T/OL. LXVIII
INDIANAPOLIS, JULY 12   1913
&
NO. 28
Harvesting the Hay Cr|fp Economically
In modern hay making labor-saving
machinery plays an important part on
the farm where there is a large crop of
hay to be harvested. For a long time
now hay hands have been getting more
scarce each succeeding year and the
farmer with a large acreage of hay cannot afford to depend upon the old time
method of making hay—that of putting
Modem Labor-Saving
By W. F
is almost indispensable in the modern
hay field, especially in the1 field of
clover hay. This implement will so
handle the grass  that  it can be cured
EquipnH* : is Essential
. Purdue
at the least expense. All rocks, stumps
and every form of obstruction which
will interfere in any way with the use
of     modern     labor-saving     machinery
makes it unnecessary to work to dark
to top out a stack if the weather s
threatening. When the stack is left
open and uncovered, even though the
rain wet but a short distance down, the
damp hay on the surface never will
make ideal feed. The cost of these
canvas covers prevents many farmers
from owning them, but one should con-
Harvesting the Hay Crop on a Large Indiana Farm.
ten or a dozen hands in the hay field
with a number of teams and racks, then
everybody working under high pressure
until the crop was in the barns or in
stacks. Even though it were possible
to secure the hands at the proper time,
the high wages demanded at present
make it cheaper to rely upon mechanical and animal power rather than upon
human power In the hay field.
The modern hay loader is not an expensive hay tool and in a large crop of
hay it will save enough labor during
a single season to pay the cost of the
implement. Then the loader saves
the owner of the hay all drudgery in
the field, because it takes the cured
grass from the ground and with horse
power deposits it on the wagon as fast
as two men can load it. Loading hay
racks with a fork is hard work on a hot
day for anyone who does not possess
more than usual strength. But a boy
can drive the team that operates the
loader and, with two men to place the
hay on the rack, one expensive hand is
eliminated. Or, lf necessary, one
man can do the loaning and thus the
loader takes the place of two men.
There is a "knack" in loading hay
whether the same is delivered from a
loader or from the forks of pitchers;
the inexperienced man may work hard
yet not do much good, while another
man will take advantage of the loader,
or ofthe pitchers, and take things easy
yet he will put on a good load.
The Possibilities of .Some Implements.
The hay tedder ls another tool that
regardless of sunshine. We must get
our clover hay dry just as quickly as
possible after mowing and the tedder
furnishes the simple and easy means of
doing this. Just hitch up to it and
with one or two stirrings the hay is
ready for the mow. The tedder should
follow the mower pretty closely, so that
the grass my be kept exposed to the
air, which will circulate through it
freely when the bunches are scattered
evenly and loosely over the field. The
modern hay tedder will do far better
work in shaking out grass or wet hay,
and it will do it in far less time, than
can be done by hands with forks. And
a boy can operate the tedder as well as
a man who commands wages of 2 dollars or more a day. Especially in a
heavy growth of grass or just after a
shower does the tedder prove its value.
In a very short time all the hay can be
thrown up loose so that the air can
get through It and dry it out thoroughly.
The side delivery rake is a companion to the loader and tedder. It rolls
the wilted grass into small windrows
where it lies so loosely that it will soon
cure under the influence of the sun and
wind. The experienced farmer knows
that lt does not pay to leave clover in
the swath until it ls so dry that the
leaves are lost; he prefers to gather
the grass into windrows while wilted
and still green enough to retain the
leaves.
AH of the above mentioned tools
have the recommendation of the best
farmers as they give a first-class article
should  be carefully removed from  the
hay fields.
Different Methods of Handling tho Crop.
The farmer with a small acreage may
prefer to cure all his hay in cocks and
not In the swath, but the man with a
large crop to harvest cannot afford to
go to the expense and time of curing
his hay in that way. In the latter case
when the haying season arrives business must be done rapidly, but this Is
impossible if the old-time-methods of
curing are practiced for the reason that
sufficient labor is seldom available. Under these conditions modern haying
equipment is essential. It is urged by
some that clover hay put in the cock
over night, then aired out and hauled in
the next day, will be superior to the hay
that is cured in the swath, as by the
former method of curing the hay will
heat slightly and this causes the leaves
to become tough and they do not break
and lose in handling as 1j the case
when the hay Is hauled directly from
the windrow. Possibly the cocked hay
is a little better in quality, but the extra time and labor will exceed the profit, and when the hay crop as a whole is
considered it can generally be secured
in better condtion where modern ha -
ing equipment is used than where the
old methods are followed.
When mow room is limited and part
of the hay crop must be stacked in the
fields, an Important accessory to the
haying outfit Is a canvas stack cover, to
leave on the open stack at night or
when a shower is approaching.      This
sider that, with the proper care, the
canvas lasts for years, and long before
its period of usefulness is ended it will
have saved enough in time, labor and
hay to pay for itself many times over.
The better grades of canvas are the
most economical in the end, as they not
only last longer but shed water better
than the cheaper and lighter grades.
When hay must be stacked out it
pays to make the best of the situation
l.y taking considerable pains to build
the stacks in the best manner possible and by setting them on a rail or
board foundation. While there is
bound to be some loss in stacked hay,
even under the best of conditions, the
loss will be very much less in a properly built stack than in one that is poorly constructed.
The Importance of the Hay Crop.
Last year the hay crop was the second
in value of the farm crops. The importance of this crop to the farmer can
be better realized when it is stated
that the value of last year's crop was
nearly as great as the combined values
of the wheat, tobacco and potato crops.
Tet hay is the most neglected of all the
big crops. Millions of dollars are lost
annually because an effort is not made
to care for the crop properly. Not only
Is no effort made to secure the entire
crop but a larger per cent of the crop
that is secured ls not cured properly
nor stored ln the right way so as to retain its full feeding value until it can
be marketed or fed out to stock on the
Continued on page 9.