Section 4888. Before any inventor or discoverer shall receive a patent for his invention or discovery, he shall make application therefor, in writing, to the Commissioner of Patents, and shall file in the Patent Office a written description of the same, and of the manner and process of making, constructing, compounding, and using it, in such full, clear, concise and exact terms, as to enable any person skilled in the art or science to which it appertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make, construct, compound, and use the same; and in case of a machine, he shall explain the principle thereof and the best mode in which he has contemplated applying that principle, so as to distinguish it from other inventions; and he shall particularly point out and distinctly claim that part, improvement or combination which he claims as his invention or discovery. The specification and claim shall be signed by the inventor and attested by two witnesses.

It is also required by law that when "The case admits of drawings," it shall be properly ill.u.s.trated; and also, if the Commissioner requires it, that a model shall be furnished in cases capable of such demonstration.

The cost of obtaining Letters Patent in ordinary cases is: First, Government fees, $15; counsel fees, including drawings, $25; second, or final Government fees, to be paid within six months from date of allowance, $20; total, $60.

DESIGNS.--A design patent can be obtained for novelties in the shape of configuration of articles, or impressions by any means whatever. These patents are of great value to the trade.

The Government fees for a design patent are:

On filing every application for a design patent $10.00 On issuing a design patent for 3-1/2 years no further charge.

On issuing a design patent for 7 years 5.00 On issuing a design patent for 14 years 20.00

CAVEATS.--A caveat is a confidential communication used in the Patent Office, and it consists of a specification, drawings, oath and pet.i.tion. The specification must contain a clear description of the intended invention.

HOW A COPYRIGHT IS SECURED.--The method by which a copyright is obtained under the revised acts of Congress is as simple and inexpensive as can be reasonably asked. All unnecessary red tape is dispensed with, and the cost to the author who is seeking thus to protect himself in the enjoyment of the profits of his work, is so small as to be scarcely appreciable. This is an example of cheapness and directness toward which all branches of public administration should tend, if a government is to fulfill its proper mission of serving the people without needlessly taxing them. Directions have lately been issued for the guidance of persons wishing to obtain copyrights; and, as many of our readers may not be conversant with the subject, we give a brief abstract of the process.

The first thing necessary is to send a printed copy of the t.i.tle of the work, plainly directed to "Librarian of Congress, Washington, D.C."

The copyright law applies not only to books, pamphlets and newspapers, but also to maps, charts, photographs, paintings, drawings, music, statuary, etc. If there is a t.i.tle page, send that; if not, a t.i.tle must be printed expressly for the purpose, and in both cases the name of the author or claimant of copyright must accompany the t.i.tle. Use no smaller paper than commercial note.

A remittance of one dollar must be made along with the application.

This is the whole charge--half of it being for the entry on the record, and the other half for your certificate, which the Librarian will send you promptly by mail. You will of course prepay your postage.

Within ten days after your book, or other article, is published, you are required to send two complete copies of the best edition to the Librarian, addressed as before, prepaying postage; or the Librarian will furnish "penalty labels," under which they can be sent free of postage. If this deposit of copies is neglected, the copyright is void, and you are liable to fine of $25.

The law requires that on the t.i.tle page of a copyrighted work, or some part of the drawing, painting, statue, or whatever it may be, there shall be printed these words: "Entered according to act of Congress, in the year ----, by ----, in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington;" or, if preferred, this briefer form may be used: "Copyright, 18--, by ----." To this may be added, "Right of translation reserved," or "All rights reserved;" but in that case the Librarian must have been duly notified, so that he may include it in the record.

Any person who prints the copyright notice on his work without having obtained a copyright, is liable to a penalty of $1.00. The original term of a copyright runs for twenty-eight years, and it may then be renewed for a further term of fourteen years, either by the author or by his widow or children, application being made not less than six months before the expiration of the right. Trade marks and labels cannot be copyrighted under this law, but are provided for by a separate act, relating to matters of detail, which cannot here be recited, but in regard to which, the Librarian at Washington will give the needed information whenever required.

TRADE MARKS, LABELS, PRINTS, ETC.--Copyrights cannot be granted upon trade marks, nor upon mere names of companies or articles, nor upon prints or labels intended to be used with any article of manufacture.

If protection for such names or labels is desired, application must be made to the Patent Office, where they are registered at a fee of $6 for labels, and $25 for trade marks.

