THE RURAL HEW-YORKER. 
No valid patent can be granted for a device th 
which has been substantially described in a book th 
published in this or any foreign country previous in 
to the date assigned to the invention. That the wl 
process of making tube wells was thus described b; 
as far back as 1829, in this country, and at a still wi 
earlier' date in Great Britain, can be readily su 
proved by reference to a receipt for raising th 
water in all situations, on page 388 of "Mac- hi 
Kenzie's Fiv© Thousand Receipts ”—a household 
work, of which three large editions had been Si 
issued from Philadelphia prior to 1861, whentho 
method it advises first occurred, spontane¬ 
ously (?) to Green, without his having made 
any previous experiments in that connection. 
If an inventor surrenders his device to the 
public, he cannot afterwards secure a valid pat¬ 
ent for it- A patent monopoly is granted as an 
inducement to inventorB to make improvements 
in the arts, so that the public may bo benefited 
by their dovices on the payment of a percentage 
beyond the actual cost and ordinary profits of tho 
articles, during the terms of the patents, and 
without Buoh extra payments at their expiration. 
If, thorefore, an inventor has nothing to surren¬ 
der to the public, he is certainly not entitled to 
receive ft valuable, aud in t?ome cases, an opproa- 
sive monopoly from it. Moreover, the public 
sale or use of a device with the knowledge or 
consent of the inventor, for two years before his 
applications for a patent, is deemed conclusive 
evidence of his having abandoned it to the pub¬ 
lic. Green's application for a patent was filed 
on March 17th, 1868; but wells bad been Bunk & 
by the process bo claimed to have originated, in ii 
Cortland for six years, and much more exton- < 
sively all over the United States for four years u 
beforo that dato. 
There Ruggett had sold moBfc of his patent b 
rights for a decided improvement on the method t 
in 1861 .1, and to purchase these, patent agentB h 
had flocked thither from most of tho Northern v 
States. Besides this, a couple of subsidiary l 
patents had been secured for various contrivances 
connected with it, by other inhabitants of tho 
village in 1865, and patent rights for these also i 
had been sold there. All these facts, together c 
with SrrooETT's marvelous success, wore matters i 
of notoriety in a quiet little country village like i 
Cortland, and must inevitably have reached the t 
ears of Green, whose home was there nearly • 
the whole time. Yet, in order to secure his pat- < 
ent, he h&s rashly maintained that he alone of < 
all the inhabitants of the place was entirely ig- ■ 
norant of these transactions, and consequently 
could not have entered any protest in his own 1 
behalf. Bach an assertion might possibly find a ' 
few believers among a tribunal of clergymen, I 
for theology concedes the possibility of " invin- I 
oible ignorance,” but law and common-sense are I 
more skeptical, and are likely obdurately to dis¬ 
credit so marvelous a phenomenon, especially 
when the man who vouches for its occurrence 
makes it a basis for a claim of several million 
dollars for which lie has rendered no valid ser¬ 
vices. 
Neither tho prior conception of a device nor 
any number of mere experiments in connection 
with it, entitles a man to a patent unless those 
are earned out to the point of perfecting and 
adapting the invention to actual use. Tho party 
who embodies the principle and makes it avail¬ 
able for practical purposes, is alone entitled to a 
patent and protection. Green himself dovised 
no means of improving on Mackenzie's receipt, 
but merely put in a claim for the same contrive 
ance Mudoe had just discarded as inefficient; 
and, as a matter of fact, not one in fifty of the 
tube wells now in operation has been constructed 
according to the process described in his specifi¬ 
cation. Indeed, in some parts of the country, 
where wells of this kind are most numerous, it 
would be either wholly or nearly impossible to 
make one by the device which his patent indi¬ 
cates. A vast majority of all tnbe wells have 
been sunk by means of devices covered by pat¬ 
ents obtained by other parties, and unless the 
owners of such wells have already paid royalty 
to these, they will still be liable to their demands, 
even after Queen’s exactions shall have been 
satisfied. 
|nkstrial fniplcmtitts, 
GANG AND SULKY PLOWS. 
In the march of improvement, probably no 
class of labor-saving machinery has so severely 
taxed the ingenuity of inventors as the imple¬ 
ments U6ed in and about the tillage of the soil. 
An d indeed, this is not at all surprising when 
consideration is given to the fact that nearly all 
of them must be made for horse-power. In the 
invention of a madiine for manufacturing pur¬ 
poses, the question of power and draft is hardly 
ever raised. If, to do the work for which the 
machine is intended, ten-horHe power instead of 
I two iB required, the steam motive power is put 
at that standard ; but in the case of agricultural 
implements which are mostly moved by horses, 
tho machine must be brought to the standard of 
the motive power, hence the greater amount of 
ingenuity required in its construction. Those 
who visited the late Centennial Exhibition may 
have compared the plow of Daniel Webster 
with the modern implements with which it was 
surrounded in profusion, and may have noticed 
the great progress which baa been made in thiB 
branch of industry within the past decade. 
