THE SUPPLEMENT TO THE 



Tropical Agriculturist and Magazine of the G. A. 8. 



No. 6.] DECEMBER, 1912. [Vol. XI. 



DYNAMITE FARMING. 



SUGGESTIONS FOR TROPICAL 

 AGRICULTURISTS. 

 Some time ago we drew attention to the pos- 

 sibilities of dynamite farming for Ceylon, and 

 its usefulness in more rapidly clearing land re- 

 quired for cultivation, but the process appears 

 to have made little progress in the island, 

 although one local firm was to have introduced 

 anew explosive ("Ergite") especially designed 

 for farm work, and there was an experiment 

 at Peradeniya some three months ago.. Farm- 

 ing by dynamite is not a new thing, and 

 it is said that farmers in the Western 

 States of America have regularly blasted 

 their land for the past 20 or 30 years, and 

 that bumper crops have attended their efforts. 

 Until quite recently, however, it has been 

 looked upon with suspicion by the British far- 

 mer, who has an almost uncanny veneration of 

 the things his grandfather did, and a corres- 

 ponding contempt for " new fangled notions," 

 which though admittedly beneficial, are — well, 

 new fangled. Despite his contempt, dynamite 

 farming is now a recognised agricultural science 

 and a thoroughly established principle for pre- 

 paring the ground for crops. The natural ele- 

 ments of fertility in the soil are phosphoric 

 acid, potash, humus aDd nitrogen compounds 

 And these are far more valuable below the 

 ploughable area. Ploughing benefits the soil 

 to fv depth of some six or eight inches, but the 

 soil beneath that is never touched. Moisture 

 cannot penetrate, and a necessary supply of 

 water is denied the plant. Dynamite breaks up 

 the ground to a depth of some five or six feet, 

 below the ploughing depth. The method is 

 simple. Holes are bored into the ground with 

 an augur, three feet in depth, and 20 feet apart. 

 A small dynamite plug is placed in each hole, 

 61 



and then the charge is fired. The ground should 

 be fairly dry to give the best results ; if too dry 

 the explosion is not quite so effective, while 

 if too wet the charge acts too deeply in the 

 earth. In clay soils a slow propelling force is 

 better, while in sandy soils, where there is a 

 chance for the gas to escape, a quick force 

 should be used. Top ploughing is still neces- 

 sary ; dynamite makes that top ploughing more 

 efficient, and releases the nutritive values of the 

 land which are never touched by the plough. 

 It stand to reason therefore that not only will 

 more profitable crops be secured, but that land 

 hitherto unfit for cultivation will be brought 

 under agriculture with success ; good land can 

 be better cultivated ; hard land, and tough clay 

 subsoils can all be utilised. Exhausted soils, 

 with every atom of nourishment drawn f rom its 

 surface soil will be reinvigorated by the loosen- 

 ing of the nutritive beds, and manuring will not 

 be so necessary, if necessary at all. In swampy 

 ground the clay subsoil that forms a water seal 

 and prevents the surface moisture from draining 

 away, can be removed. Irrigation ditches may 

 be more easily constructed, and the force may 

 be used in a hundred and one ways. 



Its value has been long recognised by the 

 far-seeing and the go-ahead agriculturist, but 

 for some time there were difficulties in the 

 way. Dynamite is a dangerous material to 

 handle ; it requires a little more care than is 

 usually bestowed on the plough. It has moods 

 and fancies, and ordinary dynamite, it was soon 

 seen, was unsuitable for the rough and tumble 

 work of dynamite farming. But other materials 

 have now been evolved, and the latest are Ergite, 

 and " Red Cross" dynamite. The latter requires 

 a powerful shock to explode it, and can be 

 handled with comparative safety. All such ex- 

 plosives are best fired by some method of elec- 

 tricity, for with the most reliable of explosives 



