S4 The Fruit-Growers Guide-Book 



tion of the country, and the means that may be at hand. 

 It also varies to a greater or less extent with the condition 

 of the land, whether the brush is thick or scattering, and 

 whether the brush is large or small and whether the soil 

 is dry or wet at the time the clearing is to be done. One 

 of the commonest methods consists in what is known as 

 the "railing and raking" system. This consists in dragging 

 a heavy railroad rail back and forth over the land, mash- 

 ing down the brush and pulling out more or less of it. 



These rail drags are generally home-made affairs, con- 

 sisting of a 10x12 timber that may be about 12 feet long, 

 to the edge of which is bolted the railroad rail or a heavy 

 iron plate that is flat and the edge of which can be drawn 

 down and sharpened to a cutting edge. On the opposite 

 side of the timber fasten a little platform supported on 

 shoes so that the front edge of the rail will dip forward 

 and not slip over the brush without mashing it down or 

 pulling it out. 



A lever can be conveniently arranged on the back of 

 the frame so as to lift the cutting edge and let it free itself 

 when clogged with brush. It will take four or six horses 

 to pull such a drag, although this will depend largely on 

 the condition of the soil and the brush, and the size of the 

 horses. 



The land will have to be gone over several times in 

 different directions with such a drag to get the brush loos- 

 ened up, and when this is done the brush is gathered into 

 windrows by means of a rake. This rake can be made 

 from a heavy piece of timber in which steel teeth about 

 two inches wide and half an inch thick are placed about 

 six inches apart in the timber. This rake should be ar- 

 ranged to dump when it gets clogged. With this rake, 

 drag the brush into windrows and set on fire. Any brush 

 that remains will need to be grubbed out with a grubbing 

 hoe. 



Where the sage brush is small and scattering and the 

 soil is not too hard and dry the brush may be plowed out. 

 The plow for this purpose should be a 14 or 16-inch plow 

 having the mould board removed, and using nothing but 



