COST OF CLEARING 29 
In East Kootenay $35 to $60 per acre are the figures at 
which a good deal of clearing has been and is being done. 
Near Castlegar, at the confluence of the Kootenay and 
Columbia Rivers in West Kootenay, land has been cleared 
with a stump-puller for a cost of $20 to $25 per acre, 
powder being used to split the bigger stumps—that is to 
say, those which exceeded 20 inches in diameter. Along 
with the stump-puller draught oxen were used instead of 
horses. Two oxen turned the windlass of the stump- 
puller, and a third drew back the heavy cable from off 
the drum and dragged it to the next stump. In this case 
the stump-puller cost $325. In other parts of West 
Kootenay the cost of clearing runs up to $50, $90, and 
$100 per acre, and occasionally more. 
