266 A FARMER'S YEAR 



that limit is passed the results are apt to be serious ; indeed, ricks 

 thus overheated have been known to take fire by spontaneous 

 combustion. For this particular stack Hood bethought him of 

 an ingenious remedy. Sending down to No. 45 on Baker's, 

 whence the trefoil hay had been carried, for a load of dry rakings, 

 he built these into the rick, and then carried more meadow hay 

 on to the top of them. The rakings, being so dry and difficult 

 to compress, make it easy for the heat to escape and the cool 

 air to enter into the body of the stack ; in fact they introduce 

 a ventilating course, the action of which will be assisted by the 

 bitter north-east wind that is blowing to-day. Though I have 

 never seen it made use of, I believe that straw is sometimes em- 

 ployed for this purpose of hay-rick ventilation. 



I see in the Times to-day that the Committee which was 

 appointed two years ago to consider the question of Old Age 

 Pensions have made their report, which practically may be 

 summed up in two words, non possumus. This, however, is not 

 wonderful, as it seems that the terms of the reference precluded 

 the Committee from using any scheme based on compulsion, and 

 it is fairly evident to anyone who has considered the question 

 that, to be generally effective and useful, an old age pension 

 scheme must be based on compulsion. To exclude compulsion, 

 therefore, from the possible methods under the consideration of 

 the Committee was almost to ensure a negative result, and to 

 doom that industrious body to plough the sand for two long years. 



My own humble and private views upon the question of Old Age 

 Pensions, which, if impracticable at present, are at least sincere, I 

 have set out in the beginning of this book, so I need not allude to 

 them again. What strikes me as strange, however, is that at the 

 last General Election a great number of Unionist candidates 

 preached this gospel with no uncertain voice, some because they 

 believed in it, and some perhaps because they thought that it 

 would pay. I remember that I did for one, and for the first 

 reason. Indeed, the practice has continued up to the present 

 time, for, unless I am mistaken, Old Age Pensions were men- 



