PARK AND CEMETERY. 
the winter, or before the ground has thor- 
oughly thawed in the spring, the use of 
explosives is sometimes indispensable. 
In cemeteries where the ground freezes 
to considerable depths in the winter it is 
a common practice to open graves by 
loosening the earth with small charges of 
dynamite; and it often becomes necessary 
to bore into and break up a stone or 
boulder with dynamite in order to com- 
plete a grave. Considerable quantities are 
sometimes employed in excavating for the 
foundations of mausoleums and large 
monuments. 
One of the most advantageous uses of 
dynamite in park or cemetery is in tree 
planting. Too much attention can hardly 
he given this subject, as the life and de- 
velopment of these trees largely depends 
upon how carelessly or considerately they 
are planted. 
Dynamite prepares an ideal home for 
the tree roots which no amount of care 
could accomplish with the spade. If the 
initial cost of dynamiting is greater in 
seme cases this is said to lie offset by a 
comparison of the results. It is reported 
that from 9o per cent to 100 per cent of 
trees planted with dynamite will live. 
Another great advantage lies in earlier 
maturity, for whether a tree is to produce 
fruit, nuts, or merely shade it is essential 
that it bear its crop as soon and as abun- 
dantly as possible. 
Testimony from nurserymen, orchard- 
ists and other careful observers is said to 
show that trees set in dynamited holes will 
aver?ge five year's growth in three years: 
that they come to maturity much earlier ; 
are proportionately more vigorous, hardy, 
fruitful and free from disease, and will 
obtain a final growth of from one-third to 
one-half more. Also, and this is especially 
important with ornamental and shade 
trees, the foliage is greener and larger, 
and is not so likely to wither in extremely 
dry seasons. 
The causes for this better growth when 
trees are planted in blasted holes are well 
understood. The shattering effect of the 
explosive breaks the hardpan and mellows 
the ground to a depth of five or six feet 
and throughout an area ten to twenty feet 
in diameter. It creates a porous, water 
absorbing condition in the subsoil, which 
becomes a reservoir for moisture and 
makes the tree drought proof, stopping the 
big, first year loss. It assists root growth 
and makes tons of new plant food avail- 
able per acre. It creates drainage, pre- 
vents stagnation of surface water, and 
keeps the soil aerated, destroying fungous 
and other soil diseases. 
All this is effected by simple methods, 
with an average charge of one-half stick of 
dynamite per hole, at an ordinary cost of 
about eight cents, fuse and blasting cap in- 
cluded. It is of general advantage, ex- 
cepting in very deep, sandy soils where 
the maximum porosity already exists. 
It is best to blast for tree planting in 
the late summer when the subsoil is in a 
dry condition; but blasting for spring 
planting, although the subsoil is apt to be 
wet or damp, is claimed to be better than 
planting in dug holes. It should be done 
as far in advance of planting as possible, 
to get the effect of air and sunlight in the 
holes. 
The depth for blasting in ordinary soils 
is usually from thirty to thirty-six inches. 
The charge should be placed towards the 
Ijottom of the hardpan so that the entire 
layer may be pulverized. If placed under 
the hardpan the blast will tend to raise 
the hardpan in chunks rather than to 
shatter it. Where the subsoil is of hard- 
pan or tight clay and is too deep to blast 
through, relief is obtained by pulverizing 
several feet of the top, which will be suf- 
ficient to store moisture and furnish room 
for an ample root development. The ex- 
act nature and depth of the subsoil should 
be known in order that the explosive may 
he used to the very best advantage. There 
is no better way than to go dowm four 
feet or more with a good dirt auger or 
with a spade. 
The bore holes for loading should be 
driven with a sledge and pointed bar, or 
punch, of round or octagon steel, not un- 
der three feet in length and 1^2 inches in 
diameter. A soil auger is also satisfactory, 
but slow'. A heavy crowbar can be used 
to good advantage if necessary. 
