diff --git a/docs/ref/settings.rst b/docs/ref/settings.rst
index e0a12ce21..316e54937 100644
--- a/docs/ref/settings.rst
+++ b/docs/ref/settings.rst
@@ -858,15 +858,14 @@ Default: ``'scrapy.stats.collector.MemoryStatsCollector'``
 The class to use for collecting stats (must implement the Stats Collector API,
 or subclass the StatsCollector class).
 
-.. setting:: STATS_DEBUG
+.. setting:: STATS_DUMP
 
-STATS_DEBUG
------------
+STATS_DUMP
+----------
 
 Default: ``False``
 
-Enable debugging mode for Scrapy stats. This logs the stats when a domain is
-closed.
+Dump (to log) collected Scrapy stats when a domain is closed.
 
 .. setting:: STATS_ENABLED
 
diff --git a/docs/topics/stats.rst b/docs/topics/stats.rst
index a0729e6d1..3622c1136 100644
--- a/docs/topics/stats.rst
+++ b/docs/topics/stats.rst
@@ -7,10 +7,10 @@ Stats Collector
 Overview
 ========
 
-Scrapy provides a convenient facility for collecting stats in the form of
+Scrapy provides a convenient service for collecting stats in the form of
 key/values, both globally and per spider/domain. It's called the Stats
 Collector, and it's a singleton which can be imported and used quickly, as
-illustrated by the example in the :ref:`topics-stats-usecases` section below.
+illustrated by the examples in the :ref:`topics-stats-usecases` section below.
 
 The stats collection is enabled by default but can be disabled through the
 :setting:`STATS_ENABLED` setting.
diff --git a/scrapy/conf/default_settings.py b/scrapy/conf/default_settings.py
index b4592453e..a15b907ac 100644
--- a/scrapy/conf/default_settings.py
+++ b/scrapy/conf/default_settings.py
@@ -186,7 +186,7 @@ SPIDER_MIDDLEWARES_BASE = {
 
 STATS_CLASS = 'scrapy.stats.collector.MemoryStatsCollector'
 STATS_ENABLED = True
-STATS_DEBUG = False
+STATS_DUMP = False
 
 STATS_SDB_DOMAIN = 'scrapy_stats'
 STATS_SDB_ASYNC = False
diff --git a/scrapy/contrib/memdebug.py b/scrapy/contrib/memdebug.py
index 7d83d36b5..74fbcfc5d 100644
--- a/scrapy/contrib/memdebug.py
+++ b/scrapy/contrib/memdebug.py
@@ -14,7 +14,6 @@ from scrapy.xlib.pydispatch import dispatcher
 from scrapy.core import signals
 from scrapy.core.exceptions import NotConfigured
 from scrapy.mail import MailSender
-from scrapy.stats import stats
 from scrapy.extension import extensions
 from scrapy.conf import settings
 
@@ -58,10 +57,6 @@ class MemoryDebugger(object):
         s += "SCRAPY MEMORY DEBUGGER RESULTS\n\n"
         for f in figures:
             s += "%-30s : %s %s\n" % f
-        s += "\n"
-        if stats:
-            s += "SCRAPING STATS --------------------------------------------------\n\n"
-            s += pprint.pformat(stats)
         return s
 
     def print_or_send_report(self, report):
diff --git a/scrapy/contrib/memusage.py b/scrapy/contrib/memusage.py
index f3d86fb8b..5a9207dc7 100644
--- a/scrapy/contrib/memusage.py
+++ b/scrapy/contrib/memusage.py
@@ -17,7 +17,6 @@ from scrapy.core.manager import scrapymanager
 from scrapy.core.engine import scrapyengine
 from scrapy.core.exceptions import NotConfigured
 from scrapy.mail import MailSender
-from scrapy.stats import stats
 from scrapy.conf import settings
 
 class MemoryUsage(object):
@@ -120,9 +119,4 @@ class MemoryUsage(object):
         s += "\r\n"
         s += scrapyengine.getstatus()
         s += "\r\n"
-
-        if stats:
-            s += "SCRAPING STATS ------------------------------------------------------ \r\n"
-            s += "\r\n"
-            s += pprint.pformat(stats)
         self.mail.send(rcpts, subject, s)
diff --git a/scrapy/stats/collector/__init__.py b/scrapy/stats/collector/__init__.py
index 5402375bc..bf1aa9e9d 100644
--- a/scrapy/stats/collector/__init__.py
+++ b/scrapy/stats/collector/__init__.py
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ from scrapy.conf import settings
 class StatsCollector(object):
 
     def __init__(self):
-        self.debug = settings.getbool('STATS_DEBUG')
+        self._dump = settings.getbool('STATS_DUMP')
         self._stats = {None: {}} # None is for global stats
 
         dispatcher.connect(self.open_domain, signal=signals.domain_open)
@@ -48,8 +48,8 @@ class StatsCollector(object):
 
     def close_domain(self, domain, reason):
         signals.send_catch_log(stats_domain_closing, domain=domain, reason=reason)
-        if self.debug:
-            log.msg(pprint.pformat(self[domain]), domain=domain, level=log.DEBUG)
+        if self._dump:
+            log.msg("Dumping stats:\n" + pprint.pformat(self._stats[domain]), domain=domain)
         del self._stats[domain]
         signals.send_catch_log(stats_domain_closed, domain=domain, reason=reason)