36 FODDER IN INDIA. 



precautions against fire and action to be taken, you can say 

 good-bye to the lot, at any rate as fodder, what is not burnt 

 will be ruined by water, so why have all your eggs in one 

 basket ? Opinions differ. 



A round stack to hold i,ood — 1,200 maunds of hay 

 should be 30' in diameter (don't build too fast, be building 

 two or three stacks at once when you can, and go from one 

 to the other) at base, build up gradually to 18' — 20' the 

 eaves at which height the diameter should be 36'; from the 

 eaves build still more gradually and spread evenly treading 

 down (dubao) well sloping gradually up to a point which 

 should be 12' high from the eaves. This stack intelligently 

 built, and with a 9" — 12" thatch, will always look well and 

 will stand any weather, the quantity varying with the 

 coarseness of the grass, the time taken, and the evenness or 

 otherwise of the laying and trampling down. For those 

 who prefer the rectangular stack any proportion may be 

 taken, that generally used for 2,000 — 2,500 maunds of hay 

 is 60' X 20' at the base, and sloping outwards on all sides 

 to 70' X 30' at the eaves (the writer recommends a rather 

 less slope than this), the height at this point will be 

 18' — 20,' from here the sides only not ends should slope 

 inwards and upwards to the ridge at a height 15' from the 

 eaves. Always select high lying level ground for a stack. 

 A platform is not "usually " necessary but the area may be 

 measured out and bounded by a trench i J^' wide and 6" 

 deep, the earth excavated being thrown into the centre and 

 sloped gently to the edges. Some cinders, ashes or sand 

 may be spread, when available for nothing, over the earth -, 

 and exit for rain water must be provided on the lower side 

 of the surrounding ditch. In making a stack never forget 

 the centre, keep it up, fill the centre as quickly as the 

 outsides, otherwise after completion as soon as it starts 

 "settling" your stack will become an eyesore, and what 

 is worse will let in water freely. For the first 8' or so from 

 the bottom build your stack up, plumb on all sides or 

 even incline inward^ a trifle, at the 8' let the grass settle 



