Killing Stumps by Medication.



Will boring into green stumps and inserting a handful of saltpeter kill
the roots and cause the stump to readily burn up a few months later?

We have tried all kinds of prescriptions and have never killed a stump
which had a mind to live. Many trees can be killed by cutting to stumps
when in full growth, whether they are bored or not. Others will sprout
in spite of all medicinal insertions we know of when these are placed in
the inner wood of the stump. We believe a stump can be killed by
sufficient contact with the inner bark layer of arsenic, bluestone,
gasoline, and many other things, but it is not easy to arrange for such
sufficient contact, and it would probably cost more than it would to
blow or pull out the stump. One reader, however, assures us that he has
killed large eucalyptus stumps by boring three holes in the stump with
an inch auger, near the outer rim of the stump, placing therein a
tablespoonful of potassium cyanide and saltpeter mixture (half and
half), and plugging tightly. Another says: Give the stumps a liberal
application of salt, say a half-inch all over the top, and let the fog
and rain dissolve and soak down, and you will not have much trouble with
suckers.



Planting Fruit Trees on Clearings.