Some Things Everybody Ought to Know—An Institution that Teaches “Without Money and Without Price”—A Woman Who Earns $3,000 a Year—The Old Glue-Maker’s Gift to Women—How a Little Girl Earned $300—A Young Woman Who Earned More Than Her Father—“As Rich as a Queen”—Fortunes in Designs—Livings in Lace—One Painter’s Earnings Last Year—Checks in Charcoal—Book Publishers Who are Looking for Ideas.
Some Things Everybody Ought to Know—An Institution that Teaches “Without Money and Without Price”—A Woman Who Earns $3,000 a Year—The Old Glue-Maker’s Gift to Women—How a Little Girl Earned $300—A Young Woman Who Earned More Than Her Father—“As Rich as a Queen”—Fortunes in Designs—Livings in Lace—One Painter’s Earnings Last Year—Checks in Charcoal—Book Publishers Who are Looking for Ideas.
Thisis one of the most enjoyable as well as one of the most remunerative occupations. One of the noblest things which Peter Cooper ever did was to found a Free Art School for Women. Not only is it absolutely free to all women, but opportunities are afforded for meritorious pupils to earn no mean sums during their period of instruction.
329.Crayon Work.—A teacher in the Cooper Institute says: “During the previous year forty of my pupils in art have made $7,000, or $175 each, while learning the art of crayon-photography. Every year one hundred women on leaving the Cooper Institute make from $400 to $1,200 a year by art work.”
330.Drawing.—One graduate of the Cooper Union is now receiving from $2,000 to $3,000 as a teacher of drawing in the New York public schools, and another has been appointed manager of a decorative art societyin New Orleans, with a salary of $150 a month, and opportunities to earn as much more by private tuition.
331.Photograph Coloring.—“A little girl,” says Mr. Cooper, “came to my house to thank me for what she had learned at the Institute.” “I have earned $300 coloring photographs,” she said with enthusiasm. The coloring of photographs gives employment to many hundreds of young women, and there is no prospect that the market will become glutted.
332.Oil Painting.—A man in middle life met Mr. Cooper on the stairs of the Institute. “My daughter,” he said, “makes $1,300 a year by teaching painting, and I never earned more than $1,200 myself.” The chief points of oil painting are agood tooth(a canvas which will take color from a brush readily), perspective, fineness of touch, delicate perception, an eye for shades of color, and a bold, free hand. Oil paintings bring from $5 to $50,000, according to merit.
333.Water Colors.—Paintings in water colors are popular because less expensive than those done in oil. Good work in this department is, however, well paid. Much depends upon the subject and its treatment. It is said that the artist, Mr. John LaFarge, sold about $15,000 worth of water colors last year.
334.Wood Engraving.—A young woman from California sat on the sofa of Mr. Cooper’s library. “I have come to thank you,” she said. “I feel as rich as a queen. I have thirty pupils in wood engraving.”
335.Book Decoration.—Publishers of books, and especially of magazines, pay large prices for decorationsfor the covers, title pages, and other important parts. The secret of success is in the design. If you can find a happy idea, you will get a large price for it. Of course, the point in most cases is to illustrate the subject-matter. A unique conception, happily worked out, will give both fame and money.
336.Dyeing.—This may not be thought one of the fine arts, but it requires a skill hardly inferior to that of the painter or sculptor. There is a large field in the recoloring of tapestries, silks, and woolen goods. The requisites of success are taste, a good eye for color, knowledge of dye-stuffs, and indefatigable industry in finding a market.
337.Designs.—These are constantly in demand. Wall paper manufacturers, dressmakers, architects, builders, home decorators, carpet manufacturers, fine-art workers, all want designs. An ordinary kaleidoscope will furnish you thousands of suggestions every day. From these select a few of the best and work them on a fine, white drawing paper. Have a separate folio for each department of drawings, and advertise what you are doing. If you have a real talent for the work, and a show-window, you cannot fail of success in any large town.
338.Engraving on Glass.—By the use of the wheel this becomes easy work. The chief fields for its operation are in summer resorts where people wish to carry away a souvenir of the place. One who knows how to display goods can do a very profitable work in the season.
339.Embroidery.—This is one of the simplest of thearts. The only capital required is a ball of worsted, the only tool a needle, and the only instruction a few elementary rules that can be quickly learned. The demand depends upon the skill. A small store can be cheaply stocked, and its contents sold at a good profit if the articles are unique.
340.Lace Making.—Our valuable laces are chiefly imported, but there is no reason why work equally good should not be done at home. An immense field yet to be developed is American-made needle-point lace. Get a book on the subject and study it theoretically. Then take lessons of a maker. The book will give you suggestions and enable you, after you have learned the business, to strike out in various directions independently of your teachers.
341.Drawing in Charcoal.—This is a rapid, facile, and effective method for sketching. The drawings are more especially in demand in summer cottages, tents, and in whatever places lodgings are temporary, and where lodgers dislike the trouble of shipping costly paintings. You can find a ready market for good work at any mountain or seaside resort.
342.Painting on China.—This is becoming very popular. Few kinds of art pay better than china-firing. The outfit will cost from $15 to $50, according to the size of the kiln, but the pleasure and profit will be worth many hundreds of dollars. If you live in a country town, put your wares in a prominent store, and they will be sure to attract attention.
343.Portrait Painting.—This is profitable if you can secure sufficient custom. The difficulty is to getthe flesh tones, the expression, and the proper degree of illumination. Last year, there were thirty young women in Cooper Institute learning the art, and one-fifth of the number were earning from $5 to $12 a week, even during their tutelage.
How a Blacksmith Got Rich—The Story of Pullman—The Story of the Columbia Bicycle—A Recipe for a Fortune—A Mica Secret—How to Make Marble—Another Great Secret Given Away—Rubber as Good as Goodyear’s—A Way to Smash the Trusts—Wanted—A New Railroad Car—Sidney Smith’s “Wooden Pavement.”
How a Blacksmith Got Rich—The Story of Pullman—The Story of the Columbia Bicycle—A Recipe for a Fortune—A Mica Secret—How to Make Marble—Another Great Secret Given Away—Rubber as Good as Goodyear’s—A Way to Smash the Trusts—Wanted—A New Railroad Car—Sidney Smith’s “Wooden Pavement.”
