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About Falls City news. (Falls City, Or.) 190?-19?? | View Entire Issue (April 15, 1916)
4 Aaturdav, April 15, 1916 THE FALLS CITY NEW 8 ■■ Getting the Dollar From Under the Stump Deepening the Farm For Bigger Crops How Up to Date Farmers Are Easily and Economically Realizing; on Land Hitherto Impossible of Cultivation. The Third Dimension of the Farm an Important Factor to (ireater Crops and Bigger Dividends. A R O IT ««MMO.OOO i c m of land / * ttuloilol in farms throughout the United States are unim- proved Figuring that each acre could be made to produce at least <¿5 worth of produce per year, there ta approximately $10,000.000i000 pro duction being lost annually. Quite a tidy figure. And when we take into consideration that in many cases it re quires only the removal of sundry stumps and boulders to make this land profitable, it certainly looks as though something might ho done to save the waste. “ Stumpiug with dynamite" is both an economical, quick and labor saving method as well as one that is growing in popularity daily. The method involved in the blasting of a stump is to confine a quantity of explosive in such a manner that wfien exploded the expanding gases will :ft the slump out of the ground. To se cure beet results the charge should be placed In the soli well uuder the base of tbe stump at the point where the resistance offered to the force of tbe explosion will be equal on all sides. Where the soil is of a heavy clay or plastic nature a alow acting powder is preferable, auch aa farm powder or stumping powder Where the earth is sandy or loose and la apt to permit the easy escape of gases a fast explo sive, such as 40 to 00 per cent dyna mite should be used. The coodltlou of the soil with respect to tuolslure also has a great luduence upon the amount of work that a certkin quantity of pow der will do. After heavy rains when the soil Is saturated to the base of the slump and the su I mo II I s Just damp Is a most favorable condition No set rules as to the amount of powder necessary to blast a certain kind or slae of slump can l>e given, since different conditions govern all cases. Two slumps of the same slae, kind and age of cut, w lieu oue Is grow n on well drained soil where the roots must penetrate a great depth for water and the other Is grown ou soil where there is always water uear the surface, will demaud different treatment for extraction. The older stumps, e»|>ccial- ly If from titntwr free from reslu. re quire less powder. The exact amount uecessary for set conditions can. how ever, be readily determined with a lit tle experimenting. Few tools and supplies are required. A oue and one-half Ineh wood auger with a shank about four and oue-half feet loug. a medium sized crowbar, a round pointed shovel and a wooden tamping stick, together with the ih > w - der. fuse and caps, will serve to OU the bill ISH farmers are beginning to realize thal a farm goes farther than length sud breadth. Depth Is a vital factor, and Incidentally this third dl tuetislon has a clearly Identified Influ cnee upou the producing value of the earth's surface. Thus "vertical farming." a newer method of agriculture. Is rapidly da vcloplng Merely to scrape the bris tles from s hogs hide Is not euough. Deeper cutting Is essential In order to leach the bacon And experience has shown that to simply plow or turn the lop soil Is very often ouly the ecrateh- Ing of the surface when It comes to bumper crops. t Tien the productivity of a farm la limited by the tight « lay or hard pan underlying the top soli. Costly luiple incuts fur tilling this upper soil and W Inking care of Increased horizontal or surface acreage are all right In ihelr way, hut to go deeper luto the farm, to lucres mi Its fertility aud productive ness by Increasing Its depth, la a mai ler that the practice of vertical farm ing accomplishes quickly and ecouorn Ically, aud very often a single car tridge of explosive will convert several yards of otherwise useless sulwoll Into half sii nere of uew root feedlug sur face Thus, instead of spreading out and embracing more territory, vertical farming enables the farmer to really concentrate and by Intensive methods conserves lu both labor aud expense At the same time the resulting In crease In crops emphasizes Ibe profit able features of the process And there Is a practical reason for this. Ity hresklng up tbe subsoil oxy gen Is admitted luto the ground, and tbe i wilt up nutural fertilizing elements Explosives In Road Building Straightening Streams With Dynamite One of the newer methods of rued building that ta fast winning the In- ilureamant of the better reread contrac tor la that of employing dynamite for reducing tbe heavy work. Grading through bard ground or rock, for Instance«, I* tedious and requires lima and labor. The use of dynamite for blasting such material ta a welcome relief. Doth rock and bard clay may > lie loosened In the cut by well placed ' charges of explosives If hole« are drill- ••d Into th# ground a little way up tba j Imnk aud loaded. Careful spacing and loading for electrically fired blast* will - result In bringing down both classes of I msterlals In th* beet possible manner Tbe ancient Egyptian* were noted for tbelr crops because, as history states, they “sowed their seeds In the Nile." This does not mean that they actually cast tbe seed In the river. At certain seasons of the year the Nile overflows its banks, depositing on cither shore a rich silt or earth that Is highly conducive to buuiiier crops, and the