THE USE OF CLEARING PRODUCTS 61 



down close to the ground so there is no leverage on them. As soon as 

 you have pulled all you can reach in a circle around the anchor trees, 

 take one anchor chain off, or start with one anchor chain, then hook 

 on other, take in big circle on single block end. One to four chains can 

 be used ; take two half hitches as high as possible, make first chain 

 taut; 2nd chain 2 ft. slack; 3rd chain 3 ft. slack, and so on so your 

 horses are pulling one bush at a time. Chains do not tie in hard knots 

 when horses are pulling on them, as ropes do. 



A Vine Puller. What is called a "vine puller," because it is 

 used to clear off old vineyard, is also available for shrub pulling. Use 

 two wagan wheels, long pole 4x6x12 pine with large strong iron hook 

 on one end. Bolt the hook on, allow the end with the hook on to project 

 over the axle 18 in. Bolt the pole down to axle. This gives you great 

 leverage. Roll right along on the short end over the axle. Use a good 

 five-eighths chain. Take double half-hitch around bush ; raise the pole 

 into air, take a short tie on the bush; start the horse and out comes 

 the bush. 



Roller and Plow. Where manzanita grows upright, as on hills 

 north of the bay, the same methods of extraction can be employed with 

 it, first slashing off enough to allow adjusting the rope or chain a 

 few feet above the ground. Where it grows lower, as, for example, on 

 the hills of Santa Clara, the manzanita brush is gone over with a 

 roller so as to break it down, and then the land is burned over. The 

 roller should be rigged with a tiller (header fashion) so that the horses 

 can push the roller and walk over the flattened brush. The only object 

 of the rolling is to smash the brush down so that it will burn readily. 

 When the brush is got rid of in this way, the plow is trusted to get 

 rid of the roots. The plow should be of the pattern known as "prairie 

 breaker," without coulter. Horses should be shod with a plate of sheet 

 iron between the shoe and hoof to prevent snagging, and not less 

 than four of them used. Much of the Santa Clara county vine belt 

 was cleared in that way. Of course this method only answers for the 

 lighter-rooted growths; tough-rooted chaparral, oak, holly, etc., must 

 be grubbed out, unless the roots are snaked out by the tops, as has 

 been described. 



Marketable Products of Clearing. Whether any money can be 

 made from the results of clearing depends altogether upon local mar- 

 kets for wood and charcoal, and the cost of transportation to them. 

 From clearings near large towns enough can be sometimes had to pay 

 for the work and hauling, and along railways wood can often be 

 shipped with profit. This can only be learned by local inquiries. 



Charcoal Burning. Charcoal can usually be sold to advantage, 

 and wood can sometimes be profitably disposed of in this way when it 

 cannot be marketed for fuel. A considerable acreage of unprofitable 

 fruit trees has been disposed of in this way recently. Charcoal is made 

 from most kinds of wood, and sometimes stumps and large roots are 

 charred. A simple process of charcoal burning is given by an expe- 

 rienced burner, as follows : 



To burn a pit of charcoal, the prime necessity is to perform the process of 

 combustion with the least possible contact with air. Select a suitable place not 



