CLEARING THE LAND 187 



These prepared charges are placed in a basket and carried 

 very tenderly to the stumps which have been prepared by 

 the dynamiter's assistant. All the work is handled very 

 carefully, for while there is not much danger of an accident 

 unless fire is placed near the explosive, nevertheless ex- 

 treme caution is used at all tunes. It requires a nature 

 serene, calm, and deliberate. 



Deep oblique holes were then made with a round crowbar 

 under the stump singled out for execution. This hole should 

 be as nearly horizontal as possible and directly under the 

 stump so that all the explosive force may be, expended 

 on the wood and not on the earth between the dynamite 

 and the stump. The earth acts as a cushion and the natu- 

 ral tendency of dynamite to exert force downward is coun- 

 teracted. 



As soon as a small strip was blown, the Italians, gathering 

 up all the stumps, roots, and fragments, removing any pieces 

 that were loosened but not completely torn out, and piling 

 them at intervals, immediately burned them. This cannot 

 be done when stumps are removed by any other method, for 

 by the digging process the earth must be picked and scraped 

 from them and ultimately the stump hacked in pieces before 

 it will burn. 



By our method the stump is burned and the finest kind of 

 unleached wood ashes containing lime to "sweeten" and 

 potash and phosphoric acid to furnish plant food are 

 spread upon the ground a few hours after the stumps are 

 blown out. These ashes would under other circumstances 

 have to be purchased at a cost of perhaps two dollars a 

 barrel, and as five barrels at least to the acre are required 

 for good fertilization, these ashes gave us the first credit 

 upon the books. 



