The Fargo forum and daily republican., 1913-08-09

Floyd Wertz in Dakota Farmer:
Undoubtedly there are many people
who hesitate to try explosives in farm
work, because they believe it expen-
sive and dangerous.
I will begin by saying that 1t is
not nearly so expensive to blast a tree
hole, as it is to replace tree. r.
OF course we must expect small
loss under the best Of conditions, but
l know of, many trees not doing we'll
or dying entirely because they were
set in small hole, spade-tlug In a
hard impervious soil. Once the
ground is blasted for a tree, 1T will not
have to be done again in years. even
though the tree should die from some
cause, and it is desired to plant an
other in its place.
The cost varies somewhat in differ
ent kinds of soil, and different depths
of hard pan.
In this country the cost Is from 10
to 25 cents per hole, including ex-
plosives and labor. A few cents worth
of explosives is insignificant COM
pared with the value Of a healthy,
fast growing tree, and / would advise
tree planters to insist upon having
the work done right in the first place
as it will not have to be done again.
The kind Of explosives best adapted
to this Is 20 or rs per cent dynamite.
Higher per cent may be used but it
Is too quick for use in the ground, and
in NV experience the low per cent
does better work and Is cheaper.
The tools necessary is an earth
auger. or hurley and a heavy strik-
ing hammer, and a wooden tamping
stick. A good hurley is made of " :
inch octagen tool steel, feet long.
make the hole within from to IL
inches Of the bottom of the hard pan,
and it is ready for loading.
The deeper the hole the more dyna-
mite is needed to break the ground
above the shot.
In holes from feet, 8 inches to A
feet deep, one-half pound of dynamite
is necessary. After the hole Is
punched. the dynamite with cap and
fuse attached Is carefully lowered, and
6 inches Of loose fine dirt pressed in
lightly.
The rest of the hole must be filled
with tightly tamped dirt, never using
anything but wooden tamping stick
and the shot is ready to fire. The ex-
plosion generally springs a barrel
shaped chamber, a foot or SO below
the surface, and this must be filled
with rich moist top-soil before the
tree lis set. Proper root expansion lis
now assured.
Tree roots will follow the lines of
least resistance and even though the
sabsoil is not excessively hard, the
roots will spread out in the well-tilled
top-soiI, rather than force their way
down in a close sub-soil Dynamiting
corrects this fault.
#f have found by experimenting on
my own trees that those which were
dynamited stood the winter much bet
ter than those which were not.
Trees may be cultivated by explod-
ing dynamite between the rows, or
small charges around each tree, or
S feet away.
Where the ground is excessively
hard, small charges around each tree
lis better than to blast between the
rows, especially IL the rows are far
apart. Care must be taken in this
work, however, and only those who
are experienced in the use OF explos-
ives should attempt other than to
blast between the rows.
Another method which I believe to
be all right though haven't tried ii
yet lis to blast out large holes between
the rows and I'LL them with well-rot-
ted manure. leaf mold etc. mixed well
with Y TOP sou.