atents which yield yearly more profit to their
fortunate possessors than could be accumulated in a lifetime by a
wage-earner.

[Sidenote: Independence through Successful Invention.]

There are thousands of patents sold outright every year by the patentees
of the United States for thousands of dollars; and, to the already long
list of successful inventors, each year adds many more, who have become
independent through the proper handling of the product of their
ingenuity. Indeed there can hardly be conceived a quicker way for the
average person to attain independence and wealth than by inventing
something of real worth and merit that can be quickly turned into money.
The inventive field is large, and each invention opens up a new field
for improvements, and it is the "improver," without question, that reaps
the greatest benefit from any invention. Owing to the ever forward
progress of civilization, there is no limit to the possible improvements
in the sciences, arts, and manufactures.

[Sidenote: Unprofitable Patents.]

It must, however, be borne in mind that all patents are not
remunerative, neither are all gold mines productive of fortunes, and one
may lose money in patents as well as in any other business. There are
thousands of patents, many having merit no doubt, which have never been
sufficiently brought before the public to test their merits, effect
their sale, or manufacture; this in many instances is owing to
incompetency, or bad management on the part of the patentee or his
agents. There are thousands of other patents that do not prove
remunerative because they do not supply a real want, while still others
are such slight improvements upon existing inventions that they
necessitate such narrow claims, which render the patent of little or no
value. One has only to look over the weekly issue of patents to see many
of the last class.

As before stated, while there are many thousands of patents that do not
pay--and many no doubt cause their owners disaster, as is the case in
any other business or investment; on the other hand, the far greater
proportion of patents granted are productive of handsome profits, if
properly managed.

[Sidenote: Money in Patents.]

That the majority of patents taken out prove lucrative is evident from
the fact that upward of seventy thousand applications for patents and
designs are filed each year in the United States Patent Office, and
approximately eight hundred are granted and