The charge is prepared by crimping a 
No. ti blasting cap on the end of a piece 
of fuse as long as the hole is deep, using 
a cap crimper for that purpose. This cap 
with fuse attached is then inserted in the 
explosive and securely tied to it. The 
charge is then started into the hole and 
pressed gently to the bottom with a wooden 
tamping stick, when four or five inches of 
loose dirt are poured on top of it and 
lightly tamped down. Afore dirt is then 
poured in and tamped more firmly, when, 
if the explosive is now covered wtih sev- 
eral inches of lightly packed soil for pro- 
tection, the rest of the hole should be 
alternately fed and tamped until it is quite 
filled with earth that is as hard and tight 
as possible. 
The next operation is to light the fuse 
and retire some fifty or sixty feet. If the 
loading is properly done, and at a suffi- 
cient depth, no soil will he thrown into the 
air, but a dull thud wdll be heard and the 
earth will appear cracked at the surface. 
If the trees are not to be planted for 
some time the holes are now left without 
further attention, unless it is desired to 
add some manure or fertilizer to be dif- 
fused through the soil, or lime in the case 
of sticky sour soils. 
When the trees are to be planted, shovel 
out the hole and locate the cavity that is 
usually sprung at the bottom of it. Fill 
this with tamped soil to prevent subse- 
quent settling of the tree; then fill the 
hole to the level it is desired to set the 
tree, being careful to keep the soil well 
tamped. Set the tree with its roots in as 
near their original position as possible and 
pack them with the top soil from the hole. 
In transplanting large ornamental or 
shade trees where the great expense in- 
volved makes it especially desirable to in- 
sure their life and vigor, the results ob- 
tained when the new ground is prepared 
for their roots by dynamiting are very 
beneficial. The holes should be first dug 
to the required depth and size, say eight 
feet in diameter and four feet deep for a 
tree thirty feet high, and in the center of 
each hole, at a depth of from two and 
a half to four feet, a full stick of blasting 
powder, well tamped, should be exploded. 
In older parks and cemeteries trees that 
are stunted or failing, may sometimes be 
rejuvenated and saved by exploding half- 
stick charges of explosives a few feet 
away from each tree and on all sides of it 
The effect will always be to allow the 
roots to penetrate to greater stores of 
moisture and nourishment. Whole rows of 
trees can be treated in the- same way by 
placing blasts midway between the rows. 
Work of this nature can be carried on 
in the very heart of a city with no danger 
to life or property whatever when careful 
methods are followed. To be most effect- 
ive there should be very little surface dis- 
turbance. As a precaution in closely popu- 
lated districts a blasting mat, woven of 
heavy wire or fibre rope, should he ob- 
tained and placed over each hole before 
firing. 
The necessary supplies of dynamite, 
blasting caps and fuse are usually obtain- 
able anywhere. 
Personal 
J. J. Levison, AI. F., announces that he 
has resigned as forester to the City of New 
York and as arboriculturist to the City of 
Brooklyn and that he will now devote his 
entire time to private practice as consult- 
ing landscape forester and arboriculturist. 
Mr. Levison is a graduate of Yale Uni- 
versity Forestry Department, was former- 
ly associated with the U. S. Forest Service 
under Gifford Pinchot, and during the past 
eleven years has been the forester in 
charge of the trees in the parks and streets 
of the Borough of Brooklyn and for part 
of the time also of Queens, in the City of 
New York. He has written extensively 
on the subject of trees and their care, is 
author of “Studies of Trees,’ etc., and his 
technical advice has been sought by many 
cities throughout the country. He is staff 
lecturer on ornamental and shade trees in 
the Forestry Department at Yale Univer- 
sity and at the Brooklyn Institute of Arts 
and Sciences. He lectures for the New 
York Board of Education, etc. He is for- 
ester for the American Association for the 
Planting and Preservation of City Trees 
and was formerly secretary of the Ameri- 
can Association of Park Superintendents. 
He is also secretary of the Academy of 
Arborists and forester to the City of New 
York. 
