Patents— Something about them. 



It is estimated that the people of the 

 United States reap yearly from patented 

 inventions the sum of four thousand mil- 

 lions of dollars. Yet the inventors have 

 barely reaped from these inventions enough 

 to pay for their board and clothing, if it 

 was equally divided among them. , This 

 shows our Patent Laws are defective. Old 

 patents, which have never been put into 

 use, and are almost unknown, because not 

 sufficiently perfected to make a practical 

 machine, are raked up by patent sharks, 

 (rarely inventors), and galvanized into life 

 by a re-issue, and sprung like a trap on the 

 good invention and those using it. To cor- 

 rect this, there is now a bill in Congress 

 providing that any man who has bought'a 

 machine before such a re-issue can not be 

 prevented from using it by one of these gal- 

 vanized patents, under a claim the old 

 patent did not contain. 



The bill also provides that all patents 

 shall pay a fee of $50 five years after its 

 issue, and another of iJlOO five years there- 

 after ; and in case the fee is not paid, the 

 patent expires, thus making the owner sit 

 in judgement on his patent after he has 

 had time to cool down the ardor of his first 

 love. The bill also provides that in suits 

 for infringements, where the prosecution 

 has been for extorting money under claims 

 obviously unjust, the court may make the 

 person bringing the suit pay, not only the 

 ordinary costs, but the whole costs of defend- 

 ants counsel, and witness and expert's fees. 

 With these corrections to our patent law, 

 no man need sulfer at all from unjust 

 claims or extortions of patent sharks. 



^^ In Oleanings for May,-page 161, it is 

 implied that W. J. Andrews had lost the 

 use of his arm from bee stings. Friend An- 

 drews wants that corrected. It was the re- 

 sult of a pistol shot in 1878, and bad surgery. 



i^" H. Scovell, Columbus, Kansas, has 

 sent us a sample of his all-wood queen cages. 

 Saw cuts take the place of wire-cloth. An 

 auger-hole supplies the place for provision- 

 ing. They are exceedingly neat and cheap, 

 and can be obtained at this office, price 5 

 cents, or 50 cents per dozen. 



BS^Thurber & Co., of New York, have 

 sent 3,761 barrels of honey to Liverpool ; it 

 was sold on the 17th ult., as we see by a Liv- 

 erpool paper. 



Melilot Clove i{.— In answer to many 

 inquiries, we repeat : Melilot clover may be 

 sown any time. Four pounds will sow an 

 acre, and it may be sown with grain. It 

 stands drouth and frost, and grows in any 

 soil— north, south, east or west. An acre 

 will support 30 colonies. It blooms the sec- 

 ond year and then dies. 



1^ There has been so much call for 

 teasel seed, we have procured some, 

 which we can sell for 75 cents per pound. 



i^° We have one of Barnes' Hand 

 Circular Rip Saws, which works like a 

 charm. It will rip any lumber with 

 the greatest of ease and exactness.— 

 The rea,der is referred to our descrip- 

 tion of it on page 105 of the April No. 



Chattanooga, Tenn., May 15, 1878. 

 " What effect will the late cold spell 

 have on the honey production north of 

 the Ohio River this season V Also 

 what is its effect upon fruit and grain 

 crops? Please inform us through the 

 Journal." S. C. Dodge. 



[Unless soon ended, the cold and wet 

 weather will greatly damage honey 

 production. Fruit and grain were not 

 seriously affected— only small plants 

 were killed by the frosts early in this 

 month.— Ed.] 



1^^ The queen that friend Andrews of- 

 fered for the best essay in the Southern De'- 

 partment, was awarded to Oscar F. Bledsoe, 

 Grenada, Miss. In acknowledghig it, he 

 remarks : 



" Your offer through the American Bee Journal 

 has been handsomely f ulflUed." 



1^ Friend McGaw wrote us a few 

 days ago that on opening a colony, he 

 found some white-headed drones. We 

 have heard of red headed ones before, 

 and now we have the " grey-headed " 

 fellows. We always thought they died 

 too young to ever become grey-headed, 

 but it seems their extreme youth does 

 not in this instance save them for hoary- 

 headedness. Friend McGaw promises 

 to send us some to mate with our Cypri- 

 an queen, which we drew at the Bur- 

 lington Convention. " Won't that be 

 jolly?" 



