S 679 .P52 Copy 1 INCREASE THE CROP PER ACRE USE OF DYNAMITE ON THE FARM Issued by THE PENNSYLVANIA LINES Ris ‘ +e b, Wi RS%, a , Se es ea ees. ¢, , oe | Intensive Farming and Use of Dynamite ye i | tts — Issued by THE PENNSYLVANIA LINES June, 1911 r Copyrighted 1911 BY THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD PRINTED BY THE LORD BALTIMORE PRESS BALTIMORE, MD. PAGE Bar iormlunching I loless auc ea? ene cee Se Gi ks ae >I Ipletiees StMMS te. choke ccs it Seine aaa anette an a 31 lactna saps. ake net seth eet eee ee 93 Blactingtby i lectricity > «. <<. 0434 fete ee ee ee eee ee 63 [ees lasting va. os uss $s Sera Seance ee 79 Implements sed :m Land Clearmg 5.5.2. 42.5 et eee 19 IntroGuchone = Aleka sion ces eee ee ee eee 7 Weadine: * Ware! oe oi000°S sites ns Yeas ec eee eae ee 97 [oceans aniseed 5 Sanson obsess cds Bee ee ee 82 oe Splitting 885. aud ahi etw ee ee 35 IN Glew serine ais oh ho oak eB ea 92 Dicer. sn eos oad oa ee ee 98 packages: ol Explosives. acai s, ccs tc 0 caret eee 86 ine Stumps: Southem:. ..02 sce ee creer 25 Pine; Stumps: Western . v2c san eee 29 elantine Prue lrees.c 2 x). Sec con ote ae ee eee 7\ Blowineswitha Dynamite’... 2-42.44 9: ais ottawa ene 63 ostillole-Dicoing m2. 0. a a ce een ee Oe eee By recautiOns: * tee eche ans Oe eas Oe oe 99 | EAGT i100 Pe PONE Arn GM On: RMI ARMREST gitar rs trac, Sone. eS 89-98 Rrmneiplecotixplosivess:. . &. 2 eeccs pace oe ee 32 I eNOS Eu Cron Nee lel eNO Ee: D PAGE Siump, blasting) Na@yantagessols +s ee ee 13 5 COstkolage tee heh setae ee es te 15 Gaticinesthe- Charcesw-aee ak oe ee Ip Proper Explosivesforsakea a2cater ie eon 14 Salosoile elastin = each, ok es ce ee a arte en oh Te ae 63 SVT RIO AMINE: < 207 16c 15 EA NYDeB OVO; K: OF E xXeP OS Verses Mr. McGuire used 25 per cent. to 40 per cent. ammonia dynamite, and states that the best and most economical results were had with 25 per cent. and 27 per cent. grades. The Iowa State College recently blasted eighty-two oak and elm stumps and trees averaging 20 inches in diameter, at an aver- age cost of about 38 cents each for explosives. On a large land clearing operation in Minnesota during the summer of 1909, eight thousand, nine hundred and seventy stumps were blasted out. Although a considerable number of these were WASHINGTON FIR STUMPS large pine stumps, an average of less than three-quarters of a pound of dynamite per stump was used. Accurate records of the cost of blasting stumps on a Long Island farm, including the wages of the men who did the work, were recently kept by representatives of the Long Island Railroad Com- 16 Ger Av len SG | Gacy a Er ALN: BD pany. The entire cost of blasting out and burning up one hundred stumps was only $16. Although one unaccustomed to using explosives might find the costs running higher at the start than some of those given above, it does not require an unusual amount of experience to learn approxi- mately the minimum charge required to blast stumps. When cut-over land, which is covered with stumps and boulders, can be cleared, and turned into farms at a profit, it is hard to understand why anyone should let stumps or boulders take up valuable land, plowing around them year after year. A lot of time is wasted swinging around even a few stumps and boulders when plowing a field, to say nothing of the damage to plow, harness and team if a root is struck. Besides this, each medium-sized stump, with its spreading roots, or even a comparatively small boulder, will take up the space of many stalks of corn or of other crops. It has been estimated that a single stump of average size occupies as much ground as would support six hills of corn. ee | | The corn from six hills would in a very few years pay for enough dynamite to blow out many stumps and _ boulders. One suggestion which should be made to those who have land to clear is: Always do your stump blasting, if possible, when the ground is wet. Almost every kind of ground when it is wet, offers stronger resistance to the action of dynamite than it does when dry. Therefore, when the ground is wet a stump or boulder can be blasted out with less dynamite than when the same ground is dry. One of the most objectionable methods of trying to get rid of stumps is burning them out. When stumps have been blasted out and split up with dynamite, it is an easy matter to heap up the pieces and burn them, but to burn a standing stump is a different proposition. [hose who have tried it can testify to the time