242 THE AMERICAN FARMER. 



of Springfield, Ohio, and the Gleaner Hay and Grain Rake, manufactured by the Vermont 

 Farm Machine Co., of Bellows Falls, Yt., are fine illustrations of this kind of machine. It 

 is important that all mowing lands should be clean and free from everything objectionable to 

 a mixture with the hay, such as dead stalks, fragments of brush, small sticks, &c., since 

 rakes of this kind collect everything from the surface; and the best time to secure this is in 

 the spring before the grass has attained much growth. 



A good horse hay-fork or loader, for loading hay on the cart, is a very desirable acquisi 

 tion to the farm implements, and a great saving of labor and time. 



Hay Caps. As to the utility of hay caps there can be no question, since by them the 

 farmer is enabled to protect his hay against the storms that frequently cause so much loss to 

 this crop. Those who have been accustomed to their use value them highly. They can be 

 easily made in the following manner: Procure common brown sheeting from fifty-four to 

 sixty inches wide. This is torn into squares and the edges are turned down all around and 

 sewed over a stout cord. Make a loop of the cord in each corner about six inches long, in 

 which to insert skewers or hooks for fastening them to the ground. The cocks of hay should 

 be made from five to six feet high, about four feet wide at the base and rather narrow at the 

 top, and containing from 250 to 300 pounds of hay. If the sides are raked down so as to 

 give the form described, the caps will shed the rain no matter how heavy or long-continued 

 the shower. It is a good plan to give the cloth a good coating of boiled linseed oil, which 

 will aid in throwing off the water. The caps are thrown over the tops of the hay-cocks and 

 fastened to the ground at each corner by the loops, through which wire or wooden pins are 

 inserted and forced into the ground. We know a farmer who has had caps of this kind for 

 his haying outfit for fourteen years, and they are still in use and in good condition. 



Storage of Hay is a very important subject, and one in which many of our practical 

 farmers take too little interest. The question arises, shall we put it into large, tight mows or 

 on loose scaffolds, where the air is permitted to act upon it ? If curing and keeping hay is 

 in any respect analogous to the Chinese method of curing and storing the tea-plant, then the 

 quicker it can be cured, and the tighter it can be stored, the better the quality of the hay. 

 &quot;We believe that the less air there is permitted to enter the haymow, when properly cured, 

 the better for the hay; in other words, hay that is compactly stored in large mows, other 

 things being equal, is far superior to that having a free exposure to air. Though air is es 

 sential to curing hay, it is not essential to its storage. Every one knows that decay is a pro 

 cess of combustion, and combustion cannot occur where there is no air; hence, if the air is 

 entirely excluded, no combustion or fermentation can take place, as is instanced in canned 

 fruit, where the cans are hermetically sealed. &quot;Where imperfectly cured hay is stored, it will 

 generally be found that it is only those portions of the mow where air can circulate that 

 heating and fermentation take place, and not down in the closely-packed portions where the 

 air is excluded. 



In feeding hay it is better to cut down the mow in sections, rather than feed from the en 

 tire surface, as in this way the exposure to air is less. The practice of many farmers of 

 pitching the hay upon the barn-floor at night to remain there for the next morning s feeding 

 to stock is not a good one, as much of the aroma of the hay is lost by exposure to air during 

 the long interval of the night. It is the practice in some localities where the barn capacity 

 is insufficient for hay storage, to stack the hay in the field. Though this may be a necessity 

 sometimes, yet it should be avoided if possible, as hay that is housed is more nutritious and 

 valuable than that exposed to the air and storms, as it must of necessity be in stacks. 



Rather than stack his hay, it would be more economical for the farmer to procure a hay 

 press, thus pressing it into bales, and by this method provide room for his hay in barns. 

 Great saving of labor and time may be accomplished by the use of a Hay Carrier in the 

 unloading, storage, and stacking of hay. The illustration of Clark s Hay Elevator and 



