16 Bulletin lYl. 



edges in streams, more or less of which fly against the convexity or 

 neck-wall of the can and are thereby broken up into drops, which 

 are deflected toward the center of the can or flow down over its 

 inner walls and are thereby thoroughly aerated, the heated or dis- 

 placed air flowing out through the vents, carrying with it the ani- 

 mal odor of the milk. 



" If water is used to dilute the milk and expand the cream- 

 globules to facilitate or quicken the raising of the cream, a sufiicient 

 quantity is flrst 23laced in the can and the milk falls into it." 



" Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to 

 secure by Letters Patent, is — 



In a cream-separator, the combination with a can having a con- 

 stricted neck of a reversible concavo-convex cover having upward 

 and downward flanges adjacent to its edge and in alignment with 

 each other, a strainer at the center of said cover, spring-fingers sepa- 

 rately secured to the convex side of said cover on converging lines 

 and diverging from it, and a concavo-convex sprayer removably 

 supported by said fingers adjacent to said extremities whereby the 

 milk is thrown from said sprayer against said constricted neck and 

 is thereby broken up." 



In addition to these, two patents on designs have been recently 

 issued, one, 30*741, on May 9, 1899, to Simon Reinsberg, Quincy, 

 111., for a distributor similar to Rector's, the other 30,962 on June 

 6, 1899, to Frank C. Hawkins, Breesport, I^. Y., for the bottom of 

 a can similar to Wheeler's. 



A striking similarity is observable in all these patents. In none 

 of them except Phillips' is dilution mentioned in the claim, and 

 there it covers not the dilution itself but the manner of it. In all 

 of them, however, dilution is mentioned in the description as an 

 essential part of the process. It would seem, therefore, that in 

 patenting some minute or unessential feature of the can these peo- 

 ple have sought to convey to the uninformed the idea that the whole 

 can, process and all was subject to the patent. This is further borne 

 out by the attempt in some cases to collect royalty from people 

 using the dilution process in Cooley or other cans. Since some 

 manufacturers have stated that an application has been made for a 

 patent covering the process of diluting milk with water to facilitate 



