132 THE FARMERS' HANDBOOK. 



around the taproot. A log is usually placed at the foot of a tree that is- 

 being felled, as shown in Fig. 2. The effect is to " draw " the roots on the 

 near side of the tree. The logs shown in Fig. 9 are placed for the 

 tree to fall on, so that in sawing the trunk time may not be lost by the saw 

 cuts biting the saw as the ends of the unsupported parts of the trunk pres& 

 in against each other. This can also be prevented by using wedges gently 

 tapped 4nto the cut as soon as it is deep enough to carry a wedge. The wire 

 rope is about 25 yards long, and an ordinary double purchase tackle is used 

 In hauling, the operatives stand well away from the line of fall, and as the 

 ropes slack off when the tree begins to fall the blocks are jerked aside. The 

 rough ladder shown is made of a couple of bloodwood saplings, which are tough 

 and soon become very light when stripped of the bark. The gear is fixed 

 ready before the tree is opened up. 



The mistake is often made when pulling down trees by machinery when 

 the ground is hard, of not easing the trees sufficiently to allow of the 

 drawing of the roots, and consequently when the strain of the machinery is 

 brought to bear on the tree, it, being too firmly held in the ground (especially 

 if the barrel or trunk be hollow), breaks off level with or close to the surface, 

 and then more labour is necessary to get the stump out than was at first 

 required if it had been gone about in the proper manner. 



At times the burning of big trunks that have been brought down is almost 

 as difficult a problem as was the standing tree itself. Explosives are proving 

 valuable in shattering such trees and enabling the farmer to burn them. 



Before filling in the holes that have been made by the removal of large 

 stumps, a careful examination should be made, and all roots that will inter- 

 fere with the ploughing removed. 



LAND CLEARING BY EXPLOSIVES. 



One has only to watch a man hand-grubbing a forest giant in the heat of a 

 summer day, and to follow him home in the evening, to appreciate really 

 the magnitude of his task, and it is an open question if any system or 

 machine used singly or in combination, would have lightened his heavy 

 task to the same extent as a few packets — perhaps a few plugs — of 

 gelignite would have done. After removing dray-loads of material in 

 trenching round a tree or stump, in order to be able to swing the axe or mat- 

 tock, roots may be met that the axe cannot reach, whereas an auger hole 

 and a few plugs of gelignite (varying in number according to the size of the 

 roots) will sever and shatter the hindrances and loosen up the surrounding 

 soil at the same time. The same question arises when the forest devil or 

 10-ton jack, or any other mechanical device, for pulling down green 

 timber is being used — that of getting rid of the trunk. Frequently the 

 crosscut orlightning saw is used to cut the log into suitable lengths for hand- 

 ling, stacking and burning; but it is a much cheaper proposition to frill 

 and poison the tree, and then, when dead, to shatter it with gelignite, 

 and burn in an upright position. Besides, the hot ashes falling from the 

 burning upright tree operate considerably in " stoving " out the tree-roots. 

 When the tree falls that section of the trunk., and any larger limbs that are 

 not consumed by the fire, can be better handled with a little gelignite than 

 by all the axes in the country, and with infinitely less labour and hard work, 

 though the axe must be used on the lighter and more easily handled portions. 



