354 STATE BOARB OF AGRICULTURE. 



Land Clearing. 



The high price and scarcity of labor during the past two years has made it 

 necessary to slow up on the land clearing program as previously planned. 



On a tract that was grown up to brush quite heavil}^ a band of sheep were 

 pastured during grazing season of 1918, and were kept on this tract as long 

 as they could get enough to eat to keep them from falhng away seriously. 

 The sheep kept the leaves trimmed on all the brush they could reach, also 

 browsed in the smaller brush to such an extent that the tract appeared very 

 open in the fall. 



In the spring of 1919, another bunch of sheep were turned in and held there 

 until the latter part of July, when the grazing was practically gone. Our 

 reason for this was to use the sheep as land clearers, to keep any of the smaller 

 brush that remained green, from starting to grow. During the dry weather 

 about the middle of August, slashings of the larger brush was begun, and the 

 sheep were allowed to consume the leaves. The plan being to cut all the 

 larger brush at this time, with the belief that it would not start to grow from 

 the roots. After working two days at this, with one man, a fire broke out 

 and swept the greater part of the area, besides a much larger tract, before 

 it could be controlled. The fire had the desired effect of kilHng the brush 

 and burning the larger number of stumps and logs. About the middle of 

 November a part of this burned area was seeded to red clover, alsike clover 

 and timothy, the balance of which was seeded early in the spring. The ob- 

 ject of sowing the seed at this time was that it would get worked down into 

 the soil during the winter and early spring before the weather would warm 

 enough to germinate the seed. At the same time, the germination of the 

 seed would not be weakened, owing to the heavy snows during the winter. 



This tract was left without pasturing until about the middle of the sum- 

 mer, when light grazing was permitted in order to destroy the weeds and 

 small brush that might get started. 



Another ten acre tract, between the railroad and the barns was partially 

 stumped; over one-half of the stumps being pulled with the team, a few 

 others pulled with a one man stump pulling machine, during a demon- 

 stration conducted on "Field Day," August 14th, and a few blown out with 

 dynamite, on the same day, during a demonstration conducted by a 

 powder company. 



The field is now being used as a pasture for the dairy herd, but it is the 

 plan to develop it into a cultivated field in the near future. 



Forty acres lying east of the cleared land on the upper farm were staked 

 off and plans made to clear it. Twenty acres were cleared and plowed in 

 time to put in crops of barley and oats and peas. The other twenty acres 

 are partially cleared and will be completed in time to put in crops next year. 



The system used was to (1), pull all stumps and brush wdth a team that 

 could be pulled leaving them where they could be readil}^ piled. (2), Blow- 

 out the remaining stumps with low grade powder. (3), Pile and burn the 

 logs, stumps and the small sticks and chunks that lay a short distance from 

 the piles. (4), Using team with wagon or stone boat, give the field a careful 

 pick-up of sticks, chunks and fire brands, making piles of the same in straight 

 rows across the field the way it will be planned. Burn the piles when dry. 

 (5), Plow and scrape the large knolls into the holes. (6), Plow the field, 

 leaving a strip where the rows of chunk piles are until such time as they are 

 dry enough to burn. (7), Pick up stone and chunks plowed out. (8), Use 

 spring tooth harrow, disk harrow, and leveler until land is in shape to seed. 



