The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1891-11-04
Dynamite Flowing.

Subsoiling with dynamite ia the latest
advance in scientific agriculture. Mr.. D.
U. Sloan, of Atlanta, has invented q
method by which the hard ground may
be broken up to depth Of two or three
feet at cost Of $25 50 acre. This worR,
he claims, is equal to The PROCESS of
''trencbing" used by market gardeners to
loosen the earth to depth Of two or
three feet. Ground prepared 10 this way
will absorb great deal of water and aus.
tain vegetation !uxurixo.iy through
protracted drought. Il will also receive
and assimila,e several times the quan,i-
ties of fertilizers taken by the soil ploRed
to the usual depth, aud, enriched to its
full capacity, will sustain much heavier
crops. l. is possible in this way to make
FIVE bales of cntton OF $50 bushels of corn
to the acre. This has been demon
strated by the actual achievement of
these results.
The great trouble heretofore has been
the enormous expense Of trenching
ground. As done by market gardeners,
the work costs about one thousand six
hundred dollars an acre. Consequently,
but small patches ssresBo treated Mf..
Sloan proposes to do the same: work fSf:
S25 an acre, aad so make intensive farm.
ing 80 economical that it will become the
fashion, and the old surface scratching
will te discarded
His plan in brief is to drill holes two
to three feet deep and five feet apart,
making 1000 to the acre. In each he
puts an explosive, and, after tamping,
sets off the charge. When properly ar.
ranged, the explosive will disturb the
surface Of the ground very little but will
crack and pulverize in every direction to
distance Of two or three feet, according
to the depth aud quantity of explosive
used.
Yesterday afternoon, at $3.50 o'clock,
Mr.. Charles L. Patterson and Mr.. J. @.
Thurman, representing the Refauno
Chemical Company, arranged explosives
in twenty eight holes dug in Mr.. Sloan's
garden, in rear of his residence, at 15
East Mitchell street. The plat was
25x4O feet and the holes were two feet
deep. In each vas one-fourth of q small
sized dynamite cartridge with about an
ounce of Judson powder. Attached to
an electric fuse, these cartridges, planted
two feet deep, were exploded by means
of q wire communicating with battery.
There was dull, rumbling, smothered
roar, and the whole surface of the
ground appeared to be lifted two or three
feet, while a few small clods sailed above
the housetops.
When the smoke cleared away it was
found that the ground was broken to the
depth of thirty inches at the points of
explosion, and broken sideways fof Q
part of the distance between the holes
The plat wss estimated one.fortieth of
an acre and the cost of the explosions in
twenty eight holes was rs cents, includ-
ing two hours labor In drilling the holes.
Mr.. Patterson said it was only ques-
ton of experiment to see just how much
powder to use, and at what depth-two
feet or more-to place it to make it pull
verize all the ground between the holes.
He offers to take contracts to. break
and pulverize the ground two feet deep
for $25 an acre.
Mr.. Sloan has filed caveat for pat:
ent and Mr.. Pat Calhoun, who is now in
Washington, will look after the patent:
ing of the observation-disclosures c0attp-