Willamette farmer., December 04, 1874, Page 6, Image 6

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SHeep 4(d Wool.
Fattening Sheep.
Sheep fatten much more readily during
warm weather; hence nt less expense than dnring
the fall and winter. Young ntid thrifty ani
mals fatten ripidlyon good nasturts. but old
Bheep should have a moderate quantity
of grain fed to them regularly, as n supplement
to the pasturage. Ous bushel of grain fed to
mem win iattii tnem ns rapidly as lour, when
fed in the winter. In fattening any kind of an
imals, on 9 fiut should never bo lost siuht of, and
that if), that quietude nnd warmth and well ven
tilated enclosures, are indispensable. It is a
great waste of food to attempt the fattening of
niiiiuHin mmum ulta mieiJUlUH IU lUUS'J liupor-
tant requirements. Aultnal will fatten on tho
least quantity of food wheu they are kept
closely confined, and are warmly sheltered.
But they mu-t hate exercise in order to aid in
tho digestion and tbe aod'iiilation ol their food
Indian corn is with ug tho most economic il
feed, but every prec union should be taken to
feed it economically in every sense of the word.
Jlural World.
. The Sheep Hot Fly. Some years ago we
used to keep several hundred sheep, some of
which were frequently troubled with "grub in
the head" as wo called It, and the only cure
wo over found was the blowing of tobacco
smoke up the sheep's nostrils, by holding the
sheep firmly while one inserts the stem of a
tobacco pipe in tho nostril, and then, by
placing his mouth over or near the bowl of the
pipe, blow and force the smoke far up into the
head. Our sheep, I believe, always recovered
alter sucn treatment, wnetner tnat enacted it
or not I do not know; but prevention is the
best of all. We had seen it stated somewhere,
that the place to tar is at the upper part of the
nose, between tho eyes, instead of tUe nostril;
"that in that placo the nose is protected only
by a very thin and delicate membrane beneath
the skin, through which the parent insect can
easily thrust her ovipositor, deposit her egg
and depart instantly. This egg hatching pro
duces the 'grub in tbe head.' " On this hint
we acted. Having at shearing time a bucketof
tar near by, wo daubed each sheep as it was
shorn, across tho nose between the eyes, with
a broad, thick band of tar. This seemed to
prove a psrfect preventive. Never after werr
we troubled with the grub among tho sheep.
Cor. Country Gentleman.
Stciwle-Sueaki.no. At a recent meeting of
the Southeastern Wisconsin wool-growers as
sociation, resolutions were passed strongly
condemning stubblo-shearing; that is, the prac
tice, ol lo iving tho wool half an inch or more
long at shearing; the wool, of courso, retaining
tnat oxtru lengtn turougn tne ensuing year.
The resolutions wore :
liesolved, That we discard all Btubblo-shearing
at fairs, and that a committee bo appointed by
the chair to draft rulos to govern committees
at fairs, eaid committeo to report at next
mooting.
Resolved, That any member of this association
who shall bo lound practicing stubble-shearing,
shall 1)J excluded from our exhibitions.
Jiesolved, That the managers of all societies,
at whoso exhibitions Bhcop are shown for prem
iums, bo requirod to instruct their examining
committee to require oxhlbitors to stato ago ol
sheep, age of fleece, munuer of feeding, and to
give cvidonco of their breeding, and that all
sheep that givo evidonco of stubblo-shearing,
or any dishonest practico, shall bo excluded
from tho exhibition.
How Sukki oot int.i Austiuua. In 1797
throe Merino rams and five owes were carried
to Austral! i ; but so slow did wool-growing in
crease, that it wan not uutil 1807, ten years la
tor, that tho first bale of wool was- shipped
tbonoo to England. Hut tbo flocks of Austra
tralia did not origiunto from that source. Mr.
Hayes tells us that the development of fine
wool husbandry in these colonies was tho ro
HUlt of an aocidout. Some English whalers
captured in the South Seas, about tho begin
ning of tho present century, a vessel proceed
ing to Peru from Spain, in which there was
some HOC Merino rams and ewes. These sheep
wore carried to Australia, and originated tho
fine Meriuo woo) husbandry which to-day
playg so important a part in tho flue-wool sup
ply of tho world. Jitilioiuil Live Stock Journal.
