Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1918-06-20

In 0CIual practice Into several meth
odA Loading by hand is the Oldest
system and the one most generally
used IN the older hay-g-swing sections
OF tho East Its retention In these sec
Hons IL due largely to the fact that
Il requires minimum amount Of
equipment which makes 1t particular
" suited to farms where only a Linn
TIED acreage Of hay is grown.
The equipment required includes
only moving machine. rake, pitchfork,
wagon and rack, and, in most cases,
unloading apparatus such as hay forks
or slings.
Nearly everyone is familiar with
this system, which consists merely of
pitching the hay on the wagon with
hand forks and hauling to stack or
barn, where it is either pitched off
by hand or unloaded with horse forks
or slings
While 1t can be used under almost
any conditions, this system involves
a large amount Of. irksome hand labor,
and for this reason, as well as the
greater expense of labor, it should be
replaced by some other system when
ever practicable.
Loading With Hay Loader.
The second system consists Of load
ing the hay with q hay loader. This
method is used most largely In the
timothy and clover hay area. It is
used to certain extent in New York
md Pennsylvania, and to q greater
extent In Ohio, Indiana and Iowa.
IN some localities there exists a
prejudice, against the loader. The
first leaders put on the market were
not mechanically perfect, and there
Gore did not always give satisfaction,
and the delay caused by break-downs
Influenced many to abandon their use.
Moreover, the loader often has been.
used ON uneven or stony ground, with
resultant frequent breaking Of vital
parts The use Of this loader, under
conditions not recommended by the
manufacturers, also has tended to linn
It its popularity.
Another, and perhaps the most im-
portant, reason for the loader not be-
Ing used more generally is that to use
It economically the men on the wagon
must work very hard while the load
is being put on. A study Of the use
Of the loader in several states has re-
vealed the fact that the hired men as
rule do not like to work on the load
er, and for this reason push rakes and
stackers have supplanted 1t on some
farms in the middle West.
On one farm 1t was noticed that
when the owner was absent five loads
were hauled In one afternoon, but
when the owner was present and
working on the wagon, seven loads
were taken from the field In the same
length Of time.
At present there are two types Of
leaders One picks up the hay with
revolving drum studded with spurs
Of spring wire about six inches long.
The other type takes up the hay by
means Of a forklike arrangement fas-
tened to long wooden or steel arms
The bed Of the carrier is now made
solid, so that there is little likelihood
OF losing leaves from alfalfa, clover
and other legume hays.
The hay loader, under ordinary con-
ditions, win increase the capacity OF
a crew about 80 per cent over that OF
the same crew pitching the load on by
hand forks.
The loader Is q valuable implement
and its saving in labor cost will BIZ
considerable, especially on farms
where labor Is scarce and expensive.
Push Rakes and stackers.
In system three push rakes and
stackers are used. This system came
into general use number Of years
| ago In the region from about the nine
| tieth meridian to the irrigated section!
Of the West.
A large percentage Of the hay in this
/ part Of the country is stacked; ant
| the comparatively large acreages
grown, plentifulness Of horses, scare
! fly Of farm labor, and desire to make
hay with the least amount of hand la
/ Dor were incentives to the use Of thes,
| two machines.
Push rakes, also known as ''bul
rakes," Ego DEVILS" "slip-arounds,
consist Of wheelless. two, three ant
| four-wheel types. They are capable
of handling from 900 pounds to tol
of hay, depending upon the type, tn
| skill Of the driver and the team.
There are several kinds of stackers
the overshot and swing-around bein,
the most common. Homemade stack
ers are Of various kinds, such as "gin
/ poles" derrick stackers Of differen