1906. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
31 
AJV INVESTIGATION OF FENCE WIRE . 
Why Is Modern Wire Inferior? 
Pabt II. 
FURTHER ARGUMENT.—Last week we stated 
some of the facts which go to prove that fence wire 
often rusts because electric action goes on in it. Most 
people who have noticed the action of uneven wire fences 
know that some wires will outlast others. The wires seem 
to be all of the same weight and so far as can be observed 
the galvanizing is the same. Yet we know that some 
wires go to pieces, while others, in the same fence, are 
still in fair condition. Prof. Cushman mentions a case 
where after four years of observation one wire was 
in nearly perfect condition, while the next one to it was 
badly rusted from end to end. With almost any other 
material that one can mention a chemical analysis would 
show the difference between good and bad. These wires 
were analyzed by an expert chemist, with the following 
result: 
Constituents. 
Good wire. Bad wire. 
Per cent. Per cent. 
Carbon . . 
Manganese 
Phosphorus 
Silicon . . 
Sulphur . . 
0.17 0.17 
.45 .53 
.092 .096 
.070 .060 
.059 .083 
On the face of it this shows -no good reason why 
one wire should be better than another. The chemist, 
however, states that it is more than probable that the 
manganese in these samples may be quite unevenly dis¬ 
tributed. This uneven distribution is what is claimed 
causes much of the loss by electrolysis. Of course the 
effects of this electrolysis in fence wire must be very 
small, yet tbe action, such as it is, is constantly going 
on whenever the wire is wet. 
Here conies another strange thing—at first thought 
unaccountable. Last Summer we called for volunteer 
evidence, and among other questions was one regard¬ 
ing the bottom wires in a fence. Do they go quicker, 
O! are they more lasting than the upper wires? We 
received a large number of replies from intelligent 
farmers, and almost without exception they stated that 
the lower wires are more lasting and less inclined to 
rust. How can this be? The bottom wires are close 
to the ground, and are kept wet almost constantly by 
grass or weeds in Summer and snow or mud in Win¬ 
ter. Since we have been told that electrolysis goes on 
while the wires are wet, how can these wettest wires 
escape? The explanation is that these bottom wires 
are “electrically neutral” by being closely connected 
with the earth—which is the great storehouse of elec¬ 
tricity. If, as seems probable, this “neutral’’ condition— 
where the wires constantly touch grass, weeds or the 
soil—will diminish or weaken the action of electrolysis, 
we can understand why these bottom wires will last 
longer. It is also a fact that when wires are stapled to 
living trees, they are usually in much better condition 
on parts close to the tree. This would also go to prove 
that this close connection with the earth helps to di¬ 
minish the electrolysis. Now, let us briefly see what 
wire is and how it is made. If we are to have better 
wire we must know how it is to be made for us. 
IRON.—As manufactured from the ore iron is never 
entirely pure. What we call rust, or the reddish pow¬ 
der which appears on exposed iron, is an oxide—that 
is, iron combined with oxygen. This “rust” is very much 
the same form in which iron is found in ore from. the 
mines. Now, in rusting oxygen is added to the iron. 
The object in smelting or preparing iron for use is to 
take this oxygen away. Thus the iron ore is mixed 
with coke and limestone, and heated to a high tempera¬ 
ture in a furnace so arranged that a blast of hot air 
can be driven up through it. “Coke” is nearly pure 
carbon, and under the great heat this carbon combines 
with the oxygen in the iron and forms a gas which 
passes into the air. This leaves the melted liquid iron, 
and as there is usually more carbon than is needed to 
drive off the oxygen, some of this carbon is melted with 
the iron. The melted mass is run off into sand molds, 
in which it forms rough blocks which are known as 
pig iron. Part of the carbon melted with the iron leaves 
the mass as it cools, while the remainder, with other 
impurities, remains in the pig or cast iron. As all 
know who have seen cast iron broken, it has a granu¬ 
lar structure. Before it can be hammered or forged 
into desired shapes or drawn out into wire it must be 
made into steel, or into what is called wroiight or “pud¬ 
dled” iron. Most of the wire which has lasted so well 
was made from this iron. To make this the pig iron is 
heated in flat-shaped furnaces to a pasty or fluid con¬ 
dition. Then it is worked or stirred over and over 
again while hot—the work being done by hand by 
skilled workmen. This thorough working and stirring 
results in burning off the various impurities,_ while the 
slag or cinder, which will not burn, is mixed thor¬ 
oughly all through the iron. As we have ^een. the cast 
iron has a granular structure which breaks sheer off 
without much bending. After being worked or “pud¬ 
dled” into wrought iron, as we have described, its 
structure is like that of a bundle of fibers, each one 
coated with a film of cinder which is of itself a pro¬ 
tection from rusting. This “cinder” that jwe speak of 
is a combination of the oxide of iron and; silica, which 
comes from the fire clay used for lining the furnace 
in which the iron is melted. If it were Possible to do 
it a return to this “puddled” iron would be the best 
wav to settle the fence wire problem. With the pres¬ 
ent price for skilled labor, hand-worked [metal cannot 
be produced at prices which would admit igeneral com¬ 
petition with cheap steel goods, although we believe 
that if some manufacturer would guarantee the old 
wrought iron wire he would be overrun with orders. 