Bell-Wkthkb Billy op Bckfalo. The hero
of tho Buffalo stock-yard is named Billy. Be
neath this homely appellation he carries his
load of hoiiois and wool ut tho same time, for
he is a wether; but whether Ootswold, South
down or Merino, or nil three in part, no one
can tell. Billy voarB a bell, and as tho nightly
stock train arrives, ho puts himself at tho head
of flocks of sheep as they are unloaded, and
leads them safely through the circuitous by
ways of Buffalo to the yards. As soou as the
lust sheep is safely penned Billy slips out of a
door specially provided for him, and retires to
his own quarters ond his bale of hay. Xeix
York Tribune.
STOCK BtEEDEtS.
Breeding Swine.
It does not pay to breed or to feed poor hogs.
The hog Is a voruoloua animal, and unlet his
voracity can be turned to profitable account, it
is better to have nothiug to do with him. The
great majority of farmers who breed pigs, do
so with definite aim towards producing a
profitable animal,
A good thoroughbred boar costs money,
We will say twenty-tlvo to fifty dollars for a
' really first-class young one, three to six
months' old. But oua is enough for a whole
neighborhood, and it several will club together
to purchase and keep one smoug them, or
agree to pay a moderate price lor encu ow
they may get served, tho cost will bo small to
each.
One great source of loss to tinners on their
hog production is that they keep the aulmals
they breed too long, nnd feed them too little.
II they were better fed Ihey would come to
maturity earlier, and produce bett r pork at less
cost. Au auimal kept in full flesh from its
earliest diy Is ready to fatten, and does so
quickly, at small cost and at early age; nod
will bate a fair proportion of fat and lean. Au
animal put up to faiteu from a starvation point
will take a loug time to fat, and when it does
so moat of the fat will be laid on superficially,
muck of it in tbe hog goiug into lard rather
than pork.
With a good breed, and good judgment exer
cised in feeding, so as to keep the animal in a
constant slate of thrift and progress, there It
no doubt that making pork will pay, tveu at
present prise, but otherwise it U unprofitable
to keep pigs at all, Price will undoubtedly
advance some before next fall; as it la quit
likely that large number of store hogs will be
thrown upon tbe market this winter, and go
Into the band of feeder, and further breeding
wlllbe, 'limited to those who have means to
bold over, or stock too valuable to sacrifice at
tbe present. Rural Home.
The First Annual Stock Sale.
Fol'owing is the result of the first annual
sale of choice slock, held at San Jose under
tbe auspices of tbe California Cattle Breedora'
Association.
The first animil offered was Frank, a white
bull, owned by Jesse D, Carr, of Monterey
county. lie was eolved May 23d, 1873, and
was got by Romeo. A. A. Woatheral of Mon
terey was the purchaser; $150.
Col. Youoger's red roan bull, Oxford Lad,
was next sold. He wob calved Oct. 4th, 1873,
and was got by Thnrndale. He was purchased
by Mr. Curtis for 120.
First Chance, a red and white bull, the prop
erty of Cyrus Jones & Co., of San Jose, was
purchased by Mr. Blake for $170.
Pat. Reunion's red and white ball, Tom
Moore, was sold, on a reserved bid, for $300.
He was calved May 20th, 1872; got by Tyrone,
and weighs 1,960 pounds.
Wm, Quinn's roan heifer, Jenny Lind, was
sold to Jesse D. Carr for $50. She is of gra
ded stock, and is 15-1G Durham. Quinn's roan
cow, Frederica, three years old, was also pur
chased by Mr. Carr; price, $130.
Cherry Gth, red and white heifer, V, years
old, owned by Jones & Co.; sold to J. II.
Combs for $500.
Lorena3d, red and white heifer, 2 years old,
owned by Jones & Co.; sold to Sargent Bros,
for $425.
