cheaply placing the barb upon the smooth wire, so that the cost of barbed
wire is much less than the cost of smooth wire when it was in general use.
So immediately did barbed wire find favour with the farmers of the United
States, and, in fact, all over the world, that the manufacture of wire was
revolutionized.

The history of barbed wire fencing is of recent date. In the United
States--the real home of this industry--patents were taken out by Lucien B.
Smith, Kent, Ohio, in 1867; by William B. Hunt, of Scott, N.Y., at almost
the same time; and by Michael Kelly, of New York, a year later. The
practical beginning of the industry, however, was in the patents issued to
Joseph F. Glidden, De Kalb, Ill., 1874, on barbed fence wire, and during
the same year, to Joseph F. Glidden and Phineas W. Vaughan, for a machine
to manufacture the same. These inventions were the foundation of the system
of patents under which barbed wire has been protected and sold. The
development of the barbed wire industry would hardly have been possible
without steel. Iron wire, used for fencing prior to the introduction of
steel, was not suitable, seeing that iron does not possess sufficient
tensile strength and lacks homogeneity, qualities which Bessemer and
open-hearth steels possess in a high degree.

The advantages of galvanized barbed wire fencing are that it is almost
imperishable, is no burden on the posts; does not [v.03 p.0385] oppose the
wind with enough surface to rack the posts, thus allowing water to settle
around them and rot them; is economical, not only in the comparative
cheapness of its first cost but also in the amount of land covered by it;
and is effective as a barrier against all kinds of stock and a protection
against dogs and wild beasts. Cattle, once discovering what it is, will not
press against it, nor even go near it, and thus it becomes an effective
means of dividing the farmer's ranch into such fields as he may desire. It
is quickly and cheaply constructed, and has the advantage of freedom from
harbouring weeds. It affords no impediment to the view. A man can see
across his farm, and ascertain what is going on in every portion within the
scope of vision, as plainly as if there were no fences. It does not
contribute to the formation of snow drifts as do other kinds of efficient
fence. This makes it a favourite form of fencing for railroads and along
highways. Finally, barbed wire composed of two wires twisted together, on