SUBDUING THE LAND 121 



work is necessary, and in rare cases stumps may be best 

 removed entirely by hand. Some of the most necessary 

 hasd tools are shown in Figure 44. 



The art of digging about the stump with shovel and 

 mattock, of cutting the roots with mattock or ax and of 

 gradually working the stump loose so that it may be 

 displaced, cannot well be learned from the written page. 

 Doing the work, together with the expert advice and 

 counsel of one experienced in the business, is the way 

 this and many other things, consisting largely of manual 

 operations, may best be learned. There is much oppor- 

 tunity for head work, and the man who uses good judg- 

 ment as to where and how to strike, conserves his 

 strength and makes rapid progress. 



Stump pullers are becoming a most useful part of the 

 clearing outfit and are adapted to a large proportion of 

 the work. These machines are of several kinds. Vari- 

 ous forms are adapted to multiply handpower. One of 

 the common forms of this type of machine has, as its 

 essential parts, a strong tripod, and a powerful screw 

 worked by a hand lever which lifts the stump, on the 

 same principle as the jackscrew, except that it is used 

 to pull instead of to push. 



A short, strong chain, 20 to 40 feet long, fastened to a 

 heavy lever, and a team hitched to the other end, gives 

 power to pull out many stumps, even if they are 

 as large as 2 feet in diameter. A very large pole, 30 

 or more feet long, with a heavy chain to wrap around 

 the stump, is the usual device. The team pulling on 

 the small end of the pole literally twists the stump loose 

 from the earth. 



A block and tackle, applied by means of a capstan, 

 is much used to multiply horse and steam power. The 

 capstan, fastened to one or more strong stumps by means 

 of guy chains or cables, is the main feature of some of the 

 most practical stump pullers in use. (See Figures 45-47.) 