Vastprofits accrue from manufactures, but the best returns for investments in this line are realized when the manufacturer is able to make a new article, or to make an old article by improved means. David Maydole, a village blacksmith, was requested to make for a carpenter a hammer as good as he could make it. He made a better hammer than had ever before been seen, and the carpenter’s mates all wanted one. The village storekeeper ordered two dozen. A hardware dealer, passing through the place to sell his wares, left an order for all the blacksmith could make. The hammer-maker built a large factory, and this was the humble origin of the celebrated Maydole hammer, and the foundation of a great fortune. Another fascinating chapter on manufacture is the “Story of Pullman,” which reads like a fairy tale, but is all strictly true. Mr. Pullman began in a small way to build parlor cars, making one or two as an experiment. The traveling public were quick to appreciate the luxury, and Mr. P. had to enlarge his works again and again.He built the town of Pullman, which is now valued at $30,000,000, and the capital stock which now has a market value of $60,000,000, has paid dividends with the regularity of a government loan.
344.Bicycle Factories.—These have proved veritable bonanzas during the past few years. In 1878, Col. Albert A. Pike began the manufacture of bicycles, making fifty that year. To-day he has a phenomenal business, employing a capital of $5,000,000 utilizing four factories in Hartford, Conn., and making 600 bicycles a day.
345.Double Profit Furs.—Here is a way to make a double profit from the skins of animals: Soak the furs in limewater till the hair is loosened, then wash and hang it up to dry. Lay it on a board with the hair side up and apply a solution of glue, care being taken not to disturb the natural position of the hairs. When the glue is dry and hard, hold the hairs so firmly as to allow the natural skin to be peeled off. Now you can apply the artificial skin by pouring over the hairs liquid India-rubber, boiled drying-oils, or other waterproof substances, which on drying will form a continuous membrane supporting the hairs. The glue is then removed by steeping the fur in warm water. This plan has the double advantage that the fur so prepared is moth-proof, and the old skin can be used for the manufacture of leather.
346.Mica Sheets.—Large sheets of mica command a great price. There are only a few places where the mineral can be mined in sheets of one foot square or larger, but the vast heaps of waste mica can be utilized by building up the sheets artificially. This can be doneby treating it with shellac. There are fortunes in waste mica quarries for those who know how to utilize the countless tons of fragments. The field is especially promising in North Carolina and Georgia, where immense quarries abound.
347.Artificial Marble.—There is room for profitable investment in the manufacture of any article which is procured from nature at great expense. This is the case with marble. It is scarce at best; the quarries are remote from the centers of population, and the mining and transportation make it a very costly article. Marble can be manufactured by imitating nature’s processes—the percolating of water through chalk. The popular verde antique can be made by an application of an oxide of copper. The slices of marble are then placed in another bath, where they are hardened and crystallized, coming out exactly like the real article. In Italy, a fine black marble is made from common white sandstone. The manufacture is carried on by the owners of the local gasworks, who thus reap a double profit from their plant. Here is a hint for American manufacturers.
348.Artificial Whalebone.—Whalebone is in great demand. It is worth from $3 to $4 per pound. No artificial substance has as yet been found to take its place, but we are surely on the eve of that discovery. No one substance is at the same time so hard and so elastic, but experimenters will yet find a combination which will answer the purpose. One has already been found which draws the surplus demand when the genuine article cannot be obtained. The inventor who can advance another step and produce an exact imitationwill have the whalebone market in his hands. This field is rich with possibilities.
P. S.—Since writing the above we have the secret. Here it is: Treat the rawhide with sulphide of sodium, remove the hair, immerse the hide twenty-six to thirty-four hours in a weak solution of double sulphate of potassa, and stretch it upon a frame or table, in order that it may not contract in drying. The desiccation is allowed to proceed in broad daylight, and the hide is then exposed to a temperature of fifty to sixty degrees. The influence of the light, combined with the action of the double sulphate of potassa absorbed by the skin, renders the gelatine insoluble in water, and prevents putrefaction, the moisture being completely expelled. Thus prepared, the skin is submitted to a strong pressure, which gives to it almost the hardness and elasticity which characterize the genuine whalebone, with the advantage that before or after the process of desiccation any color desired may be imparted to it by means of a dye bath.
349.Artificial India Rubber.—A man while experimenting recently with cottonseed oil for the production of a varnish, obtained to his surprise, not a varnish, but a rubber. By its use, with fifteen per cent. of genuine rubber, an article can be produced so exactly like the real as to defy detection. The process is so simple that a patent is not obtainable. So, manufacturers, the field is open. Rubber is high and in great demand.
350.Artificial Camphor.—Here is another trade secret. The genuine camphor is scarce. The artificial is made in England, shipped to Hamburg, and then re-shipped to England as the real article. Here is the wayit is made: Pass a current of dry hydrochloric acid gas through spirits of turpentine cooled by a freezing mixture. The liquid deposits crystals, which are dissolved in alcohol and precipitated by water. The separated crystals are drained and dried. They are perfectly colorless, with an odor like camphor. At the ordinary temperature, its vapor tension is sufficient to cause it to sublime like ordinary camphor in small brilliant crystals in the bottles in which it is preserved. It is insoluble in water, and gyrates when on the surface of that liquid like true camphor.
351.Car Building.—Some day another Pullman will arise, but with developments in car building in a totally different direction. We quote from a recent magazine article: “The time is sure to come when a new railroad genius will arise and make an end of the game of brag between American general passenger agents. This reformer will probably substitute light and easily cleaned bamboo seats for those now in use; he will save a good deal of the money now spent in useless ornamentation, and spend it in better ventilation and lighting; and he is likely to design frames and trucks much lighter, and at least as strong and durable, as those which carry the average day car of the present time. It is possible, too, that he may accomplish a good result by lowering the center of gravity of the prevailing type of passenger car, thus preventing it from rolling at high rates of speed, and obviating the supposed necessity of placing two or three tons of old rails in the floor to keep it steady.” It is perhaps needless to say that such a man as Mr. Pullman or Mr. Wagner will become a multi-millionaire through this much-needed reform.
352.The Transverse Wooden Pavement.—Oneday the celebrated wit, Sidney Smith, was talking with some vestrymen of the church of which he was a member about laying a wooden pavement around the sacred edifice. “Well,” said the famous jester, “we have but to lay our heads together and the thing is done.” But here is a pavement which some capitalists will one day lay their heads (funds) together to produce, and it will be no joke. It has been ascertained that the most durable pavement is made from blocks of wood sawed transversely about twelve inches in thickness. The larger and smaller blocks are fitted together, the smaller interstices being filled with wooden wedges. Here is a chance for some enterprising firm.
