Show HAY STACKERS ARE inexpensive AND WILL SAVE MUCH FARM h tva fr aval J unloading by machines releases hand power prepared by the united states department of agriculture thousands of farmers who fared the harvesting of a large hay crop last year with fewer hands than usual to help do the work owe their success in handling and saving their crop to hay st ackers the hay stacker is to stacking what the horse fork Is to putting hay in the barn a saver of man and labor it lifts the hay on the stack by horse power in stead of man power when hay Is load ed on the wagon by hand and unloaded by a stacker one half of the hand labor la eliminated it push rakes or hay loaders are used in connection with the stacker the laborious task of pitching by hand Is entirely avoided useful in east and south in the east and south where much of the hay grown is stored under cover a stacker could be used to advantage when it becomes necessary to stack especially where labor is scarce A boy who can drive a team can take the place of a man in the haying operation two men and a boy using a loader and stacker will handle about 75 per cent more hay for each man during a day than a three man crew loading and unloading by hand hay st ackers are classed in two general types one having teeth on which the hay la gathered and brought to the stack on push racks the other con of st ackers that do not e hay directly from push racks but handle it by means of horse forks or slings both types are inexpensive and caa usually be made at home with material that Is available or which can be readily assembled on the farm without using special tools A stacker will last from 10 to 12 years under ordinary conditions aej the cost of repair Is small on 27 farms in central kansas which stack an average of tons of hay a year all charges against the st ackers to less than 7 cents a ton when the yield was one ton an acre small stacks not economical in building a haystack with a stack er it Is scarcely economical to make one containing less than 10 tons according to in locating stacks long or difficult hauls should be avoided whenever possible it Is very common on many farms to see stacks of hay at the end or corner of the field next to the farm buildings the site being chosen in order to have the hay handy for feeding the total distance traveled in bringing hay to one side 0 a square field is approximately BO pr cent greater than in hauling to the center if the stack Is located at one corner of the field the distance traveled Is per cent greater to minimize damage by moisture from the ground care should be talen to keep the hay in the bottom of the stack from coming into contact with the soil the aim of all good stack build ers Is to make a stack that will not take water this can be accomplished by tramping the middle well and always keeping it higher than the edges during the process of building to give the stack further protection many farmers provide a canvas cover or sheets of corrugated galvanized iron roofing which when properly put on practically eliminates loss from rain |