HOME AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION
Removing Stumps at Moderate Cost
J. L. Ashlock, of the Washington State College, Gives Much
Valuable Information.
WHAT is the poor mas ' way of re
moving stumpef In the Pacific
' Coast states, in the states flank
ing and including the Rocky mountains,
from the Lakes to the Uulf, and from
Maine to Florida, there are people who
want to know.
And yet, since men commenced the
practice of felling whole forests where
ever it was convenient to do so and the
law did not forbid, numerous ways have
been devised for getting rid of stumps.
Horses, oxen and mules have been used
to drag them out ofthe ground. Engines
have been similarly used, either uproot
ing the stumps by direct pull, or oper
ating lifting cranes. Blasting powder
has been employed to split and loosen
them in order that they may be lifted
or dragged out.
But none of these methods do for the
poor man; and generally it is the poor
man who seeka the stump-bound fron
tier for the purpose of making a home.
Because he is poor, to do his work he
must at first resort to primitive means.
These in the case of logged-off land
to be cleared are his bare hands, fire
and his ax.
An ax of some sort, though but a
Club weighted at one end with a wedge
shaped stone, has been obtainable by
men in all known ages. Fire is for the
free use of every man who can find
fuel, which is generally plentiful in for
est clearings. Hands are a part of man
himself, hence are his nearest-by and
most dependable means of doing things.
So these three resources are within
reach of every able-bodied man, rich
or poor; and the question is, "Can any
man in the single lifetime that is his
remove stumps from enough acres of
land to make a good sized farm"
i. Results of. Investigation.
'.Investigations that have recently
been made in the logged-off districts of
Washington and Oregon promise a way
of removing stomps which is within
feach of every man, rich or poor. In
deed, fhe method is more than a prom
ise, and has passed the experimental
stage; for bulletins are now in posses
sion which in the immediate future will
be sent far and wide throughout stnmp
dom, explaining how, by a simplo pro
cess of burning, the roots of a big
stump can be turned into charcoal. That
finishes the stump so far as its obstruc
tion to farming is concerned. '
In the idea of charcoal-burning there
is nothing new. For many centuries
the production of charcoal has been
understood and practiced among both
civilized and uncivilized people. In
Sweden it is made from rectangnlar
piles of wood the process being regu
lated by the careful admission of air
through holes in the coverings over the
wood. In China charcoal is prepared in
pits, preferably in clay soils. In most
countries where wood is abundant,
charcoal-burning is carried on by fir
ing conical piles of billets of wood from
a central hole or chimney.
Charcoal is used as a fuel, and as a
reducing agent in metallurgy. It is
used in the manufacture of filters, and
may be administered as a medicine in
some cases of dyspepsia. On account of
the resistance of charcoal to the action
of water, stakes for wet soils and the
inside of easks are charred previous
to use. Chickens eat charcoal and most
poultrymen know its value for main
taining the health of their birds.
So charcoal is a well known product,
having value for many different pur
poses and tha methods of its production
are well known, and have been known
for many centuries. But in all that
time the fact that! charcoal-burning
could be used to destroy stumps as big
as they grow, was overlooked.
" Underground Fires.
Manifold are .the illustrations which
many of us have seen, indicating plain
ly that fire will burn under tho ground
if properly controlled. Engineers nave
often observed that logs which have
keen laid down in swampy land for the
first bed of a railroad will burn under
the grade when the protruding ends dry
out sufficiently to eatch Jre in dry sea
eons. In Alaska, old logs which are im
bedded in the frown gravel are burned
by bnilding a little fire against the ex
posed end of the log and regulating the
burning so that as it proceeds the froi-
en gTavel will thaw and fall down, thus
keeping the fire lightly covered all the
while. Tn burnt-over clearings it is a
common sight to see here and there a
stump which for some reason had burn
ed down into the ground.
Each of the cases cited is an example
of fire working precisely in the way it
works when burning underground in the
roots of a big stump.
Twenty years ago a settler in the
western part of Oregon allowed a con
siderable amount of litter to collect in
a pile near his barn, which, during a
dry season, caught fire and burned. The
man noticed that where the litter had
been piled around an old stump the fire
continued to burn for several weeks.
His curiosity was aroused, and upon in
vestigating he discovered that the
stump had been transformed into a bed
of charcoal. The largest roots had been
consumed in this way several feet underground.
