sures the utmost accuracy of flight. The tongue E, instead of being applied to the target, may constitute part of the trap or sender, being in this case so arranged as to readily slip out of the slot D when said trap is sprung; or said tongue may be twisted so as to have somewhat of a spiral shape for the purpose of imparting a wabbling motion to the target."

Having invented such concave or dish-shaped flying target, Ligowsky afterwards received letters patent No. 252,230, dated January 10, 1882, for an improved target trap. In the description of this patent he says:

"The object of this invention is to furnish a trap especially adapted for throwing the peculiar form of flying targets seen in letters patent No. 231,919, granted to me September 7, 1880; and the trap consists essentially, of a springlever, target-clamp, trigger, adjustable standard, and devices for maintaining said standard at any desired inclination. The trap is usually em

When this

ployed for imparting a horizontal flight to the target. sweeping motion of the lever has attained its maximum velocity the tongue of the target is automatically disengaged from the clamp r' s', and said target skims off with a spinning action that closely imitates the flight of a quail; but the moment this maximum velocity has been reached the further sweep of the lever is gradually arrested on its own coil p, thereby preventing a violent jar or concussion, and thus obviating the breakage of the target, which latter, being composed of a fragile material, would be shattered to pieces in case the lever should be checked with a sudden stop, as is customary with those traps employed for throwing the ordinary balls."

Ligowsky's trap in connection with his improved target undoubtedly possessed great merit and met with much success and constituted a distinct and marked advance in the art of projecting flying targets. The target used in the trap had a tongue extending from its periphery consisting at first of a strip of pasteboard glued to the target and afterwards of an integral extension of the edge of the target. The tongue was inserted in a spring clamp at the outer end of the sending-arm, the initial position of the target being such that a straight line drawn through its center and tongue would be practically at right angles with the arm, and the tongue being held in the clamp with such pressure as to offer frictional resistance sufficient to prevent its escape before the arm attained its maximum velocity. Although Ligowsky's target patent contemplated a target with a twisted or spiral tongue to give a "wabbling motion to the target" as well as a target with a straight tongue, in practice the latter was used. When held in position, the concave side of the target was downward and its periphery was approximately in the plane in which the sending-arm moved. The trap being sprung, the sending-arm carried the target by its tongue, if operating normally, until an instant after the arm had attained its greatest speed, when by reason of the partial arrest of the arm through the resistance of its own spring coil, and the momentum of the target, the latter swung around and released its tongue from the spring clamp with a jerk or flip and entered upon its flight with considerable velocity and rotary motion. When the sending-arm was adjusted to move in a plane nearly parallel to that of the horizon a skimming movement was imparted to the target, said to resemble the flight of a bird. The meritorious features of the Ligowsky mechanism are obvious. His trap threw a saucer-shaped target which, unlike the glass ball, could be made to sail or skim through the air. It threw the target in such manner as to impart

to it through its sudden swing around its tongue, as held in the spring clamp a moment before its discharge, a rapidity of rotation much greater than it would have acquired from the motion of the sending-arm without such terminal swing. It carried the periphery of the target and discharged it approximately in the plane in which the sending-arm moved. The result was that the target attained a longer and in other respects more satisfactory flight than had theretofore been secured. There were, however, in the Ligowsky device inherent limitations of usefulness for the purpose for which it was intended. The insertion of the clay tongue of a target in the spring clamp was not calculated to insure a nice adjustment of the plane of the target's periphery in its relation to the plane of motion of the sending-arm, and the resistance of the air to the tongue of the target when rapidly spinning after its disengagement from the trap could not fail to disturb its plane of rotation, largely overcome its rotary motion and injuriously affect the evenness and length of its flight. The presence of the tongue also prevented an even rotation of the target on its axis, which is considered indispensable to the most desirable flight. The movement of the target through the air was too irregular and uncertain. Indeed, it is doubtful whether Ligowsky fully appreciated the importance of securing an even rotation of the target in view of his suggestion of a device to give it a "wabbling motion." In practice it often happened that pasteboard tongues became loose, clay tongues were not strong enough to resist the shock of the trap, and clay targets were too strong readily to be broken with shot. Nicholas Fischer received letters patent No. 281,183, dated July 10, 1883, for a cylindrical cup-shaped flying target made of clay or similar material. In the description of his device he says:

