The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1877-02-15

Co., and its centennial exhibit, which it
gives us pleasure to copy:
Hardware at the Centennial---The
Ausable Horse Nail Company.
The exhibit of the AusabIe Horse Nail
Company, in Agricultural Hall, is inter
estng even to the casual visitor on &C
count of the taste and skill displayed in
the arrangement of the goods On car
peted platform inclosed by an ornamental
railing is column of boxes of nails, sur
mounted by handsome canopy of black
walnut, upon which is placed a golden
eagle. At the base of this unique and
picturesque structure is an elegant plate
glass case, containing samples Of the var
ious sizes and styles of nails manufactured
by the company, which are described upon
ornamental cards for general distribution,
printed in English, French, German and
Spanish. This is an assistance to foreign
visitors not familiar with English, which
cannot fail to be appreciated. The goods
shown include all sizes and varieties OF
horse pals, finished and unfinished, pol
ished aud blued, pointed and plain. The
samples were not made for exhibition, but
fairly represent the average product of the
works, which gives them additional in
terest IS specimens of American machine
products. The Ausable Horse Nail Com
pany claim for their nails many important
advantages, among which are included
sOundness, strength, symmetry of pro.
portion, and unvarylng uniformity OF size,
shape and breadth OF head. The re-
quirements Of good horse nail are var
ious and imperative, and it is only within
few years, comparatively, that the
practicabillty of imparting these requi
site qualities to a machine-made horse
nail has been generally conceded. The
best temper for horse nail is that whict
combines sufficient stiffness to pentrate the
hoof with sufficient ductiity to clinch
down after tits driven, so as to draw and
hold the shoe firmly in its place. 1t is
claimed that this peculiar temper cannot
be given by forming the nail completely
cold or hot. 1t must be wrought hot
nearly to completion, and then, by Sc.
cond operation, hammered or otherwise
condensed cold until the requisite stiffness
is impaired and no more. The ma
chincry and processes employed by the
Ausabe Horse Nail Company enable it to
80 combine these two operations as to
produced this required temper exactly.
The principle has been known aud acted
upon for generations in making nails by
hand, and in making them by machinery
the operations OF the new process have
been successfully initiated. The result is
a nail possessing all the qualities requisite
for holding the shoe firmly and perman-
emily on the hoof Nails which do not
possess the right temper are apt to be stiff
and elastic-reacting under the hammer
in the operation of clinchng, refusing to
hug the hoof, and, consequently, holding
the shoe loosely and only Temporarily in
place. As above stated, the manufac
ture of horse nails by machinery is pecu
liarly an American industry, which work
in comparatively few years has
attained extensive proportions. The his
tory ot the Ausable Company shows how
greatly it has developed and how extern
sive it has become. The works of the
company were established at Keeseville,
Essex county. n. Y, in 1868. Their
capacity was equal to production of 200
tons OF nails per annum. Since that
time they have steadily increased their
capacity to 1850 tons, The increasing