CLEARING LAND BY BLASTING.

Grey River Argus, Volume XVI, Issue 2173, 27 July 1875, Page 4

CLEARING LAND BY BLASTING.

' "It may to many seem straiige,"i says a United States paper," "that wo in America should ,be : able to learn anything about clearing 'land from Great Britain, •• but; recently some operations in clearing .and improving: land in the northern, part , of. 'Scotland have ; been performed in a that is instructive to ;us. The f "ofjeVa'tions^ jeapec'Mly' referred 'to are the ■ Breaking up^ t and; the of stumps, trees, laTge^stones/'and' robks by means of dy&aiMte or-'glant' 'powder!'/ This ( explb'slv^.is'a preparation of nitro^glycqrine reßdei*ed: ? perfectly 's'af^ in use by: admixture "with! absorbing" ;' knd diluting, sub,Btancejsjj£W is mai/y 'tipies more effective "than 'guupowder.. This powerful explosive has been found tp ( act,iq a most satisactory manner, having greater effect, and ._-, exert • jing; its force in.a.more .favorable manner "tliaii gnnpowder, anddoes not require any jiampiug.ar^The-re.uding .force is"; so ; great tli%ti : i^ie largestistumps are torn; into fragments of.conyenient.sizetfof . removal, or are lifted bodilyi out .of < their. '.;ben. ; One method of applying the explosive is* this : — A large iwle'-'iß bt>rti : d 'witte'a^comimon, aflgerihto^th^ceritre 6f a'/'stump^ariS a] charge-of;- gikot^p'bwdg'r, - 'm-^alvbartridge! alread^p>e v pldfe ! d $$'$£ ' thb "hole',;- is; in-; serted:" I ' A'tf irp f n i tape J rin|''scre'#, ' -made toi fit a,w T in^n,' i is :i tnen < ' tightly screwed into; thiPliolfe?" The screw has a hole through ■its-centrey-by-which. a fuse is -carried- to the charge. The charge is exploded in; the usual mans 3r >rv And the s.tnmp is blown to pieces, o/liftedout of its place It may be well to caution those who , under4&Wthis wrtrk * f t& Exercise' the 1 care, and .to keep a good, look out for ;the Brew,,'^s : ii'wil;l'som i e : tiiye's be^bloWn^ to ; distarVce if : ;^oo : Mge^a: u^re^er^us^l^fMct 0 ;i3 ) gained Iby' "moderate' "chargfes flVu JExcesßiye charges .do y very, poor 'execution, either blowing l oiit4ne-s 4 cfew ? ''or-a portion of the stjimp^ ( atfdt'4eaV.ragJ the larger portion' •shattered; but stiH-in-a -condition- which makes th^irj/rgmg^aliryejyTdiffipult';! A&r other meCho'd is as follows : — A holer is punched in^ejearjthjbeneathf the centre of the stump and between two of the largest roots. A cartridge of giant powder. sß:placed'i at thel bottom.! : Jola "the hole witha-iuse attached ta it... It is seated lh l a^ *ihe ; powder when'it 'Mplodeal'tlirow's tim stump ;cpmpletely;fr;omithe''igrou.n:d in every case, and frequently splits it into sWer^orjEions?'^WitH^onim6n' ; brastihg powder, .this .cannojribe idpne; .Its ; explosion .is not , sufficiently rapid, and the earth' 'is^simply Temoved' from the stump. But with the many times more and forcible explosion flf the giant" powder the loose earttf r oners" sufficient resistance, and th ! &'f6rce of the explosion is exerted directljrupwards with the best effecfrnpon the stumpjbr rock. It matters not whether the object to be removed be a stump 6t.& rock, the effect is the same. «-The forego! these/nitro-glycerine-pre-parationirmayi be;yeEyJecbnomically »used in|hceaking| large ?,rqcks , which ;need\ re-> moval. trp'pnja.recent „t occasion.^e.'S.aw astpneof about 10 tons "weight,' being ne&fry^cubVtff six feet diameter, shatteTedinto fragments by a charge of lib. of '|iant powder simply^placed' 'upon Ipie upper surface of the stone, . and covered with-S sKovelf til of earth/ '■The stone 1 was Of' Very hard tough • tr^p-rock, ; and^ r 'would have is'quir.ed a day's; .work ; of -t.wo,.;ori three;-nienrto i jbr l eak3,it L , up . with . ; co.mmon; powder. : v .... /.....