Ant Trap. (open access)

Ant Trap.

Patent for a new and improved ant trap. This design calls for a tank of water to be buried in the ground and a collar of cheap material to be attached to the tank and placed over the mouth of an anthill. The concave nature of the collar prevents ants from climbing out of it, so they are forced into the water tank, where they drown; the design is cheaper and less toxic than previous designs.
Date: November 22, 1881
Creator: Arnett, Sandridge Thomas
System: The Portal to Texas History
Apparatus for Treating Timber, Railway Ties, &c. (open access)

Apparatus for Treating Timber, Railway Ties, &c.

Patent for a new and improved apparatus for treating and preserving. This design "insure[s] the complete and perfect treatment or impregnation of timber of varying hardness and density, and to provide a portable organization of apparatus by which timber at various points or stations along the line of a railroad can be treated with great facility, efficiency, and economy" (lines 12-19).
Date: November 22, 1881
Creator: Kreuter, Hugh E.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Bench Plane. (open access)

Bench Plane.

Patent for a new and improved bench plane. This design "consists in a stirrup pivoted to the sides of the plane in such a manner that the traverse piece of the stirrup passes through a transverse groove in the under surface of the plane, this groove increasing in height toward the rear of the plane, so that when the plane is drawn backward it will be slightly raised by this stirrup, so that the cutting-edge of the plane-iron cannot slide on the board being planed" (lines 10-19).
Date: November 22, 1881
Creator: Sawyer, George Frederic
System: The Portal to Texas History
Hub Attaching Device. (open access)

Hub Attaching Device.

Patent for a new and improved arrangement of axles and boxes for vehicles. This design calls for a solid axle formed with a shoulder and screw-threads, an axle-box closed at its outer and provided at the other end with an annular wall, a collar formed with internal screw-threads, annular flange, bearing surface, wrench-gripe surfaces, and a cap or ring (lines 16-22).
Date: November 22, 1881
Creator: Warth, August
System: The Portal to Texas History
Hay-Press (open access)

Hay-Press

Patent for improvements in the construction and design of hay presses.
Date: November 22, 1887
Creator: Flato, Friderich W.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Harrow. (open access)

Harrow.

Patent for a new and improved harrow. This design "consist[s] of a central longitudinal beam having perforations, the jointed toothed frame pivoted to supports on the beam, the handles connected at their forward ends to the said beam, the brace-rods pivoted to the handles and to a cross-bar resting on the beam, and the vertical bolt adapted to the perforations in the beam to adjust the cross-bar thereupon, and thereby raise and lower the handles" (lines 85-94).
Date: November 22, 1887
Creator: Wilson, William H.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton Stalk Cutter and Puller. (open access)

Cotton Stalk Cutter and Puller.

Patent for a new and improved cotton-stalk cutter and puller. This design "is to facilitate the removal of cotton-stalks from land in preparing it for subsequent cultivation" (lines 17-19).
Date: November 22, 1881
Creator: Richardson, William B.
System: The Portal to Texas History