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work. There is nothing gained by chopping off the roots close by 

 the trunk, for you must remember that every root has to be traced 

 until it is well out of the way of the plough that is to follow clear- 

 ing. Again, the tap root has to be got at, and this cannot be done 

 unless you give yourself ample room to work round and under the 

 tree. If the tree has plenty of top, when the main lateral roots are 

 cut in all probability it will fall ; but if there is little or no top, then 

 either the tap root will have to be cut, or the agency of lire will 

 have to be invoked. Don't be too ready with the fire stick. Grub 

 well round the tree to the full depth before you think of starting 

 the fire. Once you have started your fire, do not think of letting it 

 go out. Clearing is not eight-hours-a-day work. Last thing at 

 night and first thing in the morning the fires have to be gone round 

 and put together. A sapling from six to seven feet long is used as 

 a lever for putting the logs together whilst burning. 



A second and more expeditious method of clearing is by 

 means of a tree-puller or " forest devil." Several of these machines, 

 both for horse and man power, have been invented and perfected 

 in this colony, and will be found satisfactory in every way. Where 

 clearing has to be done quickly and on a large scale, the tree-puller 

 is almost indispensable ; but on a small piece of land, and especially 

 when it is intended for vines or fruit frees, I am inclined to think 

 that the slight extra cost of clearing entirely by hand is money 

 saved in the long run. 



A third method is by the use of explosives, and this I have 

 found both expeditious and profitable, especially on ring-barked 

 country where the timber is dead. I have always used dynamite in 

 preference to either pow r der or rackarock, the only other explosives 

 I have tried. It is not necessary to use sufficient explosive to blow 

 the tree clown, but merely to loosen the ground about the roots and 

 create a vent under the butt of the tree. When the timber is dead 

 a fire-stick will generally do the rest. A hole should be bored with 

 a two-inch auger, not in the butt of the tree, but immediately under 

 it, in the fork of the roots. From J Ib to ^ Ib. of dynamite will be 

 quite sufficient to shake up the roots and create a vent for the fire 

 under the largest tree. Last summer I had to have some ground 

 cleared. It was stiffish clay land, and the ground was very hard, and 

 I found a considerable saving in time, and consequently mrncy. 

 was effected by using a small quantity of dynamite, as I have 

 described, to loosen the ground round the trees. Dynamite- may be 

 had in 5-lb. packets, costing 8s. 9d.; detonators cost gd. per doz., 

 and fuse is. per coil. 



At one time it was thought the royal road to clearing had 

 been found in the use of saltpetre and kerosene. I have tried the 

 following method myself, but must say have only found it to be 

 advantageous with timbers that will in any case burn readily. A 

 hole, eighteen inches deep, is bored with a i.j inch auger down the 

 centre of the stump after the tree has been felled. Into this hole 



