two tons of coal, or
three-quarters of a ton of coke, are required to produce a ton of
pig-iron.

[48] Terne plate is sheet-iron coated with an alloy of lead and tin.

[49] Heredity is likewise a factor. The seeds of knotty, scraggly trees
are very apt to produce trees of their own kind and _vice versa_.

[50] This sum represents more than ten times the amount of gold coin now
in existence. Less than five per cent. of the business of the great
industrial centres is a cash business. Even if the money existed, the
transfer of such immense sums would greatly retard commerce. In order to
effect a speedy settlement of payments, clearing-houses are established.
At the clearing-house the representatives of the various banks meet
daily and liquidate the checks drawn against one another; and although
the total yearly volume of payment aggregates the sum mentioned above,
the _balances_ for a year are but little more than two billion dollars.
Even this does not always represent cash payment, for a bank that is a
debtor to another at the close of one day may be a creditor for an equal
sum on the next.

[51] These roads are financed by the Northern Securities Company and
form a link in the Hill-Morgan lines. Their intercontinental traffic is
large.

[52] Their dividing line is the centre of a street.

[53] The brand consisted of any specific device, such as an initial, a
monogram, or a conventional form that might be easily recognized. The
device was registered and imprinted with a red-hot iron on the flank of
the animal. Ear-marks, such as notches or similar devices, also
indicated ownership.

[54] In many cases Government land, not owned by the rancher, has been
fenced in. No objection was made, however, until the sheep-grazier came.
He demanded the removal of the fences, claiming that he had an equal
right to graze his herds on public lands. But inasmuch as a range once
grazed by sheep is ruined for cattle-growing, the quarrel between the
grazier and the rustler has become one in which both the grazier and the
rustler turned upon the sheep-owner.

[55] It is one-third of their capital stock plus the bonded
indebtedness.

[56] The high latitude of the wheat-region, which in most cases is too
cold for the growing of food-stuffs, in this region is tempered by
occasional warm winds known as "Chinook winds." These winds are the
saving feature of wheat-growing. They prevail also in British Columbia,
Washington, and Oregon.