Australia: The Dairy Country. 



Clearing the Land. 



quently the cost is very much less. In clearing land for grass it 

 is the best plan to first of all " ring" all the eucalyptus trees. This 

 consists in cutting a ring round the tree with axes through the 

 bark and sapwood, or alburnum, into the brown wood beneath. The 

 crude sap, bearing in solution the various organic matters which 

 the roots have extracted from the soil, ascends by the outer layer 

 of wood immediately beneath the bark to the leaves, where it is 

 elaborated into plant food. When this layer is cut through, the 

 food supply is immediately stopped, and the tree dies. The opera- 

 tion of ringing is best done during the winter, when the sap is 

 down, and if properly performed at the right time the tree always 

 dies very soon. If possible, the ringing should be done a year or 

 two before the general clearing is commenced, as all the dead 

 leaves, small branches, and dead bark have time to fall, and are then 

 burned off with the rest of the scrub. The next operation is to cut 

 down all the brushwood and smaller growths with bill-hooks, and 

 then the rest of the scrub is felled with axes, and allowed to lie 

 until quite dry, when it is burned off. A good burn should leave 

 very little to be cleared up, but sometimes, where there is such 

 vegetation as sassafras or fallen tree-ferns, a good deal of " picking- 

 up" has to be done. This means that all the unburnt timber on the 

 ground has to be rolled together and burnt. Tree-ferns should not 

 be felled, as they do not burn well. The best way of killing them 

 is to cut off the fronds just below where they spring from the stem. 

 Some knack is required to cut in just the right place, but it is easily 

 acquired. There are certain precautions to be observed in burning- 



