The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1900-02-01
NEW WAY Of BALlNC HAY.
Pancakes for Mules in the South African
and Philippine War.

ana fniiippIne war.
The Georgia and Argentine mules
which are doing war duty in South
Africa with the British army will be
surprised when they see the new
style of balel hay which will be
served mp to them as soon as the
steamship Susquehanna gets to Cape
Town. Three hundred tons were sent
OH the Susluehanna recently, and
it is the first shipment of about
$4,000 tons ordered by the Brit
ish war depar tment. The ba:ing of
he hay is being done in Brooklyn,
where six new machines are being
use1. The machine was invented by
a man named Lowry. The hay is put
up in bales cylindrical in form, about
the 81 and shape of the old
fashioned nail keg, or 1S inches
high and of the same diameter. When
baled in this shape the hay is rs hard
as board. The bales weigh about
l45 pounds.
What will surprise Mr.. Mule will
be the way the hay is ''handed out"
It will be in pancake form. The hay
pancakes, or layers, which make up
the bale, are about three-fourths of
an inch thick and as soon as the mule
takes bite of the pancake he will
be kept chewing so constantly that he
will forget all about the bullets. Mr..
Peck, who showed the reporter the
process, did not say that the mules
mental faculties would be engaged to
this extent. That is simply non
hayeating layman's own impression.
The hay in the pancake is so tightly
packed that, as soon as the mule be-
gins chewing it he will have the same
buoyant feeling experienced by the
small boy whose waistband is made
tight by eating dried apples. The
most comp act bale of hay put up by
the cid style requires about 160 cubic
feet space per ton. This new tangled
Georgia mule hay takes up only so
cubic feet space per ton.
A rather singular combination OF
circumstances is afforded at the bal
ing plant in Brooklyn. The contrac-
tor Mr. Bloomingdale, is using Cana
dian hay, baled in the old square
fashion, in Canada. The old bales
are torn to pieces and fed into the top
of the new compressors. About half
the product of the Brooklyn plant
goes to South Africa for use in the
army which is fighting the Beers,
while the other half goes to Manila
for use by Lawton and McArthur's
cavalry.
"We are compassionate when it
comes to baling hay, but we're ex-
pansionists when it comes to selling
it," said Mr.. Peck. ''The good thing
about this new bale is that a mule
can carry two 112 pound bales, and
after he is fed off them for two or
three days there's enough left for a
cavalry man to use as miniature
rampant. The hay is packed 80 tight
that bullet wouldn't 60 far into it.
A mule can carry only one of the 145
pound bales. The greater number. OF
bales shipped to South Africa weigh
112 pounds, the English hundred
weight.
"a rather remarkable fact in con-
nectio1 with this process Of Ealing
was discovered by accident. You see
where the hay goes into the machine
through four mortised holes about the
thickness of the hand? Well the fric-
tional heat caused by the drawing OF
the hay through those holes keeps
the whole top of the compressor hot.
As the hay passes throug h the heat
fuses the juices in the timothy and
clover and makes the whole layer, or
pancake, aromatic. Horses prefer
hay run through one of these COM
pressors to hay in its loose state, on
account of it's aromatic properties.
Whether Mr.. Peck's theory is cor
rect or not. t'ss fact remains that the
bsataa nay yielded o delightful fra
GRANGE in the old storehouse where
the work is being carried on.-New
York Tribune.