The evening herald. [volume] (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 1914-1922, 1914-08-15
AGRICULTURAL USE
OF DYNAMITE IN
NEW MEXICO
Interesting Report from State
College Expert on How Elk.
plOsive May Be Utilized on
the Farm.

-
state College. y. NJ, AUG. i4.-In
Press Bulletin No. 22s of this station
attention was called Ia the possible
ity OF making use of dynamite in sew
eral farm operations. especially
ntumping. A general discussion of
the nature and effectiveness OF dyna-
mite was also given. This PAPER deals
with tree planting.
In heavy adobe soils. such as re-
quire quite an excavation In order
to secure proper development Of the
young root system, IL has been found
advantageous TO explode small
charges OF a low grade. slow acting
dynamite eco per cent ammonia), at
"A distance of from is inches to 80
inches from the surface, thus form
Ing a hole for The tree and az the
same time loosening the soil 20 a
greater extent, both In surface area
and depth, than Is possible when
holes are spaded.
The charges must OF necessity vary
with the condition OF the soil. There
is no rule Of thumb 20 be applied
ia this case. The resistance offered
boy the soil measures the quantity of
dynamite necessarily! as does the
depth NJ which IL IL placed. In gem
ernl, for the above mentioned depths,
the charges vary from y pound 10
~ pounds. A little experience and
understanding OF What constitutes a
dynamited trece hole will solve the
problem. A few simple experiments
always repay she slight additional
cost.
An ideal tree hole. strange To say,
isn't IA hole, after all. should the
operator use q charge sufficiently
strong TO blow the earth entirely out
from about the dynamite, he might
BE- embarrassed By the fact that there
would be little dirt left at n con-
vcnicnt distance 10 replace about the
tree. Further. there would be a de-
cided waste Of energy In raising the
earth To- "A scattering distance. Once
the surface gives way. the expanding
gases slip from beneath the Hoh par
ticles and Join the atmosphere,
where space II less contested. The
ideal hole Is produced by charging In
such a n as to raise the sur
face soil To a height OF four feet or
Euch n matter, aud hen let u fall
back In place. This soil. when fail
ing back. viii become caught at the
surface of the hole. and by giving u
q Few downward pushes with q spade
a HON large enough for the tree will
result and plenty OF loose earth for
packing about the roots will be al
hand. In this a large radius
Of disturbed or SUBSIDIZED earth will
be produced.
The method In some instances can
compete in cost with spade holes
with the advantage OF much more
soil bning loosened. As far az
known, no harm results from the
fumes remaining In the soil for sew
cral hours after the hole Is made and
the tree planted.
In general the cost Will range
from q cents to - emit per tree
hole for dynamite. fuse and caps
The labor cost also varies with thu
soils from I cent per hole 20 s cents
Tn holes for the charge are pm
straight down. and are IA inches ol
. inches in diameter. A bar may bl
driven down and pulled. \ pipe cal
be- driven. It's core Of earth being re-
ing removed several times before tn
desired depth IN reached; or an cart
Ruger can be used for his purpose
Generally the latter method II tn
best.
In ~suhsolling for other purpose
the method Is Identical. except tina
the earth il not lifted so high In tn
air. and the holes are so spaced tina
an the soil of a given area Is loosen
I'd. This spacing varies from fou
feet. sigzag. 10 ten feet. The condl
ton or the soil determines this. tn
heavier clay soils requiring The close
spacing. rms method Ia expensive
and only To be used where cheape
methods fail
ROLAND HARWELI.,
Assistant In Agronomy.