The Cairo daily bulletin., 1872-02-29
THE ST. LOUIS WIRE MILL.

SPLENDID INDUSTRY AND HOW IT. is
CoNDUCTED-FACTs OF IMPORTANCE.
Among the pioneer enterprises for the
development ot our notwithstanding re.
sources we notice the St. Louis wire mills,
u, the foot OF Chcuteau avenue, in this
city. The mills are owned by Mos.rs. ~.
NJ. Ludlow and Jewett Wilcox, old and
esteemed residents Of st. Louis, and have
already won II position in the wire trad.
which with the promised improvements
bid fair " soon become the nucleus OF the
wire trade of the whole West. The pres
ent high prices imposed by tho necessity
OF bringing the commodity from the East
will. soon be obviated by the construction
Of appliances for the use OF
NATIVE IRON,
and those states which now look to the mo-
nopolies of the east will be relieved by
the sale OF MS good wire at far less prices
than has ever been provided for them.
A Times reporter recently visited the
works Of the mil and oLtained'a descrip-
ton Of the interesting method of its manu-
faeture.
lhs iron now used is imported from
England, and Is brought to the mill in
| coils oi heavy rods. These IRE first heated
ana pointed ut one end, after which they
arc subjected 10 II bath Of vltriol, for the
purpos, OF removing the scales and cleans
ing them. After another bath in lime
water they are ready for working and are
passed over 10 the platemen. these coils
are 81 NO. size, and arc reduced to the
requisite sizes by running them through
IMPORTED PLATES, I'd III,
made of the best ten pered steel. The
plates are about six inches square, and are
perforated with funnel, shaped holes The
sharp end of the coil is passed through one
of these holes, and attached to a frame set
upon cogged shaft. The frame is then
set in motion, and the wire drawn throuuh h
the hole. This proceed reduces it one
size
The coil thus reduced is then put In an
"annealer, II cast-steel cylinder, eight
feet deep and tnrty-four inches in diu-
meter, surrounded by an outer casing of
brick work. The annealors, of which
there are four, have capacity of two and
one half tons each. When filled they are
fitted with caps, and the brick work is
enclosed with large cap, from which a
pipe carries oh the smoke from the fur
mace below. Rising from the outer cap is
a smaller pipe fed by the gas generated in
the annealer. This pipe is iIgbt.d, and
by the burning OF the gas 10 regulated the
time for
AHNEALING THE WIRE.
The cylinders are expensive, costing
$500 each, and are renewed every nine or
twelve months. This coils are left in the
annealer twenty-four hours, and then are |
ready to be run through another plate |
and the wire is again reduced in size
Each coil is passed through the process of |
unnealing after each reduction. Itis then
put up in sixty-three pound bundles, and
Is ready for the market.
There are nine plates in this establish. |
ment making wire from sizes No, 4 to 81
Inclusive. An experiment has been made
lately by Messrs. Ludlow & Wilcox with
the lowest grade Of .GdJOtiE TT "A
MISSOURI IRoN.
NE 49, " has been discovered that our iron
w;i, NJ Sa admixtureI Of other nativo ores |
the tU>e tron as good quality of wire ss
80 @ "oh now imported from England
,pa,,,n LII, 'ns freight alono is nearly |
twenty dollars per ION SaT".t
Louis, and 1t is the declared i o'eu :" o':
Messrs; Ludlow Il Wilcox, 70 .n.enlioh a.e OF
ing nill adjoining their wire wosS Ioii'
completed during the present seasou 70 DC
the manufacture OF wire rods from ns,,. ,or
ores. This will enable them 10 .con,, .~vS
the trade of the entire west, nor,hwoo.
and southwest Iowa, Kansas and Mirra'
sofa are untiring in the demands for ,his
article for feqciag purposes. of which the
mill now makes specially, and the fedue.
ton Of the prssen high rates will prove of
'neAlcnlable benefit TO those states.
S5rnE woRxs kshv' N@'a-
are ~ present turning out six tons daily Of
,snGihg, reilis, market, coppsred and an.
'eS'e' WIRE at an expense Of $1,000 DO