94 



THE BOOK OF ALFALFA 



Handled green the leaves are saved, and these constitute 

 from 50 to 75 per cent of the whole value. 



PUTTING INTO WINTER QUARTERS 



When (in regions of much humidity) the hay is 

 safely in cock, covered with hay-caps, and has had a few 

 days of curing, it is ready for permanent quarters. 

 Remembering that the hay after its drying has begun 

 should be handled as little as possible, the cocks have 

 been made small enough so that two men may lift them 

 bodily onto a wagon, if a wagon is used in the stacking. 

 From the wagon, the hay is lifted by a hayfork to the 

 stack. Or, more careful still, the farmer will use three 

 slings to each wagon, which are lifted by a hook to the 

 stack or mow. A sling is a heavy sheet the size of the 

 wagon hayrack. One is spread on the bottom of the 

 rack, another on top of the first one-third of the load, 

 and the other on top of the second third. These slings 

 are banded at the ends ; the ends are drawn together and 

 a third of the load lifted to the stack or mow, thus saving 

 in some instances a third more leaves than any other 

 method. 



In arid and semi-arid territory, cocking and loading 

 on or off wagons are dispensed with by dragging the 

 rapidly dried hay directly to stacks built in the fields, 

 where the lifting into place is done with great expedition 

 by horse implements. A wheel-rake or "go-devil" is used 

 to take at once several cocks, bunches or a part of a 

 windrow to a nearby stack. Others use a rope to drag 

 one or more large cocks to the stack; or, if the hay is to 

 be taken from windrows, it may be put upon wagons with 



