If, however,
you have hardpan at different depths on the tract, so that it may really
make basins which will hold water, you are likely to have trouble from
accumulations of water which will not only prevent the roots extending
to the full depths of the soil, but will also cause some trees to die.
Such a danger could be removed by draining the soil to a depth of three
and a half or four feet with tile, in order to prevent accumulations at
any point. This would be expensive perhaps, but you would be sure that
you had rendered your four feet of soil safe and available. If you trust
to blasting you will have to wait several years for the trees to tell
you whether you helped them or not.
Effects of Blasting.
I have land which is underlaid with hardpan two or three feet deep and
this in turn is underlaid with sand or sandpan. What I would like
to know is whether blasting the holes before setting trees would allow
more moisture coming from this sandpan, or, rather, what effect it would
have as to moisture.
We do not know. It might make the soil better for the trees by allowing
escape for surplus water through previous layers. It might allow the
tree to root more deeply for moisture in those strata. It might allow
water to rise from such strata if they have water under pressure. It
might do other things good or bad, according to conditions prevailing
under the hardpan.
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