The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1906-02-06
MODERN FENCE WIRE.
an Opinion as to WAY II Goes e
Pieces So Rapidly.

an Opinion as to why II Gees &c
Pieces So Rapidly.
The bessemer process is the great
modern method for converting iron into
steel. Manganese plays an important
part in the bcssemer process. FL, NJ.
Howe, an experienced metalurgist.
says
In order 20 make this steel very soft
50 that it win draw easily IT is likely
to contain quantity Of blcwholes,
which form centers from which rustins
begins.
'The steel contains much more man
ganese than wrought iron does, and
this manganese may not always be
distributed with absolute uniformity.
Wherever there il the least lack Of uni
forlnity there Is d difference Of pcten-
tial, which may lead to rusting."
ElectroIysis.
Wire that is hung in the field is in
Just the condition to suffer from cleo
trolysis If the metal is not perfectly
homogeneous in structure-thnt is to
say If the manganese and other i'm
purities are not perfectly distributed
throughout the metal All rain water
contains small amounts Of salts dis
solved from the dust IN the air and Is
therefore a conductor of electricity.
Water collected during thunder
shower II particularly rich In sub
stances that conduct electricity, as the
sparkling Of the lightning through moist
AIR forms small quantities OF nitric
acid, and acids conduct electrical cur
rents even better than salt solutions.
"A moments thought viii show that un-
der the conditions cited we have all the
elements present to cause elcctrolysis
to take place Differences OF potential
win occur In the wire. local circuits
viii be established through the wires or
through the wires and ground. and cur
rents will flow. These currents can
only be generated Mt the expense OF
something, and In this case II Is the
iron or steel II 1t Is not the zinc OF the
galvanized covering.
Ground Connection a Remedy.
Among the wire fences that have
been under the careful observation Of
the writer for long time II one woven
wire fence, Ave years old, TINT contains
among its twelve horizontal wires. ali
OF one roll, seven wires that are per-
fectly good from beginning to end, four
that are partially rusted, and one that
is badly rusted, without particle Of
zinc remaining ON it. OF the seven per-
fcctIy good wires six are on the bot
tom. Now, IL the theory Of electroIysis
is left out Of the question II would
seem that the good wires had received
better coating OF zinc than the bad
wires. This explanation Is not support
ed either By observation or experiment.
Two wires are made in the same mill:
pass through the same zinc bath; are
wiped off in precisely the same way;
chemical analysis shows them to have
practically the same weight Of zinc
covering per pound Of metal. and yet
one wire win outlast the other ave to
one on the fence. If, however. electrcl-
ysls takes place and II the action can
be diminished by keeping the wires
electrically neutral through frequent
connections TO the earth, we should
then expect that wires which were kept
along their whole length in constant
contact with the earth would show
greater lasting quality Experiments
are at present being made to test the
effect Of earthing the fence by fire.
quent connection TO the ground.-A. 5.
Cushman, Department OF Agriculture.