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FlV.
VOL. LIX.
INDIANAPOLIS, AUGUST 27, 1904.
NO 35.
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HOW DO YOU REMOVE THE STUMPS?
Dynamite the Best Agent.
lst Premium.—Dynamite is undoubtedly
the best agent to use in ridding the farm
of stumps. My brothers and myself
plowed around stumps for years, ttant
could have been quickly and cheaply removed by blasting.
AVe hove often run into stumps and
broken machinery, which, counting time
lost and expense for repairs, would have
paid for enough dynamite to have removed a dozen stumps. So I aay get powder
and fuse and blow out the stumps and
large stones before you sow your graiu
this fall, and see how pleasant it is to
harvest a field of grain where there are
no obstructions.
In using dynamite, one will need two
two inch augers, one to bore through the
soil down to the tap root, the other to
bore into the root. This one should be
kept very sharp. The augers must have
extra long shanks, so that you can reach
the center of large stumps. Having your
dynamite, _use and caps ready, take the
earth auger and .bore down under the
stump till you ieach tap root, and with
the sharp auger, bore to the center, at'
least, of stump, fasten cap on end of fuse
and insert in cartridge, and with broomstick, shove into bottom of hole, using
from % to 6 or more cartridges, or sticks
of dynamite, according to size and solidity of stump.
Ram the dirt around fuse, light and
get to safe distance as soon as possible.
If sufficient charge has been put in, the
stump will be blown out "root and
branch," and split up so that it can easily
be piled and burned.
The quantity of explosive necessary to
do the work will have to be learned by
experience, but be sure to use enough, as
too small a charge will only split tlie
stump, and it .will be nearly impossible
to blow it out afterward.
Large stones can be broken up so they
can be easily handled, by placing dynamite on top of them and small stone on
tho dynamite, and setting it off.
Clark Co. ' J. B. O.
Use Powder or Dynamite.
2d Premium.—The best way to remove
stumps is by the proper use of dynamite
which is sold by dealers for all kinds of
blasting, and which is not expensive if
properly used. To remove them easily
and effectively the stumps should not be
green, but left standing long enough that
the fine roots begin to decay when the
stump will bo thrown apart effectively
with a small amount of powder.
Take 1\_ inch auger and have y.ur
blacksmith weld on it a piece of iron rod
30 inches long and put on a stout wooden
handle, tliis for boring in the stump.
You can get the powder in sticks or cartridges containing % pound each. The
amount needed will depend on the size
and condition of stumps. Also the stumps
should not be hollow but sound at ths center for best work. For average stump.
Vi fo \_ pound will be sufficient, with 12
to 18 inch fuse and cap for each blast to
be made. Take your auger and bore a
hole a little past center of stump
on a level with the ground, taking
care that when the charge is placed in
the hole it will occupy the e».uter of resistance of the stump.
Open end of a cartridge, make a hole in
same by use of pointed stick, put the
length of fuse needed in end of cap, thrust
in the hole made in end of oartridge, tie
firmly around end of cartridge by a string
to hold cap and fuse in place, gently push
tho charge down the hole made in stump,
tamp earth on this until the hole is filled,
split the end of fuse that it may be more
easily lighted ond you are ready to fire
and get a safe distance.
In this manner I have removed near
200 stumps with 50 pounds powder. This
is better and cheaper than to place the
charge beneath the stump as stumps are
not thrown out whole, but are split and
broken in pieces, and then can be easily
thrown together and burned.
Miami Co. Geo.  A. Whitezel.
Long lever and Horse Power.
3d Premium.—The removing of stumps
stout ring in the end large enough to pass
a common loading chain 3 or 4 times
through said ring, and around the pole,
also pass the chain around the pole once
or twice without putting through large
ring on hook, thus preventing the hook
slipping up and down on the pole while
handling. Fasten a ring to small end . f
pole sufficient to hitch horse to. This
can be fastened witli several strands of
fence wire, and will be lighter than a
chain.
Tut the harness on trusty Bob, and
with a pair of one-horse stretchers hooked into the ring on small end of pole and
make for the nearest stump.
Place the large end of the pole against
the stump, hook to the first root that is
handy, take hold of old Bob, and give it
Among the Dells of Wisconsin on the Wisconsin River.
from the fields is an important item for
many reasons.
First.—It facilitates cultivation. A
field that is very stumpy requires from
one-third to one-half more time to work
it, than if it was clear of stumps, the
extra time depending upon the the amount
of ground covered by the stumps and the
number of them.
Second.—It is a saving of the farm implements to have the stumps (and rocks)
removed and a different tool is often tj;-
quired to cultivate the stumpy field.
Many times the writer has been compelled to grow his entire corn crop without the aid of the two-horse cultivator
on account of the number of stumps, not
having a single field in which the two-
horse cultivator could be used, and the
subject under consideration was an important factor, especially the best way.
