4 BULLETIN 578, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
CREW CAPACITY. 
Apparent discrepancies will be noted in the haying operations, 
such as amount mowed, raked, pitched, etc., per hour. Variation 
in the amount mowed is caused by difference in cut of mowers, in 
yield and character of the hay, and in speed of the mower team. 
The amount of hay pitched on by hand varies considerably with the 
ability of the pitcher. The length of haul to barn also makes con- 
siderable difference in the amount done per day. 
Most of the methods described are in more or less common use in 
certain localities, but some of the systems, where the labor per ton is 
rather low, are those used by isolated farmers who have worked out 
the best methods for their respective conditions. 
Fig. 2.— Loading wagon with hand forks. This calls for irksome man labor and is the most expensive 
method of getting hay on the wagon. Economical for small acreage only. 
SYSTEMS OF MAKING HAY. 
Haymaking may be divided into four general systems, as follows: 
(1) Wagon loaded by hand and unloaded with horse fork into barn; 
(2) wagon loaded by hay loader and unloaded with horse fork at barn ; 
(3) hay put into stack with push rakes and stacker; (4) hay baled 
from the windrow with horse or power press. 
System 1.— Hand Loading. 
System 1, in which the wagon is loaded by hand forks, is the oldest 
system, and is used extensively and almost exclusively in the eastern 
part of the tame hay area. It requires but little outlay for machinery 
and is best adapted to farms having a small acreage of hay. It is 
doubtful if it would pay to buy hay loaders for many such small 
farms, even where the meadows are not too hilly. When hay is 
cured in the cock it is necessary to use this system. (See fig. 2.) 
