35 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 
the middle, and care should be used to distribute the 
hay so that the whole central line of the rick is 
equally compressed. Neglect of this precaution will 
cause the centre to sag in places and leak rain into the 
centre of the rick. (A stack made too flat is shown in 
Fig. 6.) The stack or rick should have some kind of 
FIG. O—A WAY-STACK MADE YOO FLAT 
foundation to prevent decay from contact with the 
ground. A layer of dry straw a foot deep will answer 
for this, but a foundation of boards or fence-rails is bet- 
ter. After the stack is about two-thirds as high as it 
is desired to make it the middle should be consider- 
ably raised and kept high till it is finished. This will 
cause the hay to settle so as to shed rain better. 
It is usually necessary to anchor the stack to pre- 
vent the top from blowing away in strong winds before 
