118 On clearing Landy and on Fences* 



the bank and ditches of a regular thorn hedge, and al- 

 though they will not be equally uniform and beautiful, 

 yet when viewed by those who duly estimate their uti- 

 lity, and the trivial labour which has been expended 

 on them, they will certainly aiford an instance of eco- 

 nomical and advantageous management. 



I have seen a mode of clearing, since my communi- 

 cation on that subject, which will prove highly bene- 

 ficial where capital and force will admit it, and where 

 there is no prospect of turning the girdled timber into 

 use until it is decayed. The whole of the timber is 

 fallen in winter, and when it and the earth have be- 

 come sufficiently dry in the spring, to burn off the 

 brush, chips, and moss, without injury to the soil, the 

 cleared place is set on fire, and the logs are left be- 

 hind, to be afterward rolled, heaped and burnt, this 

 mode saves much labour in picking, raking and burn- 

 ing brush and grubs, and leaves a handsome dressing 

 of ashes on the land, without injuring the soil : but 

 care should be taken in falling the trees, that they will 

 range side by side, for when they are fallen cross and 

 pile, the fire will not run regularly through the clear- 

 ing. 



When population and a scarcity of timber have ren- 

 dered live fences necessary, they may be readily made 

 from the abundance of thorn which are found in this 

 settlement, and the country around. 



Stone coal abounds in every direction, and there is 

 little question, that ere long this coal will become a 

 valuable article of exportation down the Mushanon, 

 and Clearfield creeks, which empty into the Susque- 



