Ruth Marshall, age 13, of Lowell, Mass., for her question:

WHO INVENTED BARBED WIRE?

Barbed wire is made of two or more steel wires twisted together with thornlike barbs at frequent intervals. It is used in fences, particularly for fencing in livestock.

A man named Joseph Glidden of DeKalb, Illinois, invented    barbed wire in 1873 after he was inspired by thorned shrubs. When American pioneers first settled the prairies and plains, where wood was scarce they planted shrubs to fence in their livestock. They used such shrubs as osage orange, which had thorns and grew thick enough to hold the animals. These shrubs inspired Glidden.

When the first commercially successful barbed wire came along, it was opposed by cattlemen who were against its use. They felt the barbs would injure their livestock.

But the barbed wire made it possible for small farmers to fence in their homesteads on government land. The cattlemen had been using this land for free pasturage.

Barbed wire brought an end to the open range and made possible the settlement of the frontier by small farmers.