Among the most noticeable advances are the 
Sulky Plow and Gang Plow. Messrs. Fdrst 
man and horse by tho use of these plows has 
been demonstrated to be so far beyond the cost, 
of the implement, that they are coming rapidly 
to be used throughout tho world. 
This company is among tho largest in the 
country, and in addition to tho. specialty forming 
tho subject of this notice it makes Morse Hay- 
Rakes, Cultivators, Plows and other agricultural 
tools that embody the most advanced practical 
ideas. 
For full information upon this subject, a com- 
FURST ANP BRADLKY’S SULKY PLOW. 
&, Bradley of Chicago, Illinois, are manufactur¬ 
ing styles called tho Garden* City Sulky and 
Gang Plows, which must eventually revolution¬ 
ize this very necessary labor on the farm. They 
have the following points of interest:—The 
brake on the wheel, which, whon applied, liftB 
tho plow out of the ground by the power of the 
horses. On account of this arrangement it is 
very easy to handlo, and can bo operated all day 
long by a boy. 
As the plow can bo quickly detached from the 
beam, it enables a farmer to use either stubble 
plows or breakers of any size cut that he may 
desire, on this same frame, by having them 
made on a standard that will fit the slotted cast¬ 
ing on the beam. Ho can also regulate his team 
to suit the size or kind of plow he attaches to the 
frame, using two, three or four horses. To do 
this, it is only nocossary to move tho pole and 
ohange eveners, which can be done in five 
minutes. 
By a very simple device, the rear end of the 
plow is tilted up whenever it is necessary to 
back while plowing in tho field. Tho team is 
hitched to the end of the beam, iustead of to the 
tonguo or carriage, consequently there cannot 
be a pound of side-draft, neither is there any 
weight upon the horses’ necks. Owing to th© 
peculiar construction of tho axle, the lowering of 
the plow into the ground throws the furrow 
wheel down and tho laud wheel up, keeping the 
plow level, thereby avoiding all tho trouble of 
leveling up with levers or screws. The depth of 
furrow can be instantly changed by the driver, 
without getting oil or stooping the horses. It 
oan alBo be readily adjusted to take more or Iohs 
land. 
The crowning glory of these implements, how¬ 
ever, is tho saving of power, as to which the 
mauufactnrers claim that three horses and one 
man will do the work of four horses and two 
men in the ordinary way of plowing. They arc 
manufactured of the very best materials, and 
are tho result of many years’ patient study, ob¬ 
servation, and experience in this particular kind 
of goods. One may choose either the Iron or 
Wood Beam, as both are made. Upon the Sulky 
munication addressed to Messrs. Forst <fc Brad¬ 
ley, Chicago, Ill., will receive prompt and polite 
attention. 
--- 
BASKETS. 
One of the most common conveniences of thin 
age of improvement is the basket. Whether for 
use at homo, on the farm or in business, it has 
become an almost iudispensiblo part of every es¬ 
tablishment. In the shipment and sale of Small 
Fruits this is especially the Case. To meet the 
wants of dealers, many inventions have been 
put forward and much ingenuity has been dis¬ 
played. Probably no set of men, however, have 
mado a nearer approach to meeting these wants 
half way than the Beecher Basket Company of 
WeBtvillo, Conn. Besides their Diamond Poach 
and Vegetable Baskets, which unite strength and 
durability with tho proper shape and size for 
easy handling, they manufacture all sizes and 
kinds of Berry Baskets to bo used without crates 
and wbioh will stand the test of much handling 
and wear. But their prime articles of manufac¬ 
ture are what they term the Beecher crates and 
baskets, which consist of a well ventilated crate 
in which are snugly fitted their patent, baskets, 
specially arranged for the shipment and safe 
carriage of small fruits. The goods manufac¬ 
tured by this company are all trustworthy and 
the experience of shippers and dealers has de¬ 
monstrated them to be an excellent investment. 
Those of our readers who contemplate the use of 
anything in the basket lino would do well to ad¬ 
dress this company at Wostvllle, Conn., for price 
lists by which it will bo scon that a small outlay 
will secure an excellent return. 
Ifatm (5conomi). 
FARM TOPICS. 
BEST SWINE. 
