BUILDING HAYSTACKS.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXII, Issue 86, 10 April 1912, Page 8

BUILDING HAYSTACKS.

A NEW DESIGN OF ELEVATOR

The building of haystacks has always been a matter on which divers opinions have been expressed, but in the Old Country the man who could build a shapely, well-balanced haystack, was a person whose knowledge and experience in such matters, and who always took a .pride in his work, Was freely conceded. And that knowledge and experience had only been gained by long practice , and many years of arduous work. Labour-sav-ing is now applied to haystack building, the same as to almost every branch of agricultural industry. A new style,of elevator, for use in the building of haystacks, has been imported from Home by Mr James Prouse, the well-known Levin settler, and very favourable comments have been expressed by the farmers of adjacent districts on its working. So far as is known, it is the first clevat,or of its kind introduced into New Zealand. The field is cleared of hay ,by means of a twenty-ono feet sweeper, which is drawn by two horses. The jjiain gate is made of blue gum, and /teeth of rata. The beam is also made of blue gum, and is ten f cet long. The hay is gathered up and taken ,'to the foot of the elevator, which is driven by horse gear, and the hay in fed into the elevator, and as the stack increases in height tho elevator is gradually brought nearer, so with an elevator such as that which Mr Prouse has, a stack 40ft. high may be built. The elevator works with great rapidity, and takes two men on the top of~the stack all their time to lay the hay as it is hoisted up. A stack which, under ordinary conditions, would take from a day and a half to two days to build can be put up within eight hours. A feature about the elevator is that it saves the heavy manual labour of pitching the hay on to tho stacks, which was always a very laborious job forjthc men with the pitchforks.