Years and a
half they have secured from the government
exclusive rights in five hundred machines and
and other devices sprung from their own wits.
No longer can il be said. of old, that the fe-
male Of our species never invents anything"
Today three thousand of her inventions are re-
corded in the patent Office at Washington, as
has been discovered by writer for TIE STAR,
covering all the arts and industries known to
The human race.
A POCKET sPrrrooN.
Some Of these contrivsnces devised by women
are remarkably interesting. For example,
there is pocket spittoon," designed to cure
the Objectionable habit Of indiscriminats ex-
pectoration- Provided with one of these . gen
tleman can chew tobacco at ease in the most
exclusive drawing room and without danger Of
annoying his hostess by squirting the offensive
fluid over the furniture. A pneumatic dress
form" is made of india rubber with tube at
tached so that it may be blown up to any degree
OF fairness and thus be made to play dummy
equally well for a slender maiden or the most
corpulent of middle-aged ladies. There is also
portable balcony" for purpose unknown,
though presumably such thing would be q
most useful convenience for popular actresses
or other public favorites, who, in travelling
about the country and on occasions of i'm
promptu serenades, could simply attach the
balcony off-hand outside the hotel window
where they might happen to be staying and
make q graceful response from its platform.
An invention of the kind ought likewise TO be
ssryieeable to lovers, "a Romeo and Juliet.
DEEP-sEA TELESCOPE
A really valuable invention Of feminine origin
Is deep-sea telescope with lamp attachment,
by the aid Of which the bottom Of the ocean
may be examined for wrecks distractions to
navigation and tOrpedOes on occasion. With
this apparatus the diver can make deliberate
Inspection Of the sunken treasure ship before
venturing down himself to drive the crabs
away from the gruesome corpses and open the
chests filled with gold and silver ingOts. That
reminds me that another woman is responsible
for what she calls an improved corpse cooler. 4"
intended for preseryative purposes, while still
another has rights In an Improvement in floral
ornaments for tombstones." More cheerful in
Its character Is an ingenious trap for bedbuGs
which consists OF Hat block of wood full of
small perfOrations and opening hinge like
book 1t requires no bait, but is simply to be
placed in an infested bed, when the vcrmin
accommodation for hiding. The block is of
Imprinted white pine, winch is preferred to
painted wood by the creatures. and further
more, after some have once occupied 1t others
hnd the trap more attractive. Once in a while
the affair Is taken out and put into boiling
TAR. his Is a sport calculated TO afford much
innocent amusement TO the housewife.
A PASTALoOS TREE.
Many of these devices invented bv women ex-
press the most beautiful and unselfish devotion
TO the comfort and convenience of the men
folks One Is a ''pantalOOn tree" though it
nust not be imagined that what some people
call pants actually grow upon this interest
ing arbOrCal cOntrlvance. 1t Is merely designed
20 keep trousers in shape. Another is a
'mustache spoon, intended to keep that
masculine ornament out OF the soup, and a
third Is a perspirGtion-proof paper shirt, the
material Of which consists of two layers of thin
AMI tough paper OF peculiar kind. with
stratum of fsh glue between There is also what
Its fair originator calls an Improvement on
cigars. her idea being that each cigar shall
have attached TO IT a cOru-stalk mouthpiece
which Is expected to improve the drawing OF
Tho weed. save the lips from touching the nasty
tobaccoand incidentally economic the material
smoked by dispensing with butts. For the use
Of the labOring man a new sort of dinner pail is
provided. which Is likewise dark lantern He
may be detained after dark at his work on win
ter evenings, or perchanee he may be inspired
with the notion of adding to his income by EN-
Ploying his leisure in the pursuit Of burglary.
PATENT ROUGE PAD.
For employment by the fair sex exclusively
Is patent rouge pad made Of cottonwood and
soaked thoroughly in mixture Of the purest
csrmine. juice Of the blood-beet. Juice of the
holly kock root, extract of sweet clover and
water. After being dried the pad is ready for
market. II Is used by dampening it slightly and
applying it iudiciously to the face. There are
pads for corsets, too, of varied construction.
designed To supply curves TO the female form
divine. and several different doll support
ers, whatever they may be. woman is the
inventor Of an imitation OF braided human
hair and another has devised process for .-ex-
tracing fur from the skins of animals and
manufacturing 1t into yarn" Still another
has found way to utilize the heat radiated
from the bottom of a stove in such a manner
~ 10 warm the floor of the room and the feet
Of the occupants tin reflector throwing the
heat rays IL all directions outward ma
chine for ''pricking soles" suggests the witches
In Macbeth" although they knew when
wicked things were coming by the pricking of
their thumbs. To lady who has suffered from
Insomnia the idea has suggested itself of a
sleep encOurager," which Is a coutriyan.e
consisting mainly Of padded springs. The
apparatus Is attached to the head upon retir-
ing, the springs being so adjus ted by means Of
thumb-serews as to slightly press upon the
veins and arteries of the neck. Thus the flow
OF blood TO the head Is somewhat checked. the
Drain being Kept In this way from undue slim
uiailon, and balmy sleep follows. Further in
yentions Of petticOat origin are q mechanism
Tor making the features symmetrical by ures-
sure applied a device for protecting tables
from Crawling insects, a surprising MOSQUITO
Killer and u perforated jar. with phosphorus
and some other things inside, from which
ozone can be ground out to order
HOUSEHOLD coNTRIvAScEs
Womans inventive genius has naturally been
largely exercised thus far in devising house.
hold contrivances. particularly for the nursery
and the kitchen She has taken out letters nat
eni on q baby charmer and dental CUTTER a
baby walker, several improved sorts Of bibs.
ditto diapers. a baby jumper" and baby chairs
AlsO IN her hist Of new creations are TOW SKATING
Kinks. musical tops, novel dolls and buildiug g
blocks. In the ordinary line there are dough
kneading machines a mechanical arrangeme mt
for g-easlng the baking dishes, a smoothing
iron that heats Itself. FISH scaler dish-wasb h
Ing eontraptlon and many cooking stoves
Ideas respecting dress are numerously repre-
sented, with reference to corsets most of ali
The corset seems TO bear the same relation a. :.
puzzle 10 the work Of female inventors as does
the car coupler TO that OF the men with fresh
thoughts, neither ever seems TO he arrived at
In shape that Is entirely satisfactory. or such
things as bustles, '-dress elevators" abdominal
supports and improvements in chemises there
u no end Buttons and studs. as well as fast
eners for them, appear to have taxed much
feminine ingenuity, nor such tribes ne-
glecte4 as novel blacking brushes and blackin0