This list, if complete, would fill volumes, but it would be a story with the same ending in each and every case.
A careful study of the reason why all the above patents have proved to be so successful emphasizes the fact that inventors, to succeed, must not lose sight of the Six Cardinal Tests enumerated elsewhere in this volume.
REMIND US OF INVENTIONS THAT HAVE BROUGHT FAME AND WEALTH
CHAPTER V.
FIELD OF INVENTION
"If a man can write a better book, preach a better sermon, or make a better mouse-trap than his neighbor, though he build his house in the woods, the world will make a beaten pathway to his door."—Emerson.
Inventions, to possess commercial merit, must supersede in utility similar devices already on the market. They must also possess capacity for production at lower cost, as well as having conspicuously superior merit. The field of invention is a broad one, and embraces any new electrical appliances, engineering devices, improvements in steam navigation, agricultural implements, railways, household novelties, novelties in hardware and tools, pencils and toys, vehicles, furniture, toilet articles, wearing apparel, office appliances and devices.
INVENTIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED.