Tree Protector. (open access)

Tree Protector.

Patent for a new and improved tree protector. This design "provide[s] the means whereby fruit-trees, ornamental trees, and other trees may be protected against the ravages of the cutting-ant and other crawling insects" (lines 35-39).
Date: February 28, 1882
Creator: Hornung, August & Fuos, Adolph Hermann
System: The Portal to Texas History
Carriage Curtain Fastener. (open access)

Carriage Curtain Fastener.

Patent for a new and improved curtain fastener for carriages. This design is "an improvement upon that particular form of curtain-fasteners . . . in which a sleeve or barrel having a rotary and sliding movement on a spring-encircled shank or post is provided with a wing or projection for effecting the connection of said sleeve or barrel with the eyelet or grommet of the curtain . . . which will effectually prevent the accidental disengagement of the curtain" (lines 18-29).
Date: July 12, 1881
Creator: Paschal, Thomas M.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Wheel-Plow. (open access)

Wheel-Plow.

Patent for improvements in wheeled-plow by adding inner and outer guide to the bent axle and an adjusting device to the stop-plate; these additions enable the plow adjustment process effortless. Illustration is included.
Date: August 17, 1880
Creator: Reuss, John L.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Insecticide. (open access)

Insecticide.

Patent for a compound to kill insects, formula and instruction on how to mix the ingredients are included. No illustration.
Date: August 27, 1889
Creator: Smith, Byrd
System: The Portal to Texas History
Auger. (open access)

Auger.

Patent for a new and improved auger. This design consists in "[t]he combination of a shank provided with a conveying-screw and the cutters at the lower end of the screw, the sides of the cutters being extended beyond a vertical line drawn across the edges of the screw, and a tube or casing enclosing the screw and connected at its lower end with the cutters, said tube being of less diameter than the cutters and arranged within the outer sides thereof" (lines 56-64).
Date: August 23, 1887
Creator: Tevebaugh, Henry Clay
System: The Portal to Texas History
Car Coupling. (open access)

Car Coupling.

Patent for a new and improved coupling for railroad cars. This design consists in a link-guide support "pivoted to the underside of the car, the link-guide pivoted to the front end of the support, the spring arranged between the guide and the support, the yoke secured to the car, and the spring supported by said yoke and bearing against the link-guide support" (lines 1-6).
Date: July 2, 1889
Creator: Wash, Thomas Henry & Wash, Nathan Robert Hodge
System: The Portal to Texas History