1906. 
585 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
CLEARING LAND OF SlUMPS. 
G. W., Massachusetts .—I have about eight 
acres of stump land, cut over two years ago, 
timber mostly spruce. Will run from eight 
to 15 inches in diameter one foot from 
ground. The field was all burned over one 
year ago, and now I want to clear it of 
stumps, as I wish to plow and plant it next 
season if possible. The soil is sandy loam 
and will average about 250 stumps to the 
acre. What is the best way to get them out, 
with dynamite or a stump puller? What is 
the best size and make of stump puller for 
this work, or most suitable for this size of 
stumps? What would the probable cost be 
per acre for labor with man and team fig¬ 
ured at $4 per day of 10 hours and man 
without team .$1.50 per day? How long be¬ 
fore the land can be plowed after stumps are 
removed? 
Though I have had no experience in 
blowing stumps with dynamite, that of a 
neighbor may be worth while. He put 
a road 60 or 70 rods long and 24 feet 
wide, through dense woods, where the 
green stumps ran from four inches to 
nearly three feet in diameter. He used 
a low-grade explosive, from half a roll 
to two rolls at a time, and got them out 
as fast as two two-horse teams could haul 
them away. He placed 1J4 roll under a 
maple 2}/i feet in diameter and the ex¬ 
plosion lifted the tree about two feet. 
When it' came back it toppled over with 
the roots clear of the ground. Spring- 
tooth harrows, weighted, got out the 
smaller roots. The number of stumps 
he does not know. The dynamite cost 
$30, and he thinks any other method of 
removing the stumps would have cost at 
least four times as much. Time required 
about three days. G. s. pain. 
Maine. 
My first suggestion is to not do it; if 
he tries any kind of a stump-puller that 
is made, he will lose his religion and 
will not get all the stumps, while if he 
tackles the job with dynamite he can get 
all the stumps and probably go broke 
financially. I have cleared a good many 
acres here under both plans, and speak 
from experience. To be sure I was work¬ 
ing with chestnut stumps, which is a 
pretty tough proposition, but some eight 
or 10 acres cost me practically $200 per 
acre to clear, and now I am working 
similar lands leaving the stumps in. 
Spruce I imagine would rot out in a few 
years, and it would be much cheaper to 
plow and grub the land round the trees 
and let nature take its course, rather than 
try to get them out in the green state. 
At least that is what I should do if I 
was in his place, and I am now cultivat¬ 
ing orchards that will average at least 
three big stumps to the square rod. 
Connecticut. * j. h. hale. 
We would think the best way to get 
these stumps removed would be with a 
stump puller. Throughout Connecticut 
many of the fields have been cleared of 
stones by having the stones lifted from 
the soil with a machine not different from 
a stump puller. The charge for doing 
this work is from 10 to 15 cents per 
stone, to put the stone on top of the 
ground. It should not cost any more to 
remove the stumps than it does to lift 
the bowlders from the soil. The quickest 
way to get stumps out will probably be 
with dynamite, and yet I question 
whether it would be the cheapest way. 
To remove these stumps by dynamite it 
would probably require V/2 to two pounds 
of dynamite for each stump. Dynamite 
costs about 30 cents per pound, thus the 
cost of the dynamite alone for removing 
the stumps would be from 30 to 50 cents 
for each stump. This would be too great 
a cost to make it practical. Would it 
not be possible to use a small plow simi¬ 
lar to that used by New England farmers 
on their fields before they are cleared of 
stones, and plow this field and seed it 
to grass, so as to use it for pasture land? 
In a few years the stumps will have de¬ 
cayed, and then they can be usually re¬ 
moved by an ox-cart. 
Connecticut. l. a. clinton. 
Pulling stumps is always a serious 
proposition and is necessarily expensive. 
Thirty-five to 40 years ago we had con¬ 
siderable experience with stump machines. 
and the kind that seemed the most prac¬ 
tical was a Swamp-oak pole or log about 
14 inches in diameter and 20 feet long. 
A ring made of the best two-inch iron 
slipped over the butt end of the log, 
and on this ring were three short links 
and a large heavy hook that was grappled 
over a large root or driven into the side 
of the stump. Two good teams on the 
other end of this pole would twist a 
pretty solid stump. I think a good cedar 
pole about one-half of this size and a 
chain about one-half as heavy would 
twist these stumps out quite readily if 
the stumps are one foot high or more. 
