elty this risk always has to be encountered,
and forms a criterion by which to judge of the exact value of that
examination. Furthermore, we take decided issue with our correspondent
when he says that the present is the only feasible way of executing
these searches thoroughly. They are not so executed as a matter of
fact, and could be done better and cheaper by private individuals,
experts, or lawyers, engaged for the purpose by inventors.

We agree that all money received by the Patent Office should be
applied to its legitimate end. It seems to us a great injustice to
make one generation of patentees accumulate money in the Treasury for
the benefit of some coming generation. Application of the whole of
each year's fees to the expediting of that year's business would be
simple justice. But we do not lose sight of our main point, that were
the inventor unable to make a satisfactory search, it could be done
for him by private parties better and cheaper than it is now done in
the Office.

We are very glad to have the question so intelligently discussed as
by our correspondent, and we feel that it is one well worthy of
consideration. The future will, we are sure, bring about some change,
by which inventors will be induced to bestow more personal care on
their patents, at least to the extent of securing searches for novelty
to be made by their own attorneys, and even at a little additional
expense to abandon any blind dependence on the Patent Office as a
prover of novelty.--Ed. Sc. Am.

* * * * *

THE UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION AT ANTWERP (ANVERS), BELGIUM.

Never before was there so striking and remarkable an example of what
can be accomplished by private enterprise when applied to a great and
useful object. Last year some prominent citizens of Antwerp--justly
proud of the rapid and marvelous progress made by their
city--conceived the idea of inviting the civilized world to come and
admire the transformation which, in half a century, had converted the
commercial metropolis of Belgium into the first port of the European
continent. This audacious project has been carried into execution,
and the buildings of the Universal Exposition, including the Hall of
Industry, the Gallery of Machinery, and the innumerable annexes, cover
2,368,055 sq. ft. of ground. Even this large space has proved too
limited. These buildings are shown in the accompanying cut.

All nations have responded to the call