374 



THE WHEAT CULTURIST. 



Wooden Grain and Hay Caps. 



The accompanying illustration represents a shock of 

 wheat covered with wooden caps, which may be made 

 at a cheap rate, when lumber and labor are cheap. 

 They may be made in the following manner : Saw out 

 a lot of sticks of hard wood, four feet long and one and 

 a quarter inches square. These are to be employed as 

 a ridge pole to a barn roof. Select wide shingles, sea- 

 son them thoroughly in the sunshine, until the wood 

 will not shrink any more ; then joint the edges and nail 



Tig. 63. — Wooden Grain Caps. 



the butts to the miniature ridge-pole. Such a roof will 

 cover a cock of hay of large size, or a shock of wheat, 

 keeping it dry through any storm. The only question 

 is, whether they will not be too costly, and inconvenient 

 to handle. But tapering shingles would be lighter than 

 shingles of uniform thickness. Thin boards of bass- 

 wood, whitewood, or pine, not more than one-fourth of 

 an inch thick, would subserve quite as good purpose as 

 wide shingles. Such caps could be carried to and from 

 the field in a wagon ; and packed in a small compass 

 in a "nest," like wooden bowls. It would be necessary 