Mazurka Star, red and white ball, 2 years
old, owned by Jones & Co. ; sold to George
Street, of San Luis Obispo, for $400.
Luda 5th, red and white heifer, 2 years old,
owned by Jones & Co.; sold to Canfield. of San
Juan, for $490,
Fairy Queen 3d, red and white heifer, two
vcars old, owned by Jones & Co.; sold to Jesse
D. Carr for $550.
Lucy Ann 10th. red cow. owned bv Jones A:
Co.; sold to M. B. Sturges, of Conterville, for
$405.
New Year's Gift, roan bull calf, 8 months
old, owned by Jones & Co.; sold to Joseph
Kay, of San Jose, for $270. Rural Press.
The Colob of Normans. To say that a
black colored horse could not be a Norman
would certainly be absurd, though it is truo
there are comparatively few found in France of
any other colors than grey colors, shading all
the way from white even to black. There
seems to be an effort among the French people
to breed in darker colors at tho present time,
uy using oiacK stallions, now, tor tbe sake of
argument, what does it take to constitute a
dark grey color in a horso? Is it not a com
bined mixture of black and white colors? In
very dark grey the black color must predom
inate. Tn6 m ijority color in the Norman
stock is dark grey, shading lighter down to a
white and darker ud to a black. Here we can
see how absurd it would be to say that a black
colored horse could not be a Norman. I have
this present season imported for Norman or
Percheron horses, one of them jet black in
color. He possesses every characteristic of a
Norman or Percheron horse. Cor. Prairie
Parmer.
Pompkins for Stock. The different min
ions of farmers as to the value of pumpkins
for milch cows and other stock, is believed to
bo the result of different ways of feeding tbem,
by a correspondent of tbe Germantown Tele
graph. In a hurry to clean a field, farmers
will give their cattle a Burfeit of pumpkins for
a day or two, then for a day or two perhaps
nouo, ond thus alternate feasts and fasts, and
then conclude pumpkins aro worthless. The
writer gives regularly, as long as they last,
once n day, from one to three pumpkins per
peard, never more, and finds tbem greatly con
ducive to tho health of stock, besides greatly
increasing the quantity and quality of butter
made.
Street Sweepings and Fertilizers.
From Pclnc Itural Press.
In the large centers of population in Europe
considerable attention has been paid of late
years to the utilization of sewage. In this country
few attempts have as yet been made in this
direction, though it is probable, that before
many years it will becomo a subject of more
importance than we consider it at present. In
England fertilizing substances of every des
cription are extensively used, and the land is
supplied with what it needs in the proper quan
tities according to the class of crop. Detailed
solentifio experiments have been made and the
rosults given to the publio, aud the people have
not beon slow to adopt the systoms and sub
stances that have been proven practically to bo
successful. The main thing, of course, has
been to get a substance which was plentiful,
efficient and at the same time cheap.
Near Bouie of the largo cities in Europe
establishments have been put where night soil
Is collected, deodorized and prepared for fertil
izing purposes. Iu some of the English towns
the "pail" system of removing night soil hs
been adopted. This systom consists in placing
au iron pail under tho seat of tho privy to re
ceive tbe night soil, and which is removed as
frequently as necessary through a Btnall door.
The pails are covered with a lid and placed iu
a wajjou specially constructed for the purpose,
provided with a roof and doors at the sides for
tho admission and removal of tho pails. Au
empty pail is substituted for a full one at each
collection. This s stein is in vogue in six
or seven ot the principal towns in Lanca
shire, having originated in Rockdale. The
company which collects this material have
machinery, retort, etc.. for utilizing thn
sweepings of the streets. The sweepiugs are
exposed to an intense heat in the retorts and
aro converted into a finely pulverized charcoal.
This makes a very efficient charcoal solely from
street sweepiugs, aud available for deodorizing
jHirpunei), ueiug auapieu lor use in dry closets,
the wards of uosnitals. miullo urinals, months
of sowers, nnd for using with all kinds of oflVu
sive material. By its use all decomposing
uuMinrm are reuuereu pdriecuy uirmiess, so
that they may be removed without offence or
damage iu the daytime instead of at niuht.