"My invention relates to flying targets, sometimes called 'clay pigeons,' designed to be projected into the air by suitably-constructed mechanism and used as a mark for shooting practice. Such targets are made in shallow-dish form, of burned clay or other fragile material, and are thrown into the air in an approximately horizontal position, and a rapid axial rotation at the same time imparted to them by the sending-mechanism. It will be obvious that it is desirable that such targets should be made of as light a weight as possible and free from any feature of construction offering an impediment to rotation while in the air. As heretofore constructed, such targets have been of dish form, with a radial tang or projection, either formed as part of the target or of other material attached thereto, or with a slot or opening in the peripheral flange for engagement with the throwing-arm of the sending mechanism. By the mechanism usually employed, the sending force was thus applied by such tang or slot to the peripheral flange in such manner as to require special strengthening of the flange, either by thickening or providing the same with a strengthening-fillet, or by other special devices, thereby adding unduly to the weight and creating impediments to the proper sending and rotation of the target, and impairing the freedom and proper movement while in its flying course in the air. Moreover, these features of construction form a serious addition to the cost, which it is desirable to avoid in view of their necessary destruction in the using. My invention obviates all these difficulties; and it consists in the construction of a target of plain, cylindrical, or dish form, without tang, slot, fillet or thickening of any part, and generally lighter in construction than those now in use, it being intended to throw this target by means of a swinging arm provided with a resisting-guideway, whereby the target is projected into the air by centrifugal force, and the rotation imparted to it by the resistance of the guideway acting centripetally upon the target from without,

the force being thus applied in a direction and in a manner enabling the thin nest and lightest shell target to be freely used, and thereby securing a perfect movement in the air when projected from the trap, and the minimum of cost in production. By reason of the construction thus described, the target may be propelled much farther into the air, is enabled to maintain itself much longer in flight, and is not so subject to the action of gravity, but is more perfectly controlled by the gyratory forces, and is, indeed, in all respects essentially improved in cost, construction and efficiency in use."

While the Fischer patent covers a target and not a trap, the description and the accompanying drawings disclose trap mechanism which marks another material advance in the art of throwing targets. A device is shown for projecting a tongueless cup-shaped target with a cylindrical periphery capable of even rotation on its axis. The box of case containing the target is rigidly attached to and forms an extension of the sending-arm and is adapted to carry the target, during the swinging of the arm and until the flight begins, in such position that the plane of its periphery is coincident with the plane in which the arm moves or with a plane parallel thereto. The contain: ing-box or case is square or rectangular and open at one side to permit the escape of the target and is so adjusted to the sending-arm that two of the closed sides are each at an angle of about 135° with the line of the arm, the other closed side being at an angle of about 45° with that line and inclining toward the direction in which the arm moves in swinging forward. The last mentioned side forms a guideway for the target. After the trap is sprung, centrifugal force acting upon the target through the swinging of the arm causes its periphery to press against and roll from its initial position along the guideway in escaping from the box, with the result that the target by the time of its disengagement acquires considerable rotary motion in the proper plane. The trap device thus disclosed clearly shows an improvement upon the Ligowsky trap in two important particulars. It threw a target which, being tongueless, could evenly rotate on its axis with comparatively little atmospheric resistance to its rotation; and it threw a target with axial rotation in the proper plane. It lacked, indeed, one feature of the Ligowsky trap, namely, the terminal swing of the target on its tongue in the spring clamp, which in the earlier device contributed so largely to the rapidity of the target's rotation. It is questionable, however, whether this omission was not fully, if not more than, supplied in the later device by the rolling of the target on the guideway in passing through and escaping from the containing-box or case. But both the Ligowsky and Fischer traps in construction and operation fall far short of the mechanism disclosed in the Marqua patent. The Marqua trap presents a combination of parts not diclosed either by Ligowsky or Fischer, co-operating in such manner as to produce a much more satisfactory flight of a target, namely, the combination of a sendingarm and a pivoted target carrier provided with mechanism for holding and releasing a tongueless saucer or cup shaped target, so constructed and adjusted as to throw the target more accurately in the desired direction, with increased axial rotation and projectile ve locity and with its periphery in the proper plane. Neither the Ligowsky nor the Fischer trap disclosed the pivoted carrier, which

