Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1886-05-04
SCRAP IRON.
A Business That Has Made Fortunes for
Shrewd Managers.

A Business That Has Made Fortunes for
Shrowd Managers.
YOU'D never think it was much of
trick to sort out scrap metal, !" said
dealer in old iron, rs he stood in the
middle of yard heaped up with piles
of rusty scraps of every description,
without any apparent order or method.
"As a matter of fact, though, there is
quite knack in it. 1t requires good
deal of experience if you don't want to
get taken in, as the profits of the bust
ness all lie in mans ability to tell at
glance what is good material and
what Is not The greenhorn will go
and buy a wagon-load of stuffin lump,
and when il is sorted over he will find
he has paid probably double what the
lot is worth.
How are the scraps assorted~
asked the reporter.
"Well, you see here is separate
pile for the best scrap, 1t is nearly all
in small picccs-bolts, nuts, screws,
pieces of horseshoe, nails and such as
that, all of the best quality of mallea-
bic iron. 1t commands the highest
price, except for that of whole horse
shoes, of amy iron that is bought by NJ.
We pay from sixty 10 eighty cents Il
hundred for it. Horseshocs are worth
from one dollar to one dollar and TWEEN
ty cents II hundred pounds. We pile
the small pieces together so that the
scraps can be shovcled out into barrels
or sacks, while the the large pieces,
such as broken shafting, boilGrir iron and
metal OF that sort, are stacked up sep
aratcly. There are the steel and cast
iron piles over there, you see, and here
are the borings and turnings from the
machine-shops,"
"Of what use are those scraps OF
tin?' asked the reporter, pointing to-
ward huge heap Of cut and twisted
pieces of the shining metal.
"Oh, that goes to the smelling
works. You see it mainly consists Of
the clippings and fragments of timed
iron and worn-out tin vessels. Thusc
are sometimes dipped in hydroohloric
acid to dissolve the tin costing from the
iron. The muriate of tin so formed is
OF commercial value for dyeing pUr-
poses"
Hanging up on the walls all about
were cogwheels, cranks and other
pieces of machinery, while in one cor
ner was collection of pick-axes, axes
and pitchforks.
Livery thing that we find of value
in the masses of scraps that come in
here every. day by the wagon-load, !"
remarked the dealer, "or that can be
used in the shape it is received in, is
preserved from the scrap heaps and
sold separately. There are people
who il they want lot of pick-axes, for
Instance, never think of going to a
hardware store for them. but come di-
rect to the scrap-iron dealer, where
they can generally find serviceable AZ
ticles of the secondhand class. Nearly
all of these cranks and cogwheels will
come in use in their present shape
some day.
"Scrap-iron," continued the dealer,
consists of any kind of iron that will
serve the purposes of renelting, but
more especially that of the malleable
quality. We work in all the old ship
iron that can be made serviceablc, and
there is one firm in the city that makes
a specially of that branch of the bust
ness. They have broken up several
old vessels during the past year and
taken out tons of good scrap-iron.
They are tearing the Mohonga to pieces
over in Oakland and selling her plates
and sheeting 10 the nail manufacturers.
There is good deal of money in that
kind of trade if one understands ii"
OF late years the scrap-iron business
has increased to such an extent as ia
make it an important feature of water.
front trade. Several good-sized fort.
unes have been made in the business
Large lots Of vacant land are covered
with heaps Of the rusty metal, fol
which there is always brisk demand
during the busy season at the iron
works. The smaller scraps make the
best kind of shafting and pipe material,
us the tibers of the finished product are
so twisted and ntertwined as almost tc
defy an attempt at breaking, while fol
ordinary use it will last for years.
San Francisco Chronicle.