806 ALFALFA FARMING IN AMERICA. 
cient grapple forks made that will take loose hay 
and deposit it nicely on the stack. 
Unloading. Hay.—In unloading at the barn the 
problem is rather different, especially if the hay has 
been loaded onto wagons. It is then compacted 
so that forks have good opportunity to get hold of it. 
In barns, too, it is possible to arrange ideal tracks 
for unloading machinery. Good apparatus cost lit- 
tle more than poor. It is economy to put in the 
best. 
I would always build hay barns in such manner 
that there would be no cross-ties through the middle 
section, thus nothing to make it necessary to lift 
the hay to the peak in order to swing it in to the 
mow. There are carriers made that do not ever lift 
the load higher than will clear the level of the hay in 
the mow when it swings in. It swings in at any height 
desired, thus will put the hay clear into the peak, or 
will swing it in at the level of the mow floor. These 
carriers use either slings or forks. 
Slings.—Slings are arrangements of ropes form- 
ing a sort of large net that is laid in the bottom 
of the load on the wagon rack. Pulley blocks with 
hooks in them are attached rapidly to each end of 
the sling and when it is lifted everything comes up 
clean from the rack. There is nothing swifter, 
cleaner or more efficient than the sling. 
Curiously enough slings are not in common use. 
Perhaps the reason is that commonly men have 
sought to take off a whole load by putting in several 
