Ten Days' Work in One Day 



Relative to the demonstration of ditching work given by your company on 

 May 16th, at Vandalia, I would advise that the result of this demonstration was 

 highly satisfactory to all interested. 



The ditch averaged 4 feet deep and 6 feet wide at the top. Owing to the 

 fact that the work was done in dry ground it was necessary to use a battery in 

 connection with same. This increased the cost of the work. In the manner 

 in which the ditch was shot, tl. expense averaged $1.30 per rod. Had the 

 ground been wet the cost would have been 90c. per rod. To have done the 

 work with teams and scrapers would have cost us $1.50 per rod and required 

 10 days to complete the work that was done in one day. 



Yours truly, 



GEO. F. SNERLY, 

 District Drainage Commissioner, Fayette County, 111. 



Does Four Days' Work in Three Hours 



LONDON GROVE, PA., November 6, 1911. 



I am pleased to advise that I have used Red Cross Dynamite for draining 

 swamps on my property, reclaiming about one-eighth of an acre, which has 

 always been unproductive. This is now pasture land. 



This land was drained by ditching, and I found the use of dynamite for 

 this work less than one-third the cost of digging by hand and then hauling 

 away the dirt. The time consumed in ditching with dynarmte required about 

 three hours for one man, and by the old method of digging it would have 

 taken one man at least four days. This would have left dirt on the ridge 

 along; the drain, whereas by using dynamite it was distributed evenly along 

 the sides. 



T. S. GROFF. 



Uses Dynamite in Irrigation Ditching 



BILLINGS, MONTANA, Feb. 17, 1912. 



Last spring (1911), your Mr. J. C. Horgan made four shots on my place. 

 The idea was to loosen up the gravel and hardpan so that the water would 

 drain from the low ground into the drain ditch which traverses my property. 



Hitherto, during the irrigating season, water would stand on low areas of 

 my ground, and it would be necessary for me to run lateral drain ditches 

 from the main ditch to the low spots. Mr. Horgan put holes down about five 

 feet and charged them with one and one-half pounds of Dupont Red Cross 

 dynamite. 



This" summer the ground thus shot absolutely drained into the main 

 drain and water would not stand on it, so 1 can recommend this system to 

 any wishing to overcome similar conditions. 



Yours truly, BILLINGS GREENHOUSE CO., 



By J. W. Partington. 



Endorsed by Experiment Station 



We have done some remarkably efficient ditching work at a small cost (com- 

 pared to teams and pick and shovel) by using dynamite. I have in mind a piece of 

 ditch 50 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 3 feet deep, which was dug at a cost of 12^4 

 cents per cubic yard. An argument that greatly favors using dynamite in this 

 particular kind of work is that no water holding banks are thrown up, resulting 

 in almost perfect surface drainage. Another feature greatly in favor of using 

 dynamite in ditching is the rapidity in which it can be done. When the ground is 

 wet and heavy, and farming operations are at an enforced standstill, then is the 

 time to do the best work in ditching with dynamite. 



. PAUL D. PERKINS, 



Supt. Angleton Station, 



Texas Agricultural Experiment Stations. 



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