METHODS OF REMOVING TREES 59 



Partial and Thorough Clearings. Orchards are planted on both 

 partially and thoroughly cleared land. By the former practice clearing 

 enough is done to give space for the tree holes, the debris is burned up, 

 and the trees planted. In this kind of work the stumps are left to be 

 taken out at a convenient season, the object being to get fruit trees 

 to growing as soon as possible. Where one is working with little more 

 than his own muscle, and has no capital, this sort of planting is better, 

 perhaps, than not planting at all, but it must be borne in mind that all 

 subsequent work will be done at a great disadvantage, and as cultiva- 

 tion is likely to be very imperfect, it would be a question whether in 

 the end anything would be gained by such a plan. The encumbered 

 character of the ground will, of course, prevent the use of the horse 

 in cultivation until most of the stumps are removed. Aside from this 

 decaying stumps and roots in the soil often kill the young trees ; espe- 

 cially is this the case with old oak stumps. 



Clearing land for orchard or vineyard is a very different thing from 

 clearing for pasture, as is done in the redwood region of the northwest 

 Coast Ranges of the State, where the stumps are untouched ; the trees 

 not taken by the lumberman are girdled and left a prey to decay and 

 storms, and the brush slashed and burned every few 1 years to prevent 

 it from completely taking possession of the land. Clearing for fruit 

 should be thorough, everything which will interfere with good cultiva- 

 tion removed ; roots grubbed so that as little shooting up as possible 

 is secured ; the ground evened up to obviate standing water, and, where 

 needed, arrangements made for irrigation and drainage, as will be 

 considered later. 



Removal of Trees. The first operation in clearing will be the 

 removal of the trees. This can be partly done in the dry season if one 

 has unemployed time. In such case the tree is felled and worked up 

 into fire-wood and the stump left for subsequent treatment when t\\^ 

 ground is moist. Unless there is idle time to employ, the whole work 

 can, however, be better done in the winter, for then the top of the tree 

 may be made to help pull out its own roots. This done sometimes by 

 digging out the soil and cutting off the main lateral, roots below the 

 depth to which the plow will reach. By thus reducing its anchorage 

 the tree will topple over, or may be pulled over with a team and tackle, 

 and it will usually lift out its stump quite effectively. 



A Steam Puller. An arrangement for tearing out trees without 

 digging has been used to some extent in Santa Cruz county, which is 

 said to handle redwood trees up to four feet in diameter successfully, 

 it consists of a portable engine and a "puller," which is a windlass 

 operated by steam, from which a wire cable is carried to the tree which 

 is to be pulled down. A strong chain is put around the tree at a dis- 

 tance above the ground proportioned to its diameter in such a way as to 

 give necessary leverage. The immensely strong hook at the end of 

 the cable is attached to this chain and the cable is slowly wound upon 

 the reel. The coil begins to grow taut, a dull creak and strain are 

 heard as the roots begin to be torn from the earth. Two chains are 

 used, a second tree being prepared while the first is falling, that no time 

 may be lost. The cable is detached from the falling tree, and a horse 