On tho arrival at the yards of thewagou with
tho pails above spoken of, their coutents are
emptied into a shallow tuk formed iu the
floor of the shed aud a few shovelfuls of the
charcoal are ImmedUtely thrown on the
night soil. A reporter of the Elnt tr, who wit
uessed the operation say the effect is certainly
surprising, the offensive odor being immedi
ately removed. The mixture is theu well in
eorporated, placed in sack and sold for manure
at a very reasonable price, which, however,
leave a profit to the company. The street
weeping are also ground aud mixed with cer
tain proportion of clay aud then charred, in
which condition tbey are used for the filtratiou
of sewage, Tbe manure made by this process
is very good, as it it composed entirely of night
soil and carbonized street (weepings, which
latter contain a large quantity of animal drop
pings. Tbe work where this business i car
ried on were erected at Satford to ascertain.
experimentally, whether charcoal poiseuing
powerful deodorising properties could be mad
trout the street aweeuinc at a cost which would
be commercially profitable.
WILLAMKTTE FARMER.
Miscellaneous.
Salmon Hatching.
John Muir, the mountaineer geologist, has
made a tour this year through lbs foothills of
the Sierra, and his wanderings having brought
him to the McCloud river, he writes an interest
ing account of tbe fish breeding establishments
there. In 1873, one and a half million of e;gs
were procured and shipped; this year 5,752,600
eggs were obtained and distributed over the
United States, while 25,000 eggs were sent to
New Zealand. Of the operations Mr. Mulr
writes as follows:
Toward the end of August the McCloud river
salmon Are ready to spawn, and are then seen
pushing their way up toward the sources of the
river to deposit it. Mr. Stone has constructed
a salmon dam at this place which stretches
across the river from bank to bank. In front
of this dam the salmon collect in great num
bers, and keep up a constant plashing in their
efforts to leap over it. Most of them are un
successful, and fall back wearied and glad to
rest in the first slow-currented eddy. This
eddy is a few yards below the dam, and here
the tired salmon are captured, and the eggs
stripped from tbem into suitable vessels. The
eggs are then impregnated by pressing the milt
of the male salmon upon them, and stirring
them gently, so as to bring every egg in con
tact , with it. Tbe eggs, thus artificially
spawned and artificially fecundated, are then
placed in troughs through which a stream of
pure water, carefully filtered, is kept flowing.
The eggs measure about V. of an inch in diam
eter are piokin color, and look like ripe cur
rants. After they have been in the hatching
troughs about 1G days tbe eye-spots of tho
coining salmonets begin to appear, and tbey
are now reaoy lor snipment. Tbey are packed
in boxes, in layers spread upon mosquito net
ting, between layers of green, living moss, and
these boxes are packed in crotes with ice, to
keep tbem cool. In this way, with adequate
care and skill in handling, they 'may be sent
saioiy uy snip, wagon or ran, to great dis
tances. After arriving at their destination.
they are replaced in hatching-troughs similar
to inose irom wnence inev were taKen. and the
natcbing process continued until the young fry
break the shell and swim. In procuring the
5,752,500 eggs mentioned above, about 5,000
salmon were taken, more than half of which
were males.
Thus it will be seen that the berry-like eggs
or seeds are stripped from the salmon like peas
from a pod. The empty fish busks average
about fifteen pounds, and fall to the share of
tbe Indians, who dry them for winter. It is
supposed that all salmon die after yielding their
spawn even in the natural way. This destruc
tion, therofore, of so many handsome fish leg
umes need not be deplored. Here the eraestinn
is sure to rise, Why not capture the breeding
salmon and transport them alive to the waters
wbere tnoy are wanted, and allow them to
spawn and batch in their own natural way?
