FOR COLONISTS AND EMIGRANTS. 
131 
wood three feet at a time, we shall be obliged 
to clear the wood as we go, by chopping all 
the small wood close to the ground. As we 
arrive at the fine trees, we should look well at 
each before we begin to damage its roots, for 
it may be desirable to save some of the hand- 
somest ; but on coming to large trees that are 
to be taken down, we must abandon the trench 
when we have brought it within six feet, and 
commence making a trench round the tre^, 
fully three feet wide, and within three feet of 
the bottom part of the trunk. This trench is 
to be as deep as the straight ones, and as the 
earth is cleared away from the roots the latter 
must be chopped through. The tree should 
be made to fall outwards — that is to say, on 
the ground already cleared, and not among 
the uncleared portion. To accomplish this, a 
strong rope or ropes must be fixed high up 
the tree, so that a man or men on the ground 
may pull it the way you want it to fall. In 
clearing the trench round it, you of course 
come to all its leading roots that stretch out- 
wards, and these are the roots that support 
the tree in its position, although there may be 
descending or tap roots to supply the chief 
nourishment ; when these roots are bared, you 
can cut away one after another until the sup- 
ports are gone, when the tree must fall as it 
is pulled. If, however, a tree naturally leans, 
it is better first to clear away space for it to 
fall on ; or to pass it by, leaving a space of six 
feet all round it, and clear past the place where 
it would naturally fall, that is to say, the way 
it leans ; and in this case, you cut away all the 
roots on the side in which direction it leans, 
and your work is then simple enough, because 
as the roots on the other side prevent it from 
falling while you work on the opposite side, 
you have only to cut them away one by one, 
till the tree tears up the rest, which, as its 
weight lies over, it will do. A large tree 
when it has fallen is as much in the way as 
the wood was, but you must then set to work 
with your saws, hatchets, axes, and bill-hooks 
to divest it of its branches, and again the 
large branches of the smaller ones, cutting 
even the main branches into usable lengths, 
and the rest into stack-wood and faggot wood 
for burning. The trunk has first to be cut as 
it lies, close down to the collar of the root, 
and then cut again at the length which is most 
useful for timber, because a tree that would 
be immovable is thus rendered useful before it 
is off the ground. 
The felling of large trees is a work of great 
labour, and interrupts the progress of trench- 
ing very much ; but there is the timber to 
compensate us, and when thus parted into 
usable lengths it can be removed to the place 
where it is to be used, or burned, or stacked. 
The but or root end of a tree is the least use- 
ful and the most difficult to move, but still it 
is in the way on the ground. The main trunk 
or timber, or what the merchants call the 
stick, can be best removed to the hard ground 
by winding a chain round it, and letting a 
horse or two, or an ox or two, or, according to 
the size, half-a-dozen oxen perhaps, draw it 
sideways ; as fast as the chain unwinds, and 
rolls it along, it has to be wound round again, 
a thing easily done, because although it lies 
close to the ground, a spade-full or two of 
earth may be taken from under it in one 
place ; and the chain, which is double, is of 
considerable length, and is drawn under until 
the draught bar is nearly close to the wood ; 
it is then brought back, and taken under again 
two or three times, and a spike driven into 
the wood so that it cannot give way. The 
drawing power has only to unwind the chain 
which rolls the timber over, and this is re- 
peated till it is got off the work on to the 
harder ground. The operation is the same for 
all, but the smaller the tree the easier it is 
performed. Having cleared away the tree, the 
next trouble is with the but, which being diffi- 
cult to move on account of the projecting 
roots, must be split small enough to move, or 
to burn on the spot. By boring a hole down 
the centre, and loading it with a good charge 
of gunpowder, in the same way as in blasting 
a rock, it may be split with very little trou- 
ble ; but in the absence of gunpowder, bring 
your wedges into use ; this however produces 
much more labour. 
When the large trees and their roots are 
removed, go on with your straight trenches, 
cutting out all roots great and small as jou 
proceed, and filling up each empty trench 
with the contents of the one you are making. 
It may be observed, that the quantity you 
clear or undertake to clear, in point of width 
or length, is according to your own option. If 
in an enormous wood you make your trench 
about twenty rods long, and continue your 
trenches inwards till you are eight rods that 
way, you will have cleared an acre, and when 
cleared it will for the most be very fertile, for 
wood land in general has done little upon the 
surface, and although it may have been drawn 
pretty close of some of its qualities, there is 
left strength enough for ordinary vegetables 
and corn crops. 
In this way may a whole wood be cleared 
in time ; and when the principal portion of a 
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