Jasper County Democrat, Volume 14, Number 13, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 May 1911 — HOW TO BLAST STUMPS. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

HOW TO BLAST STUMPS.

\ Careful Work With DynamK# J Will Rout Thom Out at 18 Conto Each. Pine stumps should be considered in two classes —those with taproots and tboae without The first part of a pine stamp to tot la the taproot, and a field that looks very discouraging will often be found eaay to clear. In blasting pine stamps the Important feature is to place the explosive close to the point of greatest resist* ance, which Is in the taproot directly under the center of the stump. This taproot can nanallv be located by digging underneath the smooth side of the stump. When the taproot is located dig an opening, one to two feet deep, down by the side of the

taproot; then bore an anger hole two Inches in diameter into the taproot at an angle of from 35 to 50 degrees. The auger hole should be bored not less than three-quarters of the way through the uproot, care being taken not to drill entirely through, for by so doing a great deal of the explosive force would be wasted in the back of the hole, which would then be in the ground. Load with from one to three 114 by 8 inch cartridges (depending on the slxe and age of the stamp), of 40 per cent dynamite, and tamp firmly to the surface with damp clay. The blast will cut off the taproot twenty to thirty-six inches below the surface and turn out the stump lu pieces. These stumps can also be blown out wlthoat taking the time to bore into the taproot if a little larger charge of dynamite be placed firmly against the taproot a foot or two below the surface and closely confined with tamping. A convenient implement for making the hole in the ground when blasting in this way is a three inch posthole auger. Careful record was recently kept la order to arrive definitely at the exact cost of explosives necessary to properly blast out pine stumps. Three hundred and twenty-five stamps were blasted, which averaged in diameter twenty-eight and one-half inches; and the cost of explosives, including dynamite. fuse and blasting caps, or electric fuses, averaged only a little more than 18 cents per stnmpL

To load people to the life of independence that can be found only upon the farm, to help eeefcera of healthful country homes in their search for fertile lands that are producing nothing for the lack of cultivation, is to do a service not only to benefited individuate, but to the nation, for agriculture is the foundation of all prosperity, and a happy rural population, healthy, honest, loyal, is the country’s greatest asset.—Luther Burbank.

READY FOR THE EXPLOSION. [From “Increase the Crop.”]