In determining the best way, the money
outlay was quite an item. I had more
labor- at hand than money. I had observed machines for pulling stum_>s while
in operation and noticed their wonderful
power. It required money to purchase a
machine, acd much time to move from
one stump to another. And there was the
dynamite, and the cost and dangers of
its iuse. The stumps I had to rcmore
were many, some large, but mostly medium to small.
I secured a stout well seasoned p.le
about 12 to 14 feet long, and not too
heavy to pick up and handle. About 3
feet from the large end of this pole I
fastened a large hook, similar in shape
to what is known as a log hook, except
the point is brought a little nearer the
main part in order that it may draw into
the timber instead of slipping. This hook
is made of 1% inch round iron, with a
a pull, and the stump or the root will
likely give way, if the latter, hook to the
next root and go round the stump pulling off oil the roots and upturning the
stump. By this process the writer has
removed oak stumps 2 or 3 feet across
in a very short time.
If a stump is very difficult to remove,
it is sometimes necessary to saw or chop
the roots at least partly off, and then
hook to the root and pull it out, or if
necessary remove the root part at a time.
Tlie writer has removed more than one
thousand stumps by the above described
procos., a day's work ranging from S cr
10, to 30 or 40. Do not say that it is the
best way but can testify that it can be
thoroughly   done,   and   is  not  expensive.
The stumps should be removed, not
only for the reason stated, but, because
they occupy the best ground in the field
and each person must determine which
is the tost way C. C.
Maxwell, nd.
Premiums of $1, 75 cents, 50 cents
are given for the first, second and third
best articles for the Experience Department each week. Manuscript should be
sent direct to the Indiana Farmer Company and should reach u» one week before date of publication.
No. 443, Sept. 3.—Discuss the value of
bees, aside from honey making. How
keep your bees over winter.
No. 444, Sept 10.—Tell how the State
fair benefits the fanner.
Deaden Willows ln Bloom.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
Tell   your   patrous   to   deaden willows
when in bloom.    Don't forget that.
Marysville. A. J. G.
Automobile Regulations.
Kditors Indiana Farmer:
I like the stand you take ou the automobile question. They have come to
stay, but let us be reasonable. If they
will stop tlieir machines and give us half
a chance to control our teams, or go slow
when passing from behind. They have ti
right to run on the road, but let them
be governed by the same law that governs
tlm traction engines. Ther- have been
more runaways from the automobile in
our town than have been in years.
Knox Co. Jasper N. Wilson.
Large Wheat Yields Every Year.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
As you requested I will give you some
facts about wheat raised on my farm.
It was raised by my partner, John Herring, who lives on my farm. He furn-
isues me with the following: Fifty acre_
yielded 1,300 bushels of good wheat
which is a little over 20 bushels to th>3
acre.
It was all corn ground. Tweuty-li. 3
acres were cut and put in shock, and then
we run a spring tooth harrow both ways,
following this with thj drag. I wish to
say that this field was well manured before it was put in corn. The other 23
acres was sown in standing corn, using
a one horse spring tooth harrow and
wheel drag before the drill. We sowed
V-A bushels per acre, using 100 pounds of
Steamed bone per acre.    ,
The first 25 acres was sown to Poo!,
making a yield of 60114 bushels, the 2d
25 acres to Rudy, yielding G14y_> bushels.
This wheat was all sown in the last teu
days of September.
The Rudy made an average of 2S bushels per acre for us last year, which wa3
all sold for seed.
Now, Mr. Editor, you say there are
reasons for largo yields of wheat. I
think there was only one time last fall
to sow wheat, and wheat that was not
sown within this time, was almost a failure.
When the time of year comes to sow
wheat, I sow whether the corn is cut or
not, and scarcely ever have a failure.
My wheat here at heme was sown the
same way and tlie same time of year and
as you have previously reported we had
an average of 25 bushels per acre.
Franklin. S. M. George.
American rainbow trout have ueen acclimated successfully in the Lake of
Constance, and further experiments are
to be made with them elsewhere in Switzerland.
VALUE CF CLOVER TO THE SOIL.
Dr. C. G. Hopkins, Illinois experiment
station, says: "It is common experience
that clover in the rotation markedly benefits the corn crop following. It is quite
commonly supposed that this benefit is
due to the nitrogen obtained from the
atmosphere by the clover. The results
which we have obtained indicate that on
our ordinary soil this accumulation of
nitrogen is not the primary factor in increasing the subsequent corn yield. It is
well known that the growing of clever
improves the physical properties of the
soil, puts the soil in better tilth, as we
commonly say, so that it pulverizes better
and does not run together so badly. In
many soils the clover also acts beneficially
in increasing the porosity of the subsoil
because of its extensive and deep rooting
system, and thus improves the natural
drainage. All of this is plainly physical
improvement."