STACK. 



which the horses are confined in a 

 very simple apparatus, which may be 

 easily erected, and wiiich we partly 

 copy from one of the plates in the 

 work of Count Lasteyrie on agricul- 

 tural implements." 



STACK. A regular structure of 

 hay, oats, wheat, or other produce, 

 for their storage and preservation. 



" Stands are requisite fixtures of the 

 stack-yard : they are basements of 

 timber, or masonry, or sometimes of 

 iron, on which to build the stack, and 

 their object is to keep the lower part 

 of the stack dry and exclude ver- 

 min. The usual mode of constructing 

 stands is to place a stout frame of 

 timber on upright stones, two feet 

 high, and having projecting caps of 

 flat stones. They are also construct- 

 ed wholly of stone, with circular or 

 polygonal walls {Fig. 1, a, b), built to 



Fig- 1. 



the same height as in the former case, 

 in a rather slanting manner outward, 

 and covered on the tops with copings 

 of oak planking, or flat stones, which 

 project over the edges several inches, 

 and in that way prevent the ascent 

 of rats and mice to the stacks. In 

 both these modes, pieces of timber 

 are placed as a frame in the middle 

 to support the grain upon, and gener- 

 ally a cone of spars in the centre, to 

 form a column of air in the heart of 

 the corn. Some suppose the first of 

 these sorts of corn stands to be the 

 best for general purposes, as being 

 more easily as well as more cheaply 

 constructed, and, at the same time, 

 permitting the air to enter and circu- 

 late with more freedom underneath, 

 in the bottom of the stand, which is 

 of much advantage. It is obvious 

 that the form of these stands or base- 

 ments must vary according to that in 

 which the stacks are to be made, 

 which is different in different dis- 

 750 



tricts. But wherever the thrashing 

 machine is introduced, the circular 

 base, as producing a stack of a mod- 

 erate size, with other advantages, is 

 generally preferred. But cast-iron 

 stands {Fig. 2), with or without fun- 

 Fig. 2. 



nels, are found preferable, and admit 

 of stacking the corn somewhat ear- 

 lier. The pillars of these stands are 

 three feet high, and weigh half a hun- 

 dred each. A stack requires seven 

 pillars, besides the framing, which 

 may either be made of poles or young 

 trees. In the wet climate of Clack- 

 mannanshire, wheat has been stack- 

 ed in five days, beans in eight, and 

 barley and oats in ten days, and some- 

 times earlier. No vermin can find 

 their way into these stacks to con- 

 sume the grain, and the straw is bet- 

 ter preserved. The cone or triangle 

 keeps up a circulation of air, and pre- 

 vents heating or other damage. 



" The stack-yard, or enclosure, 

 within which corn, hay, &c., are 

 stacked, is placed exterior to that side 

 of the building which contains the 

 barn. Stack-yards should always be 

 sufficiently spacious and airy, having 

 a firm, dry bottom ; and some advise 

 them to be ridged up to prevent the 

 accumulation of surface water; as 

 by raising the ridges pretty well in 

 the middle, and covering the places 

 where the stacks are to be built, ei- 

 ther with rough stones, with a mix- 

 ture of gravel, or with pavement in 

 the same manner as streets, much 

 advantage would be gained at little 