The Earth a Vast Treasure-box—$300,000,000 from the Comstock Lode—A Short Story of Three Millionaires—Opportunities in Mica Mining—Fortunes in Salt Wells—$10,000 for Locating a Mine—Not a Cent of Capital Needed—The Gold Belt of the United States—Two Men’s Earnings with the Pan—What Michigan Boys are Doing—Big Dividends in Tin—A Man with an Income of $2 a Minute.
The Earth a Vast Treasure-box—$300,000,000 from the Comstock Lode—A Short Story of Three Millionaires—Opportunities in Mica Mining—Fortunes in Salt Wells—$10,000 for Locating a Mine—Not a Cent of Capital Needed—The Gold Belt of the United States—Two Men’s Earnings with the Pan—What Michigan Boys are Doing—Big Dividends in Tin—A Man with an Income of $2 a Minute.
Theimmense importance which minerals play in our industries and the glittering fortunes made by delving into the earth, are faintly indicated by the fact that the output of last year aggregated the almost unthinkable sum of nearly $1,000,000,000. Profits in mining come mainly from four sources. The buying of mining lands with a view to sale, prospecting for the purpose of selling claims, placer-mining, and mining by machinery. Here are a few of the most promising roads to the earth’s hidden wealth.
353.Nevada Silver.—The Comstock lode produced in three years $100,000,000, of which $30,000,000 went for cost and working expenses, and $70,000,000 for profits. Altogether $300,000,000 have been taken from that celebrated mine. In the African mines there are sixty-nine companies. In 1896 the lowest dividend of any of these companies was 10 per cent., and the highest 350. In 1897 the lowest was 10 and the highest 500 per cent. The accounts of the way that such menas James Flood, James G. Fair, and William Sharon obtained their wealth from silver mines reads like the fascinating story of a popular novel.
354.Aluminum, the New Mineral.—“The product of aluminum in the United States,” says a mining expert, “should be three million pounds in 1900.” The present price is from thirty-five to fifty cents per pound. It is found chiefly in Georgia and Alabama at the foot of the Appalachian system, but there is no known reason why it should not be discovered in other parts—the mountains of Tennessee, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.
355.North Carolina Mica.—In the mountains of North Carolina are found the best mica dikes in the United States, but the methods of mining are crude and bring small profit. Here is an opportunity to make a vast fortune by the producing of mica with machinery such as is used in extracting other minerals.
356.Kansas Zinc.—Zinc is a mineral which has a great future. It is being used largely in place of tin. There are many zinc mines, and especially in the Western States, as yet undeveloped. One acre in Galena, Kansas, produced $250,000.
357.Missouri Cottas.—For clay go to Missouri. It is found in 90 out of the 114 counties of the State. From this mineral three companies in Kansas City are manufacturing sewer-pipes and working on an invested capital of $1,000,000. They have an annual output worth $1,100,000, or more than 100 per cent. profit, less, of course, the cost of production. The sewer-pipe industry will vastly increase with the growth of cities.
358.Nickel Mines.—Nickel is a metal for which there is a constantly increasing demand. Aside from the vast number of nickel-plated articles, it has recently been found that steel, alloyed with a small percentage of nickel, makes the hardest substance known which can be produced on a large scale. It is bound to be used in future for the shells of our ironclads. In North Carolina and in Oregon, are large deposits of this valuable ore awaiting the hardy miner or bold speculator.
359.Mexican Iron.—Near the city of Durango, Mexico, are the largest iron mines in North America, but as yet entirely unworked. There are 10,000,000 square feet in sight, sixty per cent. of which is metallic iron. An opportunity for capitalists.
360.Tennessee Limestone.—In the foothills of the Cumberland Mountains are ranges of blocks—lower Carbonifererous and Devonian shales, and impure limestone, but the rocks of the basin proper are pure limestone. This limestone when pulverized makes the best phosphate, and is worth $18 a ton. A mining authority states that with proper working it ought to produce at least 200,000 tons of rock per annum.
361.Fortunes in Copper.—Forty-eight per cent. of the copper of the world is in the United States and Canada. The price is $200 a ton. Almost all the mines of the Lake Michigan region are making profit, but the industry is yet in its infancy. When it is known that a mine has been made to pay which contains less than one per cent. of copper, it can be seen what fortunes are in the mines that pay from forty to fifty per cent., and there are some that pay even more.
362.German Amber.—In Memel, Germany, a dredging company pays the government an annual rental of twenty-five thalers a day for the privilege of dredging in the Kurische Hoff, near the village of Schwarzarts. But it is not to be supposed that this is the only spot where amber is to be found. It will doubtless yet be discovered in this country.
363.African Diamonds.—Diamonds in vast numbers are found in the beds of many South African streams, but if you have capital you may develop an industry like that of the De Beers Company, which is paying forty per cent. per annum.
364.Tasmania Tin.—A single company in Murat Bischoff has paid more than $7,000,000 in dividends to the fortunate owners of a tin mine.
365.Georgia Sapphires.—In 1872, Colonel C. W. Jenks, of Boston, picked up one hundred of these valuable stones at Laurel Creek, Rylang County, Georgia, a single gem of which was sold for $25.
366.Rock Salt.—Rock salt is found in Syracuse, New York, and in Michigan, also in Louisiana, and in South Eastern Arizona. It is believed that if these mines were bored deeper, potassium salt—a salt hitherto not found in the United States—would be discovered, and home plants take the place of foreign imports. Here is a chance for enterprising men.
367.Asbestos Pockets.—A profitable pocket of asbestos was found a few years ago on Long Island not far from Brooklyn. Present supplies come from Sal Mountain, Georgia, and from Wyoming. It is believed that the serpentine rocks in Western North Carolina,as well as similar rocks in California and Oregon, contain rich deposits of this mineral.
368.Prospects in Platinum.—This is a metal of very great importance. It has not thus far been found in large quantities in the United States. The most promising field is the North Pacific Slope, following the line of the coast mountains. Some day, it is thought, that rich platinum mines may be discovered there equal to those in Russia, and, of course, the early prospectors will reap large fortunes.
369.Petroleum Wells.—“Petroleum,” says a leading article in theElectrical World, “is the coming fuel.” It is believed by many that the excitement over the discovery of oil fields in Pennsylvania in 1865 will be repeated on a much larger scale in oil regions yet to be discovered in the far West. At present, the mountains of Wyoming appear to be the most promising field. To sink an oil well costs $500 on the average. On Oil Creek, Pennsylvania, a few wells have been struck which yielded 3,000 barrels a day. One of the quickest ways to accumulate a fortune is to prospect for oil, and when a rich vein is struck to buy as much land as you can. A young man named Johnny Steel once owned nearly all the land where the Pennsylvania oil wells were discovered. His income was over $1,000,000 a year, $30,000 a day, or about $2 a minute. But, verifying the adage that “a fool and his money are soon parted,” he not only spent all this enormous income, but also squandered the entire principal, and came at last to work as the driver of an oil wagon on the very oil farm he had once owned.