We are told that experiments are being made with a 
form of mechanical “puddling,” in which the work now 
done by hand will be done by machinery on a. large 
scale. If this could be made practical the question of 
good fence wire would be well settled. The following 
table shows how the best “puddled” iron compares with 
the various kinds of steel which we are to describe 
next. See how the “puddling” works the impurities out 
and thoroughly mixes 
them: 
Basic 
Constituents. 
Bessemer 
open- 
Swedish 
steel. 
hearth 
puddled 
steel 
iron. 
Per cent. 
Per cent. 
Per cent. 
Carlion . 
_ 0.10 
0.70 
0.04 
Manganese .. 
.50 
.06 
Sulphur . 
.08 
.06 
.01 
Phosphorus . 
.102 
.05 
.01 
Now we can describe the process of making steel and 
drawing and galvanizing the wire. 
EVENTS OF THE WEEK . 
DOMESTIC.^—The money stringency in Wall Street, mani¬ 
fest since the beginning of preparations for first of January 
payments, became so acute December 27 that call loans 
brought 90 per cent, five minutes before the close of the 
Stock Exchange. The quotation was the highest since the 
days of December, 1899, the time of the London ’‘Baring 
panic." when it reached 186, the highest on record. The 
high price December 27 exceeded by 15 per cent the highest 
quotation, 75 per cent, listed during the Northern Pacific 
corner. May 9. 1901, and according to hankers was un¬ 
precedented except in panic times on the exchange. . . . 
Caught on a lee shore in the southwest gale that raged off 
the entrance to the Straits of San Juan de Fuca and the 
western coast of Vancouver Island since Christmas eve, or 
else deceived by the identical character of the leading lights 
at Destruction Island, off the Washington coast, and I>ennard 
Island, well up the Vancouver Island seaboard, the British 
steel ship Pass of Melfort in the hurricanes of December 26 
was dashed to destruction a quarter of a mile east of Amphi- 
trite Point and went down with her crew of 23 men. . . . 
After being entombed in a mine at Wilkesbarre, Pa., for 
eight days Joseph Davis, a Pole, was rescued December 29. 
Davis, who was a laborer, entered the mine on Wednesday, 
December 20, and was lost in the underground workings. 
He was found, exhausted, near the bottom of the shaft, lie 
was slowly making his way out of the mine. When brougnt 
to the surface he was unconscious, but soon revived. He 
said he wandered from one working to another, but all the 
time got further away from the opening. He had a well- 
filled dinner pail, and for the first four days ate sparingly. 
When the food was all gone he drank tea for two days. 
The next two days he ate scraps of bread that had been 
thrown away by miners. . . . Frank Steunenberg, former 
Governor of Idaho and famous throughout the nation for 
his relentless prosecution of the notorious Coeur d'Alene 
gang in 1899. met a dreadful death December 31 at the 
hands of unknown foes. As he was entering the front gate 
of his home in the suburb of Caldwell, near Boise, a dyna¬ 
mite bomb was exploded, blowing off both his legs and in¬ 
flicting fatal internal injuries. Six years ago he invited 
serious enmity among the members of the so-called inner 
circle of the Coeur d'Alene dynamiters. He pursued them 
ruthlessly, and some were known to have sworn to obtain 
revenge. * Ex-Governor Steunenberg was one of the most 
picturesque figures of his State. A native of Iowa, he was 
nevertheless typical of the Far West, a rough, hearty man 
of the plains and the hills. He was never east of the Mis¬ 
sissippi River until after he became chief executive of the 
State of Idaho in 1897. He stood seven feet in his stockings, 
straight as an Indian and broad as a heavy-weight pugilist. 