wise ancient Egyptians, realizing this, profited thereby. Water is a necessity. The tiniest brooks up to the largest rivers play an Important part In the scheme of things inasmuch as they are nature's way of T£N MONTHS AFTER iaOOWOPTH Qf C E L E E ? P t B AC RE, AM U N P R O F IT A B L E 5 T U M P ¿0 V E .K E P F IE L D ihelr flow. Numerous irregularities cause them to menuder about tu ap parently wasteful ways, nnd uinn's carelessness has added to these trou hies by allowing driftwood nnd loose earth to form dams and sandbars. All of these things help to hold the flood of waters back and cause either flooding or swamps, which not only oc cupy lund that could be more profitably used for farming, but also form flue breeding places for mosquitoes uml other obnoxious pests. Incidentally they cause an annual loss running into millions of dollars per year. In this day of enlightenment such things are both wasteful nnd. one might add. criminal, especially so In view of the fact that almost instant relief may be had by a few well placed charges of dynamite. Not only will Diagram of Stream Trouble! That May these blnstB straighten out the kinks and bends and remove ledges and Be Corrected by Blasting. sand bars, but they will deepen and im both irrigation and drainage. But be prove the channels as nature has real ing formed according to nature's dic ly Intended. Incidentally by straight ening the winding course of a creek tates their courses do not always jibe much area of tillable land can be ob with man's desires or needs. mined and farm operation In inauy In Rock ledges Impede their progress. stances made much easier Overhnneing stumps unit trees retard Digging a Ditch In a Flash Things move quickly nowadays. The village of yesterday Is tomorrow’s metropolis Speed is a requisite, and newer methods that smack of rapidi ty and labor and money saving are In demand. Ditches that once consumed many days of baDd or machine labor are now being blasted out In almost the twin kling of an eye. By degrees man la learning to adopt some of nature's sim ple, but mighty forces. And the gul lies and valleys that old Mother Earth has created by her natural upheavals and eruptions are being duplicated in a smaller way by some of the more progressive and up to date farmer*. Digging ditches with dynamite i* simply a newer and more Improved method of trench building. The meth od employed I d wet work Is simply to punch holes from eighteen to twenty- four Inches deep along the line desired to ditch and then load each hole with a charge of 50 per cent straight dyna mite. Long stretches of ditch can be loaded and fired at one time One cap placed of the lower soils are released and utilised A reservoir for the storage of^ water hi crested, and a good horns for* the roots Is produced. Good roots are essential to good pianta. Men who look below lb# aurfere realize these facts. They know also 1 hat ■ I »hi ii I produces only In proportion lo the extent of air, water and nourish m ill given I s roots. Thus la Iba new- er uietlust of vartical farmlug both logical and profitable. t his method of farming vertically le In Itself easy, simple ami labor saving. A half cartridge charge of farm pow der placed well down Into tbe light subsoil at Interval* of about a rod. tntnped properly and fired carefully will do the work quickly and econom ically. Subsoil blasting, however, can be don# euccaaafully only whan tba subsoil Is dry. Few tools are required for tbe work in a cartridge of dynamite ,in the mid dle hole of tbe line of charged boles and fired will do the work. A single row of holes can usually be depended upon to excavate a ditch from seven to nine feet wide and about thir ty to forty inches deep. Where larger ditches are required tbe holes can be made deeper and loaded heavier, or two or more lines of holes, spaced from three to four feet apart, can be used. Incidentally tbe holes can be made In tbe roughest kind of swamp or in flood muck beds, where other method* of ditching are practically impossible. When the soil Is dry or the weather is too cold to use tbe propagated meth od of bleating described above low freezing farm or stumping powder Is used in bole* spread farther apart, often in large ditches as far as four or five feet. In this case each bole must be primed with an electric cap. as the explosive shock will Dot propa gate In dry ground. The cheapest lineal foot of small ditch Is obtained by using the electric firing method and farm or stumping powder. Blasting Ground For Tree Planting Much has been written on how to plant a tree or trees, but If the experi ences of scores of famous orchui«lists have any weight on the topic, tlu-n the practice of using dynamite preliminary to planting young trees hus fully proved its merits. The writer has personally seen spe cific examples of the value and excel lence of tree planting with dynamite ou a private orchard in Delaware, the Blasting for tree planting Is best done In the fall, because at this time of the .