370.Gold Discoveries.—Draw a line from ColoradoSprings, Colorado, north to Laramie City, Wyoming. From these two points draw straight lines one thousand miles to the west and inclose the parallelogram. You have inclosed what is known as the great gold belt of the United States. Nearly all the gold has been discovered within these comparatively narrow limits. Cripple Creek produced $8,000,000 in four years. A man who walked into that place three years ago to save his stage fare is now taking out $100,000 a year from his mines. Dawson City, way up in the frozen British possessions, promises to do as well as any gold discovery in the United States. Two men, the Thorpe brothers, cleaned up with their pans $13,000 in eight weeks. This was but a very small part of the immense amount of gold found in an insignificant creek, but there are at least five hundred creeks on the branches of the Yukon River, many of them no doubt as rich as the one that gave Dawson City its fame.
371.Prospecting for Mines.—“How many undeveloped mines are there west of the Mississippi, which, if developed, would be valuable properties? There may be ten thousand. It is far more likely that there are a million.” Extract from “Mines and Mining Industries in the United States.” The same authority also says that a prospector who has spent a year in locating a mine should receive $10,000 from a capitalist as his share. Mark this, you who think mining has no prospects, except for men of wealth.
Nearly 100 Patents Issued Every Day—The Easiest Way to Get Rich—Crystallize Your Idea Into a Coin—Six Billion Dollars of Capital Based on Patents—Great Returns for American Genius—What a Patent is Worth—A Million Dollar Patent Discovered by Accident—A Fortune in a Needle’s Eye—The Man who Invented the “Donkey,” and What He Made by It—What “Pigs in Clover” Netted the Lucky Inventor—How to Get a Patent—What to Invent for Profit.
Nearly 100 Patents Issued Every Day—The Easiest Way to Get Rich—Crystallize Your Idea Into a Coin—Six Billion Dollars of Capital Based on Patents—Great Returns for American Genius—What a Patent is Worth—A Million Dollar Patent Discovered by Accident—A Fortune in a Needle’s Eye—The Man who Invented the “Donkey,” and What He Made by It—What “Pigs in Clover” Netted the Lucky Inventor—How to Get a Patent—What to Invent for Profit.
Probablyno enterprise has yielded so great profits with so little capital as the work of the inventor. The small outlay, resulting in mammoth fortunes, has often consisted in little more than the set of stools and the cost of the patent. Of course, there must be brains and hard thinking. The sale of articles protected by patent rights is a stimulus to invent them, and has been the source of fortunes for more people in the United States than in any other country in the world. The United States Patent Office issues every year about 25,000 patents, and the number is constantly increasing. Nor are the patentees in all, or even in a majority of cases, men of genius, or persons who have been learned in the occupations in which they have achieved distinction. The greater part of them have been issued to persons in humble walks of life, who made their lucky discovery either by accident or by close application of thought.
In every department of human industry there are possibilities of improvement. He who can find a cheaper, quicker, or better, way of doing anything will get rich.Cyrus H. McCormick thought out a better way of cutting grain than with the old scythe. The result was the McCormick harvester, known all over the world. His patents made him a millionaire. Charles Goodyear accidentally mixed a bit of rubber and sulphur on a red hot stove. The result set him to thinking. He discovered the process of vulcanization, which is the basis of the great rubber industry throughout the world. His patents made him enormously rich. Elias Howe wondered if there could not be some better way of sewing than by the bone and muscle of weary woman’s hand. He tried and tried in vain. At last he had a dream in which he saw a needle with the eye at the point instead of at the head. He awoke exclaiming, “I have it!” The result was the sewing machine. Mr. Howe received every year more than $100,000 royalties on his patent needle. Eli Whitney, watching some slaves cleaning cotton, set to work to find a better way. He invented the cotton-gin by which one machine performs the labor of five thousand persons. This invention reaped for him untold wealth.
These were men of genius, but there are inventions which, being simple, lie apparently within the reach of all men. Mr. Parker, whose invention of the tobacco box fastening, is nothing but a “bulge and a dent,” and which it would seem any child might have thought out, made an immense fortune. Another inventor obtained a patent for a washing machine, and sold it in about fifteen months for $50,000. A man obtained a patent for a windmill, took a model through the Western States, and in eight months returned with $40,000 in cash. Probably the simplest device of all which has afforded amusement for millions is the game of the “Donkey Party,” which is nothing more than the picture of a tailless donkey placed upon the wall. The game costsless than one cent, but millions are annually sold. A copyright costing $5 insured this windfall to the inventor. The “Parlor Target and Dot” patent brought $35,000. The chief examiner of the Patent Office says: “A patent, if it is worth anything, when properly managed, is worth and can easily be sold for from $10,000 to $50,000.”
According to an estimate by the Commissioner of Patents seven-eighths of the manufacturing capital of the United States, or upwards of $600,000,000 is based upon patents, either directly or indirectly. A very large proportion of all patents prove remunerative; this is the reason so many are applied for, and so many millions of capital invested in their workings. There is scarcely an article for amusement, convenience, or necessity, in use to-day that has not at some time or other been the subject of a patent either in whole or in part. The sale of every such article yields the inventor a profit. If we purchase a box of matches a portion of the price goes to the inventor; if we buy a bicycle the chances are that we pay royalty to a dozen or more inventors at once.
There are gold mines in every walk in life. There are fortunes hid in the smallest and meanest of things. So far from the field being exhausted, more inventions are now being patented than ever before. The world is inexhaustibly full of nuggets for him who can find them. Every sphere of enterprise is like the children’s play of “hide the thimble.” Friend, shall you be the first to spy the golden rim? The cost of a patent in the United States is about $60. This includes the government fee, and that of a patent attorney. The way to get a patent is first to think it out; then make the design and take it to a lawyer who makes a business of procuring patents. The government does not now requesta model, but it requires a drawing and a specification, and these must be prepared by some competent attorney, in the legal form prescribed. The following are a few suggestions in the various departments of toil where inventions are needed, or where the pry of the brain will disclose the flashing ore.
372.A Non-Puncturable Bicycle Tire.—Any improvement in the universal wheel means a fortune to the inventor. The Dunlap tire sold for $15,000,000.