However, much of the force of this
lesson was lost for the time being. Men
in that neighborhood who saw what had
occurred later attempted to fire stumps
by heaping straw, brush and other in
flammable material over them, and
their endeavors failed quite naturally,
since charcoal-burning is not effected
by an open flame.
Taught by a Sea Captain.
Fortunately a man heard of the oc
currence who knew something of the
behavior of fire when burning under
ground. He was an old sea captain, E.
C. Cruse by name, and is now living
near Castle Eock, Washington. Cruse,
after a great deal of experimenting,
succeeded in firing stumps. He taught
Harry Yount, of Woodland, Washing
ton, how to do it. Others learned tne
trick, so that two years ago there were
in northwestern Oregon and western
Washington perhaps a dozen men who
knew fairly well how to kindle a fire
which would burn a stump root and
base.
A singular fact is that np to the very
recent development of the method, not
enough interest could be aroused to in
duce neighbors of the few Successful
men to learn the process and use it in
their own clearings. This lack of in
terest was certainly not due to any lack
of stumps.
In the summer of 1909 H. W. Sparks,
who had just been elected supervisor of
demonstration farms or, the State Col
lege of Washington, was on a tour
through the timbered eountics ox west
ern Washington, and while in Wood
land saw Harry Tount burning stumps.
Sparks like many other men, had al
ways believed that fire is tne natural
means with which to destroy stumps,
But he had never been able to kindle a
fire so that it would destroy a stump
root and all. Many times he had seen
a fire follow a piece of timber far un
dereround, but it had never occurred
to him that such timber could as wen
be, so far as the fire was concerned, the
basest root of a stump. But the idea
dawned upon him with force when he
saw what Harry Yount was doing.
Legislative Appropriations.
The eleventh session of the Washing
ton legislature met during the winter
Of 1909, but instead of appropr iting
lunds to the state agricultural experi
ment station (which is an arm of the
State College of Washington), for the
purpose of investigating the loggea-on
land nroblem. nassed Senate Bill 146,
which authorized the U. o.. Bureau oi
Plant Industry to spend as much as
$5,000. for this purpose from, funds oi
the State of Washington, imposing the
cond tion that the Bureau should dupn
cute tho amount thus expended by ex
penditures from its own congressional
nnnronriations. The twelfth session
convened during the winter of 1911 and
failed to make any appropriation wnat
ever for logged of f lands. The indif
ference thus exhibited probably pro-
ceeas irom ino same Bureau ui numau
nature which Yonnt and Cruse and oth
ers had contended with when tbey
sought to induce their neighbors to
como and bo shown how to rid their
land of stumps by a poor man's meth
od. However, in one way o- another, part
of the time by working in co-operation
with the V. 8. Bureau of Plant Indus
try, and part of the time making spe
cial provisions, the State College has
for the past two years kept Sparks pret
ty steadily at work among the stumps.
Sparks commenced his investigations
on the theory that the process he had
seen succeed in the Yount clearings at
Woodland, was approximately correct
for the particular soil and climatic con- j
ditions of that locality. He therefore
learned thoroughly the method used by
the Woodland people, expecting to in
troduce it into other regions with such
variations as the changed conditions
should justify.
Method of Burning.
Here is the way they did it in the
Yount clearings: -
Chop the baTk from the lower part
of the stump. Take some dry wood
broken in 18-inch lengths or nearly so,
and stand the pieces around the stump,
placing the finer and more combustible
sticks underneath. On the windward
side of the stump, leave a place for an
opening in the covering over the wood,
by placing against the pile two pieces of
bark or wood with the upper ends meet
ing and the lower ends about 12 inches
apart on the ground. In the triangle
thus formed, pile fine chips and shav
ings for kindling a little pitch is
good. Arrange it so that the pitchy
kindling leads into the interior of the
pile. This will secure a quick start
when the fire is lighted.
Having arranged the wood as indi
cated, take some soil (that containing
a good percentage of clay is prefer
able) and cover the pile clear around
the stump with the exception of the
triangular space where the fire is to be
started. Lay each shovelful very care
fully against the wood, placing the first
bottom tier around the stump quite
loosely. Do not permit the earth to
sift down into the wood and shavings.
Put the upper tiers of shovelfuls on very
compactly. The "collar" around the
stump should be made especially tight.
