ITS CULTUEE IN CALIFORNIA. 



41 



foriiiatiou, beware of rocks. These mesas 

 arc built up by the wash from the mount- 

 ains, and many places that look compara- 

 tively smooth are only filled-up beds of 

 former ravines; just below the surface 

 they are chock full of bowlders. If you 

 see only a few of these fellows cropping 

 out here and there, regard them as a just 

 ''•auise of suspicion and make a thorough 



investigation. As the surface is usually 

 covered with a thick growth of chapparai 

 you may not see half the rocks that are 

 really above ground. A little neglect in 

 this important part of the investigation 

 may cost you several hundreds of dollars 

 and many a weary day's labor. Take 

 warning from a man who has been through 

 the mill. 



CHAPTER VI. 



CLEARING AND PREPARING LAND. 



Clearing.— Mesa lands, by reason of 

 their usually thick growth of chapparai 

 and occasional timber, are more difficult 

 to clear than lands in the valley. The 

 usual method is to grub out by the root 

 everything in the form of tree or shrub. 

 In the case of heavy oak and sycamore 

 timber a considerable excavation is made, 

 'Uncovering the hole and reaching the 

 anain tap root of the tree. This root is cut 

 <^t the depth of two to four feet from the 

 surface of the ground, and when the main 

 laterals are also severed the tree topples 

 •over. Thus the stump is wrenched from 

 the earth, and disposed of much more 

 readily and cheaply than by any of the 

 old methods of burning, blowing up or 

 twisting out with horse-power. 



Implements. — The implements requi- 

 site for clearing are the mattock, or grub- 

 Jioe, axe, shovel, and crow-bar. When 

 timber is to be cut np the cross-cut saw 

 ■comes into play also. With ordinary 

 greasewood and sage roots the mattock is 

 sufficient. Sumacs, alders and thorns re- 

 quire more digging and chopping. 



The Easiest Method.— It is possible 

 sometimes when the chapparai is not very 

 lieayy and that all sage, or sage with a 

 sprinkling of greasew^ood, to substitute 

 horse-power for manual labor, with a 

 great saving in time and expense. In 

 such cases a heavy timber or a railroad 

 rail is dragged broadside over the ground, 

 ii horse being hitched at each end. This 

 operation may be repeated in an opposite 

 direction, and the result is that substan- 



tially all of the brittle stalks are broken 

 off close to the ground. A horse-rake is 

 of service in raking the brush into wind- 

 rows, after which it is stacked and burned. 

 The roots, which still remain in the 

 ground, are thrown out by a heavy 

 breaking-up plow, drawn by four horses, 

 and it is necessary to send men over the 

 ground to collect them into heaps for 

 burning or hauling off. This wholesale 

 method of clearing chapparai land is 

 rarely feasible. 



The Slow and Sure Way.— The ma- 

 jority of men who open up small foothills 

 farms find there is nothing for it but to 

 grub out the brush *'by main force and 

 awkwardness." 



FuEE. — Although the clearing involves 

 a deal of labor, and that of the hardest 

 kind, there is a compensation in the fire- 

 wood secured. All of the roots named, 

 with the single exception of the sage, are 

 serviceable for fuel. From thirty acres of 

 chapparai which I cleared in opening up 

 my place I obtained wood enough to last 

 my family four years, and sold upwards 

 of a hundred dollars' worth besides. The 

 idea of digging firewood out of the ground 

 is novel to most people, but when fuel is 

 as scarce and dear as in California, it will 

 not do to despise the lowly origin and un- 

 comely appearance of our greasewood 

 and sumac roots. When dry, they make 

 a quick, hot fire, and are especially de- 

 sirable for cooking purposes. Oak timber 

 should be worked into stovewood when 

 green (the only time, in fact, that it can be 



