. Better fruit. Fruit-culture. August, I pip BETTER FRUIT Page 2p entire layer may be pulverized, but do not go below the bottom of it, as the force of the blast will tend to raise the hardpan in chunks rather than shatter it. The depth is governed ab- solutely by the depth of the hardpan. Illustration "C," Fig. 1, shows one of the most common subsoil troubles. This type of hardpan or tight clay is usually too deep to blast through and relief is obtained by pulverizing sev- eral feet of the top, which if well done will be found to be sufficient to store moisture and furnish room for
. Better fruit. Fruit-culture. August, I pip BETTER FRUIT Page 2p entire layer may be pulverized, but do not go below the bottom of it, as the force of the blast will tend to raise the hardpan in chunks rather than shatter it. The depth is governed ab- solutely by the depth of the hardpan. Illustration "C," Fig. 1, shows one of the most common subsoil troubles. This type of hardpan or tight clay is usually too deep to blast through and relief is obtained by pulverizing sev- eral feet of the top, which if well done will be found to be sufficient to store moisture and furnish room for an ample root development. For such a condition the blast should be made not less than three feet deep. Occasionally a soil is found like that shown in "D," Fig. 1, which will usually be found to require deeper blasting. The explosive should be placed well down in the hardpan—the deeper the better. When very deep loading is prac- ticed it is best to increase the amount of the charge, sometimes to more than double the amount normally used. Fig. 3. The charge in place. Making Bore Holes.—A number of different methods have been devised for making the bore holes for loading, but so far no other tool has given such good results as a heavy subsoil punch Fig. 2. This tool is made of iy2-inch steel and should be not less than three feet long. Smaller drills will not be satisfactory, as the explosive cartridge is itself 1 Vi inches in diameter and when primed with cap and fuse is dif- ficult to load into a smaller hole. The punch is driven to the desired depth with a sledge, and loosened by pound- ing on the sides, after which it can easily be withdrawn. A soil auger is quite satisfactory for making a small number of holes, but is too slow and expensive if there is much work to be done. However, for holes deeper than three feet, one can be used very satisfactorily to deepen the drilled holes. In some cases holes can be made with a heav>- crowbar. Some soils are so hard,
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