507 



FARMING WITH DYNAMITE. 1 



WHILE I have long suspected the possibili- 

 ties of explosives in connection with agricul- 

 ture, especially in the Tropics, I have only 

 been able during the last twelve months to 

 satisfactorily demonstrate how very useful 

 dynamite, and the other "ites," can prove, 

 when used with discretion and by trained natives 

 or Europeans. By their use both time and 

 money can be saved, and better work done, 

 both as regards the soil and the crops. 



As regards the handling of these high explo- 

 sives by natives, I would consider that any race 

 or tribe which is intelligent enough to be trained 

 to tap rubber trees, or extract pulque from the 

 maguey plant, as is done under the direction of 

 white supervisors, could be trained to handle 

 these explosives, drill the holes, and pack in 

 the cartridges under the same class of white 

 directors as those who superintend the tapping 

 of rubber. 



On account of the now widespread use of 



1 The first portion of this section consists of a paper 

 by Mr. Hamel Smith, read at the Third International 

 Rubber Conference, held in New York, 1912, and now 

 reproduced from the India-Rubber World, New York, 

 of April, 1913. 