By the word "print" is meant any device, word, or figures (not a trade mark) impressed directly upon the article, to denote the name of the manufacturer, etc.

By the word "label" is meant a slip of paper, or other material, to be attached to manufactured articles, or to packages containing them, and bearing the name of the manufacturer, directions for use, etc.

WATER ICES.--Some make these with acid, water, flavor, and the whites of eggs. _No good._

The best rules for the amount of sugar is to suit your taste.

FRANGIPANNA.--Spirits one gallon, Oil Bergamot one ounce, Oil of Lemon one ounce; macerate for four days, frequently shaking; then add Water one gallon, Orange Flower Water one pint, Essence of Vanilla two ounces. Mix.

SILVERING POWDER.--Nitrate of Silver and common Salt, of each thirty grains, Cream of Tartar three and one-half drachms. Pulverize finely, mix thoroughly, and bottle for use. Unequaled for polishing copper and plated goods.

EXTRACT OF LEMON.--Three ounces Oil Lemon; cut with 95 proof Alcohol; add one gallon 80 proof Alcohol, and filter through cotton or felt. Put up in two ounce bottles. Sells for 25 cents; jobs at $1.00 and $1.50 according to quality and style of package.

BALM OF A THOUSAND FLOWERS.--Deodorized Alcohol one pint, nice white Bar Soap four ounces; shave the soap when put in, stand in a warm place till dissolved, then add Oil of Citronella one drachm, and Oils of Neroli and Rosemary, of each one-half drachm.

TIN CANS.--Size of sheet for from 1 to 100 gallons:

For 1 gallon 7 by 20 ins.

For 3-1/2 gallons 10 by 28 ins.

For 5 gallons 12 by 40 ins.

For 6 gallons 14 by 40 ins.

For 10 gallons 20 by 42 ins.

For 15 gallons 30 to 42 ins.

For 25 gallons 30 by 56 ins.

For 40 gallons 36 by 63 ins.

For 50 gallons 40 by 70 ins.

For 75 gallons 40 by 84 ins.

For 100 gallons 40 by 98 ins.

This includes all laps, seams, etc., which will be found sufficiently correct for all practical purposes.

MOULDS AND DIES.--Copper, Zinc and Silver in equal proportions, melt together under a coat of powdered charcoal, and mould into the form you desire. Bring them to nearly a white heat, and lay on the thing you would take an impression of, press with sufficient force, and you will get a perfect and beautiful impression.

INDESTRUCTIBLE LAMP WICKS.--Steep common wicks in a concentrated aqueous solution of Tungstate of Soda, and then dry thoroughly in an oven.

A GOLD PLATE FOR SMALL ARTICLES, WITHOUT A BATTERY.--Digest a small fragment of gold with about ten times its weight of mercury until it is dissolved, shake the amalgam together in a bottle, and after cleansing the articles, coat them uniformly with the amalgam. Then expose them on an iron tray heated to low redness for a few minutes. The mercury volatilizes, leaving the gold attached as a thin coating to the article. The heating should be done in a stove, so that the poisonous mercurial fumes may pa.s.s up the chimney.

A GELATINE MOULD FOR CASTING PLASTER ORNAMENTS.--Allow twelve ounces of Gelatine to soak for a few hours in water, until it has absorbed as much as it can, then apply heat, by which it will liquify. If the mould is required to be elastic, add three ounces of Treacle, and mix well with the Gelatine. If a little Chrome Alum (precise proportions are immaterial) be added to the Gelatine, it causes it to lose its property of being again dissolved in water. A saturated solution of Bichromate of Potash brushed over the surface of the mould, allowed to become dry and afterwards exposed to sunlight for a few minutes, renders the surface so hard as to be unaffected by moisture.

IMITATION OF GROUND GLa.s.s.--The following is from an Antwerp scientific journal. Paint the gla.s.s with the following varnishes: Sandarac eighteen drachms, Mastic four drachms, Ether twenty-four ounces, Benzine six to eighteen ounces. The more Benzine the coa.r.s.er the grain of imitation gla.s.s will be.

UNSHRINKABLE PATTERNS.--The best mixture for small patterns, that does not shrink in casting, is sixty-nine parts Lead, fifteen and one-half parts Antimony, fifteen and one-half parts Bis.m.u.th, by weight. A cheap kind for finished patterns can be made of ten parts Zinc, one part Antimony, one part Tin.

