THK FARM HOLDING, 1 ti- 



lt is very important that tin- frilling and the application of the poison be 



(•(insistently and thoroughly carried out. and not in any way scamped or 

 slummed, if good results are to lie looked for. 



There need l>e no fear of stock being poisoned by eating the fallen or dead 

 Leaves from poisoned trees, for with the comparatively small quantity of 

 solution used, the likelihood of leaves absorbing any free arsenic is very 

 remote. Nor is there much danger from stock grazing OD areas frilled and 

 poisoned, though it is desirable to keep all stock off for three or four weeks, 

 when all possible chance of danger will have disappeared. 



No estimate of cost can be given, as this will necessarily depend upon so 

 many factors which vary with each particular area. Although arsenite of 

 soda is obtainable as such from drug merchants, its use when procured in 

 that form cannot be recommended for the poisoning of green timber, as it i> 

 most irregular in its arsenic content. Owing to the war, prices for arsenic, 

 caustic soda, and washing soda are at present high and are constantly altering, 

 so that it would be of little use to farmers to quote them here. It is therefore 

 advised that when a considerable area is to be treated one or other of the 

 wholesale chemists be written to and cpuotations obtained. 



Destroying Stumps with Acids. 



An impression has persisted among farmers for many years that tough 

 stumps can be got rid of, or at least rotted so that they will burn freely, by 

 treating them with some strong acid, such as sulphuric or nitric acid, and 

 waiting a few weeks. In order to test the matter properly, a series of 

 experiments was designed by Mr. F. B. Guthrie, Chemist, in 1913, and deep 

 auger holes were bored in selected stumps of tough timbers, some green and 

 some dry. Quantities of the chemicals named, separately and together in 

 varying proportions, were poured into different stumps. The results were 

 noted regularly for six months, at the end of which time an examination 

 showed that in the case of both green and dry stumps the acid had had no 

 appreciable effect. The average cost per stump worked out at Is. 9d., which 

 included labour at the rate of 7s. per day; it is an open question whether men 

 could be found who would use two such dangerous acids at that figure. 



Saltpetre has also been said to be useful in preparing dead timber for 

 burning off, but numerous private experiments go to disprove the theory. 



Clearing Coastal Lands for Pasture. 



In outlining on page 125 the purposes and methods of clearing, refer- 

 ence was made to those adopted in coastal districts, where the object is 

 to enable grasses such as paspalum to be sown as early as possible, and cattle 

 to be depastured thereon. To secure a good " burn " is then the concern of 

 the settler, and usually it is obtained by felling the brushwood, ringbarking 

 the larger timber, and firing some months later. The accompanying short 

 articles indicate the methods more fully, but several of those described in the 

 foregoing pages, especially explosives, are of use in either bringing the 

 larger trees down or disposing of old stumps. 



Clearing Brush Lands. 



The late Mr. John McKenzie, of Gloucester, some years ago detailed his 

 experience with considerable tracts of country: — 



Commence operations during the month of March, when the risk of running 

 fires has passed. First with brush-hooks carefully cut all the vines and under- 

 growth ; then, if all softwood, fell everything. If there is hardwood through it, 



