FARMING ON" CUT-OVER LANDS, 13 
proved land should be put into condition to grow grass and should 
be used as nasture for live stock, 
LAND CLEARING. 1 
A large part of the nontillable land in this district is covered with 
large stumps. Clearing is difficult and requires much heavy work 
and considerable capital, In order to develop this country rapidly, 
more farmers with capital are needed. To the settler with small 
capital the clearing of land will necessarily be slow but not impos- 
sible, Ordinarily the cost of clearing land ranges from $20 to 160 
per acre ? depending mainly on the kind, condition, number, and size 
of stumps; the acreage to be cleared; the amount of wood and brush 
Fig. 7. — A stump-land pasture. Seeding the land to grass and pasturing for several years lessens the cost 
of clearing. 
that must be removed or burned; and the quality and condition of 
the soil. A part of this cost may frequently be offset through the 
sale of wood products. Small stumps when numerous are most eco- 
nomically removed by means of stump pullers, and larger ones by 
the use of dynamite or a combination of the two methods. Ordi- 
narily the cost of removing stumps ranges from 20 to 75 cents per 
stump, Stumps of all kinds are much more easily removed if con- 
siderable time has elapsed since the timber was cut. (See fig. 7.) 
Most varieties of hardwood stumps decay in a short time, but 
white and Norway pine stumps remain comparatively sound for 
many years, For this reason hardwood lands, other things being 
equal, are more in demand. It is important in all cases to make sure 
that the quality of land justifies the expense of clearing. 
1 For detailed information concerning land clearing see the following bulletins: U. S. Department of 
Agriculture Bulletin No. 91, entitled "Cost and Methods of Clearing Land in the Lake States;" Minnesota 
Experiment Station Bulletin No. 134, entitled " Land Clearing;" and Wisconsin Experiment Station Bul- 
letin No. 216, entitled "Use of Explosives in Clearing Land. " 
