708 



PATENTS. 



unfavorable. The sugar coating or gumming 

 process, it is claimed, is a safeguard against the 

 effects of the atmosphere and of insects. 



Spoon-holder. One of the most common 

 mishaps of the sick-room is to mislay the spoon 



FIG Id. SPOON-HOLDER. 



that belongs with a particular bottle. A recently 

 patented contrivance is made of wire, easily ad- 

 justable about the neck of any bottle It has at 

 one end a double curve so adjusted as that it will 

 hold a spoon securely in the most convenient 

 position for use. This is shown in Pig. 12. 



Automatic Screw-driver. This device is 

 intended to facilitate the driving of screws and 

 similar operations in carpentry. In external ap- 

 pearance it is like an ordinary screw-driver, but 

 within the handle is a spiral shafting arranged 

 on the principle of what is known to mechanics 

 as longitudinal reciprocation. The screw is 

 started as usual, the point being sunk in the 

 wood. To drive it home, it is only necessary to 

 bear heavily and vigorously in the direction of 

 its length. The screw is immediately revolved 

 with great velocity and driven rapidly home. 



Fro. 13. SCREW-DRIVKR. 



This device is patented by Christopher S. Olsen, 

 of Illinois (see Pig. 13). 



Book-protector. The spacing of shelves in 

 a library, out of consideration for the wear and 

 tear of books, should be such that the books can 

 be removed without sliding them upon the lower 

 shelf, but this involves a large space between 

 the tops of the books and the upper shelf, which 

 is unsightly, and is not desired by most librarians. 

 Lawrence 0. Leith, of Texas, has patented a car- 

 riage made of a 

 size corresponding 

 with the book it is 

 designed to hold 

 (see Fig. 14). It 

 has a raised central 

 portion to support 

 the lower edges 

 of the leaves, and 

 the corresponding 

 edges of the covers 

 rest on the outer 

 portion of the car- 

 riage. Inserted in 

 FIG. 14. BOOK-PROTECTOR. the under side of 

 the carriage are 



transverse rollers. The platform is run in or 

 out on the shelf, there being a pull on the front 



edge of the carriage on which the name or num- 

 ber of the book may be marked for greater ease 

 of reference. This device is of course mainly 

 useful in the case of large and heavy books, 

 whose lower cover edges rapidly become worn 

 out where they are frequently used. 



Indexes. Every book should have an index, 

 and almost all modern books have indexes ; but 

 there are many works in constant use that lack 

 these important accessories. Among recent pat- 

 ents is an attachment to an ordinary book cover, 

 so arranged that it holds leaves for indexing, but 

 forms a part of the cover, folding within at the 

 end of the volume. If this device could be at- 

 tached to all the books that need the addition of 

 an index, work in reference libraries would be 

 greatly facilitated. 



Book-holder. A simple device for keeping 

 open the pages of an unruly or ill-bound booli 



FIG. 15. BOOK-HOLDER. 



has been patented by William H. Ash, of New 

 York. The contrivance is clearly shown in Fig. 

 15. It is made of wire, and composed of two 

 similar parts having a sliding connection with 

 each other, each of the said parts being bent 

 into a hook at the outer end and large enough 

 to fit over the edges of an ordinary book. The 

 other or inner end is bent at a sharp angle, so 

 that it engages the part of the other hook with 

 which it is in contact. 



Calf-feeder. One of the most tedious and 

 exasperating experiences of a stock breeder is to 

 teach a young calf to drink from a pail or trough. 

 William E. Spiners, of Iowa, has patented a de- 

 vice intended to help the farmer in solving this 

 problem. It consists of a 

 flexible tube several inch- 

 es in length, which is at- 

 tached to a perforated 

 plate, which in turn may 

 be screwed to the bottom 

 of a pail. The perforated 

 plate freely admits milk 

 to the interior of the tube, 

 and the en If, in endeavor- 

 ing to drink, gets hold of 

 the upper end of the tube, 

 and thus learns to help 



FIG. 16. 

 himself without the 



usual tedious devices tc ^vhich farmers resort 

 (see Fig. 10). 



Rope-clamp. Various devices are in use for 

 the adjustment of tent ropes, clothes lines, ten- 

 'nis nets, and other fixtures, where it is necessary 

 to lengthen or shorten a rope at will. The ordi- 

 nary wooden fiddle in use for this purpose has 

 its disadvantages. S. W. Conklin, of New York, 