spent in keeping the fire going, and that it is practically impossible in this way to get rid of much of the stump below the surface of the ground. Probably the worst feature of burning out stumps is the damage 17 : (HINS8Yy 24} 4O} OZ BHeY 9a9) AlISVS NYNG TIM ASHL LVHL LI1dS OS SdNWNLS—dA13I4 GSYV3a1IO W43M V Crs wAL SR? NG owe es Ree a IneA =NeeD done to the ground by the fire, which burns out the humus to such an extent that it requires much cultivation to bring the ground where the stump was burned into good condition. The following from the Tacoma, Wash., “Ledger” of October 20, 1909, explains very clearly the damage done to new land by burning out stumps: “Last summer Prof. W. J. McGee, of the Depart- ment of Agriculture, in cooperation with Prof. Henry Landes, Dr. Benson and Dr. Fry, of the State Univer- sity, studied the best methods of utilizing cut-over or logged-off lands. Prof. McGee gives some of the find- ings, and they argue strongly against burning cut-over lands. Fire destroys the humus in the soil, and when the humus is gone, the fertility is greatly lessened. “The danger of burning logged-off lands is that the fire will burn the humus for some distance below the surface. When the humus is burned out, it takes time to build up a fertile soll again. ‘The fire destroys the work it took nature many years to do.” ‘The implements needed in stump and boulder blasting are few and inexpensive, and most of them are always to be found on the farm. Big stumps like those found along the Pacific Coast usually require a comparatively bulky charge of low-grade explosives. which means that a large hole must be dug. In case the stump is very large it is best to dig a trench under it, using a little dynamite to assist in the digging. In this work a pick or mattock and a long- handle shovel are necessary. As a matter of fact these two tools, and an axe, are usually required, no matter how the hole for the explosive is made. For medium-size and smaller stumps, a two-inch wood augur to drill under the stump (and into the tap root if there is one), is necessary, and a crowbar with one pointed end and one chisel end is very useful. One of the most important implements used in stump blasting, is the tamping stick. [his must have no metal about it. The tamping sticks used on the Pacific Coast are six to eight feet long and two to three inches in diameter. For tamping the holes under other stumps a stick five or six feet long and one and a half inches in diameter is large enough. 19 (8L @6eq 2as) A3Y¥OV Y3d AY3S19O JO HLYOM 00°008$—H3LV1 SHLNOW NSL Cw aE PA. Ro Ne iG es me al ey Ac ZNe, BD For blasting large boulders it may be necessary to use a ham- mer and hand drill, unless they are to be broken by mudcapping or by placing the explosive underneath them. ‘The hole under the boulder can be made with a crowbar. If the boulder is drilled, a small tamping stick, from one-half to three-quarters of an inch in diameter should be used. If the charge is put under the boulder, the tamping stick should be one and a half inches in diameter and five or six feet long. Hardwood tamping sticks are, of course, best, because they last longest. ONE MORE OUT OF THE WAY 21 BORING THE HOLE UNDER THE STUMP BLASTING STUMPS [' IS usually necessary in blasting stumps to place the charge as close as possible to the toughest part of the stump, so that the part most difficult to break will be hit first and hardest. Gen- erally this spot will be directly under the middle of the stump, and it is sometimes necessary to bore into the tap root. When a very big stump is rotten at the middle, but has several large branching roots, better results will be had if the charge is increased a little and located deeper in the ground, or if under each of the large roots a small charge is placed, and all of the charges fired simultaneously with a blasting machine. STUMP BOUND WITH CHAIN In order to keep the explosive from splitting the stump, and wasting a part of the force which should be expended in lifting it out, it is the practice of some blasters to wind a stout chain around the stump several times. It is a good idea to use a chain with all hollow stumps. Some large stumps can be effectively removed by exploding simultaneously charges loaded in holes bored from different sides, so that they will intersect under the center of the stump. ‘The cartridge containing the detonator (blasting cap or electric fuze) bo io) vo SJSYVHO SLINVNAG 3HL SNIOWId