Before the disoovery of artificial fecundation
by Jacobi, this method was tbe only one known
and is still in practice to some extent. The
troutless streams that rush out from cool can
ons of the Sierra in the Owen's river valley
were stocked last year by a German, who pack
ed trout in cons on the backs of mules from
the King's river, Yosemite, over a pass of 12,
000 feet hight. But this more natural method
is too slow. Nature does not seem to think of
hatching more than one or two in a hundred of
the eggs that are spawned, whereas Mr. Stone
batches more than ninety-five per cent, by the
artificial method. In every hundred, Nature
gives one to the frog, one to the mink, one to
the Bnake, nnd one to the water ouel, etc.,
and hatches one into a salmon. In like man
ner the nut-eggs of pine trees, contained iu
burrs, aro sufficient for the food of many a
bird and squirrol as well as for the wants of
reproduction.
Artificial destruction has made lakes aud
rivers as barren as deserts, so far as fish-food
is concerned. Frior to the gold period the
Tuolumne abounded in Bulmon, but the mud
of mining destroyed them, or drove them away.
The Connecticut was also a salmon stream un
til obstructed by dams, ond poisoned by those
strangely-complicated filths for which our
civilizauon is peculiar. When fish-ladders ore
constructed over dams and the sewage of towns
and factories is consumed upon the land in
stead of being poured into the water, leaving
paths from the ocean to the spawning grounds
free aud clean, then our migratory .food fishes,
suoh as the shad nnd salmou, will again be
come abundant, and that ere long, provided
artificial destructions be compensated by arti
ficial reproductions.
Fish may bo inmed, and many, engage in
th-dr culture for the novelty of the thing, or
for a natural love of playing and chonng in an
ichtbyological atmosphere, but Stone and bis
fishy co-workers mean bread nnd business, and
their practical success, considering the infancy
of the piscicultural art and the magnitude of
the obsticles which had to be overcome, is
truly remarkable. '
Besides tbe hatching and distribution of Mc
Cloud salmou ova, Commissioner Stone
brought Bbad, bass, wbitefisb, eels, horn pouts
snd oysters from the East mostly for the fructi
fication of California waters. The first aqua
rium car destined for this State tumbled
through the railroad treMlework into the Elk
horn river with all its precious fry, much to
the discomfiture of Commissioner Stone, who
had not tho slightest Intention of thns casting
his shad upon the waters, though some may
grow aud bo found again after many days.
Nearly a million of tbe eggs taken here this
season have been fully batched and turned into
tbe McCloud river, from whence tbey were de
rived, nud for this host of wriggling fry the
State of California pays the Commission
$1,000.
The eggs batch out into finned fl alien In
about fifty days, more or less, according to the
temperature ot the water. When they break
ut Duen uey seem eager to try me, and Imme
diately ply their fins. They are then only half
an iuch loug, frail and semi-transparent, and
utterly incapable of giiuing an independent
living; but nature makes that all right by pro
viding each youngling with a bag of provisions
big enough to la.t six or seven weeks, and at
the end of this period tbey are grown suf
ficiently strong to shift for themselves. Their
provision sack are twice as heavy aud bulky
a tbeir bodies, aud tbey cannot swim far with
them at a time. Iu resting tbey frequently lean
bick or lie down upon their proiisions, just as
mountaineers do when weary and heavy lden.
Long may McCloud salmon swim.
Tut Occam's Floos. Before the times of
ocean telegraph cable, very little bad been
done in d.ep-sea sounding; but when tbe lay.
Ins ot ocean cable came first to be contempla
ted, and when it came afterward to b real
lied, the obtaining of numtrou sounding be
came a matter of eseutil practical importance,
and tbe indications are that tbe topography ol
tbe ocean' floor will aoon ha ilniui .. .u
I known a that of tbe dry land.
San Francisco Microscopical Society.
(From Pctno Bund Press.
The regular meeting of this Society was held
on Thursday of last week. W. R. Barbour
was elected a resident member. The principal
business of the meeting was a paper by Dr.
Harkness, giving a description of a fungus
found on the scorched willows in San Mateo
county, and which was presented to the
Academy of Sciences by Dr. Cooper at a meet
ing last month, supplementing the same by
oral descriptions of fungoid growth, using the
yeast plant and mushroom, which he exhibited
under the microscope, to illustrate the subject.