373.A Bicycle-Holder Attachment.—One that will make it stand upright when not in use. There is a fortune here.
374.The Bicycle Umbrella-Holder.—It should not be difficult to fit to the wheel a small attachment for holding an umbrella. The device should be made so as to allow the umbrella to turn at an angle. Most bicyclists would want this invention.
375.A Bicycle Cyclometer Clock.—A small clock or a watch to be fixed to the front part of the bicycle with cyclometer attachment, so as to give the time of day, the number of miles traversed, and the rate of speed.
376.The Double-Power Bicycle.—One in which the hand or the foot may be used in propelling, to be employed alternately, the one as a rest for the other, or jointly, as when pedaling against the wind or uphill.
377.The Folding Wheel.—One that can be carried lightly on the shoulder and packed in small space for storage or shipment.
378.A Bicycle Support.—A contrivance for holding the wheel in place when the rider stops but does not wish to dismount. A large sale guaranteed.
379.The Cushion Saddle.—The chafing, painful experience of many bicycle riders would be obviated if some one would invent a saddle top as durable as leather, and yet affording a much softer seat.
380.A Bicycle Guard.—One which will enable a lady with a long dress to ride without fear of her skirts being entangled in the wheel. Almost every lady in the land would ride a wheel if this difficulty could be obviated.
381.A Combination Bicycle Lock.—One million bicyclists want a cheap lock which can be operated without a key and fastened to any object.
382.A Bicycle Trunk.—One made of light material and adapted to carrying on the rear of a wheel.
383.The Unicycle.—The wheel of the future will doubtless be single. The man who is the first to invent a practical unicycle will reap a gigantic fortune.
384.A Bicycle Cover.—One which will protect the frame and handle bars when the rider is overtaken by rain, and one which can be packed into a very small compass.
385.A Package Holder.—One adapted to be kept on the bicycle frame. As all bicycle makes are nearly uniform in size, this invention should be an easy one.
386.Handle-Bar Cyclometer.—Let the indicator or dial face be fixed to the handle-bar instead of the wheel. Every bicyclist would want it.
387.The All-Selling Wheel.—A pneumatic bicycle tire with a non-puncturable coating would easily bring a million, and might even rival the popularity of a Dunlap.
388.Toe-and-Heel Clip.—An appliance to the bicycle pedal which would hold the heel as well as the toe, and which would not increase the difficulty of mounting, would have immense sales.
389.The Extension Bicycle.—A wheel which may be made as convenience requires into a tandem or single wheel by addition or removal of parts would be in great demand.
390.A Bicycle Shoe.—A sole adapted to be attached to an ordinary shoe, and with means for retaining a hold on the pedals.
391.The Stirrup Pedal.—A pedal which is shaped like a stirrup, holding the foot and doing away with toe-clips.
392.The Home Bicycle.—The use of the bicycle in certain hours every day has become indispensable to the health of thousands, but there are many rainy and inclement days as well as weeks and months in the winter when it cannot be used. Invent a home bicycle by means of which one can have all the exercise of the ordinary wheel in all kinds of weather.
393.The Ornamental Floor.—Ornamental floors,for ballrooms, summer hotels, and all rooms where carpets are not indispensable.
394.The Secure Window Blind.—The present appliances for holding back the window blind permit it to shake to and fro, giving unpleasant noises in the night. There is needed a device that will hold it securely in place.
395.The Self-Locking Window.—Doors are made self-locking; why not windows? Who will invent a means by which the shutting of a window at the same time locks it?
396.The Adjustable Blind.—A mechanism by which a blind or shutter can be worked from within. A toothed wheel with crank inside the window, and a connection by an iron rod with the shutter whereby the blind or shutter can be held wide open, can be closed, or held in any position whatever, by simply turning a crank.
397.The Dollar Door Closer.—The automatic door closer made the inventor rich, but it is expensive; we want a door closer that can be fastened to every door and sold as low as $1.
398.Sectional Window.—A window built in horizontal sections of two or more with a spring or casing to hold it up—much cheaper than weights.
399.Adjustable Storm Door.—Devise a simple door which can be readily brought into place in time of storm, and which will be unnoticed or not seem unsuitable when not needed.
400.A Hinge Lock.—A hinge which operates as alock, when the door is closed, and can only be opened by a key. Operated the same as a spring lock, but with less mechanism.
401.The Double Window.—Here is a plan for window ventilation. It is the idea of a French physician, but he has not patented it. Have a double window with openings at the bottom of one, and at the top of the opposite one through which the air comes in freely without any one feeling it. The plan is said to possess simplicity, efficiency, and cheapness. Let the American carpenter take notice and profit thereby.
402.Hot-Blast Furnace.—A small hot-blast furnace for drying walls. Builders who have to wait days for walls to dry call for such a machine.
403.The Weightless Window Sash.—When the window can be opened the desired width and kept there without the aid of a rope that finally breaks and involves trouble and expense, a great want will be supplied.
404.A Floor Cover.—Carpets are expensive; matting is not elegant. Discover something in place of both, cheap and ornamental, and you will reap one of the richest financial harvests of the century.
405.Sash Balance.—A system by which the force which holds the lower sash up may exactly balance the force which holds the upper sash down, both sashes being opened at the same width, and thus insuring both the outflow of impure air and the inflow of fresh.
406.Painting Machines.—Why may not painting as well as so many other modern arts be done by machinery? Something on the order of the garden-hose and spraying nozzle could do the work of the paintermore rapidly, cheaply, and with less risk of life and limb. Inventors, give us a painting machine.
407.The Pneumatic Water Tank.—Instead of the unsightly water tank on the top of isolated buildings or country dwellings, with its liability of leakage and destruction of property, why not have a water tank in the cellar operated by means of compressed air? By being placed in the cellar or underground, there would be the additional advantage of having the water drawn cool and fresh. In winter also, it would be much better protected from freezing than when placed on top of a building. Some one will find money in a pneumatic water tank.
408.The Wood-Pulp Floor.—Floors have been accused of great sins. If the timber is not thoroughly seasoned they warp; if the boards are not properly laid they creak; and the cracks are all at times filled with injurious dust and dangerous germs. Why not invent a wood-pulp floor which shall have no warps, and no cracks, and no creaks? Dry the pulp to powder to facilitate transportation, mix with a small amount of cement, to increase the resistance of the floor, and then after making it a gelatinous mass pass it between rollers. When dry, paint it to imitate oak or other wood. Besides avoiding all the inconveniences and annoyances of the ordinary floor, it will be soft to the foot, and though somewhat more expensive than the entire boards, it will yet be the floor of the future in all comfortable homes.
