27 
ber improves both the water supply and the growth of the native 
grasses. 
Especially is this noticeable on the Salmon gum country, which 
prior to killing the timber is devoid of herbage. The effect is strik- 
ing, as different species of grasses put in an appearance the first 
winter afler the timber has been ring-barked and grow luxuriantly. 
Since this fact has been demonstrated the salmon gum forest Jand 
has come into great favour. 
The effect is also very great upon the water supply. Even 
within a few months after ringing, the supply of subsurface water 
gets stronger. 
Jam acacia in the Avon Valley and along the Great Southern 
Railway seems to be the only tree around which grass grows and 
keeps green to any extent, and on that account, and because of the 
value of the wood for fencing posts, it is generally allowed to grow 
on farms in the making. 
CLEARING : HOW TO DO IT, AND HOW NOT TO Do IT. 
The removal of timber from virgin land preparatory to 
ploughing, is known in Australia as ‘‘grubbing and clearing.’?’ 
The cost of doing this -vork, of course, varies very greatly, as will 
have been gathered from the earlier chapters. The chief 
factor in the cost of clearing 1s the quantity of timber that 
has to be removed, and there are also subsidiary causes which 
regulate the price at which the work ean be done, as, for instance, 
the nature of the soil, the time of the year at which the work is 
carried on, the variety of timber, the proximity to the labour 
market, and the mechanical aids that may be employed. Taking 
all these things into consideration, and speaking generally, the 
spring and early summer are the best periods of the year. in which 
to do this work. If the iand is clay, or at all inclined to be stiff, 
it will have been well soaked by the winter 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 are 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 that the rains are less 
frequent and the timber has a hetter chance of burning. Light 
sandy soil covered with banksia and other woods that burn readily, 
may be cleared at any time of the year. The new settler may think 
that anyone who has sufficient strength can do grubbing and clear- 
ing as well as the next one. This is a great mistake. One cannot 
exalt clearing into an art or a science, but there is a knack in 
doing the work that, simple as it looks, requires a good deal of 
