26 



MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 439 



shrubs, and weeds plus occasional trees and bushes in the fence row. Other 

 tangible benefits such as weed, rodent, and disease control were fully as difficult 

 to evaluate as the saving in time and effort through the use of machinery. On 

 the basis of total acreage in the fields which were combined by stone wall re- 

 moval, the costs ranged from $15 to $30 per acre on different farms. On crop- 

 land where machinery was used this cost might be repaid in lower production 

 costs over a period of years. On pasture land there is little economic justifica- 

 tion tor stone wall removal except to facilitate reseeding and to destroy weeds 

 and shrubs. 



if^^ '' J.**ft'.> 





/J^ V < *. t ^"f -. . ^p'Tk: 



Figure 13. 



A. Boulders in Hay Land Restrict the Use of Machinery such as Field Hay-Balers. 



B. Labor Saving Machinery Can Be Used after Stone Walls and Boulders are Removed. 



