344 OPINIONS OF FARMERS. 



even or otherwise, will rake cleaner than the revolver, 

 and will not get so much dirt on the hay as will the 

 spring-tooth." 



And another : " I use the wire-tooth. The independ- 

 ent or wheel rake is used some ; both are good. I cut 

 about sixty tons of hay, and my rake I have no doubt 

 saves me twenty dollars every year. First in labor, 

 and second in quality of hay, everything being 

 raked at night." Another says : " We have used the 

 revolving horse-rake lor the last ten years or more, 

 and my opinion is that, could I have my choice 

 between six men or a horse and rake, after dinner, 

 with a quantity of hay to secure, I should take the 

 latter." 



Fig. 167. The Loafer Rake. 



The mowing-machine, the hay-tedder, and the horse- 

 rake, all comparatively recent inventions, have done 

 much to lighten the burdens of securing the hay crop, 

 and to enable us to save time and to harvest the crop 

 in a vastly better condition. They have superseded 

 the old and slow methods of haying to a very large ex- 

 tent, and they are appreciated as among the most 

 important of modern laboi -saving implements. 



But there was still left the laborious work of pitching 

 and stowing away in the barn or in the stack. That 

 required strong muscle, and took much valuable time. 



