80 Kansas State Board of Agriculture. 



Russell county: "Sheds are good, but it takes too long to fill them. In 

 a dry country stacks are most economical." 



Seward county: "It does n't pay to store in barns in this dry country." 



Trego county: "It is too dry for building in this country. There is 

 not enough difference." 



It would appear, from the replies received, that storing in the shed or 

 in the mow is most economical in the eastern half of Kansas, particularly 

 in the case of the earlier and heavier cuttings. In the western half of 

 the state it is very likely that storage in the stack is most economical. 

 (See page 245.) 



The tools used and the methods followed in gathering hay from the 

 field depend largely on whether the hay is to be stored in the stack or in 

 the shed or mow. When stored in the stack it is usually gathered from 

 the windrow and transported to the stacker by means of sweep rakes; 

 and when stored in the shed or the mow it is usually hauled from the 

 field to the shed or barn by means of hay wagons. 



SWEEP RAKES. 



Sweep rakes are known by various names, such as "go-devil," "buck 

 rake," "bull rake," "push rake," and so on, but will hereinafter be known 

 only as "sweep rakes." These implements, while all working on the same 

 principle, are of various styles. They may, as with the homemade 

 "go-devil," merely slide over the surface of the stubble, with a horse at 

 enther end of the rake to allow a clean sweep of the teeth; or the rake 

 may be elevated on two small wheels, for easier movement from place to 

 place, with the horses separated in the same manner; or the rake may 

 be elevated on three or even four small wheels, with the horses directly 

 behind, on a tongue, pushing it. The rake proper consists of long, 

 straight wooden teeth, sometimes capped with metal, twelve or thirteen in 

 number, and spaced about one foot apart. These teeth slip along the 

 surface of the ground to gather a load of hay. When the load is secured 

 by sweep rakes equipped with wheels, the teeth are raised. The load, 

 when gathered, is hauled to the stack, where it is deposited upon the 

 teeth of the stacker, the sweep rake backing away and going for another 

 load. Combinations of two or more sweep rakes to each stacker work 

 together very nicely in economizing time at the stack. Sweep rakes may 

 be used to gather hay out of the windrow, the swath, or to pick up cocks. 

 Sometimes hay in the windrow is bunched with the sulky rake for easy 

 picking up by the sweep rake. (See page 310.) 



STACKERS. 



Where alfalfa is stored in the stack some kind of a stacker is generally 

 used to elevate the hay onto the stack. There are various kinds of these 

 implements. Most of them have teeth for holding the hay, similar to 

 the teeth on a sweep rake and of about the same size. In fact, stackers 

 are built to take the load of a sweep rake. Some are portable; others 

 are semiportable, that is, while operated in a stationary position they are 

 provided with wheels to facilitate a change from position to position. The 

 method of elevation, however, is the principal point of variance. 