Dr. Harkness' naner was as follows : At tbe
last meeting of vour Society a specimen of
fungus found attached to a gummy exudation
upon the trunk of a willow was submitted to
me for examination. Having given the subject
a somewhat hasty examination I offer the fol
lowing report :
The willow gum on which the plant was dis
covered is of a dark red color, is readily
soluble ia water, but insoluble in alcohol, and
contains a considerable amount of sslicine.
Some few shrunken threads of mycelium are
still to be traced upon its surface; it, of course,
having served as the parent of the plant. Tbe
enlarged filamentous hyphra is, however, tbe
portion of greatest interest. The hypbte is of
n bright, orange color, of an inch or more in
length, and is enveloped in a gummy substance
umalgamous to that on which the plant is found.
This gummv envelon is not soluble in alcohol.
while in water this, together with the cell struc
ture of the plant, is rapidly dissolved. The
structure of the plant is not readily made out.
By allowing glycerine to flow under the covering
glass, using tbe spot lens and a objective, a
taint trace ot spiral tubes may be detected run
ning through the long diameter of the plant.
Treated in the same manner under a -inch
objective, indications of transverse stria) become
apparent, marking the boundaries of cells.
On applying a strong tincture of iodine these
strita become still more conspicuous. In al
mond oil slight traces of imbricated cells of
the epiderm appear. Its method of growth is
doubtless nnalagous to that of all other plants
of this genus.
Its method or reproduction is by conjugation,
as it would appear, although I om unable this
evening to demonstrate the actual presence of
the exhausted male plant. My conclu-ions,
however, are based on the following facts : On
placing a portion of a filament on an uncovered
slide with the half-inch objective, and adding
water, the plant immediately begins to swell,
and slight protuberances arm earing on one
side, corresponding to those seen in the Zyg
nema and other varieties of the conjugating
confervre. As the gummy envelop is dissolved
away from the protuberances, motile gonidia
spores are discharged in enormous numoers.
In this experiment we obtain no further proof
(except by the appearance of the protuberances)
of the existence of the mnle plant. In the con
ferva) we see the cells, exhausted of their pro
toplasm, lying at an appreciable distance from
those of the spore-producing plant. In tho
present instance tbe exhausted cell is in such
complete contact that the moisture which acts
on the one instantly obliterates the other. If
we use acetic acid in the same manner as in
the preceding experiment, we find that the
acid acts still more energetically than water;
and on the instant of disruntion we mav occa
sionally catch a glimpse of the two bodies flying
away in opposite directions.
Tho gonidia spores are exceedingly minute;
uuiuu iu buuiio, una ia tneir Bnoriest measure
ment being less than a twenty-thousandth of
au inch in diameter. With n-half or a fourth
objective and a spot lens, if we allow glycerine
and camphor water to flow gradually under the
covering glass, the action is less violent, and
we miyat our leisure observe tbe spores as
theyRwim away in the fluid prepelled by their
moving cilia. Aside from their scientific value
they form a very pleasing picture as the glint
ing light plays upou their sides with every
change in position. I am unable to class the
plant with ony described variety, yet I dare
not say that it is new to soience. The charac
teristics which I have described, however,
would seem to preclude the possibility of its
complete development in nny other than a dry
climate.
Improved Enobavinq Process. Some novel
and interesting facts, observed by M. Gourdon,
in the action of acids upon zino covered with
certain metals have been communicated bv
him to the French Academy of Sciences.
Zinc plunged into dilute solutions of sulphuric, j
nyurocniono ana acetio acids, is attacked only
at the points where other metals are present,
tDe metals which produce this phenomenon
with most intensity being cobalt, platinnm,
nickel and iron. Now, ammoniacal chloride of
cobalt renders it possible to perforate zino with
water containing only one ten-thousandth patt
of sulphuria acid; and M. Gourdon applies
these results, in a very ingenious manner, to
various procedures for engraving. He states
that, by writing upon zino with different met
alllo inks, making nse of the most aotive, con
taining salts of cobalt, for the blackest parts,
aud passing it then iuto acidulated water, an
engraved plate is obtained. To renrndnrn
leaves or plants, they are soaked in solutions I
ui uieiuiiiu sans, ana appiiea to tne zino,
which is then treated with weak acid. M.
