The sage is caught by the
two rails and torn out of the ground. The clearing is fairly
complete, though it is generally necessary to go over the ground two
or three times before the work is completed. Even after such
treatment a large number of sagebrush clumps, found standing over
the field, must be grubbed up with the hoe. Another and effective
device is the so-called "mankiller." This implement pulls up the
sage very successfully and drops it at certain definite intervals.
It is, however, a very dangerous implement and frequently results in
injury to the men who work it. Of recent years another device has
been tried with a great deal of success. It is made like a snow plow
of heavy railroad irons to which a number of large steel knives have
been bolted. Neither of these implements is wholly satisfactory, and
an acceptable machine for grubbing sagebrush is yet to be devised.
In view of the large expense attached to the clearing of sagebrush
land such a machine would be of great help in the advancement of
dry-farming.
Away from the sagebrush country the virgin dry-farm land is usually
covered with a more or less dense growth of grass, though true sod
is seldom found under dry-farm conditions.
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