The Red Cloud chief., 1896-05-15
spontancou. comhut ion Of Iay.

Spontaneous Combustion Of uay.
The question Of spontaneous combus-
ion in fodder stuffs has received con
Siderable attention from agriCulturists
rom time to time, and has been dis
'ussed In the agricultural literature OF
he day as supposed cases have arisen.
Nearly all the supposed cases have or
ginated where considerable quantities
Of clover hay have been stored. either
N stacks or barns, and in nearly every
;ase the stacks or buildings have been
consumed, so It was impossible 10 suiFl-
,ieDtly understand the circumstances
of the cases TO determine whether they
were of spontaneous or ]inccndiary ORR
gin. A recent fire, supposed 20 be Of
spontaneous origin, occurred I'm n hay
now In n Of the college barns. with
cut damaging the barn to any great oX-
ten and without consuming very much
Of the hay. The following detailed ac-
count will enable the reader to form
some opinion as 10 the origin of the
ire:
In the evening Of October 16. 1895,
hre was seen to be dropping from the
ceiling OF the COW stable underneath
the east wing of the college barn. A
general alarm of fire was sounded. and
Immediately a sufficient force OF men
assembled TO prevent the fire from
breaking out. Investigation soon
proved the fire to be confined TO a NOV
d hay 1Sx23 feet and about 20 feet high,
which occupied a part Of the wing over
the COW stable mentioned. Precautions
were taken to exclude all drafts of air
from the hay NOW by filling the holes
burned through the floor over the COW
stable with wet blankets and cloths
and also keeping the top of the NOW
covered with wet blankets. II was be-
'leVed at this time that the only means
d saving the whole barn from burning
was to remove the NOW of hay that
was already on fire. Consequently open
lngs were made In the side OF the barn
md the whole NOW of hay, about thir-
ty tons, was pitched out. While re-
moving the hay, which all through the
center of the NOW was smouldering
and ready to burst out in flames when
exposed to a draft Of air. 1t was found
necessary to keep the top OF It con-
stantly wet. Fortunately, a hose from
a nearby hydrant and pals in the
hands Of students afforded ample
means OF keeping the top of the NOW
constantly saturated. which prevented
the hay In the barn from bursting into
flames, and also prevented the hay that
was thrown out of the NOV from burn
Ing. All of the center of the NOW was
thoroughly compacted, hot ard smok-
Ing. The high temperature OF the hay
made II decidedly uncomfortable for
those who were working to save the
barn from burning by removing this
smouldering fodder. The continued ap-
plication Of water on the surface OF the
NOW alone made this possible on ac-
count Of the excessive heat. Not until
oil this lot of hay was removed from
the barn was the danger from fire
thought to be over. The floor Of the
barn on which this NOW of hay rested
Is constructed OF two thicknesses of
wide inch boards 80 placed as to per-
fectly break joints. This floor forms
the ceiling over the COW stable and Is
about eleven feet high. The holes
burned through the floor we're over the
middle Of the stable and not lear par
titions or posts. From the position OF
these holes burned through the floor,
would seem improbable II % impossi-
BILE for the origin Of the fire to have
been either accidental or incendiary.
The side Of the barn Is OF matched
lumber: this undoubtedly averted a
serious loss by fire by preventing any
thing like a draft to supply air to the
nay already on fire.-Geo. c. Watson.
pennsylvania Experiment Station.