St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1921-06-11
MIR. BRIGGS LETTER.
Continued from page u

MIR. BRIGGS LETTER.
Continued from page u
lands will -run from 5000 up to very
high figures, depending upon the
stage and intensiveness Of develop
ment. In Iowa in 1910 the average
value Of all land including good and
bad was over eighty dollars per acre
the average is probably much over
hundred now). Here is our land
Immediately adjacent to the largest
and most rapidly growing city Of the
South, with excellent facilities for
transportation by both water and
rail, in climate much more favor
able to production than that of Iowa,
and with winter and spring season
for growth Of early vegetables which
| command the highest price in tho
Northern markets. All we need is
enterprise, and the enterprise which
will drain and clear the lands will
establish their values. It pays to
drain and clear these lands. Drain
age must be first assured, for it will
Hardly pay to clear without drain
age.
How To Clear.
Some acquaintance with methods
| of clearing land should dispel most
of the pessimism concerning this
problem u. S. Farmers Bulletia
No. 974, on "Clearing Land, gives
some valuable counsel and COM
| parison of methods, which / quote in
part in the following:
Burning Out Stumps.
zone advantage Of burning stumps
where they stand is that there is no
| unwieldly stump left to handle after
the operation is completed. 1t also
requires practically no cash outlay
and can be done by comparatively
unskilled labor. Most of the land
clearing is done by settlers and their
| families In their spare time, so the
amount of time required to burn the
/ stumps is not an important factor
for them to consider.
It is always possible to burn all
of the roots below pillow depth If one
is willing to take the necessary
pains.
''The following methods have all
been successfully used in various
parts of the country:
1.-TWO Hole Method-The following
method is very effective for seasoned
longleaf pine stumps of the South:
Two holes are dug on opposite sides
of the stump down the tap-roOt to q
depth of 80 inches. Generally con-
nection is made at the bottom Of
these holes by digging away the wall
/ of eatrh between them. Any adher-
ing earth is scraped from the tap
root. A fire is then started in one
Of these holes In case the two holes
are not connected fires are started
in each of them. There is usually
sufficient fuel On the ground to keep
the fires going. Some usually can
be split off the stump. After a
stump is burning we'll it requires lit
tie attention until the taproot is
burned Off Most stumps can be
burned thus In one or two days.
Usually the small lateral roots will
aso be burned so that after the holes
are filled the ground may be plowe1
without striking any roots. The
burning should lie done when the
favorable conditions, one man is able
to burn by this method about 100
stumps a week.
Zone Hole Method-Another meth
cd of burning that has been sue
cessfully used IN the longleaf pine
area of the South is to dig hole on
one side Of the stump only. This
should be dug tleast 20 inches deep
and the adhering earth On the tap
roots scraped of, SO that the fire
will come in contact with the stump.
A l II inch or 2 inch auger hole is
then bored diagonally through the
stump into the hole from few inch
es beneath the surface of the ground
on the opposite side of the stump.
A fire is then started in the excava-s
ton and the anger hole serves as
f1ue. After fire is well started the
stump usually requires little further
attention.
Dynamite Method-This method
8 used for burning the longleaf pine
of the South. 1t is often successful
where the two or one-hole methods
are used. A trench about inches
uSop 1o Jug CuLiAC1y dlUuuu =tu6
stump. A IL inch hole is then
bored, starting near the bottom of
the trench and extending downward
at an angle Of about As degrees,
slightly past the center of the tap.
root of the stump. In this hole a
small amount Of dynamite is tamped
and exploded. The dynamite is used
simply to crack the stump. From
one-half to Whole stick (one-quar-
ter to one-half round) is sufficient
to crack 2O-.nch stump SO that
after a fire has been started in the
trench it will turn without further
attention to slightly below the bot
tom Of the trench. The hole in the
taproot may be bored with hand
auger or by means Of a hand borins
machine
Explosives.
Explosives can be used to advan.-z
age in clearing most land Either.
alone or in combination with burning
methods or pullers, explosives, II
used efficiently, will materially re-
duce the cost OF stunlp.ng. Dyna-
mite is a means of rapid clearing,
and when it is used there is mo CAPT