Hunt.—Notes on blowing up Snags in the Waikato River with Dynamite. 168 
of the log to its centre. Then the same cross-cutting action was seen ; it 
did not split the log, but cut it nearly in half, as if it had been done with a 
gouge; and a second shot in the same place showed a like result. Then 
they found an old split in the end of the log; a charge in this simply laid it 
open along the line of the old cleavage. Some few of the snags evidenced 
a downward force from the explosion, disappearing entirely ; the only thing 
remaining to show where they had been being air-bubbles rising from the 
sandy river-bed at the spot. One hollow snag, three feet diameter and the 
same deep, with a shell only two to three inches thick, showed this downward 
force well. Many charges had been tried in the shell, but without much effect, 
as they did not seem to be able to get a hold of it, merely splintering it. 
One pound of dynamite was then placed at the bottom of the cavity, and 
after the explosion an oar was put down the split nine feet! but the old 
stump stands triumphantly there still. Some people use dynamite for 
felling trees. The writer is not aware how they apply it, but thinks the 
observed cross-cutting action should be further experimented upon. If 
boring a hole from the outside to the centre of a tree, and exploding 
dynamite therein, does not shatter it for timber, proves expeditious and 
economical in felling, it would certainly save many lives per annum, as the 
fuse could be timed to let every one get clear of the tree, and no accidents 
to bushmen should then be chronicled. 
The cost of blowing up snags by dynamite must be trifling as compared 
with the method followed during the war by the Government of cutting 
them out with saws. The aforesaid company tried this plan before the 
writer adopted the dynamite ; it then cost them fifteen shillings per snag, 
with the dynamite about five shillings each. On the average three men 
are able to blow out eight snags per day. 
Names of the wood operated on are (mostly) kauri, matai, and rimu; the 
latter resisted the dynamite more than the others, taking at least double 
the quantity to blow them out. The top of the snag which sunk the p.s. 
** Waipa ” is now in the Auckland Museum; it is kauri ; when cut off by a 
diver and brought into contact with the air it split up ped as you may 
now see it. 
Further experimeuts will be made on next snagging expedition, with a 
view to lessening the cost of blowing up snags, by doing away with the 
boring and making the dynamite do the whole work—viz.: First, upon 
small snags of nine to twelve inches in diameter by encircling the trunk by 
packets of dynamite like a string of sausages round it to see if it will cut 
the snag off. Second, upon snags of from one to two feet in diameter, to 
see if exploding the dynamite on the somewhat flat top will remove them. 
Third, to ascertain the effect of a sausage-like string of dynamite exploded 
