The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1886-10-16
staeAine- Practices which Apply 10 Rye, West
and Oats.
From the Kansas City Farmer.

From the Kansas City Farmer.
The object ofputtinggrain and hay in
stacks is to save it from loss by rain.
The secret OF good stacking lies in max.
ing it shed water, and to do this there
must be thatchine, kind of straw
shinglng, on every part of the outside
above few feet from the ground. All
the outside straw or hay must incline
downwards, and it must have that
tendency fixed when the stack is built.
The first thing to be learned and re-
memtered about stacking is to keep
the middle full. Start in the middle
OF the foundation. Put the first fork
full there and build around it. Not
only must the middle be kept tull, but
it must have the most trampingif any
is done, the point being that if any OF
the stack is more solidly built than
another part it ought to be the middle,
so that in settling the middle will not
sink faster than the outside. Then lin
case OF hay) il the outside layers are
so arranged with the fork as the stalks
and blades be Strengthened out incln-
ing downwards, they will settle that
way.
The same principle holds with wheat,
rye and oats, but it is not so difficult
to get the straws into proper position
because they are bound in bundles
beforehand. But the stack must be
begun on the middle of the founda-
ton. Lay bundle down, then put
another on top of that, letting the
butt end extend little beyond the
heads OF the under sheaf. Build on
and around these, tops in, butts out,
ring after ring, until the bottom is
large enough. If the stack is to be
Tonga rick-and not round, then,
when the rings widen to the proper
size as to width, build back and forth
on the two sides that are TO be run
out as ends. Widen the stack little
as it is raised to about six feet,
then place two or three layers so
us to keep the outside going up
perpendicularly. After thai draw
in until the stack is finished. AS
soon as the stack is high enough to
commence the drawing in, the middle
should have an extra filling. On a
stack of ordinary width the middle,
when drawing in is begun, ought to be
at least two feet higher than the out
side. Keep it that way to the top.
When grain is very short 1T is not
best to undertake to widen any up to
the "bulge," because there is danger OF
the sheaves slipping out. Where the
straw is long enough, the stack may
easily be extended three or four feet
on each side beyond the outer lines OF
the foundation, and that makes room
for a good deal more grain than can
be put into n stack that is run up
straight, or drawn in from the bottom.
The writer OF this always did his
stacking OF grain, except the filling
ofthe middles on his knees. That was
the rule in those days. But the work
can be as well done standing by using
good fork in place OF the sheaves.
Every bundle ought to be pressed in.
to place by the stacker's weight upon
it.
A stack, whether it is OF grain or
hay after it is finished and settled
some, ought to be raked so as to
comb out the straw and make good
thatching. The top may be secured
by a few sticks tethered with straw or
hay bands, twisted and ten to twelve
feet long and thrown across the top
of the stack. Ii a rick, the weights
TO be aboGt four feet apart. They
need not be heavy-just enough to
keep the bands in place.