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Pimpama, Coomera, and Nerang. Then we find scrubs such as those on the 
hills between Laidley and (tatton. These are usually of a light character, not 
much bound together by vines, and more easily cleared. Brigalow scrubs are 
found inland, consisting almost entirely of this kind of timber. 
_ To return to the subject of clearing. Obviously it would be unwise to 
destroy the valuable timber above mentioned. ‘There is always a market for 
cedar, pine, beech, and hardwood, not only in Brisbane but in other centres of 
population. Hence men are always to be found who are prepared to take the 
timber off the settlers’ hands at a price which varies according to distance from 
market, difficulty or ease of access to rail or water carriage, and to the market 
demand and price. The settler may prefer to undertake this work himself, but 
he will find that, with all the other work he has to do to prepare his land for 
cultivation, the most profitable method for him will be to sell the standing 
timber outright to those who make a business of timber-getting. 
To fell scrub properly, it is well to select a time when the sap is down, 
and this occurs about the winter months. Serub timber felled at this time 
will dry quicker, and consequently burn off easier and more thoroughly, than if 
felled when the trees are full of sap, although even this difficulty may be got 
over by judicious felling. 
It is a common thing for scrub farmers to cut half through a number of 
small trees, and then to drop a large tree on top of them. When the large 
tree falls, it naturally brings down all the smaller ones with it. But mark the 
result, ‘The small trees, which were only half-cut through, are not detached 
from the stump. <A strip of timber and the bark of one side still form a 
connection with the roots, and the sap consequently continues to flow ; and the 
tree, although felled, remains green, and of course will not burn for months, 
and probably not at all till it has been handled a second time. ‘The longest 
way round is the shortest way home” is an old and a very good adage, and it 
applies to this case. By the method mentioned, the trees will no doubt be far 
quicker felled ; but when we come to the clearing of it off the ground, then it 
is that we find out the mistake. But then it is too late—the mischief is done, 
and we can only make the best of it. 
To fell scrub properly, the first thing to do is to ‘‘ scrub” it—that is, to go 
through it with an axe or tomahawk or bill (with a long handle), and cut down. 
all the small trees, aoa and shrubs under six inches in diameter, taking 
eare to lay them flat by lopping any branches sticking up; and at the same, 
time (in a vine scrub) all the vines, lawyer-canes, and other creeping vegetation — 
must be cut to the ground and cleared away from around the larger trees. 
After this is done, we may proceed to deal with the large timber and drop it on 
top of the already partly dried small stuff. Every tree, as it is felled, should, 
be lopped as to its branches, and the whole Jaid as flat as possible. In proceed- 
ing in this manner, we are simply carrying out on a large scale the principle 
of building a small fire. The small dry stuff lies below, the larger limbs above, 
and the heavy trunks above all. 
Should the serub contain many bottle-trees or stinging-trees, some trouble 
arises, as these trees are very large and pulpy, and contain such an enormous. 
mass of moisture that they will not readily burn. My plan was to split up the 
nettle-trees, and allow the bottle-trees to rot on the ground, which they do very 
rapidly. 
* Now we may attend to some other work, such as building a temporary 
dwelling-house or splitting fencing stuff, until the felled scrub is dry enough 
to burn off. This should occur in from six to eight weeks, according to the 
state of the weather. ‘The best time to burn is at night, if there is a nice 
breeze blowing. I should have mentioned that the burn-off must not be 
deferred until the leaves have all dropped off the limbs. Should this have 
happened, a bad burn is almost sure to be the result. 
Fire should be applied at several points at once, for it is a well-known fact 
that a large fire always creates a draught, and this materially helps to a good 
burn-off. Ii the timber has been well lopped, has lain a sufficiently long time, 