Cys Ae te tN LG sl Ee Ay ANT) should be loaded first, so that it will be at the intersection of the holes; then the different holes should be loaded, making sure that the first cartridge in each hole touches the primer (the cartridge containing the detonator). When the primer is exploded, it will explode the entire charge. If the above directions are closely adhered to, the general run of stumps can be blown out satisfactorily and cheaply. The stumps of some kinds of trees, however, require special treatment to get the best results, and detailed instructions concerning them are given in the following pages. Southern Pine Stumps The use of explosives in blasting southern pine stumps, espec- lally in very sandy soils, has not been generally recommended in the past, because the cost has seemed high in comparison with the value of the land. ‘The increased value of land and the improve- ments in explosives have, however, now made it entirely feasible to remove these stumps with dynamite. This work can be done with less dynamite, if a good team of horses with a bull chain is used to pull out pieces and drag them from the field. Pine stumps should be considered in two classes—those with tap roots and those without. ‘The first part of a pine stump to rot is the tap root, and a field that looks very discouraging will often be found easy to clear. In blasting southern pine stumps the important feature is to place the explosive close to the point of greatest resistance, which is in the tap root directly under the center of the stump. This tap root can usually be located by digging underneath the smooth side of the stump. When the tap root is located, dig an opening, one to two feet deep, down by the side of the tap root; then bore an augur hole two inches in diameter into the tap root on an angle of from 35 degrees to 50 degrees. The augur hole should be bored not less than three-quarters of the way through the tap root; 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 1!4 x 8-inch cartridges (depending on the size and age of the stump), of 40 per cent. dynamite, and tamp firmly to the sur- face with damp clay. ‘The blast will cut off the tap root twenty 25 BLASTING STUMPS AT IVOR, VIRGINIA Celery A ok NOG Dee thc 4B LE A NeD to thirty-six inches below the surface and turn out the stump in pieces. [hese stumps can also be blown out without taking the time to bore into the tap root, if a little larger charge of dynamite be placed firmly against the tap root a foot or two below the sur- face and closely confined with tamping. A convenient implement for making the hole in the ground when blasting in this way is a three- inch post-hole augur. When the tap root is to be bored into, it is advisable to use a two-inch wood auger, as the dynamite can then be more closely compressed under the center of the stump where the resistance is greatest. If clay cannot be found to tamp the charge under the first stump blasted, use sand. After one stump is blasted, you can usually find good tamping material at the bottom of its roots. Careful record was recently kept, in order to arrive definitely at the exact cost of explosives necessary to properly blast out these southern pine stumps. [Three hundred and twenty-five stumps were blasted which averaged in diameter 28!/) inches, and the cost of explosives, including dynamite fuze and blasting caps, or electric fuzes, averaged a little more than 18 cents per stump. Southern pine stumps without tap roots are sometimes found in land having a sandy top soil with a hard subsoil. In this case 30 per cent. dynamite may give the best results. The charge should be placed under the middle of, and as close to the stump as possible. Second-Growth Stumps There is often directly under a second-growth stump, the decayed remains of the original stump; this is soft, and the force of the explosive when placed on it, seems to merely scatter this dead wood and has no marked effect upon the stump. ‘To overcome this difficulty, it is a good plan to dig under the stump and place a good-sized flat stone between the roots, leaving only room on top of the stone for the dynamite. Damp clay should then be firmly packed around the dynamite. ‘This gives the explosive sufh- cient resistance to lift out the stump. 