Alfalfa in Kansas. 



331 



A WAGON FOR HAULING ALFALFA HAY. 



By H. W. McAFEE, Farmer, Topeka, Shawnee county. 



I use a specially constructed wagon for hauling alfalfa hay. This 

 wagon consists, in brief, of a 9- by 18-ft. platform built on two sets of 

 low wheels. There is no coupling pole, or reach, and the bolsters are so 

 built up that the floor clears the top of the wheels. The wagon can turn 

 around in a space of its own length. 



FIG. 277. One of Mr. McAfee's strong, durable hay wagons. 



The sills, which rest on the outer ends of the bolsters, are made of 

 3- by 8-in. yellow pine, twenty feet in length, and are placed on edge. Two 

 feet of the sills project at the rear of the wagon, and in these projecting 

 ends a lathed wooden roller turns. A one-inch rope is tied to each side of 

 the front of the rack, and when the wagon is loaded with hay the ropes are 

 stretched across the top of the load and fastened on each end of the roller, 

 and wound tight. This holds the load firmly in place. 



Five 3- by 4-in. yellow-pine crosspieces are bolted onto and at right 

 angles with the sills, evenly spaced. Braces are fastened underneath 

 the sills with the same bolts that fasten the cross pieces. These braces 

 project two inches beyond the sills on either side. Resting on these pro- 

 jecting ends are other braces which reach out and up to the ends of and 

 support the crosspieces above. All braces are of 2- by 4-in. yellow-pine 

 lumber, and are bolted tight. 



The floor, which is boarded solid, is made of 1- by 12-in. white pine, 

 18 feet long, bolted to the crosspieces. The standards, placed at either 

 end, are made of two 2- by 4-in. pieces, 4^ feet long, to which are nailed 

 four crosspieces. These standards turn on bolted rods which go through 