Gourdon has also discovered a new kind of he
ltocranhio euoravinu bv tranafrirrinotlm si1.
from an ordinary photographic proof upon the '
zino. which can be attacked bv the acids in thn
parts where tbe silver has been deposited a '
discovery evidently susceptible, when fully de-
vciupuu, vi imeresuug results.
A New Theobt or Electbioitt. Professor '
Edluud, a Swedish physicist, expounds in a
recent work a new theory of electricity, the
substance of which is as follows: He stirmnaan
the existence of a highly subtle and elastic i
ciucr, tucrywuere present, oom in vacuo and in
ponderable matter. Two molecules of this '
ether are mutually repelled along the line of '
their connection, and in inverse rutin r ti,a
squares of the distances. In good conductors I
the molecules are displaced easily from point to j
r""vt fc wiuy jireBuuieu mat mey can be1
moved with little force. If the bodv be a nun. ,'
conductor, this mobility Is arrested, and de
pends on tho molecules of the material body.
A molecule is at rest from the moment when
. . 1 I
It is equally repelled on all sides. If the repul
sion be less at one side than at tbe other, the
body will move if it be free in the direction of
the resulting forces.
uThk..Lirowt Mawse Enoine istheWobld.
The Messager de Cronstadl says that on the
30th ult. tbe engines of tbe new armor-plated
double turret-ship "Pierre Ie Grand" were
tried in the basin at CronsUdt. Thl colosssl
engine i of 1,400 horse-power nominal, aud is
tbe moat powerful that has yet been placed in
an armor-plated ship, 1,350 horse nominal be
ing the power of tbe engine in tbe English
ships "Minotaur," "Northumberland" and
"Agincourt." The engine worked from the
first moment admirably, and were kept going
for eight hoar without any necessity arising
for (topping tbem.
Ax Expensive Road. A curioa experiment
in paving i being tried at Liege. Tbe road is
first paved with itoa. than covered with a
phalte, and ontbU are laid block of cast iron,
two inebe thick a rather coitly kind ol road
Patent Nonsense.
From Mining and Scientific. Press.
It is really amusing to read some of the
criticisms of the daily press on our Patent Law.
The following article we clip from the Daily
Evening Post of this city, dated Nov. 2d. :
"When the United States grants letters
J mtent to an inventor it declares only that the
nvention if new and original is one which can
be patented Tbe inventor no doubt believes
that he is tbe first inventor, but in nine cases
out of ten where an invention is useful it turns
out that some one has previously invented the
same thing, though he has failed to bring it
into publio use. Inventors and purchasers of
new. patents often do not find this ont until
they have invested large sums of money in
procuring, perfecting and working the patent.
The knowledge of this fact enables speculators
to get hold of new and valuable inventions by
ransacking the archives for forgotten inventions
of a similar character, purchasing them for a
song, and then frightening owners of meritori
ous inventions into giving away half or three
fourths of their interest to save the balanoe and
avoid litigation. It is now seriously urged by
some of the Eastern Press that the patent laws
should be changed, and that tbe search for
prior inventions should precede instead of fol
lowing tbe issue of the letters patent. In the
patent office are the only full records of United
States patents. Their number is great, and is
increasing rapidly every week, but as tbey are
classified, experts could in a reasonable time
make the necessary search. It is suggested
that it would be well even to increase tbe fees
if necessary, for tbe inventor could better nf.
ford to pay $160 to his agent for a patent which,
like nny United States catent for a Dortion nf
the public domain, would be unassailable and
irrevocable, than to pay $40 for a patent which
proves nothing, not even that somebody else
had not two years before reoeived a patent for
identically the same invention."
The writer of the above article evidently did
not know that a corps of seventy-one examiners
are constantly employed in the United States
patent office, examining iuto the novelty of
patent applications beore thepatents are granted.
