THE WHEAT CULTURIST. 395 



farther on one side than they are on the opposite side. 

 There being nothing to support the overhanging bilge, 

 that side of the stack settles much more than the 

 other. The consequence is, that the courses of sheaves 

 on one side of the stack will be turned up, at the butts, 

 to such an angle, that the rain will be conducted to- 

 ward the middle of the stack instead of running off the 

 outside. It is eminently important, that the straws on 

 the outside courses of the stack, should always be so 

 inclined downward, that they will conduct the rain out- 

 ward, from straw to straw, until the water will all now 

 off the bilge of the stack. 



How TO TOP OFF A STACK. 



If the stack is being built of sheaves, the middle must 

 be kept so full that there will be a good inclination of 

 the straw in the butts of the bundles. This is always 

 a much better guide than to attempt to keep the mid- 

 dle of the stack at a certain height above the outside. 

 The stacker should move on his knees, as already stated 

 on a previous page ; and, in order to keep the sheaves 

 close together as they can be conveniently, he should 

 lay each sheaf partly on the side of the one last laid ; 

 and as it is pressed down with the knees, hold it from 

 slipping with both hands. By this means a much larger 

 number of bundles may be secured in a smaller compass 

 than otherwise. If the straws only have a suitable in- 

 clination to carry the water outward, instead of toward 

 the middle of the stack, rain will injure but a small 

 portion of either straw or grain. If one side of a stack 

 should be lower than the other, it may usually be car- 

 ried up even, by using the large sheaves for the lower, 



