Haystack

Haystacks, first used for loose hay, probably since the beginnings of livestock farming in the Neolithic period, were used from the 1860s for sheaves of cereals and then for low-density bales of hay or straw. • The small haystacks used for drying loose hay in the meadow. After drying, they can be used on site or brought back to the farm. The sheaves of grain in haystacks also continued to dry before being transported to the farm. • The large haystacks which serve as final storage for hay and straw and storage before threshing for sheaves of cereals, most often near the farm but not too close to the buildings. • Intermediate types are possible. In its early days, silage was sometimes made in haystacks which were then loaded with an impermeable material. In Quebec, a stack silo is the equivalent of a molehill silo. ==Description==

), England, 1942. The loose hay was transported to a designated area for collection, usually a slightly raised area to allow the water to be drained, where the haystack (or pile of hay) was to be formed. The haystack was made waterproof (a task that needed a considerable skill) by compressing the hay under its own weight and with the heat released by the residual moisture helping the compression forces. The cell was surrounded by a fence to separate it from the rest of the field. When needed, the haystack was opened with the help of a knife and every day part of hay was used to feed the animals. Depending on the area, the haystack could be supported on an internal structure having a waterproof cover that could be lowered as hay retreated. Haystacks are also sometimes called haycocks; among some users this term refers more specifically to small piles of cut-and-gathered hay awaiting stacking into larger stacks. The words (haystack, haycock) are usually styled as solid compounds, but not always. Haystacks are also sometimes called stooks, shocks, or ricks. Loose stacks are built to prevent the accumulation of moisture and promote drying or curing. In some places, this is accomplished by constructing stacks with a conical or ridged top. The exterior may look gray on the surface after weathering, but the inner hay retains traces of its fresh-cut aroma and maintains a faded green tint. or kept within a protective structure. One such structure is a moveable roof supported by four posts, historically called a Dutch roof, hay barrack, or hay cap. Haystacks may also be built on top of a foundation laid on the ground to reduce spoilage, in some places made of wood or brush. == Haystacks for drying ==

After collection, the hay is gathered into small haystacks, on fairly raised areas to avoid stagnant water, possibly on old hay or straw to prevent mold. These areas may include a central wooden pole around which the hay is placed in tiles in successive rings to protect against the rain. In some regions with rainy climates, the hay was placed on a wooden base and a hat was added to form a roof of adjustable height which was lowered as it was used. This principle was modernized in the 1970s with the hay tower, without success. == Large haystacks ==

They are used for permanent outdoor storage, near the farm. They are erected according to the same principle: successive beds tiling and ending with the conical cap. When the hay is dry, a fence may be built to enclose the haystack and prevent roaming animals from eating it, or animals may feed directly from a field-constructed stack as part of their winter feeding. == Modern haystacks ==

Traditional haystacks disappeared with the introduction of medium-density bales, but today bales of dry hay or straw are sometimes stacked outdoors and covered with polyethylene film, sometimes then loaded with bales of straw. Compared to a shed, this is a less secure storage method (not to be confused with a storage tunnel), the hay must be perfectly dry, but economical since there is no building construction. The main disadvantage remains the additional work which is difficult to carry out by one person alone. ==Spontaneous combustion==

Hay stacked before it is fully dry can produce enough heat to start a fire. Farmers have to be careful about moisture levels to avoid spontaneous combustion, which is a leading cause of haystack fires. Heat is produced by the respiration process, which occurs until the moisture content of drying hay drops below 40%. Hay is considered fully dry when it reaches 20% moisture. Combustion problems typically occur within five days to seven days of stacking. A haystack cooler than is in little danger, hay between need to be removed from haystacks or other structures and separated so that they can cool off. If the temperature of a haystack exceeds more than , it can combust. ==Gallery ==

File:Прокудин-Горский._Сжатое_поле_1912_год.jpg|alt=Gerbes de seigle en meulons, oblast de Vitebsk, Russie, 1912|Haystacks of rye, Vitebsk Oblast, Russia, 1912 File:Constitution_d'une_meule_de_foin_à_La_Chapelle-Saint-Laud_en_1944.jpg|alt=Grande meule de foin, achèvement du chapeau, Maine-et-Loire, 1944|Large haystack, completion of the hat, Maine-et-Loire, 1944 File:Boerderij_Diermenseweg_3_-_Putten_-_4.jpg|alt=Meule avec toit à hauteur variable, Pays-Bas|Haysack with variable height roof, Netherlands File:Lancelot_-_Une_meule_de_foin.jpg|alt=Meules de foin traditionnelles au pré, avec leurs clôtures, 1860|Traditional haystacks in the meadow, with their fences, 1860 File:Temsamane_Foto.JPG|alt=Grande meule, Temsamane, Maroc, 1978|Large haystack, Temsamane, Morocco, 1978 File:Ensilado_-_Puerto_de_Alisas_(Cantabria).jpg|alt=Foin (ou ensilage) en meule coiffée d'une bâche, Cantabrie, Espagne, 2006)|Hay (or silage) in a stack covered with a tarpaulin, Cantabria, Spain, 2006) File:The_Haystack.jpg|alt=The Haystack (La Meule), photographie reprise dans The Pencil of Nature (1844) de William Henry Fox Talbot.|The Haystack , photograph by William Henry Fox Talbot File:Binnenhalen_van_de_graanoogst_in_de_Haarlemmermeer,_Bestanddeelnr_911-5944.jpg|alt=Chargement de gerbes de blé préalablement mises en meulons, Pays-Bas, 1960, Archives nationales des Pays-Bas (Anefo)|Loading sheaves of wheat previously placed in haystacks, Netherlands, 1960, National Archives of the Netherlands (Anefo) File:Haystack 01.jpg| Haystack in Armenia ==See also ==