409.The Cheap Washer.—For all the many washing machines, most of our women in middle-class and lowly life are still bending painfully over the oldtubs. What is needed is a cheap washer that everyone will buy.
410.A Meat Chopper.—One which has a large number of small blades dividing the meat ten or twenty times with one stroke, where now the large blades divide it only one-fourth or fifth that number of times. The scroll bread-knife netted a princely revenue to its fortunate inventor.
411.Automatic Stove-Damper.—One to take the place of the heedless servant, and close when the state of the fire warrants it. Thousands of dollars’ worth of coal could annually be saved to housekeepers by this device.
412.Potato Extractor.—Apply the principle of the glass lemon-squeezer to the raw potato and you have not only a new invention but also a new preparation of the common vegetable. The potato in the form of the raw pulp can be cooked in various ways, and will have a decidedly new and agreeable flavor. As a salad or a dressing it would be invaluable.
413.Knife Sharpener.—One for the kitchen use, that could be sold for twenty-five cents; almost every housekeeper would want one.
414.Cold Handle.—A separate handle which could be instantly applied to utensils on the stove and remove them without burning the hands waits to enrich the inventor. The cold-handled smoothing-iron brought much money to its inventor.
415.The Electric Stove.—Cooking by electricity will be the domestic feature of the next century. There is a rich field here awaiting some inventive brain.
416.Fruit-Jar Holder.—A device for holding fruit jars during the preserving process so that the can will neither burn the hand nor spill the fruit.
417.Can Opener.—All the women are crying for an effective can opener. Those on the market are not satisfactory. They must be made to sell very cheap. A gold mine in a can opener.
418.Odorless Cooking Vessels.—An attachment whereby the odors of cooking will be carried into the chimney instead of out into the room.
419.Coal-Filled Flat-Iron.—Construct a hollow flat-iron so that it can be filled with live coals, and thus keep in proper heat much longer than those now in use.
420.Automatic Soaper.—A washboard so arranged that the soft soap is fed to the clothes by the simple act of rubbing.
421.Dish-Washing Machine.—A dish-washing machine which can be sold for $5. There are plenty of machines on the market, but they are too expensive for use, except in hotels or in rich households. A cheap machine could be sold in every house.
422.A Stove Alarm.—Proper cooking requires the heat of the stove to be kept equable. Invent a contrivance by which when the heat exceeds a certain degree an alarm will be sounded.
423.The Elastic Clothes Line.—Save washerwomen and housekeepers the nuisance of tying and untying of hard knots by inventing the elastic clothes line.
424.Combination Line and Pin.—If the old-fashioned line is to be used, why not invent a cheap clasp which remains permanently on the line, and is capable of being moved in either direction. Clothes pins are lost, broken, or not at hand when required.
425.A Fruit Press.—A cheap press which will be as much a part of every furnished kitchen as a range. Every housewife needs one for the extracting of juices.
426.The Can-Slide.—The opening of hermetically sealed cans is one of the difficulties of life. All can openers so far invented are more or less ineffective. A vast fortune awaits a man who will invent a can-slide which will effectually keep the food air-tight, and which at the same time may be easily opened.
427.The Chair Fan.—A slight vertical motion of the foot is much less tiresome than a lateral motion of the hand. An ingenious man could attach a fan to a chair so as to cool the face by the action of the foot.
428.Rocking-Chair Fan.—A fan to be attached to the top of a rocking-chair and operated by the motion of a rocker.
429.Christmas-Tree Holder.—A device for holding the tree upright in any spot without further support. Would sell once a year by the million if made for twenty-five cents.
430.Picture-Frame Fastener.—A device such that every one can frame his own picture, the parts of the frame being attached without hammer or nails.
431.Adjustable Head Rest.—One that can be attached to any chair and adjusted to any position.
432.Imitation Coal Fire.—The asbestos back-log was quite a hit. Now let some one invent a fire where gas may be used in the same manner, but the representation be that of red, live coals.
433.Music Turner.—A piece of music has only a few leaves. It is easy to arrange a series of markers between each leaf with a handle for turning. It may be an ornament as well as a convenience.
434.Roll-Front Fire-Screen.—It is to be constructed on the principle of the roll-top desk, with the difference that it rolls sidewise from one side or from both sides of the fireplace.
435.Removable Rockers.—A chair with rockers easily adjustable, so that it may be a rocker or an ordinary chair as desired.
436.A Noiseless Clock.—Many nervous people are annoyed by the ticking of clocks. Who can invent one which will perform this work silently?
437.A Narcotic Pillow.—Will not some one give us a pillow composed of the dried flowers or leaves of soporific plants? The nervous, overworked persons who could thus get a night’s sound sleep would bestow upon the lucky inventor the money which he now expends in drugs.
438.The Electric Fire Igniter.—In almost every household some one on a winter’s morning shivers overa cold stove and suffers much till a fire is well started, but if the fuel were laid over night and the stove equipped with an electric wire running to the bedroom, one could press a button with the satisfaction of soon entering a warm kitchen. Such a device would pay the inventor well.
439.Bedclothes Fastener.—A clamp or clasp which shall fix the cover to the board so that children shall not kick or pull the clothes off in their sleep.
440.The Easy-Working Bureau.—Who will contrive some device by which a bureau drawer will open readily and evenly at both ends? The present working of these drawers is a vexation of the soul.
441.The Extensible Bedstead.—A bedstead that can be extended to accommodate two or three persons, or when room is wanted contracted to the use of one person.
442.Movable Partition and Folding Bed.—Some one should invent a partition that will form a part of the wall of a room, and which will inclose a bed when the latter is not in use. In the economy of space which forms so important an element in the construction of city houses, it is strange no builder has not yet thought of this.
443.An Attachable Crib.—A combined bed and crib so arranged that when the crib is not in use it may be folded in or under the larger bed of an adult.
444.Pulse Indicator.—Hardly one in a hundred can take the beats of his own pulse. The first thing the doctor does is to feel your pulse. Invent an instrumentso delicate that its clasp on the wrist will accurately tell the pulse.
445.Dress-Suit Hanger.—The device for a dress coat should be extended to other parts of a gentleman’s wear. Give us a dress-suit hanger which will cause the suit to appear when not in use very much as it does when on the body of a man.
446.The Anti-Snorer.—It should not be difficult to invent a simple mouth or nose attachment to prevent the intolerable nuisance of snoring.