30 or 40 per cent. dynamite should be used. It should be remembered that best results will be had from the explosives recommended for blasting the above stumps, if they are exploded with No. 6 or stronger detonators. & bo i *QOPJUNS BU} BAOCGE YSN OM} O}FU! PAPIAIP jNg ‘punouwBh 94} ul duinzs ajBuls e sem 3} *}894 GJ SEM dul] PUNOYH ay} Je GUiN}s Siu} JO BOUGUeJWINOUWIO BYE 1LSVv19g 3HL 34¥O43g—O16l ‘AUVNYd|as “IVO ‘¥MaYUNa ‘dWNLS GOOMGAY VINYOSIIVO Vv Cie toi N.G Er a ACR MeN SHAPE Western Fir, Pine and Cedar Stumps In the States of Washington, Oregon and California, where the rainfall is large and the ground in the forests is always damp, many of the trees grow to great size—some being eight or ten feet in diameter. The roots of these trees usually spread out near the surface and do not grow deep into the ground, as might be expected, tap roots being extremely rare. [he object when blasting the stumps of these trees is not to split them, but to bring them out entire at one blast, with all of the roots possible, because if the charge of explosives is so gauged and located as to split the stump, it generally fails to bring out all of the pieces. As the principal object is to get out as much of the stump as possible at a minimum cost, it is better to blast it out first and then it can be easily split afterward, by means of a small quantity of dynamite exploded in auger holes. ‘The common rule in blasting these stumps is to use one and one-half pounds of stumping powder per foot of diameter, with stumps up to four feet, when the bottom is clay. For larger sizes it is advisable to use two to two and one-half pounds of this powder for each foot in diameter. For stumps in gravelly or loose ground one pound more should be used for each foot in diameter. The charge of explosives is best placed when there is sixteen to twenty-four inches of earth between the charge and the bottom of the stump. ‘This results in the force of the explosion radiating to all sides, lifting the stump clear of the ground, and bringing with it the greatest length of roots. If the charge is placed too close to the stump, the effect is to split it, leaving the roots to be dug out at extra labor and expense. It is advisable with large stumps to chamber, or expand, the bottom of the hole, so that the entire charge can be concentrated under the center of the stump. To do this a hole is bored beneath the stump by means of a dirt auger or small post-hole auger. In this hole a small charge is usually exploded with fuse and blasting cap and no tamping is used. ‘The quantity of explosives to be used in chambering, depends, of course on the size of the charge necessary to blast out the stump. Usually from half a cartridge to two cartridges of stumping powder will be sufficient. After the hole is chambered the blasting charge should be loaded in the usual way and thoroughly tamped. 29 yselq siy3 ul pesn sem Auessadau uey} aAlsojdxea ayo OU }eY4} SMOYS SIY, “puNnouHh 3ayz 0} Burjjes Apeauje oue ‘4su1y 3NO UMO|G a1aM YoIUM ‘SUO1}0aS va||/eLUS BY4} aIIUM dn jYUBHlewjS paz] PUe SadaIid |eueAaS O}U! PIAS SI AluN}s 9y} Jo Wed UleLU 94} }eU} OJON 1SV1d SHL—dWNLS GOOMGSAY VINYOSI1VO Vv Chile AG Rel NG A are Es Ex Am Ne) Redwood and “Bigtree Stumps The best explosive for these stumps is a comparatively slow- acting explosive, which has more of a lifting and heaving, than a shattering effect. The way to approximately estimate the quantity of explosive necessary to blast out stumps larger than eight feet in diameter, is to square the largest diameter in feet, the result being approximately the number of pounds required. For example, if a stump is eight feet in diameter the largest way, the charge should be about sixty- four pounds. Stumps less than eight feet in diameter require a little greater charge for their size than do the larger stumps, and the rule with them is to use as many pounds as eight times the largest diameter in feet. On this basis a stump six feet in diameter would need about forty-eight pounds of powder. However, the success- ful blasting of these large stumps depends greatly on the judgment of the blaster, and these rules can only be considered as a general guide. [his can easily be understood when it is remembered that, owing to difference in soil or some peculiarity in the growth of the tree, it sometimes requires the same quantity of explosives to properly bring out a stump six feet in diameter as it does one eight feet in diameter. In blasting these stumps a trench is dug large enough to per- mit placing the entire charge of explosives directly underneath the center of the stump. A little dynamite blasted in holes punched