HAYMAKING CREWS AND LABOR COSTS. 37 
Work Cuart 39.—Prairie hay stacked with push rakes and stacker (Colorado). 
[This method is adapted to a large acreage. ] 
Time required 
Operation Teams 
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Fifteen men and 26 horses put up 36 tons (72,acres) per day. Yield, 0.5 ton peracre. Man-hours 
4.16, team-hours 3.61 per ton. Labor cost, $1.55 per ton. 
System 4.—Baling from the Windrow. 
The cheapest method of getting hay into the bale is to bale it 
directly from the windrow, using the sweep rake to bring it to the 
press. There is only one serious objection to this practice, and that 
is the danger of the hay not being dry enough to keep. This objec- 
tion holds in the East and South, but not in the West. 
In the prairie hay section of the Middle West it is customary to 
bale from the windrow, especially if the hay is to be shipped to market. 
The saving entailed by not stacking includes getting the hay upon 
the stack, stacking, and pitching from stack to the press. As the 
prairie haying season lasts for several weeks there, a small crew with 
a two-horse press will often bale over 600 tons per season. A power 
press will bale about .twice as much as a horse press. 
A two-horse press will bale from 6 to 15 tons of hay per day, the 
average probably being about 8 tons, although many crews will bale 
10 tons per day. 
The press crew requires from 3 to 5 men, and if the team requires 
it, a boy will be needed to drive. The crew ordinarily is arranged as 
follows: One or two pitchers, one pressman, one wirer, one driver 
