After
ringbarking, the trees usually throw out young shoots or "suckers,"
which have to be broken off. Usually this has to be done twice, and is
called suckering. The deeper the trees are ringbarked, the bigger the
piece of bark removed, the sooner it will die, but there is then a
greater tendency to throw out suckers. The trees take two or three years
to die, then they are grubbed and burnt. It is very seldom that the
green trees are cut out at once, as this is very much more expensive,
and for some time after removal the ground is too sour to be good for
wheat or other crops. When the country is ringbarked the ground
sweetens, and by the time the tree is dead is ready for cropping. While
the trees are dying the country is usually used for grazing sheep and
other stock, as it will be carrying good pasture. Of recent years a
system has been tried, with considerable success, of poisoning the green
timber with a mixture of arsenic and soda and water. A ring is chopped
round the tree, and the bark thus makes a rough cup, into which the
mixture is poured. This treatment has proved very effective.

The cost of ringbarking and all similar operations, of course, depends
upon the amount of timber on the country, but it usually costs from 24
cents to 30 cents per acre, while suckering costs 8 cents to 12 cents
per acre. After the trees are dead they are grubbed or burnt out, all
roots to 12 or 18 in. depth being removed, and this work costs from
$2.80 to $3.60 per acre. In some cases the country is what is known as
"Yankee-grubbed," in which case the trees are cut off level with the
ground, and roots allowed to remain in below the surface. When the
country was used for grazing only, this was found a cheap and efficient
method, but nevertheless only a small proportion of Australian wheat
country has been so treated. To cultivate "Yankee-grubbed" country what
are known as stump-jump implements, ploughs and cultivators are used.
These are available on the market, and as "Yankee-grubbing" is certainly
cheaper than the usual method of grubbing, it has some attraction to the
man with limited capital. The more careful farmers, however, do not
advocate this method.

[Illustration: THRESHING BY HORSE POWER.]

It must be remembered that the above prices for clearing are where
labour has to be employed. It must also be remembered that the amount of
timber on different classes of wheat country in the different States
varies very much, so