«ear It Is easier to cateb the subsoil in dry condition. Klustlug In the spring for spring planting, however. Is much belter than planting In dug holes, not withstanding tbe fact that the subsoil D apt to be wet or «lump. If the hole« are blasted In advance of the time of setting the trees they are left without further attention until TOP 5 OIL B H O H IN V /¿ ) ,U>L c. Z, I pacxcd SUBSOIL THE BLAST THOROUGHLY CRACKS THE SOIL, BUT USUALLY LEAVES A CAVITY OR POTHOLE AT THE BOTTOM— THIS MUST BE FILLED. difference in growth between the un- tree planting time, unless It I h desir dynamlted tree and tbe »ree olanted able to add some manure or fertilizer In blasted ground being ho unmistak to he diffused through the soil. This ably in favor of the latter that no ad Is an excellent practice, especially in poor soil. If the earth Is sour, sticky equate comparison could l>e made Furthermore, there are so many sane clay a few pounds of lime scattered In and logical reasons for this method of the hole will materially assist in floc tree planting that even the most skep culating the clay and keeping It per tical could not fail to be convinced. manently granulated and sweet. Obviously when a tree has to use a Immediately after the blast the soft large part of Its energies in forcing its f Masted ground should be dug out down roots through the hard *oll it can to the location of the charge, where not be expected to make the same a hole will usually be found al>out rapid growth and oome into such the size of a bushel basket. This Burrowers— Beware! Gophers aud prairie dogs are thr bane of western farmers, while In the «•ant woodchucks arc the type of bur - rowing animals that cause the tillers In loosening «dials and rock to facili of the soil lo forget softie of the things tate hand or dteam shovel work dyna the dominie tclli them on Smnlnys. mite la also vwry effective, while stump* Don Leonardo Rule, a California may b# blasted from tba roadbed Just rancher, says "dynamite ts the proper aa though they were being removed from a field tz> be cleared and cultivated. 1 medicine to give grouutl squirrels. g«s phers, prairie dogs, etc.” Boulders also ays easily shattered by Take an Inch uml n half or two suitable loading axid when of hard rock Inches of dynamite. Put It In a hit of may he crushed into surfacing atone. cloth or several thicknesses of paper The side ditches as well oe Ibe loug to form a small round cartridge Tie outfall ditches cm also be blasted In the cloth or paper firmly about one keeping with the nature of the ground. end of a piece of fuse twelve or four In fa ct there are no limits practically to the many uses and advantages of teen Inches long, but do not use a cap. Insert one of these charges well Into dynamite for road building when care the mouth of every hole and puck ful and thotiffhtful attention la given loose dirt around the fuse, leaving to the work. Incidentally the planting of shade enough of the end outside to light eas By. ligh t tbe fuse nnd go on to tbe trees for roadside improvement and at tractiveness la greatly facilitated by next hole. There will be no explosion There being no cap or olher deto the judicious use of a little dynamite. nator. the dynninlte will simply bnrn. It la a recognized fact that trees plant filling the hole with dense, poisonous ed in blasts*! holes grow much more Dime* that will almost Instantly stifle rapidly nnd progress more favorably nnd then kill every living thing Inside. than those plnnted In th* average spftd* dug ground. Priming a Dynamite Cartridge To properly prime a dynamite or farm powder cartridge fo«u things are essential the cap. the fuse, the <ar- fridge nnd n crimping tool Tbe ineth- *>d In Itself Is very simple First crimp the priming cap about the fuse, using the crimping tool as ls no Immediate danger In handling l stick of farm powder If the user wll ua# but an ordinary amount of can and Intelligence A common Incorrect method of prim Ing la to punch a hole right througl I he cartridge, pass the rapped fuai Crimping th* Cap te the Fuee. shown In the Illustration Next punch a diagonal hole In the cartridge with the end of the crimping tool, making the hole deep enough to entirely bury Tying Fuse and Cap «* Cacti the cap Insert the cap Into this hole and tie the fuse to tbe side of the car through It. then Inaert In anoth onal hole below the first hole. Ing la necessary to hold tbe c#j «•artridge This method la can lug the fuae through the r»ir It I* unsafe aud unreliable T is likely to break at the stiar and tha powder train spit fit e THE ROOTS ARE FIRMLY EMBEDDED IN RICH TOPSOIL. SURROUNDED BY MELLOW, WELL DRAINED SUBSOIL. Loading. Th* Ditoh. ■ LAfiTING DITCHES THROUGH SWAMP. early bearing as a tree would that luifi had the ground In which It was plnii'c<l thoroughly prepared by dynamiting l>e- foreband. No tree should be plnnted over hard- pan or Impacted subsoil without first resorting to blasting, so that, the «oil may be made open and porous Such blasting not only creates channels. In creases absorption of soil moisture and iwrmlts deeper rooting, but It also In duces better growth and larger yields. must be filled to prevent settling of the tree after planting. The roots should be placed in a natural position In good top spil, covered with more top soil and treade«! down firm. The hole can then be filled to a little above tbe surface with subsoil. The fact that nearly all commercial orchardlsts use this method proves that It pays In reduced first year loss, earlier fruiting and larger and better yields. Making Cap Hel* In Cartridge. »ridge securely with • stout piece of cord. If the Job la done carefully and por- rectly the entire outfit will look like Illustration No. 4 . and the priming will be complete. Ignorance, fear or carelessness are ’ he cause* of moat accident*. There Th# Finished Cartri |ge—Primed. th# break, setting fire to th* rartrldgt Instead of exploding. R. or the tom may miss fire altogether, leaving ai unexploded charge In the »iole, or H may hang fire for half aft b u r or hall " d*y » *fit 1 qg • accident ploalraa U d° not>pmy,,n »«ndUng «