River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1914-05-28
THE COST OF CLEARING LAND
STUMPS IN L0eGED-oFF LANDS IN The
LAKE STATES EXPENSIVE TO GET
RID or

Within the next twenty-five
years it is estimated that most of
the remaining merchantable timber
in Minnesota, Michigan, and Wis
consin will be logged off. This
means that in many counties there
will be a change from numbering
to farming and that the problem
Of clearing economically the log
ged-off land will even
greater Importance. At the pre-
sent time there are nearly twelve
naillion acres of such land in Mich
lgan, approximately as much in
Minnesota, and something less than
eleven million in Wisconsin. The
greater part of these millions Of
acres is not only utterly useless
now, but, on account of the dan
ger of fire, an actual menace.
Hitherto the development Of
these lands for agricultural pur-
poses has been seriously retarded
by the high cost of clearing. A
recent investigation conducted by
the q. S. Department of Agricul-
ture, the results of which have
just been published in Bulletin
81, "Cost and Methods of Clearing
Land in the Lake States" reveals
the fact that this cost runs from
$40 to $50 an acre Little logged
off land desirable for farming pur-
poses can be had for less than S15
or S25 per acre, and the total cost
of cleared land varies, therefore,
from $35 to $115. The average, the
the Investigators found, was sos
an acre. This, when the expense
of other necessary improvements
is taken into consideration, is more
than equally good farm lard III
other sections can be bought for.
In view Of these facts the proper
disposition of other logged-off
areas becomes an important pro
blem.
In the first place, Is a protec-
ton to the settler, the investiga-
tors recommend that in every tract
sold by land companies, there
should be at least ten acres clear
ed and ready for the plough. This
VIII enable the farmer to raise hay
and other crops while putting the
logged-off land into condition for
the most economical removal OF
the stumps, for clearing can be
done much more cheaply after the
ground has been in pasture for
several years.
Second growth, the Investigators
assert, must be regarded as a
source of expense rather than in
come. In a few places it may be
possible to dispose of it to char
coal and wood-extract companies,
pulp mills or mining companies,
but in general it does not pay to
haul the wood more than four or
five miles and in practice it is
usually the fact that the 0
growth has no value except as
fire-wood for the settlers person
al use.
The brush should be cut close to
the ground when in full leaf. heap
ed into compact piles, and burned
as soon after Logging as possible.
On account of the danger OF the
fire spreading, however, the local
or State fire warden should be
consulted before the actual burn
ing is attempted.
After the brush and second
growth have been removed 1T IS
considered best to put the land
into pasture for several years. On
hard wood land, green stumps are
much more difficult to remove
than those which have been allow
ed to rot for six or seven years,
and pine stumps are gradually
worked out of the ground by the
settling of the groung and the
heaving action of the frost. The
practice of narrowing and sowing
the land, either Immediately after
burning or in the spring, is there
fore very general. Sprout grow
tn, the great drawback to this
system, must, however, be kept
down vigorously and this requires
hard work. Dairy herds are now
found useful in this respect.
When the time comes to turn the
pasture into crop-bearing land, the
farmer has the choice of four
methods a. explosives, ~ tx
plosives used in connection with
stump-pullers, 81 stump-pullers
alone, and az power machines. His
choice will depend on the nature
of the soil and stumps but it will
not often be possible for him to
ignore the use of explosives. On
heavier soils they are particularly
officipnf Thay do their work