38 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. 6 — A HAY-STACK MADE TOO 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 



