DRYING BY HOT ATP. FROM FURNACE. 297 



feet s<i[uare and uuule of good coniiiioii iinbleaeheil muslin. At 

 eacli corner is an eyelet for jiegs to run through into the sides of 

 the hay cock, or stout cords may be fastened to the corners and 

 long enough to reach to the pegs wliich stick in the ground. 

 In fair weather the caps need not be used, but when rain tlireat- 

 ens a man "will sleei) better with his hay covered, unless per- 

 chance, as is related in the Cimviry Gentleman, some stranger 

 wakes liim up to tell him there are a lot of white coavs in his 

 meadow. 



Drying by Hot Air from ii Furnace or tlie I'se of a Fan. 

 — W. A. Cibbs, of Essex, England, lias ])atented a contrivance 

 for driving hot air from a furnace among the half-made hay as it 

 is tossed by revolving forks in a long trough. This is some- 

 times valuable in Great I^ritaiu and Ireland, where they are sub- 

 ject to rains, especially for curing aftermath when the sun is low 

 and the days short. 



Morton'' fi Crojtx of the Farm gives another plan which seems 

 likely to come into more general use. It consists in providing 

 a horizontal shaft, either under the ground on which the rick is 

 built, or, by means of suitable boarding, within the lower layer 

 of the rick itself, and connecting with it, one or more u])right 

 shafts into the body of the rick. A fan is nsed at the outer end 

 of the main shaft, and draws the air through the whole body of 

 the hay with sufficient rapidity at once to keep the temperature 

 within safe limits. In this way partially cured hay can be fin- 

 ished before stacking. 



Stacking Hay. — It is almost impossible to give rules in writ- 

 ing which shall be of much use. The bi'st way for a person to 

 learn is to become a jjupil of a good stacker. 



The foundation should be made on boards or some timlters to 

 keep the hay from absorl)ing moisture from Ihe ground. The 

 middle should always be kept highest ; it should be evenly trod 

 down on all sides; tlie hay should b(! pitched onto the stack 



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