Report on the Trials of Implements at Reading. 673 
this occasion seven men were employed. Seven cwt. of coals 
were used for the engine, and something less than two chaldrons 
of coke Avere consumed in the hot-air furnace. The hay first 
cured was put into a stack 15 feet square, and, when that was 
completed, another, of about the same size, was made. In 
both of these stacks provision was made for a fan being worked 
if required, wooden flues having been laid down, and shafts 
constructed. But the stacks never heated enough to require 
any fanning. It should be noted that this rye-grass had been 
cut for a week or more, and that the weather had been very 
much finer than in the earlier trials ; but, on the other hand, 
Mr. Champion, who, as manager of the Sewage Farm, is over- 
done with rye-grass hay, declared that he had never been able 
to stack this irrigated grass safely until he had Gibbs's dryer. 
The farmer of a sewage-farm is probably bound to take so 
much sewage every day. If he cannot sell his rye-grass green, 
and get it removed, he must make hay of it and clear his land. 
The possession of one of these hay-dryers in such a case may 
be a great assistance, and if the first cost of the apparatus, and 
the difficulty and expense of removing it, be left out of sight, 
the operation is not extravagantly costly. 
£ s. d 
Seven men at say 3s. 6c7.* a day .. .. ..140 
Coals and Coke, say .. .. .. ..1 3 6 
£2 8 0 
or less than Qs. per acre, excluding use of engine, and wear and 
tear of machine. 
In the course of the day (Monday, 24th) an experiment was 
tried with some Italian rye-grass which had been cut on the 
Saturday previous. Twelve cwt. of the green and wet grass was. 
passed twice through the dryer, the delivery end of the table 
having been raised until the slope was only 5 inches, in 
order to keep the grass on the table, and under the influence 
of the hot air for a longer time. It took 20 minutes to 
pass the whole lot through the first time, and 14 minutes the 
second time. After this, it still retained a great portion of its 
sap, and it could not have been stacked up. On weighing it 
after this partial drying, there remained but 5;^ cwt. out of 12 : 
thus 6f cwt. had disappeared. Of course there was some little 
waste and litter, but not enough to affect the result appreciably. 
If this grass had been thoroughly desiccated, or even made into 
dry hay, it would probably have been reduced to about 3 cwt. — 
a powerful argument against carting grass in a perfectly green 
* It is hot and dry ■work. 
VOL. XVIII. — S. S. 
