In article ,
John writes:
|
| If the trees are not so large (and I myself would take down one with a
| trunk up to a foot thick), nobody else has yet said:
|
| - saw off all the boughs progressively from the top down.
| - saw off pieces of the trunk until it's about 8' (that's feet) tall

Depending on its shape, yes. Some trees are better done slightly
differently.

| - dig round the roots, attach a rope to the top of the 8' "stump",
| recruit the neighbours (or use the car) and pull the stump over.

Nah. And pull the towing bracket out of the car, ending up with
a bill that will dwarf that of employing a "tree surgeon". Most
modern cars aren't up to the job for stumps large enough to be a
problem digging out.

| There is no work in the garden harder than digging up a tree stump, so
| use the leverage of the tree itself to do you that one last service.

It's not as hard as all that for trees of up to about 1' in diameter
and pretty easy for ones of up to 6", if you have enough space, the
right tools[*] and take your time. It is a real pain if you don't
have enough space to dig the stump out. And, above about 1', stumps
get HEAVY.
[*] Including a grub-axe, sharp axes and enough beer.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.