FARM MACHINERY 267 



difficulty. In selecting a loader, it would be well to see that 

 it will pick up the hay cleanly, either from the swath or the 

 windrow; will pass over the obstructions, and at the same time 

 will not pick up old trash which may be on the surface of the 

 ground. The loader is made largely of wood in the form of 

 light strips, and for that reason should be carefully housed 

 when not in use. 



HAY TEDDERS 



Modern haying methods demand that the hay be cured as 

 quickly as possible and that it shall not lie in the sun or dew 

 to become bleached and stained. To do this, the drying of 

 the plants must be hastened by the circulation of air through 

 the loose hay. The leaves give up moisture to the air rapidly 

 and draw upon the supply in the stem, and for this reason 

 they should be prevented from drying up and falling off. 



The tedder is a machine arranged to pick the hay from 

 the stubble where it has fallen from the mower and has been 

 tramped down more or 

 less by the team's walk- 

 ing over it, and throw it 

 into a light fluffy layer 

 through which the air 

 may freely circulate. 



The size of the ted- 

 der is designated by the 

 number of forks which 

 stir up the hay. The 8- and 10-fork machines are the 

 sizes in general use. Most of the modern machines are 

 made almost entirely of steel and, when carefully braced to 

 give rigidity, are often preferred over the modern wooden- 

 frame machines. Various combinations of gears, sprockets, 

 and chains are used to drive the shaft giving motion to the 



Fig. 168. A steel frame hay tedder. 



