Corn Planter. (open access)

Corn Planter.

Patent for a new and improved planter. This design consists in "[t]he combination of the frame and the hopper having the closed bottom and the openings in one side, with the driving-wheel, having the tappet-pins, the seed-slides having the openings or cups, the fulcrumed levers actuated by the tappet-pins, and connected to the lower ends of the seed-slides, and the cord or strap passing over the sheave, and secured to the free ends of the levers, whereby the seed-slides are reciprocated alternately in opposite directions" (lines 74-84).
Date: September 1, 1885
Creator: Easley, Levi
System: The Portal to Texas History
Washing-Machine. (open access)

Washing-Machine.

Patent for an improvement to washing machines that will be "simple and economical in construction and efficient in use" (lines 13-14).
Date: September 1, 1885
Creator: Austin, John Overton
System: The Portal to Texas History
Tug and Hip Strap Attachment for Harness. (open access)

Tug and Hip Strap Attachment for Harness.

Patent for a new and improved tug and hip strap attachment for harnesses. This design "relates to an improved tug and hip strap attachment for harness which shall admit of the rapid and convenient attachment or detachment of the horse or horses to or from the vehicle, and which, in case the animal becomes unruly, shall enable it to be instantly detached, thereby avoiding danger of accidents; and it has for its object to provide a device of this class which shall possess superior advantages in point of simplicity, durability, and general efficiency" (lines 22-32).
Date: September 1, 1885
Creator: Lain, John James
System: The Portal to Texas History
Stalk-Cutter (open access)

Stalk-Cutter

Patent for an improved stalk-cutter granted to Reuben L. Price. Improvements made to more effectively trim stalks over uneven ground.
Date: September 1, 1885
Creator: Price, Reuben L.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Plow. (open access)

Plow.

Patent for a new and improved plow. This design consists in "[t]he combination, with a plow, of the landside share attachment, provided with the horizontal blade, sloping outward from the point of the plow, made sharp on the said sloping-edge, and having the flange projecting upward from the horizontal blade, and the bolts for securing the said flange and plow together, and the removable landside attachment" (lines 81-89).
Date: September 1, 1885
Creator: Cummins, John Randolph
System: The Portal to Texas History
Motor. (open access)

Motor.

Patent for a new and improved motor. This design "relates to improvements in motors in which a screw or spiral operates in conjunction with suitable gearing; and the object of my improvement is to convert a vertically-reciprocating motion into a rotary for driving any light machinery" (lines 15-20).
Date: September 1, 1885
Creator: Chisholm, Toliver Lynn
System: The Portal to Texas History
Gate (open access)

Gate

Patent for new and useful improvement in farm-gate which cane be opened by a man on a horse or in a vehicle
Date: September 1, 1885
Creator: Wilson, John G.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Mosquito Net Frame. (open access)

Mosquito Net Frame.

Patent for a new and improved mosquito net frame. This design consists in "[t]he combination of two side posts having pivots, the horizontal arms working on said pivots, the bar connecting the tops of said posts, and the extensible bar connecting the arm ends, the whole adapted to be used on a bedstead" (lines 70-75).
Date: September 1, 1885
Creator: Watson, Thomas A.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton-Seed Planter (open access)

Cotton-Seed Planter

Patent for a new and improved cotton-seed planter. The design "in which the cotton-seeds in the hopper is fed down through the feed-opening of the same by vibrating teeth." (p. 1; lines 15-17) including instructions and illustrations.
Date: September 1, 1885
Creator: Elliston, John J.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton compressor (open access)

Cotton compressor

Patent for cotton compressor using platens, bearings, pulleys, levels, rods and shafts.
Date: September 1, 1885
Creator: Brown, Maurice T.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Sinking Hydraulic Piles. (open access)

Sinking Hydraulic Piles.

Patent for new and improved sinking hydraulic piles. This design has for its object "the sinking of wooden or other piles in quicksand or ground in which the lateral pressure upon the piles practically prevents their being driven beyond a certain depth. To that end [the design] make[s] use of a jet of water supplied at the entering-point of the pile, and in connection therewith [the design] also use[s] weight applied at the upper end of the pile" (lines 8-16).
Date: September 1, 1885
Creator: Blake, Lowell Everett.
System: The Portal to Texas History