. The lure of the land . ended on the wood and not on theearth between the dynamite and the stump, for earth acts as a cushionand the natural tendency of dynamite to exert force downward isaccentuated. Small stumps up to four feet require about ^ lb,, while large ones,say six to eight feet in diameter, require 3 lbs. of the explosive, whichis placed in several separate holes surrounding the stump. When astump requires separate charges, in order to secure united effort theelectric spark is used, the wires attached to the sticks of dynamiteare connected, and this circle of wire attached to batte
. The lure of the land . ended on the wood and not on theearth between the dynamite and the stump, for earth acts as a cushionand the natural tendency of dynamite to exert force downward isaccentuated. Small stumps up to four feet require about ^ lb,, while large ones,say six to eight feet in diameter, require 3 lbs. of the explosive, whichis placed in several separate holes surrounding the stump. When astump requires separate charges, in order to secure united effort theelectric spark is used, the wires attached to the sticks of dynamiteare connected, and this circle of wire attached to battery wire about200 feet long. This main wire is stretched to its limit and attachedto the magneto battery. At the word fire, the plunger of the batteryis sent home to the base, closing the circuit and sending the spark gen-erated to the caps, thus the several sticks of dynamite are simul-taneously exploded. It is a grand and w^onderful sight, and I doubt ifmany women have had the pleasure and privilege of sending the spark. Blowing bybattery to a stump of live chestnut Avhich measured 7^ feet in diameter andin an instant making of a waste place a bit of ground capable of takingits place in the worlds work and ready to grow many blades of grasswhere none had grown before. Fourteen fuse charges are placed under as many stumps; themethod of placing, by the way, is to lower the charge into the obliquehole, press it steadily and firmly with a blunt ended stick until ex-panded to the full size of the crowbar hole, then fill up the hole withearth and tramp it firmly, that no explosive gases may find a loopholeof escape. Each loaded stump is then marked by a stick or branch. Two men light these fuses, which are cut a thirty-second length(about a foot and a half of fuse burns this time). A match is touchedto each fuse, which has been slightly opened at the end that thepowder may be exposed and catch fire quickly. When the fourteenfuses are all lighted the men take to their heels and flee
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