1 Mar., 1899.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAT: 183 
in the post-hole will generally allow the rail to squeeze into its place. In a 
three-rail fence, the widest rail should be placed in the centre and the lightest 
on top, to avoid top heaviness. Two-rail fences require both rails to be of the 
game width. he old three-rail fence has almost completely gone out of 
fashion. 
Instances have occurred of post-holes being sunk with the “ crosscut saw.” 
That means that unscrupulous contractors, to save trouble when they come toa 
rocky bottom before the hole is sunk to the required depth, coolly cut off 4 or 
6 inches from the foot of the post. Of course, to look at, the fence is faith- 
fully erected, but the tell-tale ends left about carelessly have often led to a 
diminution of the contract price. 
In my description of timber-getting in my first article, I omitted to bring 
in the method of— 
HAULING LOGS OUT OF A SCRUB. 
This is always done by the help of bullocks, and the logs are either 
“ snigged” out or loaded on to a rough, strong trolly. The latter plan is mostly 
adopted in forest country. i 
The log having been cut off and barked, the next thing to do is to cut a 
track through the scrub for the bullocks. : 
In a heavily-timbered scrub—that is, in one containing so much pine, 
cedar, and beech that the timber-getter may look forward to years of work—a main 
track of considerable width was cut often for two or three miles through the 
serub to the water’s edge, where the timber was to be loaded on to punts. 
Then a track was cut to each tree felled. Some scrubs are traversed in all 
directions by these tracks. In others they have grown up again as 
densely as before, the timber-getters having departed from the district after 
denuding the scrubs of all saleable timber. As soon as the track is cleared, 
the bullock-driver brings along his team of four, six, or eight bullocks, accord- 
ing to the size of the log and the nature of the country. A chain is passed 
round one end, and the log is dragged along the track down to the water’s 
edge, ready for loading or rafting. 
Tn clear forest land, a timber trolly is used. This consists of a strong 
framework and pole, mounted on low, solid, wooden wheels, tyred with iron. 
This trolly is placed alongside the log to be shifted, the wheel nearest.the log 
being sunk in a hole dug for the purpose. A chain is passed from the trolly 
underneath the log, and is brought over the top. A. team of bullocks is 
hitched to the end of the chain, and the log is parbuckled up a couple of skids 
on to the bed of the trolly, where it is made fast. he bullocks are then yoked 
to the pole, and the log is conveyed to its destination. 
CLEARING LAND WITHOUT GRUBBING. 
The destruction of forest timber by means other than grubbing the trees 
out has, for many years, been an object for research by experimentalists, and 
yarious recipes have been given as infallible, but there has always been a flaw 
somewhere, and the discovery has come to nought. There is, however, one 
method of getting rid of heavy timber, which has proved successful, although 
yery slow, and consequently can only be adopted where the necessity does not 
exist for speedy work. Some dozen acres at Woody Point have been cleared 
of very large trees, some white gums especially having a diameter of from 6 to 
7 feet. ‘The land was heavily timbered, and yet was cleared at a cost of about 
26s. per acre. The owner, who is fond of making experiments in this line, 
found in an American paper a process of destroying growing trees, and deter-_ 
mined to try it on his land. With an inch auger he bored deep holes in the 
trees and filled them with powdered saltpetre. He then plugged up the holes, 
and on examining them some weeks afterwards he found that the salt had 
been entirely absorbed. He replenished the holes two or three times and 
waited then to seo the trees wither. Instead of this, to his great regret, he 
