356 STATE BOARD OF AGRIOUlLTURE. 



and then not severely enough to prevent many of the plants from re-seeding. 

 It should be kept for grazing until such a time as the brush roots have dis- 

 appeared, and the stumps are partially decayed. Only in exceptional cases 

 has it been found advisable to break land where the green brush has recently 

 been removed. There are cases however, where a new settler has no other 

 alternative than to break up a small area of green brush land, when getting 

 started, and in many cases has not the means to fence, or to buy sheep or 

 goats for clearing the brush. In that case it is usually the custom to use an 

 axe or a brush hook for cutting the brush, removing the small stumps with 

 the aid of a horse power or a power puller, and plowing around the larger 

 stumps until they have partially decayed. 



In removing the stumps, three factors work to good advantage. First 

 remove all stumps that it is possible to, with a team, and the balance can be 

 removed with dynamite or power stump pullers. Whether to use dynamite 

 or a stump puller will depend on the condition of the stump and the condi- 

 tion the soil is in. If the body of the stump is quite rotten a puller will shear 

 off the top leaving the roots in the ground, but where the tops are solid and 

 the stumps fairly thick, the puller will work to good advantage. One thing 

 in favor of dynamite is that it loosens the dirt from the roots, while the power 

 pulled stumps require more or less hand labor in removing the dirt. 



There are several types of stump pullers on the market. One that can 

 be worked with one man, working a lever, and others with one or two horses. 

 The type to be selected will depend largely upon the amount of work to be 

 done and the amount of money the settler can afford to put into equipment 

 of this kind. 



The amount of dynamite to be used varies greatly with different kinds of 

 soil. The relative cost of dynamite and hand labor will make a difference 

 in the amount of power to be used. By this is meant, whether it will be 

 advisable to put in sufficient charge to blow the stump entirely out, or whether 

 a smaller amount can be more economically used, by simply splitting the 

 stump and pulling the parts out with a team. 



In many cases farmers find it advisable to leave some of the larger, greener 

 stumps, working around them for two or three years before blowing them out. 

 This also will depend upon the amount of money the farmer is in position to 

 expend in clearing the land. 



Where the power pullers are used extensively, it will be found very eco- 

 nomical to use the stump piling rig, in order to get the stumps in large piles, 

 so that they will dry out and burn to better advantage, but where the dyna- 

 mite is used the stumps are usually broken up so that they can be handled 

 by hand. 



FARM MANAGEMENT FOR THE NEW SETTLER. 



Too much emphasis can not be placed on the importance of the new set- 

 tler making plans for the location of his buildings and the size and shape of 

 his fields, as he hopes to have them when his farm is under cultivation. 



Too many sets of buildings are constructed in a haphazard sort of way be- 

 cause no plans have been made, thereby compelling the farmer to work at a dis- 

 advantage all of his life, for it is seldom that buildings are moved after they 

 are once built, unless they are torn down, and replaced by larger ones. 



Long fields always work to better advantage than square ones. Too 

 many farmers have a lot of small fields rather than a few large ones. This 

 makes the cost of production greater, while it also makes it more inconven- 

 ient for the farmer. 



