The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1920-07-17

The hay crop, even when the labo
supply Is normal, causes more worry
anxiety, and disappointment than an.
other crop. The time for harvestin:
Is comparatively short. Other crop:
require attention at the same time
And the weather is to be reckonet
with. This year. when farm labor al
over the country is very scarce, the
difficulties Of haymaking will be mucl
greater, and larger quantities of hay
will be lost than uSual-unless labor
saving methods are more generally
employed.
A great deal of labor is wasted ev-
cry year during hay harvest. say spe
cialists of the United States depart
ment Of agriculture, not because Of
actual idlenesS on the part of the
workers, but because labor is expended
unnecessarily on operations that do
not utilize it to the best advantage.
If an old method can be superseded by
new one that will enable the same
number of men to accomplish more
work in the same length of time. or
fewer men to accomplish the same
work in the same length Of time. it
will mean more hay saved. more profit
to the farmer and a better condition
for tie country.
Shift Burden From Man to Horse.
Although there is a scarcity of man
labor, there are still plenty of horses
on most farms, and herein largely lies
the solution of the problem. On farms
where considerable hay is grown meth
DDS must be adopted by which the
greater part of the heavy labor IS done
by horses. This will necesSitate the
general use Of certain types of labor
saving machinery, some of them not
SO common in the East, which have
been thoroughly tested and proved sat
isfactory in the western part of the
United States. The small hay grower,
however, need not make very heavy
investment in new haying apparatus,
for by rearranging the working of his
crew and using a little more horse
labor for the hard work he can add
to the efficiency of his
crew.
Here are some suggestions made by
the specialists for avoiding waste OF
labor in haymaking:
Do not run two or more mowers
close together. If the front mower
1as any trouble that causes it to stop,
all of the mowers usually wait while
'epairs are made on one. There is q
tendency, also, for drivers to waste
90 much time talking when they stop
to let the teams rest. A
rood practice when two or more ma
hines are used is for each driver to
ay off "land" for himself and work
so there will be no in
difference from other machines.
Side Delivery Rake Is Best.
Do not turn hay by hand. 1t Is too |
ostly. The cheapest and most eff |
lent way Of stirring hay in the wind !
ow is with q two-horse tedder. One |
nan will do more work than - men |
tirring with hand forks. 1t is not |
ven necessary to have man to run
he tedder A boy big enough to drive
team will do just as much work.
A one-horse rake operated by a
nan makes raking very costly. A
wo-horse sulky rake is better, but the
ide-delivery rake is best. When cur
&c, In bn |
pader is used, the crew can start
lking the hay from the windrow as !
Don as the side delivery has made one
ouble windrOw across the field. If
he sulky rake is used. the crew will
ave to wait until the rake has gone
everal times across the field In this
latter the extent of the haying opera
ons has to be considered. of course
n very small farms the use of the
de-delivery rake might not be
If the weather is clear and the hay
in proper condition, there will be no
for hay-caps or for further
Dor till the hay is thoroughly cured
I'd ready to be hauled. But hay-caps
i'll pay for themselves in one year
hen the weather is bad. They are
ore especially needed with clover,
falfa and pea vines, all of which
ire slowly.
If hay is TO be punched. the hand
ethod is too expensive. A two-horse
ky rake can bunch 80 acres or more
day and a boy can drive it just as
FL as a ma0. Even more labor can
saved, however, by using the push
Ike to bunch hay after it has been
ked into the windrOw. 1t is good
an to have two men working to-
Their to round up the punches, since
)re can be accomplished than when
Oh works alone.
It is a waste of time to pitch hay 9
to small hayrack on q high @
leeled wagon. Use a large hayrack
a iow-wheeled wagon.
Loading hay with pitchforks is the c
rdest, slOwest and most expensive t
Y. The men are working constant
but the horses are doing nothing
'St of the time. If loader is used, o
; hardest part of the work Is done t,