Land Clearing with the Bulldozer

Excerpts from the report: Before the white man came with his saw and axe, almost the entire area of Oregon and Washington west of the Cascade Mountains was covered by a dense forest of big trees, principally Douglas fir, but also cedar, spruce, and other species. The forest has been the base of the economy of this region, but to settlers following in the wake of logging operations it has not been an unmixed blessing. Measured by ordinary standards the stumps are enormous. Diameters of 4 to 5 feet are common, and occasional stumps 8 feet or larger are encountered. Little imagination is needed to picture the back-breaking labor required to clear a few acres of this cut-over land without the aid of machinery. Blasting, stump-pullers, donkey engines, and special methods of burning have reduced the labor and cost of preparing the land for agriculture, but until recently it remained an expensive and laborious undertaking. About 10 years ago the bulldozer was developed for trail and road building. A bulldozer is a steel blade 7 to 10 feet long, mounted in front of a tractor in such fashion that it can be raised or lowered by the operator. It is an efficient instrument for shallow digging in loose soil, leveling ground, and similar operations. This device came into use for land clearing only a few years ago, end has effected an astonishing reduction in costs.