That breed which produces the most pork on 
a given quantity of food, all must admit to be 
BKECHEIi BASKET CO.’S FRUIT BASKETS 
Plow throe horses are generally used to do the the best; but the difficulty lies in ascertaining 
work of four, and upon the Gang Plow three or what breed answers to this reipiirement. The 
four horses, according to one’s taste or the size Berkshire, Poland China, ) orkshire, and Lsscx 
of the horses. The economy in labor of both breeds are four of the best in this country, anil 
of these I consider the Poland China the most 
profitable This brood originated about 40 years 
ago in Ohio, by a cross on Boveral breedB, the 
Berkshire predominating, and the claim now to 
their being a pure breed is generally admitted to 
bo correct. There is not much difference in 
form between Borkshires and Poland Chinas; 
and as to color, while the Berkshire* are black, 
except the feet, the Poland Chinas have white 
feet (not all), and they also have white spots on 
different parts of their bodies. At 18 months 
old they often weigh 500 lbs., and at 12 months 
350 lbs. Tho carcass Is beautifully formed, 
round and compact, legs short, and altogether a 
model that cannot be improved. Of course 
some farmers prefer other breeds, but the great 
popularity of the Poland Chinas seems to show 
that they stand at tho head of tho list of breeds 
of swine in the United States. 
RAISING GEESE. 
When a farmer has a tract, of low, marshy 
land near his house, where is a running stream 
of water, lie might raiso geese profitably by con¬ 
fining them to this tract during tho day in Hum¬ 
mer, and yarding them at night. When allowed 
to run ou good grass-land, their manure is so 
strong that it kills the grass whore dropped, and 
for this reason many fanners have given up 
breeding them. But they are certainly profit¬ 
able, as they are subject to no disease, require 
no food but grass, and are always salable, 
dressed, at a fair price, and their feathers will 
pay the expense of kooping them. With an ox- 
tensivo marshy range, more money could be 
made by raising geese than on any other kind of 
domestic poultry. 
EARLY GARDEN VEGETABLES. 
Tho prices that early vegetables command in 
country villages, and particularly in largo towns, 
are often double those obtained at wholesale in 
large cities, as such markets often become glut¬ 
ted with vegetables and small fruits, which have 
to be sold very low. Now, farmers oan grow a 
moderate supply of early vegetables, almost 
anywhere, and get good prioes for them. The 
Scientific Farmer Bays: 
“ It is to bo wondered at that so few farmers 
with ample facilities, in the vicinity of large 
towns, engage in the growing of early garden 
crops. They say it is no uso competing with the 
large gardeners whoso products find their way 
! to tho inland towns, and so lay on their oars and 
let tho trade go by them. Now, wo know from 
1 experience that this is false. We havo repeat- 
1 edly carried early beots, peas, squash, etc., into 
■ a little town not 25 miles from Boston, on the 
lino of railroad, and sold them at a higher price 
than tlio regular gardeners received. Why? 
Because our produce was fresh and palatable and 
’ not the leavings of the city stalls, as much of 
3 that sent to inland towns is. A few crops like 
‘ those named, and sweet corn, late oabbiige, 
1 rhubarb, cauliflowers (a few), and perhaps some 
others, we know can he grown with profit. The 
’ rest the farmer had best leave the gardenor.” 
VALUE OF COW MANURE. 
Dr. Anderson gives the following as the com¬ 
ponent parts of a cow’s manure in one year, 
3 based on an analysis103.3 lbs. of ammonia. 
88.5 lbs. of potash. G4.0 lbs. of phosphoric acid. 
This represents a value of $22.75, as those 
commercial fertilizers tire sold ; nor is tho esti¬ 
mate too much, as no farmer can afford to sell 
r all the manure that 10 head of cattle can make 
in a year for $227.50. The abovo analysis, un¬ 
doubtedly, was made of manure that came from 
a well-fed cow, as cows that are wintered on 
>n hay, oorn-stalks, anil some straw only, will not 
je produce a manure worth as much as those fed 
partly on meal. In brief, it is tho quality of the 
feed that makes the quality of the manure. 
Linden. N. J. T. 13. Miner. 
|nsutanrt gqrariment, 
AMERICAN INSURANCE CO., CHICAGO. 
The Eighteenth Annual Statement of the 
American Insurance Company of Chicago will bo 
found in its appropriate colamn of this issue. 
This old and sterling farmers’ company appears 
to have done a prosperous business during the 
past year, and to have a cash accumulation of 
eight hundred and eighty-two thousand dollars, 
as well as a clear surlpns of more than four 
hundred and fifty thousand dollars in cash. 
Back of this, and for the sake of‘additional 
security, it has a reserve fund of two millions of 
assessable notes, a kind of capital which cannot 
well be dissipated or destroyed. We notice with 
peculiar satisfaction that the bulk of its immense 
and increasing business iB done at home, where 
its character is beat known and appreciated, and 
that the cash premiums received from the peo¬ 
ple of its own State during the past year greatly 
exceeded those of any other company. This 
Company, which we cheerfully commend to our 
patrons, has achieved these happy results by 
sedulously attending to. and confining itself to 
its own business- that is, the insurance of farm 
property, dwellings, barns, and other detached 
risks- and by assidulously avoiding all hazardous 
I chances. Long may it prosper. 
