as blasting stumps. Blasting machines and electric detonators, or exploders, are no longer confined to the mining and quarry field, but, instead, are used by the modern farmer for blasting stumps. Whereas in former years, a large charge of dynamite was placed well under the center of big stumps, and considerable of the explosive force was wasted, today the charge is divided and distributed under the rootsystem, and at points offering the greatest resistance. Several charges are hooked up with blasters' connecting wire, and the stump is blasted with considerably less dynamite. Also the danger of a defective fuse smoldering and hanging fire for hours is done away with. By the use of a battery, a series of two, three, four, or five stumps can be connected, - and at one time the entire charge can be fired by the pushing down of the battery handle. Last fall, at Rhinelander, Wisconsin, a drainage ditch was blasted through the low part of a swampy field for the purpose of drainage. The ditch was to be eight hundred forty practically no time, the operation being merely to shove wooden sticks of the proper diameter into the ground to a depth of about eighteen or twenty inches, eighteen inches apart, along the route of the ditch. Following the man who was "poking the holes in the ground," came another who dropped in a stick of dynamite and tamped it by kicking the dirt down on it. The entire length of the ditch was set off by three blasts, only one cap being used for DIGGING A LITTLE STONE Thousands of pounds of powder are sometimes used for a single blast in some of the quarries of the country. two feet long, and from seven to eight feet wide at the top, and four feet deep. For this entire work, only three hundred pounds of dynamite were required. The placing of the charges and the loading of the holes were done in one afternoon by three or four men. In some places where stumps or other obstructions offered resistance, additional charges were put in. While the nature of the soil varied in the different parts of the ditch, it was mainly sandy each blast, the shock-wave from one charge being sufficient to communicate the explosive-wave throughout the entire length of cartridges planted in the ditch. Worn-out soil is given a new lease on life after being shaken up with dynamite. In fact, dynamite is not only one of the greatest aids to mankind in the gathering of Nature's bountiful stores, but is an active agent in changing natural conditions to suit The finest "artists" will teach you through the aid of the home moving picture machine which operates from a lamp socket. The films are non-inflammable. 'keeps the output of electricity steady as long as the crank is turned at about the correct speed, and there is absolutely no flickering of the light. The machine takes non-inflammable film of slightly less than standard size, thus making it impossible to use the dangerous commercial film very properly objected to by the insurance companies. There is a double factor of safety, however, for the light is produced by an incandescent lamp which gives little heat. Two models of the machine have been perfected, one which is attachable to the local lighting system, and the other which does quite as good work but has a selfcontained lighting plant. Thus the machine is equally available for use in the most remote country home. As a companion instrument the same firm also manufactures a camera at a low price with which an amateur may take his own pictures. Short length films. are already on the market. CANDY TO GROW IN THE FIELDS By MONROE ONG since some wag set going the L are made of peanut hulls. Jokes often end in solemn truths, and if the story helped in any way to lead a Western food manufacturing specialist to discoveries about alfalfa hay, then some one should subscribe a pension for WOOLLEY the joker in the breakfast food line who may be responsible for these discoveries. A Westerner who owns food mills in Idaho and Montana now makes the startling announcement that he can make at least seventy-five different sorts of candy from alfalfa. Just think of the good things the hogs, horses, and cattle have been cheating men and women and children out of for these many years! The lucky animals may now very shortly be deprived altogether of their ration of alfalfa, for it would be folly to feed a plant as valuable as this to beasts. A rich grade of sirup may also be made from alfalfa. The discoverer is so enthusiastic over his results in alfalfa research that he is planning to establish a mill for the manufacture of alfalfa flour, which he asserts will be superior to all other flours for baking. This mill is expected to be in operation within six months, and will probably be located in Idaho. Hitherto at his small mills in Montana this man has been making a balanced ration for live stock out of alfalfa. Biscuits, and a variety of pastries may be made from the flour. It is highly probable that alfalfa may some day revolutionize the confectionery business. Certainly if alfalfa proves its worth as a candy component the acreage planted yearly will quickly increase and prices may be demanded far above those of the present. BALED ALFALFA THAT WILL MAKE CANDY This huge pile, after it has been made into meal, may be utilized to satisfy the sweet tooth of thousands. WORKS IN HIS SHOE INSTEAD of living in a shoe, as did the traditional "old woman, who had so many children," etc., a Los Angeles shoemaker works in a shoe. This shoe, which is of no ordinary dimensions, sits on the walk in front of its owner's place of business during business hours. In the heel of the shoe there is ample standing room for the owner and a power repair machine. The machine is operated by means of a belt, running from an electric motor in the balcony above the shop. The unusual sight of a man at work in a shoe attracts the attention of many passers-by; thus shoe repairing and advertising are performed at the same operation. Incidentally, this shoe is supposed to be the largest ever made, a true replica of the usual leather footgear. to negotiate the drifts and the president of the institution appealed to the college men to help get in the coal. They responded and the coeds in the dormitories were saved from cold rooms and classes were resumed. MAKES MOTORCYCLE OF ONE large wheel, which is bolted direct to the frame of the bicycle, and which rests on the ground, will transform a bicycle ADVERTISING AS HE WORKS The repair shop is a big shoe which is a leather replica of a man's size one. into a motorcycle. Gasoline from a tank on top falls by gravity direct to the carbureter and is drawn into the cylinder when the engine is in operation. The small magneto is operated direct from the flywheel of the engine. One advantage of the device is that the whole, bicycle and all, weighs considerably less than the average motorcycle, and another advantage is that no bracing is needed to the frame of the bicycle as there is no additional strain put upon the frame. All the weight of the device rests upon the ground. STUDENTS HAUL COAL TO THREE hundred men of Colorado College, at Colorado Springs, Colorado, gave a demonstration of a new kind of college spirit during a recent heavy snow storm in Colorado when they broke the coal famine at their alma mater that had threatened to temporarily close the institution. No roads were broken from the mines and horses were unable MOTOR FOR ANY BICYCLE The wheel, containing the motor, can be attached in a few minutes to make a motorcycle of the ordinary "safety". |