Digging Ditches, Post Holes, Wells and Reservoirs.
Excavating of any kind is slow, hard work when done with pick and shovel, especially in mixed ground containing large stones, roots, streaks of gravel or shale.
Several rods of ditch can be excavated in an instant with dynamite, varying the size of each charge according to the nature of the ground at that point.
Most of the dirt is thrown out by the blast and the remainder is broken up ready for the shovel.
A Missourian advises us of a ditch he has just blasted through a swamp for $100, which he says would have cost him $500 if dug in the usual way.
On August 11, 1910, at the demonstration at Ivor, Va., above referred to, a ditch 85 feet in length, 3 feet deep and 4-½ feet wide at the top, was blasted with dynamite, at a cost not exceeding 10 cents per yard, or about $2.75 for the entire work.
"Red Cross" Dynamite is especially useful in excavating wells and reservoirs, as it opens up all the springs in nearby ground.
