(The latter weed is far more troublesome to eradicate than any other I
know. It is the same as the common corn-thistle, or _Serratula
arvensis_, so well known to English agriculturists).

As we intended to prepare a large piece of ground for summer-fallow, it
was necessary to get rid of those stumps of the trees, which, according
to the practice of chopping them two or three feet from the ground,
present a continual obstacle to the advance of the plough. We, however,
succeeded in getting clear of them by hitching a logging-chain round
the stump near the top, when a sudden jerk from the oxen was generally
sufficient to pull it up. For the larger, and those more firmly fixed
in the ground, we made use of a lever about twenty feet long, and about
eight or nine inches in diameter, one end of which was securely chained
to the stump, the oxen being fastened to the other and made to go in a
circular direction, a manoeuvre which rarely fails of the desired
effect. This plan will not answer unless the roots are sufficiently
decayed. During dry weather the application of fire produces more
effectual results. A few embers shaken from a cedar-torch on the crown
of the stump are sufficient for the purpose: some hundreds of these
blazing merrily at night have a very pretty effect.

In ten or twelve years the hard woods, such as oak, ash, beech and
maple disappear; but the stumps of the evergreens, such as pine,
hemlock and cedar, are much more difficult to eradicate.

The land being of a sandy nature, we had but few stones to contend
with. When such is the case, we raise them above the surface, by the
help of levers. By these means, stones of half a ton weight can be
easily lifted from their beds. The larger ones are generally drawn off
the fields to make the foundations of fences, and those of a smaller