SAVING HAY IN WET WEATHER.

Waikato Times, Volume XIX, Issue 1594, 21 September 1882, Page 3

SAVING HAY IN WET WEATHER.

One of the Neilson fans for harvesting hay has been employed during the late season with most satisfactory results by Mr M. Allender, at Rockhampton, Surrey, England. Mr Allender cut a heavy crop of what might be called somewhat rank hay, and the weather having been very wet, it was by no means in a condition to put into rick in the usual way. In fact, the hay .had lain in the awaith and been simply turned over, while it had had the rain on it more or less during the few days that it had laid on the ground. Mr Allender'a men considered that their master was somewhat like a lunatic when he directed them to make a rick of hay, which all their long experience led them to believe would be certain to take fire. However, notwithstanding their protests, the hay was carted up during the rain, and ricked upon a stand about 20 feet by 18. In the centre of this stand rises a drain pipe, which is carried by a curve under ground, and continued by straight pipes to the end of rick, where it enters an air chamber. This chamber communicates with the centre of a fan, which, when worked by two men, is revolved at the rate of about 500 a minute. Over the opening of the pipe a chimney was made in the rick in the usual way, and long wooden spouts penetrating through the sides to near the centre afforded the means of testing by thermometers the inner temperature. The day the experiment was first tried near the centre was 142deg. Fahr. The fan was then set to work, and in the course of some fifteen minutes the temperature at the spot near the chimney had risen some 4cleg. or sdeg. showing that the draught of the fan had brought the heated air and steam from the bulk of hay towards the centre. The cloud of steam that came from the fan pipe was like a thick white fog, and from the lower end of the pipe dropped water which was of a milky appearance, and smelt like fresh hay. In an hour and a half more than a pint of this liquid was collected, and at the end of that period the temperature of the inside of the rick had been reduced to 98deg. Fahr., a diminution in the temperature of 44deg. The experiment must be considered most satisfactory as proving that without any large expenditure farmers may secure their hay even in unfavourable seasons.