Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1900-03-22
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BURNING OUT STUMPS.
Things nm Ohio Farmer Learned by
Hard Lifts and knocks.

Hard Lttts ana hhOckA.
First. | would not use dynamite or
any other explosive, because it is too
expensive and dangerous. From 10 to
10 cents IS too much money to pay to
get rid Of a stump. l would not even
care to have them split so as to start
the fire in the center of the stump.
would take an ak and cut a notch in
spur root where ! wanted to start
fire. l would then take anything that
was handy and start a small ire IN
this notch, then keep on renewing
this fire. adding larger chunks as the
stump began to get hot and large coal
formed When the coal on the stump
becomes good and hot. put one stick on
at a time Go around among your
stumps often enough to keep the fires
from going out until they are well
started. and ;hen once or twice a day
is sufficient.
never kept an account Of the cost
or time that il took to burn out Il
stump or any given number Of them,
but if were taking job to clear land
as we used to 90 would be glad to get
even cents extra each to burn out the
stunps. In fact. / see no reason why
Il should cost q perceptible amount
more to DO 50 than not to burn them
since. once the fire is started, there is
10 way to get rid Of log so easily as
10 nut il against the stump or partly
burned large log and let it burn with
the rest. From my experience would
think, where two or more hands ana
teams are used on 4 farm winter ana
summer, that to take out, say, 100 OAK
stumps running from three to siI feet
across the stump, say four feet from
the ground, need not be over from 50
TO SO, while In doing so every Old
stump, old gate or bar post, as well as
every old. unsightly thing about a
farm that is made OF wood. could be
used as fuel, much TO the Improvement
Of the appearance OF the farm
But to get the work done as cheaply
as I speak Of ii would have to be done
Systematically and at times when the
hands and teams would otherwise be
idle. To burn stumps out as we sug-
gest patience is required on the start.
But keep on. and in time the stump
will get hot and hold the fire and help
itself in many ways. Ia my work u
the kind | always carried a rather
light, sharp ax. When | went to n
stump, | struck the burning part Of the
stump with the head of the AK so as TO
knock the Goals off. Then | would
strike the bit of tie AK into the chunks
and logs and thus lift or roll them
where | wanted them. ! had the men
with the teams do the hauling, and |
attended to the fires, using economy
with the fuel the same as | would
have done at the house fire.
If were taking job of several hun
dred stumps, | should not care much
as to whether they were green or dry
unless it should be such as sugar or
beech, which when dry will burn out
with little or no trouble. While | never
kept tab on cost or time of burning
stumps, would say that from 20 to ~
DAYS would be sufficient to burn out
an oak stump of, say, four to six feet
| across at the place Of cutting it. II
the stump is old and dry, the spur roots
| can be taken out with the AK and used
| as fuel to advantage. If the fire Is
| kept well down to the ground, the top
of the stump can be split off with the
ak and used as fuel. After good coal
| Is formed on the stump | would as lei
| have green wood, say foot in diane
ter, cut four feet long and unspiit' II
| has cost me many hard lift and hard
| knock TO learn the things said in this
| letter. | have but one object in writ
| ing II. and that Is to give others the
benefit of my experience, says an Ohio
| Farmer writer.