gg4 S^^UK COUNTY, WISCONSIN. 



STUMPING. 



If the sprouts from the stumps can not be killed by pas- 

 turing, they must be cut off with an axe ; not simply cut off, 

 but split away from the stumps, taking off all the bark that 

 will go with them. I can not emphasize too strongly the 

 importance of closely pasturing such land. The stumps ought 

 all to be killed in two years' time. The ground will then be 

 ready for the plow sooner than one would suppose. I never 

 wait to get rid of all the stumps before using the reaper and 

 mower, provided the bottom is good, and none but good large 

 ones are left, which show plainly in the grass or grain. An 

 extra man is set to work with the machine, who will mow or 

 cradle around the stumps, so that there is but little waste or 

 hindrance to the machine. We should remove the stumps 

 from fields as rapidly as possible. They form hiding places for 

 vermin,, and become centers of dispersion for many kinds of 

 •foul seed. They interfere with all the operations of farming. 

 Never Afait until they are entirely rotted out. Their period 

 may bfe hastened in many ways. 



PULLING THEM OUT. 



Machines are made that are very powerful and effective in 

 pulling grubs and stumps, but it takes too much time to handle 

 them, and they often pull up an amount of dirt and sod which 

 it is difficult to manage. There is nothing so profitable as to 

 let a stump alone until its hold of the earth is greatly weak- 

 ened by the rotting of its smaller roots. A stump which will 

 jar in its roots by a heavy blow from an axe can generally be 

 removed with but little labor. A strong team will often tip it 

 over. Where the top breaks off, the remaining portion can 

 often be split through the center and one half turned out by 

 prying over the other half. A beetle and wedge can be used 

 to split the more refractory. A twelve-foot lever planted under 

 some projecting root will some times start a very formidable 

 stump, and help a team in tipping it over. A few blows from 

 a heavy sledge will often kno<jk a stump all to pieces. 



The best stump puller I have ever used is made by stand- 