Mr. Steunenberg served two terms as governor, from 1897 to 
1901, being the candidate of the Democrats and silver Repub¬ 
licans of his State. He proved a good executive, and put 
down strike riots among the miners with an iron hand. He 
was 44 years old, and leaves a widow and three children. . 
Manning G. Palmer, the seventy-six-year-old presi¬ 
dent of the American Exchange National Bank of Syracuse, 
which was closed by the Comptroller of the Currency on 
February 10. 1904. was taken to Auburn Prison January 1 
from the Federal building at Auburn to begin the serving of 
a sentence of five years, imposed in the Federal Court by 
United States Judge George W. Day of Norwich. A jury had 
found him guilty on 64 of 70 counts of an indictment charg¬ 
ing misappropriation of the bank's funds; and making false 
reports to the Comptroller of the Currency. . . . The 
railroads of Kansas are unable to furnish cars to move one- 
half of the corn crop. Grain men, farmers and millers 
appeal in vain for trains in which to ship to market the 
190,000,000 bushels of this cereal. All along the lines in 
the corn belt are heaps of corn waiting to be shipped. At 
some points temporary cribs have been built to store this 
corn but in the great -majority of the places it has been 
merely piled up on the ground, and some of these piles 
contain as many as 10.000 bushels. This corn has been 
hauled to shipping points with the idea that it was to be 
loaded into cars which had been ordered, but in most in¬ 
stances the corn got there before the cars and is still wait¬ 
ing for them. Storms might seriously damage this corn, 
which is exposed to the elements, and the men who own it 
are keeping the wires hot with messages to the railroads 
asking that their orders for cars be filled. 
INSURANCE AFFAIRS.—Judge Andy Hamilton’s state¬ 
ment to the trustees of the New York Life was presented 
to the Armstrong committee December 27 by John C. Mc¬ 
Call, who made the trip to Paris to get it. The report 
includes no detailed statement of moneys received and 
expended, and the general totals that are given leave nearly 
$200,000 paid by the New York Life to Hamilton unaccounted 
for. Hamilton defends his work at great length. Mr. 
Hughes's questions indicated that the Armstrong committee 
is far from being satisfied with the statement. In regard to 
the $235,000 advanced to Hamilton ostensibly on account 
of real estate transactions connected with the New York 
Life's “home annex,” the Judge says that, obligations in_- 
curred and accruing in his denartment in 1904 and 1905 
not represented in the stated payments for those years and 
also unsettled accounts for retainers, commissions, percen¬ 
tages and a special tax balance are all to be deducted from 
this gross amount. “I have no objection, however." says he, 
“as an evidence of good faith during my absence, pending 
such a settlement of these accounts, to place in the custody 
of the company $100,000. which it may hold and which is to 
be repaid in whole or in part as many appear upon such 
future audit.” In the last seven years the Judge says 750 
bills affecting the interests of the policyholders have been 
introduced in the different legislatures, many of which if 
passed would have driven the companies out of business. 
If tax measures which have been proposed in the same 
period had been passed it would. Hamilton says, have cost 
the New York Life policyholders $2,500,000. There has, he 
contends, been a gross saving to the policyholders through 
his department of upward of $3,200,000. Lou Payn, testify¬ 
ing December 27. said lie was appointed Superintendent of 
Insurance in 1897 and held office until February, 1900. In 
his administration he procured the appointment of seven 
“confidential examiners." This increase of the department s 
staff was made because of the unusually large number of 
examinations which the department had on its hands. Mr. 
Payn was outspoken in his testimony. He declared that the 
insurance companies are cowards and that they are held up 
not only by the legislators but by insurance commissioners as 
well. His opinion of President Burnham of the Mutual 
Reserve Comoanv, expressed briefly, was that Mr. Burnham 
is a “erook." The Mutual Reserve is the company which, 
according to the hearsay charge made before the Canadian 
Senate committee in 1904, paid Lou Pa.vn $40,000 for the 
privilege of drawing its own report. John A. McCall, presi¬ 
dent of the New York Life, went out of office January 1. Tt 
is announced that he will refund the $23.>,000 advanced to 
Judge Hamilton. 
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.—“Reading matter for 
the farmers" is the title of a report just made public at the 
Department of Agriculture. Tt shows that 1.463 publica¬ 
tions were issued by the Department in the current year, 
or an average of 4 for everv day in the year. Of these, 391 
were issued by the Weather Bureau. These publications 
range in size from circulars of one page to bound volumes of 
800 pages. The total number of copies printed was l-.47o.- 
157 The Weather Bureau publications aggregated 882.98.> 
copies for the year. S.eeretai-y of Agriculture Wilson be¬ 
lieves in the value of pictures where they are obviously aids 
to the understanding, and as a result many of these publi¬ 
cations are illustrated with reproductions of drawings and 
photographs. The total expenditures of the, divisJon of 
publications for the year were $36o.039, of which $258,17- 
went to pay for printing and binding. The soil survey of 
the Department of Agriculture has mapped 15,<5«i3-0 acres 
of land in the last fiscal year, according to the annual 
report of the soils bureau. Surveys were made in 28 States. 
Rhode Island is the first State in the Union of which a 
complete survey has been made. The maps show the dif¬ 
ferent kinds of soil in each area. The report says that the 
three great agricultural problems now are: First, the 
western farmer is chiefly concerned with the presence of 
alkali and its removal or control; second, the eastern 
farmer is chiefly concerned with the study of the adaptation 
of the proper crop to the proper soil: third, the mainte¬ 
nance or restoration of soil fertility. The tobacco investi¬ 
gations of the bureau have been extended, and the report 
adds: “In Texas co-operative experiments have been carried 
on with the farmers. In the Connecticut Valley work on the 
production of a high grade of wrapper tobacco grown under 
cloth tents has been continued. In Ohio the new method 
of “bulk" fermentation has been thoroughly introduced, and 
has resulted in the saving of thousands of dollars to the 
tobacco producers of the State." Under the methods in¬ 
troduced by the bureau of soils profits have been increased 
from $5 an acre under the old system to nearly $30 an 
acre under the new system. 
FARM AND GARDEN.—The Peninsula Horticultural So¬ 
ciety will hold its nineteenth annual meeting at Chester- 
tow’n, Md., January 16-18; secretary, Wesley Webb, Dover, 
Del. 
The annual meeting of the Ohio Horse Breeders’ Asso¬ 
ciation was held at Columbus January 9. 
BEST DESSERT APPLES FOR BOSTON. 
What, in the opinion of competent dealers, wholesale 
and retail, are the best dessert apples for Boston market 
for different seasons? Varieties desired include those com¬ 
manding highest prices, largest demand, and giving best 
satisfaction to seller and buyer. w. b. l. 
Massachusetts. 
In our experience the favorite dessert apples in the Boston 
market are the Williams. Gravenstein, McIntosh Red, Somer¬ 
set, Northern Spy, and King. There are many other varie¬ 
ties, some of which are very satisfactory, but we think the 
commercial dessert varieties are quite fully covered by the 
above list, although the Duchess might be included for ai 
early Fall apple. w. w. & c. r. noyes. 
In the early Fall Torter and Fameuse are th< 
standard apples here, while the McIntosh Red and Wealthy 
are both well considered, and bring very fair prices. The % 
King we do not think is in as much demand here as in some 
other markets, still, there is a certain trade that will take 
it in preference to any other. For a later apple the Spy 
we believe is the best known and the most satisfactory for 
a table apple. baton & eustis. 
We think the old standard varieties of table apples give 
the best satisfaction to the trade here. We usually start in 
handling Williams, then Gravenstein. Fameuse, King, and 
Spy. 'fiie demand seems to lie chiefly for these varieties, 
anil we hardly know of any other variety that we could 
recommend growers to raise. There are a few other varie¬ 
ties handled here every year from the West, such as Jona¬ 
than, York Imperial, Rome Beauty, etc., but they do not 
give the satisfaction to our trade that the varieties we first 
named do. w. h. blodget co. 
Any varieties of fancy eating or cooking apples can l>e 
readily established on our market, provided the quality 
is there and we can put a verbal guarantee back of the 
fruit when selling or placing it on the market. Our market 
wants for table or eating apples a medium size or good size 
red apple, or something light colored with a trifle of blush 
on the side, same as the Newtown Pippin or Maiden Blush ; 
something that will polish up well and look attractive. A 
great many of the eating apples are sold by the Italian 
venders on small stands, alongside of other fruits, such as 
grapes, pears, peaches, oranges and tangerines, etc. At 
present the best selling apple for table use, when it is clear 
and nice, is a fancy Lake Champlain Fameuse; in fact, it 
doesn’t make any difference where it comes from so long 
as it is attractive, good and clear, free from blemishes; next 
come the King and Spy, and for an early apple for Graven¬ 
stein is the best apple selling here at the present time. 
