THE FARM HOLDING. 



I2y 



Fig. 7. 



Yet another machine, in which the lever is again the chief agency, is 

 that known as the " forest devil." It consists of the ironshod end of a 

 wooden lever pivoted between a pair of parallel iron plates, and an arrange- 

 ment of bolts or steel clutches provided to grip two chains, one attached to the 

 tree pulled and the other to the anchor-tree. If the distance is at all 

 ■considerable, steel bars are often used for portion of the way instead of 

 -chains. A man grips the free end of the lever and walks backwards and 

 forwards in a semicircle, whilst a lad rearranges the clutches or bolts at the 

 end of each trip so as to reverse the direction of pull. The slack portions of 

 the chains fall to the ground as they are drawn in. As J;he lever may be of 

 any desired length, the power which may be obtained is practically limited 

 only by the strength of the tackle. In South Gippsland, Victoria, appliances 

 of this nature have been largely used in clearing the heavy forests of that 

 region, particularly for drawing stumps after a burn. 



In connection with machines of all these kinds, it must be borne in mind 

 that no machinery will continue to work well without oiling, and the cost of 

 a tinful of oil is but a fraction of that of a broken part, quite apart from the 

 vexatious delays that breakages entail. 



Block and Tackle. 



In certain districts it is economical to hire a team of bullocks op steady 

 horses, and to use hauling gear on a more powerful scale. The method, 

 though extensively used in the past, is being superseded in many parts of 

 the State by the machines for manual power just described, but it still has 

 its utility, and there are those who prefer it, though winch grubbers or 

 explosives are generally employed in conjunction with it. 



t 54797— E 



