30 



opinion that grubbing when the timber is green is preferable t 

 killing the timber by ring-barking or sapping before clearing. Tb 

 cost per acre of clearing after ring-barking is from 5s. to 10s. less 

 but this is from two to three years after the ring- barking has beei 

 done." 



G-ERALDTON DISTRICT. 



Varieties of Trees. Wattles, York gum, jam, flooded gum. 



Method and time of destruction. Wattles, York gum, and jam 

 by ring-barking ; flooded gum by sapping. 



November or December when the sap is down, is returned ai 

 the best time for destroying the trees. 



Effect of the destruction oj trees upon the water supply and growt) 

 of native grasses. The effect is very great upon the water supply 

 Even within six months after ringing, the supply gets stronger 

 the grass grows thicker and is appreciated more by stock. 



Cost per acre of ring-barking or sapping. Eing-barking abou - 

 5s. per acre. Price for sapping not stated. 



Cost per acre of clearing before and after the destruction of th( 

 trees. Before ring-barking 5 per acre (wheat lands). After th< 

 timber has been killed =3 per acre. 



Note. Mr. McKenzie Grant, Newmarracarra, writes: "Ring 

 barking I find is only the beginning of clearing the land, as th( 

 saplings and young shoots keep springing up, and have to be grubbec 

 out year after year." 



CLEARING ; HOW TO DO IT, AND HOW NOT TO DO IT. 



The removal of timber from virgin land preparatory to plough' 

 ing, is known in Australia as " grubbing and clearing." The cosl 

 of doing this work, of course, varies very greatly, as will have beer 

 gathered from the earlier chapters which give the average price oJ 

 clearing in the various localities described. The chief factor in th( 

 cost of clearing is the quantity of timber that has to be removed 

 and there are also subsidiary causes which regulate the price a1 

 which the work can be done, as, for instance, the nature of the soil 

 the time of the year at which the work is carried on, the variety oi 

 timber, the proximity to the labour market, and the mechanicaraids 

 that may be employed. Taking all these things into consideration 

 and speaking generally, the spring and early summer are the besl 

 periods of the year in which to do this work. If the land is clay, o: 

 at all inclined to be stiff, it will have been well soaked by the wintei 

 rains, and be easier to remove from around the roots of the trees 

 Land cleared in the spring and ploughed the same season is less 

 prone to throw up suckers from the fragments of roots that an 

 bound to be left on the ground, no matter how carefully the work is 

 done, than land cleared or ploughed in the autumn or winter 

 Another advantage of clearing in spring and early summer is thai 

 the rains are less frequent and the timber has a better chance oi 