CHAPIN BROS. 
For an early Fall apple the Gravenstein is one of the 
best: next comes the Fameuse. then the McIntosh Red and 
the Jonathan. For a Winter apple, a fancy Spy or an extra 
fancy Baldwin. There is nothing that is better or will sell 
more readily than a Baldwin that is extra fancy. Of course, 
you understand there are a great many Baldwins raised in 
Massachusetts, but those that are fancy enough for a table 
apple are not plentiful. In regard to whether it would be 
nrofltable to raise these apples, we would say that the 
Gravenstein, for an early apple, is very profitable. The 
Fameuse. unless it is fancy, is a very poor apple to sell, 
and a large percentage of them are not fancy. The McIn¬ 
tosh Red we should say would be a more profitable apple to 
raise than a Fameuse, as our experience in handling them 
shows that the great percentage of them are fancy. If 
fancy, we have never seen the time but what there has been 
a brisk demand for all these varieties we have named, at 
high prices. lord & spencer. 
The first apple really that is placed on the market is the 
Astrachan. That could largely be called a table apple for 
that season of year. Then follows the Williams. This lat¬ 
ter, however, is not to be encouraged unless growers are 
within 2.4 hours’ run of a market. A little later comes the 
Gravenstein, also the Wealthy; then the McIntosh. These 
three apples are money-makers, *n my opinion. They usually 
have a clear skin, good color and the two former are good' 
cooking apples; at the same time T suppose the McIntosh 
stands about the head for being the “handsomest apple.” 
Perhaps in the same class as an absolutely table apple 
would come a King, but the King itself, while handsome, is 
rather coarse grained, good for nothing only eating, and 
for many customers is not a salable table apple because 
too large. From about the middle of December the Spy 
undoubtedly is the best known table apple. It has quali¬ 
ties also to make it good cooking apple. I could include in 
this category the Fameuse, but the Fameuse does not 
always grow* clean and clear, therefore have not advocated 
its growth, neither do I find any dealers who would go into 
it now. I have named apples which are supposed to grow 
in New England and New York State. 
I would say with much emphasis that if that same coun¬ 
try can produce a good Spitzenburg it would lead all the 
above for a table apple. a. warren patch. 
The weather this Fall and Winter so far has been as near 
perfect as one could ask. Mercury stood at zero this morn¬ 
ing ({December 23). before sunrise for the first time this 
Winter, nine degrees colder than it had been before. Roads 
dry and good most of the time, an inch of snow now. Price 
of potatoes crawling up close to $1 per bushel, and apples 
out of reach or $5 per barrel. Hay very plenty. $3 to $5 per 
ton. Corn. 30 to 35 cents, butter 24 cents. w. s. s. 
Elmoville, Ill. _ 
BUSINESS BITS. 
A considerable saving can lie effected by any family in 
buving oil by the barrel. Besides if you buy of a reliable 
dealer you are likely to ret an oil of much better burning 
qualities than at your local store. Ask Derrick Oil Co.. Box 
52, Titusville. Pa., about their “Elite" brand and prices. 
The old reliable house, James Van Dyke Co., 307 ,F. Water 
street, New York, want every read n r of The R N.-Y. to 
try a sample of their tea and coffee. Their offer is to 
send three ounces of coffee and two ounces of tea for the 
small sum of 10 cents. They could not afford to do this 
of course if they did not feel sure you will like the samples 
so well that you will become a nermanent customer. The 
prices at which unsurpassed quality is offered will interest 
everyone. • 
One of the lessons that cannot be repeated too often is 
that of proper preparation of the seed beds before planting. 
Of all cultivating implements nothing is better suited to this 
purpose than the Acme pulverizing harrow. It mashes the 
hard clods, pulverizes, stirs, levels.. It is justly one of the 
most popular cultivating tools manufactured. It is manu¬ 
factured bv Duane II. Nash, Millington, N. .T,, who makes a 
very liberal free trial offer. We should be glad tq gee 
readers of this paper take advantage of the offer. 
