172 FARM MACHINERY 



Finally arrangements were made whereby the thills /ouJd be 

 brought together and a tongue made for the use of a team 

 instead of one horse. 



246. The steel dump rake or sulky rake. Although the 

 first rakes were made of wood, there are now upon the 

 market rakes made almost entirely of steel. The rake 

 head to which the teeth are fastened is usually made of a 

 heavy channel bar with a minimum of holes punched 

 through it so as not to impair its strength. 



In the selection of a rake considerable variance is 

 offered in the choice of teeth, which may be constructed 

 of 7/i6-inch or i/2-inch round steel, may have one or 

 two coils at the top, be spaced 3^2 inches to 5 inches 

 apart, and have either pencil or flat points. The 

 choice depends somewhat upon the kind of hay to be 

 raked. 



The rake is always provided with a set of cleaner teeth 

 to prevent the hay from being carried up with the teeth 

 when the rake is dumped. The outside teeth are some- 

 times provided with a projection which prevents the hay 

 from being rolled into a rope and scattered out at the 

 ends when the hay is very light. Sometimes an extra 

 pair of short teeth is provided to prevent this rolling. 



247. Self-dump rakes are always provided with a lever 

 for hand dumping. Rakes are made from 8 to 12 feet in 

 width. In the purchase of a rake the important things 

 to look for are ease in operation, strength of rake head 

 and wheels. Often the wheels are the first to give way. 

 Some wheels are very bad about causing the hay to wrap 

 about the hub. The wheel boxes should be interchange- 

 able so they may be replaced when worn. 



248. Side-delivery rakes. The side-delivery rake was 

 brought about by the introduction of the hay loader, the 

 loader creating a demand for a machine which would 



