274 Practical Forestry 



of a coarse iron wire. The outside end of the fuse should be 

 teased out and lighted with a match, and as it will require 

 over a minute for the fire to reach the powder, time is given 

 for the operator to find a place of safety. 



Burning Tree Stumps. With a 2-in. auger bore a 

 vertical hole in the centre of the stump from the top towards 

 the bottom. In the side of the stump, near ground-level, 

 bore a horizontal hole towards the centre, so as to open into 

 the vertical hole, drop some fire down the vertical hole, and 

 if the wood is at all dry the draught of air entering by the 

 horizontal hole will, like the draught of a chimney, maintain 

 the combustion of the fire in the centre, until this slowly 

 spreads and ultimately burns away the stump. 



Another and equally simple method of destroying stumps 

 of trees is as follows : In autumn bore a hole 2 in. in diameter 

 and 18 in. deep, put in 1J oz. of saltpetre, fill with water, 

 and plug up close. In the following spring put in the 

 same hole half a gill of kerosene oil and then light. The 

 stump will smoulder away without blazing, down to every 

 part of the roots. 



American Method of Blasting. At Studley Horti- 

 cultural College, Warwickshire, the American method of 

 blasting was successfully carried out and reported upon by 

 Mr. A. P. Long as follows : 



A hole is bored with a long auger or crowbar in a sloping 

 direction from one side of the stump to its base, generally 

 from 2 | ft. to 3J ft. deep. The bore-hole is cleaned out, and 

 a number of dynamite cartridges inserted, each being 

 firmly pressed home by a wooden rod. A primer cartridge 

 containing a detonator is then placed on the top of these, 

 and the bore-hole is filled with clay and tightly rammed. 

 The primer is either connected directly with a safety fuse, 

 or to a high-tension battery, by a cable, and is afterwards 

 fired. As dynamite strikes downwards as well as upwards, 

 the effect of the explosion is that the roots and stump are 

 all either ejected or loosened, so that they can be easily 

 removed by hand. 



The American method is less costly and more speedy 

 than the methods hitherto used, in England in removing 



