MAKING VETCH HAY 121 



Under conditions where hay can be stacked in the 

 field where grown, neither a hay loader nor a hay 

 bogie is necessary. The most economical implement 

 for such conditions is a hay sweep, used in 

 conjunction with either a horse fork or a hay elevator. 

 With a hay sweep, the cock hay can be gathered 

 together and pulled to the rick without breaking the 

 cocks, whilst even a hay pike of 10 or 15 cwt. can be 

 swept along by simply toppling it over in front of the 

 hay sweep. 



HINTS ON STACKING HAY 



Now, as to the matter of stacking. It is an 

 advantage for hay of any kind to heat a little in the 

 stack, " sweating " as it is called. True, if the 

 heating is too great, the stuff becomes " mow burnt," 

 or may even take fire. But the latter risk is far less 

 than is generally supposed. 



Some farmers, on the appearance of a little heat, 

 get into a panic, and begin doing the very thing they 

 shouldn't — pulling the stack to pieces, thus letting 

 more air into the stack which, of course, promotes 

 heating. 



Now, the heating of a stack is primarily caused 

 through the action of small organisms, or bacteria, as 

 they are called, and possibly also by the live cell 

 tissue of the hay itself. At all events, heating from 

 one or other or both of these causes takes place up 

 to a certain point. After that, the organisms are 

 killed by the heat, and further heating results from 

 the chemical combinations of substances in the hay 

 and the oxygen of the air. 



It should also be noted that these bacteria require 

 a certain amount of moisture present in order to work 

 or bring about heating. Forearmed with the above 



