of
Gardek
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VOL. T.XTTT
AUf-,7  190ft
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INDIANAPOLIS, AUGUST 8, 1908.
NO. 32
%xpevieuce $epKxtm&nt
REMOVING ROCKS AND STUMPS.
Use   Dynamite.
1st Premium.—As stone and stumps
nrite lots of bother and cause much wast,'
we should get rid of tliem as soon as possible. First pull out what stumps and
si one you can with a team and chain, then
l.vw out the rest with dynamite. This
most anyone cau do with but little experience. Take an old two-inch auger to a
h.ncksmith and have him weld an iron on
i' ss> it will be abont five feet long, then
psit a handle on it as yam would any auger,
only a little longer.Bore under your stump
or stone so as to get the dynamite under
the center as near as you can Then put
your dynamite in, pressing it in good
vs. iiii a round stick for the purpose. Put
yolll cap in the last cartridge, with fuse;
anached to the cap. Leave the fuse long
enough so it will stick about six inches
out of the hole. Pack in dirt to top of
Die. Touch a match to the fuse, and
gel out of the way of the pieces. From
one-half to three pounds will blow out any
stump. You will soon learn how much
blowing stone. Don't use too
.unite for it will break tha'm up
b-idly atid the spalls ars' had things scat-
is rssl over the ground. If one fails to
I str.-t when blown out, put some dynamite
ssn top of stone, cover six or eight inches
v. ith dirt, press down good, then light your
fuse, and it will burst the stone. Don't
1 iv another stone on top of the dynamite
ts r it will not do any good; it will just
blow the stone off and that is all, but the
dirt is all right.
When piling up stone it is a good idea
to put them in a place where they will not
bother hereafter, or by being careful you
san make a good fence of them. Ther.;
is what is called . "crimper" that
presses the cap down over the fuse so it
can not pull out of the cap; also can cut
the fuse off with it."
Subscriber.
with cartridge and putting from one to
three cartridges under each stone, according to size, and yon will be pleased tss
tee them land on terra finna, sometimes a
rod or more from the bed. T hey can be
haiils'il then tss a low place in the field
anil buris'd. There is no sale f'ir them.
Sonus think it best to bury tbem where
they are. but this has its disadvantage.
It is quite dangerous, ssn account of stone
falling iu while you are digging, ansl some-
tims's  it  is  very hard  digging. But  in
no cass' scatter them along in fenee s-or-
ners, fur they will be iu our road sooner
or later, and will make a harjtor tor
briers, brush and weeds. lt will pay big
to clear oar tielsls of stone anil  stumps.
<;.
way. Dig a hole beside of aud under
each stone, deep enough to let it down
well out of reach of the plow, aud tip it
in. It is then out of the way for    all
|ime.
About tin' only way to get rid of the
small ones is to pick and haul them off,
but the best disposition to make of them
depends ,n\ circumstances. Since concrete has come into such general use
stones are less required for masonry, and
the farmer who has none is to be congratulated. No matter where they are put
tbey are sure to be in the road at some
time, and to bury tbem is a big undertaking. Some times there are hollows
i here they san be thrown and the dirt
scooped   over  them   with  a  road  scraper
One Crop Pays  the.
-d Premium.—The question of clearing
a rocky or stumpy field is certainly of
great importance. It is quite expensive
to farm around stumps and stones' year
.tfter year. Not only the space that the
stump or stone occupies is lost but several
feet around them. Besides they break our
machinery, as they are sometimes hid by
-rain or grass and are not seen until too
late.
We will take the stumps first. I know
' I no better way than to first remove all
that cun be by pry and team. If the
time of clearing be in the spring all the
'"tter, as then the ground will be loose.
The labor will be greatly lessened by using a long lever and a heavy chain and
hook, going around the stump with team.
• nless the stnmp is very solid it wil yield.
I ssr those that are too solid for this pro-
"ss use dynamite. Do not let them slav
It will pay well to have them out. Tha
<*»t will be ss.ini'thing, but the land thus
-•vsl will amsist pay expenses the first
year.
Next comes the stone. First remove
all loose stone ami all that can be gotten
"'it with pry and team. If the time of
''earing is in the spring when the ground
ls soft, it will be a large and solid one
lhat ^ jr,M„i strong team and two men
»ith n goo,] prv ,au not get. What cannot I* got in that way use dynamite, be-
ireful   to   get  directly   under  stone
Foundation  of   New   Horse   Barn,   Sta te Fair Grounds; Coliseum in Background.
Handle Explosives Carefully.
3d Premium.—The best way tsi a-Iear a
rocky or stumpy field depends tss a great
extent on the soundness of the stumps
and the size of the rocks. Where the
stumps nre rotted sufficiently to be pulled
with a t'am this is the cheaps'st way tsi
get rid of them. By taking a pole ten
or twelve feet long, putting one end under
a root and pulling around the stump, very
sounsl ones can often be twisted out. Thej
can then be piled and burned, or where
fuel is scarce they may be cut into stove-
wood. However, I take it for granted
that the question applies to stumps lhat
cannot be pulled. For these I think the
best method is to use dynamite. This
is a little expensive but it is thorough,
anil perhaps enough more can be raiseil
on the ground in one year to pay for the
dynamite, to say nothing of the greater
convenience of working ground that is
clear. With a little experience it is" not
difficult to guage the size of the charge
necessary to lift the stump. Be sure to
put enough in the first time, this is cheaper than two charges.
The dynamite should be put under the
center of the stump as nearly as possible,
and the ground firmly lint gently tamped
back into place. By boring a hole ami
placing tils' charge in the center r<Hit Is'ss
dynamite is usually required, but this
method requires more time and labor. The
fuss' should be cut lsing enough to give ample time to reach a safe place before the
explosion occurs. Do not run with the
dynamite lay it off at a safe distance, and
use judgment in its use.
Perhaps the liest way to get rid of large
stones is to bury thein where they lie. If
hauled out, uo matter where they are put
it seems impossible to get them out of the
without mush inconvenience.
It-is the custom, in New England, to
make stone fences, and in this way they
are put to some use. These fences are,
of course, everlasting and, when properly
laid up, may be made artist is-.
Several years ago this township purchased a stone-crusher, and the best disposition that has been made of the stones
here has been the construction of several
miles of stone road. The trustee desired all the rock he could get, and for this
rurpose many fields were cleared of stones
gratis, and in some cases they were paid
tor. Besides where the fanner helped
haul them he was paid by the day for
hauling the stones off from his .mn field.
Whatever disposition is made of them,
either put them where they will be of
ssmie use or get them ont of sight.
X. Y.
No. 649, Aug. 15.—Make an estimate of
the amount of ground that is lost on an
average ICO acre fnrm by worm rail
fences as compared with straight fences.
No. <i.">0, Aug. 22.—When a green crop,
si.s-h as clover, is turned under, what is
the effect on the soil and on the succeeding  crop?
No. (351, Aug. 29.—If you sell 200 bush
els ssf wheat from 10 acres of ground and
make ins return of fertilizer to the soil,
how much laml have you sold: that is, how
much i.s the sssil depleted?
'I'he smallest inhabited island in th.'
world is probably that on which the Eddystone lighthouse stands. At low water it
is 30 feet in diameter; at high water the
lighthouse, whose diameter at the basss ,s
SSTi feet, completely covers it. The light-
hssuse keepers gsrsls'ii is in tli" lighthouse
windows.
MORE BOMB PRODUCTION.
IIssw many farmers' wives enjoy the
home gardens they should? While there
is vastly more raised in the average farm
garden now than some years back, there
are yet many farmers who do not take full
advantage of this privilege. In these
slays of great crops, which are to bring
iu the money, ami when the smaller prod-
us ts whish furnish the living of the farm
are largely overlooked and always given a
sesssnsl place in suppsised fann wonomy, it
is a pleasure to picture the scene described
in Irving's Ichabod Crane, where the farm
ssl tin- Wild Dutchman is laden down with
the jwoducts of his own fields and gardens
and where his store-houses ami bins are
groaning iu plotharo.
< >n such farms the owners were independent of the world. They made at
least their living from the farm. That
was the first consideration. Never the
limes so hard that they could be vitallly
affected, they could not be foreclosed. In
their farm economy they required no commercial fertilizer to start them in debt.
Plenty of stock tliey hail and plenty of
elssvs'i- Ihey planted anil their land produced well. They tossk ther wheat and their
emu tss mill; their women spun their gar-
nis'uts witli wool sheared from their own
flocks. They raised their own flocks.
They raised their own fruit and their tab-
ls's were laden witli vegetables, winter
ansl summer, the best of their kinds. The
shelves in their cellars and storehouses
were stocked with jams and jellies, and
the flosirs with barrels of potatoes and apples. Trenches were filling with roots
and protected against the winter. Long
rssws of rashers of bacon and juicy hams
swng from their rafters, aud during the
winter a side of beef hung always in the
freezing air. During the cold months
they wove tlieir baskets and their mats
ainl made their brooms, and they created and improvised a hundred things for
which the up-to-date farmer now pays
liis cash to somebody else.
Probably it is not practicable to go back
to such "good old times." The good old
times, when brought down to date, are not
at all satisfactory. Knowledge spoils
men where ignorance is bliss. Yet cannot
a few lessons be learned from the methods
of well-to-do "diversified" farmers of "before the war?" An abundant garden,
good fruit, furnishing the farm table with
everything desired the year round; this is
just as practicable and can be done as easily nod cheaply now as fifty years ago.
Ainl too, arc there not a great many
things which can be produced par excellent on the farm today, yet which it has
lis.-..nis' sustomary to rely upon from the
store?
I.ife in a metrolpolis makes young chilslren sharp, but not clever; it often des-
trcsys their chance of ever being clever, for
it hastens the development of the brain
unnaturally; it makes them superficial, a-
Jert, but not observant; excitable, but
without one spark of enthusiasm, they
are apt to grs>w base, fickle, discontented ;they see more things than the country-
bresl child, but not snch interesting things
and they do not properly see anything, for
they have neither the time nor capacity
t ' get at the root of all the bewildering ob-
jects   they  crowd  into  their little  lives.
ln Japan, 30,000,000 people live in comparative comfort sm a little over 12,000,-
000 acres of intestively cultivated land;
or an average ssf two-fifths of an acre supports each inhabitant.