6 



Hedge and Stump Cleiring. 



[Apr., 



Where it is desired to claim exemption, an application must 

 be made to the Commissioners of Customs and Excise, Custom 

 House, London, E.C.3., not less than 14 days before the Show, 

 accompanied by copies of the Eules and last Balance Sheet of the 

 Society and Programme of the Show. If a certificate of exemp- 

 tion is not received before the show, entertainments duty must 

 be paid. 



****** 



Since the widespread adoption of tractor cultivation the 

 problem of uprooting tree stumps and removing hedges has 

 Hedge and Stump ^^'^'"'''^ ''''^ considerable importance. 

 Clearin<y -Representative methods of doing this work 



^* were therefore tested by the i^.Iinistr}^ of 

 Agriculture in the early part of 1921, and the results 

 systematically recorded and tabulated. A report* on the trials 

 prepared ])y the Eesearch Branch of the Ministry was pub- 

 lished recently. The results have all been v/orked out on a 

 cost basis and, throughout, the economic standpoint, has been 

 primarily considered. While tractor cultivation has been 

 principally kept in view, the information contained in the 

 report should be of value to those engaged in clearing land for 

 gravel digging and other purposes, or in removing trees for 

 landscape and m^arket gardening. 



Included in the test were hand tools, timber jacks, the 

 De Jersey stump extractor (a machine from Finland operated by 

 hand), the Hercules Triple Puller (an American machine on 

 the windlass principle operated by horses), a ploughing engine, 

 and steam and motor tractors, as well as explosives. Details 

 of the tests and figures of cost are given in the publication 

 referred to, and a summary of the conclusions arrived at is as 

 follows : — 



Where only a short length of hedge or a few stumps are to 

 be extracted, there appears to be no advantage in going beyond 

 the existing resources of the farm, especially if the work is 

 done in a slack period of the year when it is a question of find- 

 ing work for the men retained. Hand tools will suffice, but 

 a tractor fitted with a winding drum will be useful, particularly 

 in dealing with light stumps, which it should be able to 

 remove without grubbing. 



* Miscpllaneous Pn1)lication, No. 35, 53 pp., 1 map and 13 fierures. 

 Price 2s. M. net, post free, from the Ministry, 10, Whitehall Place, 

 London, S.W.I. 