largely augments both the rapidity of rotation and the initial ve locity of the target. Neither of them disclosed any mechanism by which the target could be accurately projected in any desired direction; the target escaping from the Ligowsky trap by wrenching its tongue out of the spring clamp, and from the Fischer trap by rolling out of the containing-case. Marqua's invention clearly was not anticipated by Ligowsky nor disclosed by Fischer; and I have not found anything in the prior state of the art, as shown by the record, to negative patentable novelty in it. That it possesses patentable utility there can be no doubt. The witness North, who has had large experience with trap mechanism, speaking generally of the pivoted carrier adapted to throw a tongueless target with its periphery in the plane of motion of the sending-arm, says:

"With the carrier pivoted to the arm of the trap, as is used in all successful target traps, a flight of sufficient distance anywhere from 40 to 100 yards can be obtained, the direction of the target in its flight can be guided and kept at any desired point, and the breakage and balks in the traps is so reduced to amount to but a very small percentage of the number of targets trapped. I have known instances of 1,000 or more targets being thrown with but one or two breaking in the trap, while with a carrier rigidly fastened to the arm a very unsatisfactory flight is obtained, the target having a wabbling motion and the flight rarely ever reaching over 30 to 35 yards, which is not up to the required distance as governed by the rules of target-shooting, and the direction of the flight varies very greatly, and in my experience was impossible to control, while the breakage in the trap was so great that it would be an impossibility to market a trap with a carrier of that description."

He further states that a pivoted carrier "by swinging on its pivot, cushions the force of the blow and does not break the target."

The defendant claims that the Marqua invention was anticipated by trap mechanism invented by Charles F. Stock, and patented in March, 1884. The complainant's contention in this connection is two-fold: first, that as between the Marqua and Stock devices priority of date of invention must be assigned to the former, and, secondly, that the Stock patent does not cover, or, indeed, disclose the Marqua invention. The latter of these positions will first be considered. Stock received letters patent No. 295,302, dated March 18, 1884, for an "improved device for throwing targets." In the description he says:

"This invention relates to that class of target-throwing devices known as 'clay-pigeon and ball traps,' wherein a throwing-arm swinging upon a center is employed; and the invention consists in the employment of a novel device at the outer end of the throwing-arm for holding the target, the same being adapted to retain the target during the swing of the arm and to release it at the proper time for causing it to be properly projected into the air."

The claims are as follows:

"1. The combination, with the throwing-arm of a target-throwing device, of a clip for holding the target, arranged to automatically drop below the upper surface of the throwing-arm for releasing the target, substantially as described.

2. The target-holding clip, consisting of the pivoted plate, p, having the plate o, provided with toe o', hinged to it, in combination with the slotted plate q, all adapted to be operated substantially as described."

Seven drawings accompany and are referred to in the specification, showing five forms of mechanism. Four of them are adapted to

throw tongueless cup-shaped targets with a cylindrical periphery, and the fifth, represented by Fig. 7, to throw "glass balls or other targets having small orifices." The drawings are as follows:

In the device shown in Figs. 1 and 2 there is a flat tongue c, beveled or brought to a point at its lower end, inserted in the slot d, of the sending-arm, and there hinged or pivoted to the arm on the pin e, the point of the tongue, before the disengagement of the target, resting against the bent end f' of a friction spring f, secured to the lower side of the arm. The upper end of the tongue can swing outwardly through the slot on its hinge-pin or pivot whenever the