4 MASS EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 439 



has been made, but informed persons were contacted in many counties of five 

 New England states, to obtain data on kinds and amounts of improvement work. 

 Timber and brush removal were the most important kinds of land improvement 

 work in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Drainage accounted 

 for the greatest acreage of land improvement in Vermont because of the opera- 

 tions of Soil Conservation Districts for three years. Boulder and stump removal 

 were important in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Vermont, as was also the 

 removal of stone walls to make larger fields. Approximately one-third of the 

 land improvement work in these states in the five 3'ears 1940-44 was done in 

 1944 as farmer interest increased and farm income was available for the purpose. 

 All of these types of land clearing were continued on farms in Massachusetts in 

 1945, and reclamation of wet lands by dynamiting ditches was increased by the 

 Soil Conservation Districts. 



Although data are not available year by )ear, farmers and machine operators 

 agree that even during the war years, land improvement work expanded. There 

 are several explanations, aside from the pressure of "food to win the war," and 

 the long-time interest of progressive farmers in efficiency of operation. The 

 higher farm incomes provided cash reserves that could be spent for land improve- 

 ment. Owners of bulldozers and gas shov'els were diverted from normal employ- 

 ment such as building work and road construction. Probably of more impor- 

 tance, however, it had been demonstrated that heavy equipment could perform 

 the farm land improvement work effectively. The farmer who had enlarged a 

 field, cleared off the boulders, or removed stone walls set an example for his 

 neighbors. The use of heavy equipment for land improvement work was de- 

 veloped largely by the demonstration method on farms in Massachusetts. 



When work was begun with the bulldozer or other equipment on the first 

 farm in a community the operations were watched with considerable interest by 

 neighboring farmers. As the work progressed and the speed, efificiency, and 

 thoroughness of the operations were realized by other farmers, machines were 

 hired for similar work on their farms. This means of expanding the area of land 

 improvement work was particularly effective where field stones, boulders, and 

 stone walls were removed. The thinning of young orchards and the removal of 

 old trees to make way for replanting developed along this line with one grower 

 in a community starting the method and others following his example. The 

 results achieved bv the Soil Conservation Districts in draining swamps and low- 

 lands by blasting ditches also created considerable demand for this type of land 

 reclamation work. The visual effect of seeded pasture, field crops, vegetables, 

 and young orchards on land which was formerly covered with trees, brush, shrubs, 

 stumps, or boulders convinced many farmers of the possibility of adding a few 

 acres of land of a suitable soil type to their farm unit. 



METHODS AND COSTS OF CLEARING AND IMPROVING LAND 



Types of Equipment 



A crawler or track type tractor with a bulldozer blade attached was the most 

 widely used piece of heavy equipment for land improvement operations in 

 Massachusetts. Various sizes and makes of these machines were used to remove 

 stumps, boulders, and stone walls as well as to clear land of trees and brush and 

 to grade soil to obtain level fields. The grubber blade with heavy teeth instead 

 of the solid bulldozer blade reduced loss of topsoil in clearing operations. Soil 

 shaken loose from roots sifted out between the teeth and was not piled with the 

 debris of stumps and trees. 



