124 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



NOTE ON FURTHER TRIALS OF EXPLOSIVES IN THE 



GARDEN. 



By Herbert E. Durham, Sc.D., M.B., B.C., F.R.C.S. 



In this Journal last year (vol. xl. p. 16) the intention was announced 

 that the effect of exploding ground in existing plantations would be 

 tried. This intention was carried out upon half of a long herbaceous 

 border and upon halves of two old asparagus beds. 



Herbaceous Border. — The border was about two yards wide and 

 twenty-two yards long, and contained an ordinary mixture of plants 

 such as Phloxes, Madonna lilies, Asters, Lychnis chalcedonica, and 

 annuals. For some reason the western half had never been so luxuriant 

 as the other half, and was therefore chosen for the trial. Three two-ounce 

 charges of cheddite, placed 3 J feet deep, were exploded in the western 

 11 yards ; no other activities were displayed beyond weeding and 

 surface stirring. On July 25 a number of friends were informed that 

 half the bed, east or west of the middle mark, had been exploded, 

 and were requested to record their opinion as to which appeared to be 

 the better grown. Curiously enough, eight recorded in favour of one 

 half, and likewise eight in favour of the other, so that evidently there 

 could not have been much difference at the time, when indeed things 

 were rather over. In respect of the previous poorness of the exploded 

 side, the verdict was in favour of the treatment, as was that of two 

 experts who had inspected the bed at earlier dates. The most marked 

 effect was the height to which the Lychnis chalcedonica grew on the 

 exploded side, nearly double that of the other ; and the Madonna 

 lilies also looked more prosperous. But it is difficult to make a very 

 close discrimination in cases like this, where the scales and weights 

 cannot be brought into use. Judging by the effect on asparagus, I 

 am inclined to think that one-ounce charges would have been better. 

 The time needed for thus " cultivating the soil " was but a mere 

 fraction of that which would have been needed to remove all the 

 plants, dig the soil, and replace the plants ; in fact, in half an hour or 

 less the whole work was done. 



Asparagus. — Of two asparagus beds of many years' standing, the 

 northern half of one was given three ow^-ounce charges, and the southern 

 half of the other had three Iwo-ounce charges, in both cases at a depth 

 of 3 J feet, and with the necessary precaution against cavitation. At 

 the time, the two-ounce dose looked as if it were rather drastic. The 

 portion treated with one-ounce cartridges soon went ahead, and whilst 

 one shoot reached very nearly the height of 9 feet, several were 8 J and 



