60 Power Stump Pullers. 
Removal of Trees—The first operation in clearing will be 
the removal of the trees. This can be partly done in the dry 
season if one has unemployed time. In such case the tree is 
felled and worked up into fire-wood and the stump left for subse- 
quent treatment when the ground is moist. Unless there is idle 
time to employ, the whole work can, however, be better done in 
the winter, for then the top of the tree may be made to help pull 
out its own roots. This is done sometimes by digging out the 
soil and cutting off the main lateral roots below the depth to 
which the plow will reach. By thus reducing its anchorage the 
tree will topple over, or may be pulled over with a team and 
tackle, and it will usually lift out its stump quite effectively. 
A Steam Puller—An arrangement for tearing out trees 
without digging has been used to some extent in Santa Cruz 
‘County, which is said to handle redwood trees up to four feet in 
diameter successfully. It consists of a portable engine and a 
“puller,” which is a windlass operated by steam, from which a 
wire cable is carried to the tree which is to be pulled down. A 
strong chain is put around the tree at a distance above the 
ground proportioned to its diameter in such a way as to give 
necessary leverage. ‘The immensely strong hook at the end of 
the cable is attached to this chain and the cable is slowly wound 
upon the reel. The coil begins to grow taut, a dull creak and 
strain are heard as the roots begin to be torn from the earth. 
Two chains are used, a second tree being prepared while the 
first is falling, that no time may be lost. The cable is detached 
from the falling tree, and a horse draws it from amid the debris of 
fallen foliage to the next victim. The extraction of roots by 
this method of pulling is said to be very complete, and the earth 
is loosened to a considerable depth. 
Powerful traction engines, manufactured for hauling com- 
bined harvesters and steam plows, have also been very success- 
fully used for the removal of large trees in land clearing. 
Horse-Power Stump Pullers —The use of horse-power de- 
vices for tree felling and stump extraction has increased consid- 
erably of late. The one which has achieved the best results is a 
local invention called the “California Stump Puller.” It is sim- 
ply a specially-designed capstan worked by one horse, with a 
wire cable five-eighths of an inch in diameter, an improved 
snatch block, chains, and a draft-hook to unite the cable with the 
chains. Power is applied to the capstan with a sweep. It is 
calculated that with this device, properly adjusted, one horse 
is enabled to produce an effect equal to the capacity of 60 horses 
without it, and that a t200-pound horse which can move a dead 
weight of one and a half tons for a short distance can move a 
dead weight of 90 tons with the devices employed in the ma- 