447.The Ventilated Mattress.—Housekeepers take pains to air their beds, but the mattress remains for years a mass of unventilated feathers or hair, and a fruitful soil for the deposit of disease germs. A kind of honeycombed mattress might be constructed, through the holes of which the air could circulate freely. It might be possible on this plan to have the spring and mattress in one piece.
448.A Furnace Feeder.—Every householder would buy an automatic feeder for the furnace, thus saving the arduous labor of shoveling coal. There should be a bonanza in the right invention.
449.Ice Machine.—The study of the large ice machines now in use, with a view to produce one on a scale so small and cheap as to be introduced into every household has boundless possibilities of wealth for a fertile-brained inventor.
450.Stove Ash-Sifter.—The waste of coal in unsifted ashes is enormous, but the process of sifting isdisagreeable. What is needed is an attachment beneath the grate by means of which the ashes will be thrown into one pan and the unconsumed coals into another. An immensely paying invention.
451.Jointed Coal Chute.—Much time could be saved in unloading coal if some one would give us a coal chute jointed so as to be swung at an angle, thus avoiding delay where the driveway is too narrow to permit the straight chute to be inserted properly.
452.Combined Pan, Can, Sifter and Roller.—A useful article would be the pan beneath the grate of the furnace, which could be used also as a can containing a sifter and provided with rollers so that it could be easily transferred to the street.
453.Ash Barrel.—Much annoyance is caused, especially on windy days, by the blowing of ashes from the carts of the ash gatherers. This might be avoided by the construction of a patent ash barrel which could be transferred to the cart and exchanged for an empty one, on the same principle as oil cans are exchanged by the venders.
454.A Paper Binder.—One that will bind newspapers and other periodicals, and which can be sold for twenty-five cents. Those on the market are too expensive.
455.The Correspondent’s Desk.—A desk with compartments specially arranged for correspondents would save much time and annoyance on the part of letter-writers. Paper, pen, ink, envelope, postagestamp, answered letters, letters requiring immediate reply, and letters which require time for consideration, would then be relegated to the most fitting place, and be available when wanted.
456.Book Duster.—There is needed some simple attachment to a bookcase whereby the dust which has gathered on the books may be quickly removed when one wishes a volume without soiling of the hands.
457.The Portable Library.—A useful device would be a combined box and bookcase, so that in packing for removal the books need not be disturbed, the doors of the bookcase serving as a lid for the box.
458.Pocket Lunch Basket.—A lunch basket which can be folded and put in the pocket when empty. Ten million school children want this article.
459.The Multiple-Leaved Blackboard.—A blackboard attached to the wall and opening outwardly with several leaves so that it can be used by a number of pupils at once, and when not in use can be folded back so as to occupy a small space.
460.Butter and Cheese Cutter.—A device which cuts butter and cheese into small square blocks. It should be shaped like a caramel-mold with sharp edges, cutting ten or twelve blocks with a single insertion.
461.Paper Table Cloth.—The constantly increasing use of paper for new articles is a feature of the times. We have paper napkins, but why could not a paper be manufactured of a little better quality so as to serve for a tablecloth?
462.Scroll-Edge Meat Knife.—The scroll-edge bread knife is being manufactured as fast as possible, the factories running night and day. Construct a meat knife on the same principle, with difference only sufficient to secure a patent, and a fortune is yours.
463.Carving-Knife Holder.—A small wooden or wire frame with depressions for knife and fork when not in use would conduce to cleanliness and save much vexation on the part of those who carve.
464.Lamp Cooker.—A wire frame with hooks on the bottom for clasping a lamp-chimney could be placed on the top of a lamp, and would make an excellent patent cooker for light dishes. Think of the convenience of cooking your supper on your lamp chimney!
465.Wine Tablets.—Here is an idea for the trade. We have lemonade tablets; why not those of wine? The grapes should be pressed in the ordinary way, and then by means of a knife transferred to an apparatus where they can be evaporated in a vacuum, the vapor to be drawn off by a pump and condensed. As soon as the mass has the consistency of a syrup it is to be mixed with the pulp. Thus a sort of marmalade is produced, containing eighty per cent. of grape sugar. Makers of the lemonade tablets have done well, but the inventor of the wine tablets would have an immensely larger market.
466.Extension Table.—Difficulty is experienced with the present extension table. The boards are not at hand when wanted, and frequently will not go into place readily. A table is needed in which the boards fold underneath, and can be readily brought into place by the turning of a crank.
467.The Keyboard Lock.—A combination lock on the principle of the cash register. Instead of carrying certain combinations of numbers in your brain, you simply remember a definite order of keys, and push them in turn as you would in playing a light air on the piano. This patent would be a great improvement on the present system, and contains barrels of money.
468.Automatic Safe Opener.—Run by clockwork, and set so as to open automatically at a certain hour of the day, and impossible to open at any other time.
469.Paper Binder and Bill Holder.—A flat stick, concave at each end, so as to hold a large number of elastic bands. Slip a band over each bill, and you may have a hundred or more papers preserved in compact form.
470.Book Lock.—A pocket contrivance which can be attached to the edges of a book. Notebooks, diaries, and private correspondence, could then be guarded during the momentary absence of the writer. A great sale predicted.
471.The Perpetual Calendar.—A calendar which will show on what day or month any event fell or will fall for all time.
472.The Lightning Adder.—It is possible by a system of keys to invent a machine which will set down almost as quick as lightning the sum of any column of figures, thus dispensing with much of the service of a bookkeeper.
473.Copyholder.—Typewritists want a copyholder capable of being adjusted to any size of manuscript and which can be sold as low as twenty-five cents.
474.Envelope Moistener and Sealer.—Construct a narrow brass or iron plate, one-fourth of an inch wide and shaped like the flap of an envelope. A shallow vessel of water is placed underneath, into which by the manipulation of a screw, the plate is occasionally dipped. Above the plate is fixed a second plate which acts as a sealer, and which operates with a screw-head.
475.Multiple Lock.—A device for locking with one movement all the drawers in a desk or bureau.
476.Office Door Indicator.—One to be operated instantly and easily, showing that the occupant is out, and with a dial face to indicate when he expects to return.
477.Automatic Ticket Seller.—It is entirely feasible to have an automatic ticket seller which will both date and deliver tickets. A machine of this kind has been fixed in the Hammerton Station at North London, and is said to work satisfactorily. But there is room for improvement on the part of brainy inventors.
478.Perforated Stamp.—The chief of the London Stamp office said the government was losing $500,000 a year through the dishonest practice of removing stamps from official papers and using them again; and he offered a large sum or a life office at $4,000 a year to any one who would invent a stamp which could not be counterfeited.