If the stumps are very low the lever 
would slip over the top instead of twist¬ 
ing them out. Three men and two teams 
used to take out from 100 to 200 large 
stumps per day. Dynamite does not pay 
as well on stumps of this size as larger 
ones. If we had to clear such a piece as 
this would put on a flock of sheep or 
goats to keep down weeds and sprouts, 
and leave until partly rotten. If the 
stumps are properly pulled the land can 
be plowed at any time, but when stumps 
are still green it is a pretty expensive 
job to clear them off. l. j. post. 
Kent Co., Mich. 
Two years ago I had a hard job of 
clearing a tract of stump land, the timber 
consisting of maple, beech, birch, bass¬ 
wood, hemlock and other kinds that grow 
in central New York. We first tried one 
of the best patent stump pullers in the 
market, gave it up as a failure, and 
sent it back to the factory, having taken 
it on trial, very fortunately. It was one 
of the kind that is worked with a derrick, 
and was strong and of the size recom¬ 
mended by the makers for use on our 
stumps, after much correspondence about 
the matter. After‘several days of about 
the hardest work any of us ever did we 
got up three stumps, and not very large 
ones either. We then resorted to dyna¬ 
mite, and found it reasonably cheap and 
entirely effective. We used 40 per cent 
grade and an electric battery for firing. 
We could not have used fuse for firing, 
because we had to put several sticks, in 
one case nine of them, under a single 
stump. We often fired a chain of five 
or six stumps all at once, and never had 
any trouble or endangered ourselves from 
unexploded dynamite, as might easily be 
the case with fuse firing. There is much 
skill needed in placing the dynamite where 
it will do the most lifting, and this should 
be as near under the center of resistance 
as possible. The stumps described by 
S. W. are small and not very deeply 
rooted, and will come out easily. One- 
half stick of dynamite will lift out many 
of the smaller stumps, and a full stick, 
possibly, the larger ones. It will not be 
necessary to hire an expert at a big price 
to do the work or the bossing of it. Any¬ 
one with good judgment who can handle 
a crowbar can punch the holes under the 
stumps. The dynamite should be stored 
a safe distance from the place where it 
is to be exploded; 100 yards is far 
enough. The dealer in explosives of 
whom the material is purchased will show 
how to fix the exploding cap in the stick, 
and to attach the fuse or electric appli¬ 
ance, all of which is very simple. I began 
with “an expert dynamiter” on our job, 
at $4 per day, and after our men saw him 
work for a day any of us could and 
did do just as well. There is nothing 
mysterious, complicated or even difficult 
about the whole operation. Good sense, 
some muscle and a lot of care in handling 
the explosives are all that is needed to 
do a first rate job of stump blowing. The 
cost per acre will not be great, but I 
think it will be about $50 by the time 
the stumps are burned. I saw plenty of 
stump and log clearing in Oregon, Wash¬ 
ington and British Columbia last year, 
where they were almost 10 times bigger 
than those we have in the Eastern States. 
They use a “donkey” engine, steel cable 
and snatch blocks to pull them up and 
at the same time drag them into piles 
ready for burning. A tall and very stiff 
stump or snag is selected and to this 
one block and the cable is fastened as 
high as can be, and all that can be piled 
about it are dragged to this common 
center. I have seen piles of stumps and 
logs there fully 30 feet high and 50 feet 
across made in this way. This would not 
be practicable for the job in question, but 
the same might be done with a winch 
and horse power. However, I think it 
would cost more in money and take much 
longer than by dynamiting. 
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NEW YORK STATE FAIR 
SYRACUSE, September 10=15, 1906. 
$65,000.00 IN PURSES AND PREMIUMS. 
EXHIBITION. 
INDUSTRIAL 
AND 
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New classes added—Improved classifi¬ 
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DOMESTIC DEPARTMENT. 
Exhibitors in this department, unable to 
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SE3XTD FOR 
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LIBERAL PRIZES 
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ENTRIES CLOSE. 
Live stock, August 13th, Implements 
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xpnMBAUNG 
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£ IN AMERICA. 
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Climax Ensilage Cutter 
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Write for Catalog- E. H. 
14T0&BUTTE! 
LOST THIS 
"fcWAY 
WHICH? 
Which way do you skim your milk? 
It Is hard sometimes to realize just how 
great the loss of cream is with crocks and 
pans. Some people may not believe that a 
u. s. 
NO 
BUTTER 
LOST 
[THIS 
m 
CREAM SEPARATOR 
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Address all letters to Bellows Falls, Vt. 
446 
