124 FARM DEVELOPMENT 



them very firmly to the soil. The wood will last, in 

 case of the oaks, almost as long as the white pine 

 stumps. The number of stumps per acre likewise modi- 

 fies the cost, as does also the amount of brush and logs, 

 which must be burned or hauled off. The value of logs, 

 cordwood, posts, etc., in some cases may be equal to 

 or greater than the cost of clearing the field. 



Explosives used in grubbing. Explosives are coming 

 into general use in removing stumps. Their use is only 

 in part to throw the stumps out of the ground, the 

 greater aid being to jar the stump loose from the earth 

 adhering to its roots. Stumps which are pulled by 

 mechanically applied power bring up with their roots 

 large quantities of earth which must be worked loose 

 with shovel, and mattock, requiring no small amount of 

 labor, as this earth must be returned to the hole from 

 which the stump came. The stump which has been 

 thoroughly shaken with a charge of dynamite, even if it 

 must then be pulled by the stump puller, usually brings 

 up but little earth. Stumps which are not clean of earth 

 require a long time to dry and additional labor to burn 

 them. Another considerable gain in using a powerful 

 explosive comes from splitting the stump so that it may 

 be more easily handled and piled closer in the log pile, 

 that it may more certainly be consumed at the first burn- 

 ing. Stumps which are pulled up entire are often great 

 sprawling bodies, the roots preventing close piling in 

 the fire heap, often requiring a second or a third piling 

 and refiring before they are all consumed. 



The nature of explosives should be thoroughly under- 

 stood by those who use them that serious accidents may 

 be avoided. Dynamite should be handled with much the 

 same care as would be used in handling eggs. It should 

 be kept cool, yet not frozen, and the sticks of dynamite 

 should be handled gently. For transporting, it should 

 be packed in sawdust or some similar material, which 



