The following table, taken from the report of a government inspector,
will give an idea of the cost of the different materials and labor
used in clearing logged-off land:
Cost of removing stumps from 1 foot to 4 feet in diameter from 120
acres of land in 1907:
==========================================================================
| | | | | Labor.
MONTH. | Powder,| Fuse, | Caps, | Stumps, |--------------------
| lbs. | ft. | No. | No. | Hours. | Dollars.
-----------------|--------|--------|-------|---------|--------|-----------
June | 13,700 | 10,100 | 2,400 | 2,135 | 2,380 | $650.00
July | 1,750 | 2,050 | 400 | 239 | 260 | 87.00
August | 2,750 | 2,700 | 700 | 445 | 324 | 114.90
September | 1,950 | 2,160 | 500 | 383 | 324 | 126.37
October | 1,250 | 1,000 | 300 | 237 | 198 | 77.53
November | 2,350 | 3,100 | 800 | 378 | 283 | 114.97
|--------|--------|-------|---------|--------|-----------
Total | 23,750 | 21,100 | 5,100 | 3,818 | 3,709 | $1,170.77
Av. pr. Stump | 6.22 | 5.52 | 1.33 | | 0.987 | 0.3006
Av. Cost, cents | 19.76 | 2.37 | .87 | | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
The average cost of the removal of each stump is shown below:
_Cents._
Powder 49.76
Fuse 2.37
Caps .87
Labor 30.66
-----
Total 83.06
The average cost of the materials used was as follows: Powder,
per pound, 8 cents; fuse, per 100 feet, 43 cents; caps, per 100,
65 cents.
[Illustration: Plate No. 31.--View of Second Avenue, Seattle, During
Parade of Marines from Atlantic Fleet, May 26, 1908.]
[Illustration: Plate No. 32.--A Corner of the Seattle Public Market.
Truck Gardeners Find Ready Sale for Their Wares Here the Year Round.]
[Page 37]
There are probably two and one-third million acres of logged-off
lands in the state, of which only half a million are under tillage
or pasturage. The same report shows the distribution of these lands
as follows:
===========================================================================
| Acreage | Acreage | Acreage in | Total | Per cent.
COUNTY. |merchantable| logged |cultivation.| acreage. | suitable for
| timber. | off. | | | agriculture.
-----------|------------|-----------|------------|-----------|-------------
Chehalis | 583,200 | 112,748 | 11,216 | 807,432 | 90
Clallam | 296,611 | 195,933 | 11,784 | 504,329 | 75
Clarke | 190,000 | 108,661 | 51,570 | 350,231 |
Cowlitz | 500,000 | 25,000 | 20,000 | 704,000 | 75
Island | 8,013 | 99,866 | 9,317 | 117,196 | 75
Jefferson | 186,647 | 59,427 | 4,657 | 254,385 | 50
King | 640,000 | 110,000 | 74,857 | 1,243,000 |
Kitsap | 45,429 | 171,364 | 7,978 | 224,771 |
Lewis | 543,995 | 160,425 | 47,059 | 884,050 | 65
Mason | 240,211 | 150,430 | 7,540 | 398,181 |
Pacific | 367,827 | 62,720 | 23,042 | 453,139 |
Pierce | 413,044 | 150,000 | 27,915 | 658,052 | 75
San Juan | 10,000 | 80,000 | 4,000 | 95,684 |
Skagit | 306,759 | 149,923 | 45,605 | 502,287 | 25
Snohomish | 258,005 | 270,422 | 20,908 | 558,336 |
Thurston | 291,200 | 120,000 | 13,680 | 428,005 |
Wahkiakum | 74,564 | 67,337 | 3,642 | 145,544 | 50
Whatcom | 78,405 | 258,302 | 35,059 | 371,766 |
-----------|------------|-----------|------------|-----------|-------------
Total | 5,033,911 | 2,352,109 | 428,829 | 8,700,388 |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are a great many acres of these lands that can be slicked
up and burned over and prepared for seeding, not disturbing the
stumps, at an expense of about $10 per acre. Thus treated, good
pasturage can be secured cheaply. In time some of the stumps will
rot out and be easily removed. When the stumps are not too thick,
the lands can be successfully prepared and planted to orchards
without removing the stumps, and their unsightly appearance can be
turned into a thing of beauty and great profit by planting evergreen
blackberries and loganberries about them, using the stumps for
trellises. These berries in the climate of western Washington are
wonderfully prolific and find a greedy market.