THE WHEAT CULTURIST. 391 



carry up a stack true ; and the next is to place the sheaves 

 or material in the best position to carry off the rain. 

 Always begin in the middle to lay the first course of 

 sheaves. Set a centre pole firmly in the ground, and 

 brace it securely on four sides. The braces will not 

 interfere with the stacking. Now set up shea\es around 

 the centre pole, letting them all lean toward the cen- 

 tre. Place a pole against the centre pole, and carry 

 the other end entirely around the outside of the stack- 

 bottom, in order to have the last course of sheaves on 

 every side of the pole at a uniform distance from the 

 centre pole. 



When the bottom course of sheaves is laid, lay an- 

 other course on the outer side ; and if the circumference 

 seems too low, lay two courses of sheaves, one above 

 the other, and tread them down firmly. Now lay 

 another course on the inside of the first one, letting the 

 butts lap on the tops of the outside course, almost to 

 the bands. The butts should never extend beyond the 

 bands. Keep the stack nearly level, until it is carried 

 up to the top of the bilge. The middle should be kept 

 full, and a few inches higher than the outside ; and the 

 sheaves should be well trod down. If the middle 

 be kept much higher than the outside, before the stack 

 is built as high as the bilge, the outside course of 

 sheaves will continue to work outward, and the stack 

 will spread faster than it is desired to have it. The 

 ^outside course of sheaves should be placed as close 

 together as they can be, to prevent large holes in the 

 outside, where rain will find its way into the sheaves be- 

 neath. To prevent the sheaves slipping outward, ele- 

 vate the top end of every bundle when placing it, as 

 the stacker is represented as doing, in the figure ; and 



