The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1923-04-04

cell battery, or storage battery, for
the reason that the contact points
or binding posts are dead.
One of the great advantages of
electrical firing is the fact that it is
instantaneous and that the time Of
the blast is therefore under the on
troll of the plaster. In shooting
stumps along the roadway with cap
and fuse, if some vehicle approaches
after the fuse has been lighted at
about the time the blast is due to fire
there is no way of holding off the
blast, whereas with the electrical
method if anything happens which
renders it desirable to delay the shot
for a few minutes, the blaster SIM
ply waits until all is clear before
firing.
Ali the above may sound a little
complicated. However, it is nothing
like as complicated as making a loaf
Of bread, for instance. Let us illus
trate this by going through the pro-
cess of blowing out a stump. With
a crOwbar we punch around under the
stump until we find a place between
the roots where we can get the bar
down into the soil a couple of feet
under the stump, and then we wig
gle the crowbar around with a rotary
motion in order to enlarge the hole
If the soil is very hard it may be
necessary to drive the crowbar in
with a sledgehammer or to use a dirt
augur or a punch bar. Let us say this
stump is about two feet in diameter
and is four or five years old and ii
! ordinarily stiff loan. Four cart
ridges of Dumorite or of Red Gross
Farm Powder is about the right
charge. With a sharp knife we sit
the paper shell of the first thre cart
ridges down the length of the cart
ridge, drop one into the hole, anC
with a sawed-off broOmstick press /
firmly down so as to cause it tt
spread out and fill the bottom of thu
hole, without leaving any air space
there. We drop the second and thu
third cartridges in and press then
into position in the same way. Nov
we take a blasting cap out of its box
cut off about three feet of fuse from
the coil, slip the blasting cap on tn
freshly cut end of the fuse in such
way that the fuse just touches tn
cap composition. Holding it in thi
position, we crimp the cap firmly D
the fuse by means of a cap crimpel
We then take the fourth cartridge
punch a hole about an inch from on
end in a slanting direction with tn
pointed leg of the cap crimper, ii
Eert the cap in this hole, and tie
!: piece of string about ten inches lon
first around the fuse about half a
inch above the cap and then aroun
the cartridge, so that the cap Cal
not be pulled out of the dynamit
This cartridge with the cap in it
called the primer. 1t is not general
slit, or if it is slit, only about ha
it's length, beginning at the end o.
posite the cap. After placing tt
primer in the hole we fill the r
4 naming space with clay, loan
4 sand, packing it down carefully w
the %broomstick, which is known as
: tamping stick. Then with a sha
$ knife, we slit the exposed end Of t
y fuse half way through to a length
s one inch, take a match Ia box
d safety matches is the best kind
use) and, holding the box close
: the fuse, strike the match and, VIII
n it's head is still flaming, put it quiC
ly into the powder exposed in t
,r fuse. We now retire to a safe pls
t. and in about 80 seconds the char
?, explodes. If the amount OF dyr
~ ~ mite has been gagged correctly,
stump is blown clear and clean out
the ground, leaving very few, if a
roots in the earth.
pc