TO MAKE ARTIFICIAL MARBLE FOR PAPER WEIGHTS OR OTHER FANCY ARTICLES.--Soak Plaster of Paris in a solution of Alum, bake it in an over, and then grind it to a powder. In using mix it with water, and to produce the clouds and veins stir in any dry color you wish; this will become very hard, and is susceptible of a very high polish.

MOLDS OF GLUE AND MOLa.s.sES, SUCH AS RODGERS USES FOR MAKING HIS STATUETTES.--The flexible moulds referred to are prepared as follows: Glue eight pounds, Mola.s.ses (New Orleans) seven pounds. Soak the Glue over night in a small quant.i.ty of cold water, then melt it by heat over a salt water bath, stir until froth begins to rise, then add and stir in briskly the Mola.s.ses previously heated. Continue to heat and stir the mixture for about half an hour; then pour.

TO CLARIFY LIQUIDS.--The following composition is said to bleach all colored liquids, and to render bone-black perfectly unnecessary: Alb.u.men three hundred, Neutral Tartrate of Potash two, Alum five, Sal Ammoniac seven hundred parts. The Alb.u.men must of course not be coagulated. The ingredients are first dissolved in a little water and then added to the liquid to be clarified.

TO PREVENT STORE WINDOWS FROM STEAMING.--J. F. writes: I am about to have the front show windows of my store inclosed with inside windows.

Can you tell any way to prevent the outside windows frosting in cold weather? A. Clean the gla.s.s occasionally with a cloth moistened with pure Glycerine, wiping it so as to leave only a trace of the Glycerine adhering to the surface--this on the inside.

ARTIFICIAL INDIA RUBBER.--A cheap and useful subst.i.tute for Indian rubber is prepared by mixing a thick solution of Glue with Tungstate of Soda and Hydrochloric Acid. A compound of Tungstic Acid and Glue is precipitated, which at a temperature of 86 degrees to 104 degrees F. is sufficiently elastic to admit of being drawn out into very thin sheets.

On cooling this ma.s.s becomes solid and brittle, but on being heated is again soft and plastic. This new compound can be used for many of the purposes to which rubber is adapted.

RUBBER STAMPS FOR PHOTOGRAPHS.--Many photographers employ a rubber stamp for imprinting the backs of mounts, and in these circ.u.mstances a good ink is very essential. Here is the recipe for making one quoted from the _Engineer_, and said to yield an excellent ink which, while not drying on the pad, will yet not readily smear when impressed upon paper: Aniline Red (Violet) one hundred and eighty grains, distilled Water two ounces, Glycerine one teaspoonful, Treacle one-half teaspoonful. The crystals of Aniline are powdered and dissolved in the boiling distilled water, and the other ingredients then added.

A GOOD IDEA.--_How to Remove Pain and Soreness from Wounds._ The value of the smoke from burned wool to remove the pain and soreness from wounds of all kinds, or from sores, is great, and it will give immediately relief from the intense pain caused by a gathering. The easiest way to prepare this is to cut all-wool flannel--if you haven't the wool--into narrow strips, take some hot ashes with a few small live coals on a shovel, sprinkle some of the flannel strips on it, and hold the injured member in the smoke for five or ten minutes, using plenty of flannel to make a thick smoke. Repeat as often as seems necessary, though one smoking is usually enough.

CHILBLAINS.--We glean two prescriptions from the _British Medical Journal_. They are now being used in this country, and with good results. Lin. Belladonnae two drachms, Lin. Aconita one drachm, Acid Carbolici six minims, Collod. Flexil one ounce.

Mix and apply every night with a camel's hair pencil, Collod. Flexil four drachms, Oleiricini four drachms, Spt. Tereb, four drachms. Use three times daily with camel's hair brush.

SAID TO BE GOOD FOR GRIP.--Anything that affords hope of relief from Grip is of interest. Pauline Crayson writes from Cranford, N.J., to _New York Tribune_, saying: "I have found Peroxide of Hydrogen (medicinal) a marvelous remedy in the treatment of grip and influenza.

This medicine should be diluted with water and administered internally, and by snuffing through the nostrils or by spraying the nostrils and throat. I believe the good results from this treatment, which I have never known to fail of producing a speedy cure, are due to the destruction of the microbe upon which this disease depends." The remedy is simple and within the reach of everybody, and can easily be tested.