479.Nonrefillable Bottle.—Such a bottle is an absolute necessity to beer and liquor manufacturers, sauce and patent medicine makers, yet no one has yet supplied the demand. Here is a chance, and there are millions in it.
480.The Collapsible Box.—A box that cannot be refilled for fraudulent purposes. Must be so built that it cannot be opened without destroying it. It would be purchased by every maker of confections.
481.Bottle Stopper.—There are mines of wealth in a cheap substitute for cork. An inventor will some day make a fortune by the inventing of a paper stopper.
482.Combination Cork and Corkscrew.—A bottle stopper which can be removed by simply turning it around like the top of a wooden money-barrel made for children. Must be made to sell cheap.
483.The Collapsible Barrel.—A barrel arranged in a series of parts each one above smaller than the one below, and so contrived that when not filled the parts sink into each other like the pieces of a field glass. A barrel of such convenience for reshipping would be bought by the hundred thousand, and would be full of gold for its inventor.
484.Self-Standing Bag.—A device whereby bags will stand alone with wide-open top while being filled, thus dispensing with the services of an extra man. All shipping merchants would pay largely for such a bag.
485.Barrel Filler and Funnel Cut-Off.—Barrel filling by the ordinary funnel is slow. Providefour openings at the bottom instead of one. A small rubber hose will connect the opening of each barrel, and a cut-off or a string attachment at the end of each hose cuts off the flow when the barrel is full, and permits the contents of the hose to be carried back to the barrel and thence into one of the unfilled barrels, thus avoiding waste.
486.Folding Crate.—The transportation of fruit and other produce would be greatly facilitated and cheapened if some one would invent a folding crate. An empty crate occupies as much room as a full one.
487.Paper Barrel.—Who will invent a paper barrel which will be as serviceable as the present wooden one, and have the advantage of being light? It would have a universal sale.
488.The Tradesman’s Signal.—An automatic device for letting the grocer, butcher, baker, etc., know when he is wanted, saving time both to the household and trade. Sure to sell.
489.Barrel Gauge.—A dial with hands to be attached to a barrel or keg to indicate the amount of its contents.
490.Elastic Chimney.—An elastic glass chimney which will expand with the heat and not break would sell by the million.
491.Air Moistener.—A apparatus for moistening the air in the room. It should avoid the objectionable feature of all present devices which sprinkle minute drops of water to the damage of goods. All large manufacturers and proprietors of large stores, where manyworkmen and clerks are employed will pay handsomely for such a machine.
492.Automatic Lubricator.—Every wheel, axle, pulley and joint, in labor’s great beehive needs oil. A vast amount of valuable time is consumed in the work. Invent an oil-can which will work automatically, and you can name your own price.
493.Short-Time Negative.—A process by which the negative of a photographic camera may be developed almost instantly instead of consuming the time now required. An immediate fortune is assured to the discoverer of this art.
494.Drying Apparatus.—An invention by which dry air could be produced in abundance so as to dry clothes or be employed in the preservation of fruits would make its deviser independently rich.
495.Rotable Hotel Register.—A revolving frame for a hotel office, so that the register is alike accessible to the clerks within and the guests without.
496.Glass Dome.—The inventor of the little glass bell for hanging over gas jets made a fortune, but as the gas fixture is commonly attached to a movable bracket it does not always occupy the same place. A glass dome which shall be a part of the gas fixture would be a great improvement and bring much money to the inventor.
497.Round Cutting Scissors.—A scissors or shears that will cut round as well as straight. It would be bought by every one who uses a needle.
498.Casket Clamp.—Three thousand people die every day in this country. Undertakers want a clampwhich will keep the casket from moving in the hearse either laterally or longitudinally.
499.Self-Winding Clock.—An arrangement such that when the weight of the clock touches a certain point it will set in operation a mechanism which will wind. The prize for perpetual motion has never yet been awarded. Possibly the solution is in the self-winding clock.
500.Dose Stopper.—A thimble-like contrivance which shall act both as a bottle-stopper and a cup to contain the exact dose.
501.Faucet Measure.—A device for measuring the quantity of liquid that passes through the faucet. Invaluable for store-keepers.
502.Automatic Feeder.—A feeding rack so constructed that the hay or grain will be fed automatically with a cut-off when the proper amount has been given.
503.Coupon Cash Book.—At present persons who pay cash are charged the same as those who trade on credit, a practice which is manifestly wrong. A cash-book should be made so that those who pay immediately for goods should receive a rebate. Every merchant would purchase a quantity of these books, since the great bane of merchandise is bad debts.
504.Gas Detective.—A device to be placed on a gas fixture to ascertain instantly whether it leaks. Often there is an odor of gas when it is difficult to tell whence it proceeds.
505.Paper Towels.—Paper towels having the quality of cloth, yet designed only for a single use, willdoubtless be a feature of the near future. They will “make” their first maker.
506.Water Filter.—A cheap device for use in every household, one which could be attached to the water faucet, and which would insure pure water. It would sell enormously.
507.Pneumatic Freight Tube.—If small packages for store and post office use can be sent by tubes, why may not the principle of compressed air be extended so that grain and fruit may be transported thereby, thus saving the great expense of handling and of car freightage? Some day the greater part of our freight will be carried by this means, and he who is first in the field will coin a mint of clean dollars.
508.Storm Warning.—Apply the principle of the barometer to a large glass globe, placed on the top of a public building, by means of which the contained liquid shall be colored red on the approach of a storm; or construct an instrument which will give forth a sound when bad weather is to be feared. Such an invention would be wanted everywhere.
509.Heat Governor.—If a regulator could be placed upon heat pipes so as to keep the heat at a desired temperature, the inventor would reap untold millions. Florists, poultry raisers, and in fact every housekeeper needs this device.
510.Automatic Oil Feeder.—An invention which will feed oil to a lamp at a uniform rate, and which is provided with a cut-off whereby the supply can be stopped when the light is extinguished.
511.Paint Brush Feeder.—A brush with a reservoir of paint so that when the painter finds the uplifted brush growing dry he has but to reverse it in order to have it replenished.
512.Inside Faucet.—The outside faucet is awkward and interferes with cartage. One which could be worked on the inside by a button on the outside is demanded. Improvements in faucets have made two or three inventors rich, but the right one is yet to come.
513.House Patterns.—Thousands of people like to plan for themselves the building of their homes. At present the only means provided is that of pencil and drawing paper. Wooden blocks adapted for the purpose, and ready-made joints would fill a long-felt want.