The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1919-07-09

OF stumps and the soil conditions are
at the same time greatly improved
All methods employing powder, how.
ever, require considerable levellinp
before the area is in good tillable
condition. The big hindrance of this
form OF clearing lies in the cost of
the powder which makes clearing on
a large scale prohibitive for the poor
er farmer.
The common burning method is
employed on practically ali stumn
ranches. 1t has the advantage of re-
curing no apparatus or Investment
Tor equipment and, at the same time
being one of the cheapest and most
effective methods. With some moist
stable manure to cover the st,mn
after starting, the char-pit method
may be employed. This consists
briefly of combining fire around the
outside of the stump until consumed
This produces an oven-like effect
around the roots, slowly changing
them to charcoal. Another applica.
ton of the same method is where the
stump is sawed off at the level of the
ground and the top then elevated
from two to four inches on wooden
SNo ooSAiSos Liz Is tQGn
started between the skids and the
stump and covered up for char pit
ting. This method has the advantage
of securing good contact between the
burning surfaces and, therefore good
combustion.
Some prefer. to bore the stump
through the heart and through to
the center from the bottom, thus see
curing a good circulation of air. The
fire is then started in the stump
and the stump is burned from the
inside.
Various methods of clearing with
power machinery, such as donkeys
and tractors, have been tried but
these methods usually necessitate a
large investment and the employment
of skilled operators which makes it
too expensive for the small farmer.
Wherever the work will warrant,
these methods are very effective.
In the process of subduing land,
there is an intermediate stage be-
tween waste and complete reclama- I
ton when the land can be utilized as
~pasturage. Whenever the ultimate
time of complete reclamation is no
object, there is no better method of
bringing cut-over lands into a state
Of productivity quickly than by burn
ing the brush and slashing in the late1
summer or early fall and seeding the
r to timothy or clover. This sys-
tenn lends itself admirably to the
dairy business and is equally good
from the standpoint of meat and wool
production. This ~pasturage greatly
improves the land and, at the same
time, sprouts and new growth are
kept down. By this method the new
settler may do a part of his clearing +
odd times while getting a living
from his livestock. At the same time,
the stumps and roots continue to de-
cay and 500 the smaller ones can
be pried out. A certain amount of
manure is also secured for the char
of the larger stumps.
To begin with, this p~asturage sys-
tenn is undoubtedly the cheapest of all
methods and has the advantage of
improving the wild soil because of the
.pasturage and nitrogen fixing clover.
This is the method we recommend to
settlers starting in on a small scale.
AS shown, it has the advantage of
producing the second or third year;
requires no large expenditure for
lends itself readily to
being worked at odd times, thus en-
the settler to avail himself of
seasonal employment and, at the
same time, he is gradually gaining his
objective of complete reclamation.
In all cases the ordinary settler :
must have the benefit of personal j
credit either through loaning agencies, d
federal funds or corporations with t
packing enough to handle loans at a
rate of interest on easy o
The sales of cut-over lands t
~ lumber companies in northern t
are being conducted along s
practically the same lines and policy n
Is initiated and carried on by the d
ootlatch Lumber company. A word p
to the Potlatch Lumber company a
may not be amiss. G
In the first place our sales are all Il
handled through our W land de- e
'artment, thus doing away with all II
commissions and agents fees. This h
ayes the settler the usual real estate n
and SPECTATORS fee. The n
and %appraisals are systematically v
made along a definite plan by which s,
II factors affecting the value of a t
'iece of land are given their relative d
By adding the plus factors e1
nd deducting the factors having a 81
egative effect the selling price which t.
from $3.50 to $4,000 per acre, q
determined. These lands are sold tt
n easy terms, the company requiring ri
tenth down, the balance falling h
in nine annual instalments bear IL
six per cent interest. III,
After a few years with gradual Of
improvements, the values of these p
ands rise so that the debt may be d.
aken over by the Federal Land Bank W
{ the district on its usual basis of ii
'ans equal to fifty per cent of the fs
cling value of the farm checked up al
y it's earning capacity. This gives Of
settlers a very low rate of in al
crest made possible by the fact that til
ederal Loan Bonds exempt from all sc
lxation are sold to obtain the money al
loan. These farmers are thus ex-
npted from the necessity of paying to
high rate of interest which really or
mounts to the paying of taxes on pl
leir debt. The time of payment is de
hereby extended over a period of co
'rty years under the amortization tn
of retiring principal and interest. tie