with a crowbar will prove of great assistance in digging this trench. If low powder is used and the ground is wet, the charge should be placed in a waterproof bag. A detonator equivalent to, or stronger than, a No. 6 blasting cap, or electric fuze, should always be used in one of the prim- ing cartridges. “The proper way to make the primer is shown on pages 88 and 90. If several cartridges are used as a primer, they should be tied in a compact bundle with the primed cartridge in the center. Avoid being on the same side of the stump as the trench when the blast is fired, as fragments, etc., are thrown with more violence and to greater distances on that side. ***Bigtree’’ is the name given to the ‘“Sequoia Washingtoniana,’’ one of the gigantic trees of the Pacific Northwest. ol *PpOOM 4O SP40D BAI4-AzWUIY4} JNOGE Spew } *pilos Ajjoajsod sem duinzs 94} 3ng ‘sueak Aquiyz uo aAly-A}USM} UO} AUN}S B84} WOU 3nd Udaq PeY 9eu3z aul 1SV18 S3HL ¥314V—dWNLS GOOMG3Y VINYOSIIVS Vv Cl Ee A Rf NG Fe aus iE AN) Stumping powder is also used in blasting California redwood stumps. The illustration on page 28 shows two large redwood stumps which had practically one root below the surface, although this root had separated above ground into two trees. The cir- cumference of the stump just above the surface of the ground was seventy-five feet. [his stump was completely removed, as shown on pages 28, 30 and 32, with ninety-three pounds of stumping powder. Six trenches were dug under the stump at different points, five of these being loaded each with twenty-five 11/2 x 8-inch car- tridges of this explosive, and the sixth with thirty !!/2 x 8-inch cartridges. [hese charges were then connected up electrically, and the trenches were thoroughly and compactly tamped above the explosives to the surface of the ground. ‘The six charges were then fired simultaneously with a blasting machine. The illustration on page 28 shows the blasting machine used and the cartridges of stumping powder on the ground preparatory to charging the trenches. Cypress Stumps Cypress stumps are found, as a rule, in swamps where the soil is a soggy muck often covered with water. Through the land- reclaiming operations in the Southern States many of these swamps have been drained, leaving land of wonderful fertility. “The cypress stumps have no tap root, but have large “spreaders” reaching out in all directions to such an extent that they are interwoven with those of neighboring stumps, forming a tangle of roots that never rot. The strongest and quickest dynamite in the hands of careful blasters gives the best results in this work. “The common practice is to place 114 x B-inch cartridges under each of the principal spreaders, and fire all simultaneously by means of a blasting machine. ‘The cypress wood, being extremely soft, splits easily, and the quick explosive shatters the stump and releases it from the entangling roots. In order to obtain the best results in blasting cypress stumps the electric system of blasting should be employed. Sixty per cent. dynamite detonated with a No. 6 electric fuze is recommended for this work. When cypress stumps are not blasted until after the swamps have been drained, 40 per cent. dynamite should be used. 30 AMS\/ahel Elli sclehsub \/ ONG Aet! Gale 2A R ION .G Tee gta es lA] N= 'D FELLING TREES Occasionally when clearing land of growing timber, it is of advantage to blast out the entire tree and saw off the root after- ward. ‘The process here is exactly the same as in stump blasting, but little, if any, more dynamite being required to bring out the tree, roots and all, than to blast the stump after the tree has been cut. The blast lifts the tree straight up a foot or two; then it falls, generally with the wind. SPLITTING STUMPS AND LOGS When stumps, particularly large ones, are blasted out whole or nearly so, it is usually necessary to split them up so that they can be conveniently handled or burned. This can be readily accom- plished with dynamite; only a small quantity being required, if the charge is properly tamped in auger holes bored part way through the stump. In the South the pine stumps are very large producers of tur- pentine and by-products. Before the wood in the stump can be distilled, it must be broken into pieces small enough to suit the retort. Nothing is so effective as dynamite for breaking up a stump for this purpose. Charges of a few inches of dynamite exploded simultaneously in several auger holes bored