The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-08-13

/. ON VIRGINIA FAR MS
I Continued From First Page)
spoke well. and among other things
explained that the supposed danger. to
life and limb by the use of dynamite
in breaking up land was no more than
the danger which q bird hunter expe-
riences In shooting in the fields. In
either case. all OF the danger lies In a
premature explosion. due ninety -nine
f, times out OF 100 TO carelessness Ac-
more N the handling of the caps that
! set the dynamite to work than in the
handling of the dynamite itself. Dyna-
mite. as made for farm purposes. can
| not be made to explode until II comes
In contact with the more highly ex-
| plosive cap. Then the thing TO do is to
Keep the caps and the dynamite far
apart until the proper time TO bring
the'n in contact. and the prope. metn-
! Cd OF bringing them in contact is by
the slow fuse, which first expiodes the
cap. and then the cap. and only the
cap. explodes the dynamite.
"nen the fuse. properly ignited
starts 10 work II is at least two min
/ u'eS BEFORE Its explosive properties
.each the cap, and that gives ample
time for an audience to get our of Inc
, way. II getting out OF the wav We
/ necessary. and 1t is not necessary IN
| the case of subsoiling but in stump
removing and some other processes it
Is necessary, but OF that in its proper
time.
kickn in Every Direction.
Mr.. Baskerville further explained
that dynamite cartridge put three
teet In tho ground and properly ex-
pioded works to the north. to tho east
70 the west, and to the south, and also
towards China and towards the stars
That is to say. dynamite cartridge
placed to depth Of three feet in the
| ground will tear up the soil to q
depth of something like Ave feet from
the surface and to a distance of from
hve to ten feet on either side. So
! when 1874 explosions are made IN the
| space OF an acre. as was done here.
| the earth over that whole acre is
shaken up TO the depth OF Ave feet.
thus giving the crops to be planted
on that acre all OF the advantages of
Intense subsoiling to the depth of
| about Ave feet, much deeper than any
plow that has ever been made can
possibly reach, and when once such
an acre has been thus subsidized It is
drought-proof for at least twenty
years to come.
The Cost of 1t All.
! This is the simple story OF sub
soiling with dynamite. as saw II
! done here the other day. The fuses
were lighted and in a minute and
half to two minutes the explosions
began. was surprised that there
was SO little noise. There was at each
explosion nothing more than a dull
thud kind Of sound not louder than a
| cross-road politicians voice, a slight
tremor of the earth for ten feet
around, a little rifle made in the
ground like large mole track, and
that was all The 1874 explosions were
made rapidly after the fuses had been
| lighted and while the crowd stood
afar OF a first. all hands. 1 among
them, soon did not hesitate to strad-
die fuse and rather enjoyed the
slight shaking Sc sation we felt. In
| forty minutes after the first fuse was
lighted the entire acre had been sub
soiled and an acre of ground had been
| loosened up so to be drought-proof
for twenty years to come
Always looking to the main chance,
I figured bit on the cost of II all
and found that the cost OF the dyna-
mite used was $3.50. the caps s1s4,
the fuse $500 and the two men who
drilled the holes considered their time
worth $500. So 1t cost s14.44 to sub
soil this acre of land for alfalfa. and
the work is done for twenty years
60 come.
Other Demon sfratjona
After this subsoiling OF the acre
was completed, Wakelee and Basker-
will wanted to show US stunt or
two in making deep holes for fruit
tree planting. and they quickly bored
several holes for that purpose. The
process differed but little from tho
subsoiling process. but was a little
more exciting, in that the explosion
was greater and much more dirt came
from the surface up into the air. Then
we witnessed the blasting OF huge
stump. and this was simply more
intense than the tree planting demon
stration. 1t is sufficient TO say that
stump which a neighbor told me
had stood the storms TO- many years
was converted into kindlinE wood in
the short space OF twenty minutes.
and the ground 1t occupied is now
ready for corn or anything else more
profitable than an old poplar stump
Practical Demonstre tion.
AS understand IT. subsoiling by
dynamite makes the crops proposed 10
be produced on the SUBSIDIZED land alb
solutely drought-proof Plows could
do the same thing If they could go
deep enough. but they can't. Would
It not have been a good thing for Vir-
ginia if all of its tillable soil could
have been dynamited in this ark
, able drought year?
About this drought-proof PROPOSE
ton think have had practical dem
onstration. My friend Wakelee show
ed me some of his demonstrations on
his patch" l PASS over his melon
demonstrations as I do over his fruit
tree eNpositions. which will be talk ed
about later. I was rather more in
terested in some OF Mrs. Wakelee's