HAY-BINDING. 153 



The process of getting it to market in this 

 country is quite simple. Hay, which is sold, is 

 usually sheltered in a barn, and when about to 

 be taken to market, it is put on to a cart or wa- 

 gon and weighed. It is sold by the ton. 



In England, much of the hay which is carried 

 to market is taken from the stacks. Let us see 

 how the farmers there manage. 



A part of the thatch having been removed 

 from one corner, the cutter pulls out a quantity 

 of the inferiour hay, which formed the stack 

 towards the roof; and, taking it down in a 

 bundle, sprinkles it with water until it is very 

 wet. His object is to make bands, or hay- 

 ropes, to tie up his trusses with. This opera- 

 tion is a curious and dexterous one. A boy 

 holds a sort of winch, made of a string-bow r , 

 one end of which he turns in a socket of wood 

 against his chest, by a swift motion of the hand. 