Light the fire in the triangular open
ing already described. If the directions
just given have been carefully followed.
the fire will burn into the pile, at first
consuming the chips and kindling under
the larger sticks, then spreading to all
the wood around the stump. When the
fire is burning clear around, and smoke
is issuing rrom the pile, close the trian
gular opening with loose earth. As tne
fire continues to burn slowly, the pile
settles evenly all the way around.
Where breaks occur in the covering,
close them with more earth. When the
smoke issuing from the cover is blue,
too much air is reaching the lire, and
the charcoal is being consumed, which is
undesirable, so put on more cover. When
the smoke is white and steamy, moving
upward in a sluggish way, charcoal is
being made of the stump, which is tne
desired thing.
From this point on, the fire, if prop
erly controlled, will work into the base
of the stump. Where a big root is en
countered, the fire will first burn
straight through it, and, upon striking
the soil on the opposite side, follows
down the under side of the root, grad
ually working to the upper part which it
finally reaches. In this slow way tne
base of the stump and the big roots for
several feet underground will be turned
into charcoal.
When the base of the stump is en
tirely consumed, the upper part falls
over. The break in the covering thus
made is lightly covered with earth.
Burning will continue in the toots un
til they are pretty well destroyed. Then
if it is desired to consume the cnarcoai,
the cover is opened, and total combus
tion is speedy and complete. The soil
next to the stump and the roots is not
injured by the fire, except a small spot
just under the crown of the Btump
where the excessive heat sometimes
causes the forming of a "clinker."
(To be continued.)
June Forecast
. ... i i
THE month of June will no uouoi oe
a very eventful one. On the first
Uuerta will eliminate liimsen long
. . . , . .v j.i.i, v;iio
enougn to ias auoiuer .
will take time to shoot a few hundred
federals, while on the fifth Teddy will
relegate all the disbelievers of his river .
story to the Ananias Club. The moon
will be full on the seventh and Huerta
will be full on the eighth. The balloon
ascension at Portland will take place on
the eleventh. Congress will adjourn on
the thirtieth and go in search ot we
Monroe Doctrine and votes for re elec
tion. - - .
June this year, according to all signs,
will be warmer than January. There
will be considerable rain if it stays
cloudy. During this month the col
leges will turn out graduates resembling
mushroons, who will go forth and teach
the younger generation how to tango
and smoke cigarettes properly.
Yea, verily, the month of June wm
be eventful.
The Sunday schools hold picnics out.
in the leafy wood, the children stuff
thir svstenis with everything that's
good, the minister get mushy with the
leaders of the choir, until tho yaller
jackots puncture his sacred tire. The
teacher of the miant ciass geis uauucu
with deviled egg, while a horrid, hun
gry wood-tick burrows in her tender
limb. In Juno the rose is flinging all
its fragranco on the air; the turtle
doves are cooing and a-wooing every
where. The maiden haunts the ham
mock, while her lover lingers nigh, while
her mother from the window watches
with suspicious eye, the summer
girl is wearing her most trans
parent dress, and as to her anatomy,
one doesn't have to guess. The hens
take a vacation and desist from laying
eggs, and the girls who go a-swimming,
all strive to show theiT skill. The
lightning bugs and army worm, the
currant slugs and such, have seized the
vegetables and hold them in their
clutch. The anta are in the cupboard,
and they revel in the jam, while the
roaches cock their noses up and don't
seem to care a cent.
In June life is one glad sweet song
for the farmer boy. He arises from his
downy couch when the first faint
streaks of dawn appears in the east. He
goes out and hears the morning stars
singing together. He wakes up the
rooster perched on the plow handle and
makes him salute the flag, men no
whistles the Mrery Widow waltz as
he hustles to the barn to curry the
mules and anoint their sore shoulders
with axle grease. His soul is full of
lunshine when he remembers that Jonn .
D. Rockefeller, Woodrow Wilson and Ty
Cobb were the sons of the knighted
farmer and danced tho tango behind a
wooden harrow and stubbed their toe .
on last year's corn stalks when they
were boys on the farm, . ."'-:
By June 30th we expect HI Gill 'a
broken bones are to be mended enough
to allow him to issue a proclamation on .
the latest and correct wcy to tango and
also calling on the Loyal Sons of the
Great Tyee to attend the Fotlatch, but
poor Oregon is bound to suffer while
Gov. West and the state militia go to ,
California to close up Mt. Lassen which
is on another rampage.
Yea, verily, the month of June will
be eventful.
The New York state forest nurseries
have a capacity of 28 million young
trees a year.
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