REMOVING SHRUBS AND BRUSH gtj 



furnished by the agents in San Francisco, and they often send an 

 expert to start the work and give instruction if there is much to 

 be done. It has been estimated that the cost of handling trees 

 and stumps with explosives is less than one-fifth that by hand 

 grubbing, and the ratio of saving increases as the trees are larger, 

 as powder is cheaper than muscle. 



Removing Shrubs and Brush. In the case of removing shrubs 

 of a somewhat tall growth, the top is made to help out the roots. 

 This is done either with a good strong rope or a chain. To do 

 this requires two men and a pair of horses, and two chains, each 

 ten or twelve feet long. A chain should be placed around the bush 

 some distance above the ground, to give leverage. If the bush is 

 not removed at the first pull, start the horses in the opposite direc- 

 tion. While the driver is unfastening' the chain from the chaparral, 

 the second man can place the other chain around another bush, 

 and the one who gets through his work first should at once assist 

 the other. In this way the horses are kept in constant employ- 

 ment, and neither of the men need lose a moment's time. This 

 work should be done when the ground is thoroughly wet. 



Where manzanita grows somewhat upright, as it does on the 

 hills north of the bay, the same methods of extraction can be 

 employed with it, first slashing off enough to allow adjusting the 

 rope or chain a few feet above the ground. Where it grows lower, 

 as, for example, on the hills of Santa Clara, the manzanita brush 

 is gone over with a roller so as to break it down, and then the 

 land is burned over. The roller should be of the ordinary farm 

 pattern, but rigged with a tiller (header fashion) so that the horses 

 can push the roller and walk over the flattened brush. The only 

 object of the rolling is to smash the brush down so that it will 

 burn readily. When the brush is got rid of in this way, the plow is 

 trusted to get rid of the roots. The plow should be of the pattern 

 known as "prairie breaker," without coulter. Horses should be 

 shod with a plate of sheet iron between the shoe and hoof to 

 prevent snagging, and not less than four of them used. Much 

 of the Santa Clara county vine belt was cleared in that way. Of 

 course this method only answers for the lighter-rooted growths; 

 tough-rooted chaparral, oak, holly, etc., must be grubbed out, unless 

 the roots are snaked out by the tops, as has been described. 



Marketable Products of Clearing. Whether any money can be 

 made from the results of clearing depends altogether upon local 

 markets for wood and charcoal and the cost of transportation to 

 them. From clearings near large towns enough can be sometimes 

 had to pay for the work and hauling, and along railways wood can 

 often be shipped with profit. This can only be learned by local 

 inquiries. 