If he bad ever made an application for a pat
ent be would have learned that his application
had to pass through an ordeal of examination
previous to its allowance by the office that
would astonish bis innocent ignorance. Ten
to one be would find himself rejected on refer
ences that would require a wonderful stretohof
mechanical imagination to discover any similar
ity between them and his invention. Yet with all
this strictness of examination before granting
patents, duplicate patents are sometimes issued;
and that such is the fact is no wonder, when
we consider the multitude of patents which
have been issued from the office, and tbe num
ber requiring to be examined daily in order to
keep the work of the office from running far
behind.
The trouble, we apprehend, is with the pat
entees themselves. It is too often the case that
when an inventor improves some old machine
and secures a patent for his improvements,
that he either through ignorance or wilfully
represents that bis patent covers tbe entire
machine, whereas it only covers the improve
ments. In such a case the trouble complained
of by the Post would certainly occnr; but our
system of examinations and granting and issu
ing patents is correct, nnd our Government al
ways sustains a patent when it is possible, for
all that it covers.
DEWEY &, CO.,
American & Foreign Patent Agents,
OFFICE. 221 SANSOME STREET, S. F.
The best, speediest, and surest method for yon
to obtain patents, file caveats, or transact
any other important business with the Patent
Office at Washington, or with foreign coun
tries, is through the agency of DEWEx" a.
CO., PUBLISHERS OF THE MINING
AND SCIENTIFIC PRESS, SAN FRAN
CISCO, nn able, responsible, and long-estab-
usuea nrm, ana tne principal agents on tnis
side of the continent. They refer to the thous
ands of inventors who have patronized them,
and to all prominent business men of the
Pacifio Coast, who are more or less familiar
with their reputation as straightforward jour
nalists and patent solicitors and counsellors.
We not enly more readily apprehend the points
and secure much more fully and quickly the
patents for our home inventors, but with the
influence of our carefully read and extensively
circulated journals, we are enabled to illus
trate tbe intrinsic merits of good patents, and
secure a due reward to the inventor, besides
serving the public who nre more ready to give
a fair trial, and adopt a good thing, upon
the recommendation of honest aud intelligent
publishers.
To Obtain a Patent,
A well-constructed model is generally first need
ed, if the invention can well be thns illustrated.
It must not exceed 12 inohes in length or
bight. When practicable, a smaller model ia
even more desirable. Paint or engrave the
name of the article, and tbe name of tbe
inventor, and bis address upon it.
9eni tbe model (by express or other reliable
conveyance), plainly addressed, to "Dkwbt
& Co., Mining) and Boientitio Pbess Omens,
San Francisco." At the same time, send a
full description, embodying all the ideas and
claims of the inventor respecting the im
provement describing the various parts and
tucir ujJcrauuuB,
so 8end $15 currency, amount of first fee of
the Government. The case will be placed on
our regular file, the drawings executed, and
the documents made ud. and soon sent in th
inventor lor signing.
Aa Boon as signed and returned to us with the
'ee then due us, it will be sent straightway
u u ruwui wince ut nasnngton
For designs no models are necessarv. Dnnll.
. . . . . .- -- - a
cate drawings are required, and the speciflca-
uuus buu utuer papers snouia be made up
with care and accuracy. In some instances for
design patents two photographs, with the
negative, answer well instead of drawings.
For further information, send a stamp for our
illustrated circular, containing a digest of Pi
txki Laws, 112 illustrated mechanical move
ments, and Hints and Instbuctions regarding
the BioBTs and rnrvrLEOEs of inventors and
patentees, which will be famished post paid.
Also a copy of NEW PATENT LAW of 1870.
When tbe invention consists of a new artiole of
manufacture, a medicine, or a new composi
tion, samples of the separated ingredient,
sufficient to make tbe experiment (unles
they are of a common and well-known char
acter), and also of tbe manufactured article
iUeli.must be furnished, with full description
of the entire preparation.
For Prooeasea, frequently no model or drawing
are necessary. In uch case, tbe applicant
has only to send n an exact description, and
what ia desirable to claim.
A.UrM dbwex M CO.,
Fcbusbb. rATnrr lam ad KaaaATaw
Ha. Imm atrnt, ft. t.