226 THE CULTIVATOR. July 
NEW PUBLICATIONS. 
Report of the Commissioner of Patents.—Wo 
are indebted to Hon. J. H. Johnson, and Hon. B. R. 
Wood, Members of Congress, for a copy of the Report 
of the Commissioner of Patents. It is a document of 
no less than 1376 pages, octavo, exhibiting the ope¬ 
rations of the Patent Office during the year ending 
Dec. 31, 1845. The inventive genius of our people is 
as conspicuous as ever, judging from this report,—the 
number of applications for patents during the year being 
1246, and the number of caveats during the same time 
being 452, and the number of patents issued being 502 
We are very glad to see that the Commissioner 
recommends some addition to the present laws “ for the 
more effectual encouragement and protection of invent¬ 
ers and patentees.” He thinks the existing laws afford 
in fact but little protection to the inventor. His re¬ 
marks on this head are in our opinion, justly entitled to 
consideration. The fate which too often befals the in¬ 
ventor is thus truly depicted:— 
“ The fruits of his genius and his toils are constantly 
liable to be wrested from him by the unscrupulous and 
dishonest, who, too often countenanced by public opin¬ 
ion, are apt to regard the rights of the inventor as the 
fruits of a monopoly, which it is a merit instead of a 
wrong to break down and destroy; and the more valua¬ 
ble the invention, the more liable is the patentee 
to this species of invasion and injury, as there is 
more inducement held out to its perpetration. The 
stealthy thief and the midnight burglar are justly re¬ 
garded as the pests and enemies of society, and are 
seized and punished by penalties, severe in proportion 
to the turpitude of their crimes. Yet their depreda¬ 
tions are committed on things which are made by law 
the subjects of property, and which may be acquired by 
industry or by purchase. The right of the inventor to 
his invention, in the judgment of all enlightened minds, 
cannot but be viewed as far more sacred than mere 
things of property. It is a mental creation, or rather 
the discovery of a principle, or thing never before 
known to the world, and may be, and very many in¬ 
ventions have been, productive of countless blessings to 
the human family, affecting their destinies as individu¬ 
als and as communities through all time.” 
The case of Eli Whitney is cited, “as one among 
the innumerable instances in which the fruits of splen¬ 
did genius have been wrested from their possession by 
the unprincipled depredator upon patent rights.” 
The claims for premiums under the head of Agricul¬ 
ture, are stated not to have presented much novelty. 
Some improvements are said to have been made in 
wheel plows, and one invention for adjusting the set 
and draught of plows, so as to make them take at 
pleasure more or less land, are spoken of as being valua¬ 
ble. We presume the invention alluded to is that of 
Messrs. Ruggles, Nourse & Mason, of Massachusetts, 
and may be seen affixed to plows lately manufactured 
by them. 
Under the head of Hydraulics , seventeen patents 
have been granted. The “'syphon ram ” is spoken of. 
The description undoubtedly refers to Mr. Ellsworth’s 
invention, which has been spoken of in the Cultivator 
as a syphon pump. “ The syphon ram,” it is said, 
“ has long been known—that is, a ram in which the 
descent of water in the long leg of the syphon has been 
made to operate in raising, or rather delivering water 
above its level. But, so far as known, has been a philo¬ 
sophical toy, and unavailable for practical purposes. 
By the intervention of a rarified air-chamber, as it is 
called, in conjunction with the momentum of the de¬ 
scending water in the long leg, the syphon ram has 
been made an attainment of much practical value, and 
possesses the advantage of being more simple, cheaper, 
and less liable to derangement, than many of the devices 
employed to raise water above the level of its source.” 
Under the head of Chemistry, forty patents have been 
granted during the year, several of which appear to 
have been for valuable inventions. A new plan for a 
refrigerator is spoken of, which is said to differ from 
other articles of the kind in two particulars. “Usually, 
in refrigerators, meat, and other articles to be pre¬ 
served, become impregnated with mustiness, or un- 
p’easant odors, owing to the moisture from the ice, and 
the closeness of the apartment. The ice is placed in an 
apartment by itself, through which passes a coiled tube 
communicating with the external air, and the apart¬ 
ments in which the provisions are kept. By means of 
a fan, bellows, or other contrivance, for circulating air, 
the air is driven through the coiled tube, becoming 
cooled in its passage, and enters the apartment for pro¬ 
visions in a dry state.” 
The Phrenological and Physiological Almanac, 
for 1847; by L. N. Fowler. Published by Fowlers 
& Wells, 131 Nassau-street, New-York. 
This is quite a neat little annual , of about fifty pages, 
comprising, besides the usual matter in an almanac, 
twenty-five or thirty pages of interesting reading on the 
subjects of phrenology and physiology, with portraits 
and phrenological descriptions of various individuals. 
The Messrs. Fowler are known as the authors of seve¬ 
ral phrenological works which have been well received 
by the public. Fowlers & Wells publish the Ameri¬ 
can Phrenological Journal , a monthly, of thirty-two 
pages, at one dollar a year. 
DOMESTIC ECONOMY. 
ORIGINAL RECEIPTS. 
Indian Pudding. —Boil a quart of milk, and stii in 
Indian meal till it is nearly as thick as you can stir it 
with a spoon; then add a tea-spoonful of salt, a cup¬ 
ful of molasses, a tea-spoonful of ginger or ground 
cinnamon, and cold milk enough to make a thin batter. 
Boil in a thick bag four hours, or bake the same length 
of time. Care should be taken that the water does not 
stop boiling while the pudding is in. Pudding mads 
in this way, with the addition of a quart of chopped 
sweet apples, and baked from four to six hours, will be 
found delicious. 
Indian Cakes. —Take, at night, one quart of Indian 
meal, about half scald it with boiling water; then cool 
it with cold water, so as not to kill the brewer’s yeast, 
one tea-spoonful of which is to be stirred in, with a 
tea-spoonful of wheat flour, and a tea-spoonful of salt. 
Sufficient water must be put in to make a thick batter, 
and left to rise till morning; then add saieratus enough 
to sweeten the mass. Two or three eggs, beaten and 
stirred in is an improvement. Then bake on a hot 
griddle, and you have breakfast cakes fit for Queen 
V ictoria. 
Preservation of the Tomato. —Mr. R. B. Mor¬ 
rell gives us the following:—“The tomato, which 
has come into universal use, and is deemed a luxury by 
almost every one, may be preserved for winter use in 
the following manner. When ripe, let them be pre ¬ 
pared by stewing as for the table, and seasoned to the 
liking; put them in small jars (1 quart) with covers. 
Over the top put a piece of linen or cotton cloth, which 
will cover and press the cover on; then pour into the 
cavity melted mutton tallow, and keep them in a cooi 
any dry place in the cellar until required for use. They 
need only to be warmed to serve them for the table. I 
use small jars for the reason, that where exposed to the 
air they soon ferment. 
Concentrated Portable Jelly. —Letters patent 
have been secured for a mode of preparing gelatine In 
such a manner that a small portion of it added to hot 
w T ater, and turned into moulds to cool, affords at once a 
palateable jelly, with no other labor of preparation. 
The jelly is brought into a concentrated state by evapo¬ 
ration in vacuo, having previously all the condiments 
necessary for flavoring mixed with it; it is then packed 
in bottles, and is ready for use; the whole making of 
the jeliy being simply the dissolving a small portion of 
the concentrated jelly in hot water, and suffering the 
|| whole to cool .—Report of Com. of Patents. 