in the stump, will shatter it into exactly the size required. When logs are split up to be burned quickly, the same method is used as when splitting stumps; but if they are to be split for fence rails, cord-wood, charcoal, or other purposes where comparatively even and regular sections are required, blasting powder may be used. This explosive is so much slower in action than dynamite that a serles of properly gauged and properly placed charges will split a log along the grain, just as evenly as if a number of wedges were used. ‘This method of splitting logs is so much quicker, cheaper and easier than any other, that those who have once become proficient at it, never give it up. Auger holes are bored along the line of the grain, about one-quarter to one-half of the way through the log, the depth of the holes and the distance between them depending on the kind of wood, the grain and the diameter of the log. A few ounces of FF blasting powder is put into the bottom of each hole, care being first taken to see that the hole is dry, then wooden plugs are 35 aouey Bujuiofpe Bulunful ynouzM aoejd uwadoud ul UMOP ple] sauy LINSSY SHL—33YL V ONI1134 Cake Earie RoI IN2:G fDi cated os EVA NeD driven firmly into the tops of the holes to tamp or confine the charge. In some kinds of wood it is best to leave a considerable air space between the bottom of the plug and the powder. The plugs must have a groove in the side large enough to admit the electric squib wires or fuse. As blasting powder is exploded by a spark or flame it is not necessary to use a detonator (blasting cap or electric fuze) when blasting with it. If electric squibs and a blast- ing machine are used for exploding the charges, they can all be fired simultaneously. ‘This usually is the best and cheapest way, as a little less powder is required than when the charges are ex- ploded separately with fuze. Electric squibs are similar in appear- ance to electric fuzes, except that they have a paper capsule instead of a copper cap. They do not explode when the electric current passes through them, but ignite the blasting powder by a flash. When using electric squibs, it is only necessary to have the groove or channel in the sides of the wooden plugs large enough for the two small wires to run through it, if the cap of the electric squib is put in place before the plug is driven in. When driving the plug care must be taken that the wires are kept free, and that the insulation on them is not abraded. If it is not convenient to provide wooden plugs in this work, damp clay tamping may be used on top of a wad of newspaper. A log two feet in diameter, and four or five feet long, can usually be split in two with one two-ounce charge of FF blasting powder, fired as described above. Longer logs require two or more holes, and logs of greater diameter require heavier charges. The holes should be from one and one-eighth to two inches in diameter. Logs up to six feet in length can be split at once into a number of pieces, by exploding a single charge of low-grade dynamite in a hole bored about twelve or fourteen inches straight into the center of one end. ‘Iwo ounces is about the right charge for a log two feet in diameter. 37 BLASTING BOULDERS AT BENNINGTON, VERMONT, MAY, 1910 BOULDER BLASTING THE BOULDER—BEFORE THE BLAST (Paes are three ways in which boulders can be blasted. These are known as ““Mudcapping,” “Snakeholing” and “Blockholing.”” “Mudcapping” and “‘Snakeholing”’ are the easier and quicker methods, but require more dynamite. It 1s almost impossible to shatter large round boulders of hard rock by either of these methods, without using an excessive quantity of ex- plosives, which makes blockholing necessary with boulders of this kind. Mudcapping (“Doby Shooting” or “Blistering”’) Boulders may frequently be broken by exploding a small charge of dynamite on their surface. The charge should be placed on the spot which would be struck with a sledge if the boulder was to be broken in that way. The dynamite should be packed in a solid -mass by slitting the paper cartridge shells, but should not be spread over the surface of the boulder any more than absolutely necessary. A blasting cap crimped on to fuse should be placed in the middle of the charge, and the whole covered with six inches of damp clay or sand. This material should be pressed firmly over the mass of dynamite, care being taken not to cover the free end of the fuse. 39 BLASTING A BOULDER @PE we A Fe Ie N