CLEARING LAND IN THE LAKE STATES. 17 



The work of stumping this tract was difficult because of the nature 

 of the soil and size of the stumps. It was done under contract by 

 one of the largest stumping contractors in Michigan. All of the crew 

 were experienced men. The contract price for pulling, cleaning, 

 and tipping the stumps on this tract was $788, or about 32 cents per 

 stump. The actual cost was 26 cents. The average farmer or set- 

 tler, even though he had the equipment, probably could not do the 

 work as cheaply as it was done by this contractor. 



TRACT NO. 8. 



Tract No. 8 contained 30 acres of nearly level land with sandy- 

 loam soil. The outfit used was a tripod stump puller. The .total 

 number of stumps pulled was 2,464. The average number pulled 

 per day was 137. The average number per acre was about 82. The 

 average diameter per stump was about 24 inches. This work was 

 done under contract at 19 cents per stump for pulling, cleaning, and 

 tipping. The actual cost was 10.2 cents, as shown in Table VIII. 

 The low cost of stumping was largely due to the sandy nature of the 

 soil and the fact that the stumping crew was experienced. These 

 stumps were to be piled and burned later in the year. 



Table VIII. — Cost of stumping tract No. 8. 1 



Ttpm Da y s em - 



ployed. 



Pulling, cleaning, and tipping: 



2 men, 18 days each ! 36 



2 men with teams, 18 clays each ' 36 



Use ol machine j 18 



Piling and burning (estimated) 



Total. 



Average per acre. 



Cost. 



Per diem, i Total. 



SI. 7.5 

 4.50 

 1.50 



863.00 



162. 00 



27.00 



616. 00 



868. 00 

 28. 93 

 Average per stump ' ! I . 352 



' Tract stumped in the fall of 1912. 

 TRACT NO. 9. 



Tract No. 9 contained 30 acres of nearly level land with sandy-loam 

 soil. The outfit used was a tripod stump puller. The total number of 

 stumps pulled was 2,000. The average number pulled per day was 

 134. The average number per acre was about 67. The average 

 diameter per stump was about 28 inches. This work was done under 

 contract at 25 cents per stump for pulling, cleaning, and tipping. The 

 actual cost was 10.5 cents, as shown in Table IX. 



