that dumps the fodder in nice neat rows—a separate machine rolls it up—where it is left out in the sun to dry. The swather produces “wind-rowed” hay, which rarelyblows away, a great advantage, considering the fact that wet hay gets moldy if moist. The ability to allow hay to cure before baling reduces spoilage.
Round bales are much larger than square ones, often about a thousand pounds, ten to twenty times heavier than rectangular bales, so they must be picked up by machine. Still, there are economies of scale achieved by assembling larger units of hay, and mechanically, there are fewer technical problems—there are fewer moving parts in the machinery that produces round bales. Kendell Keith, of the National Grain and Feed Association, told Imponderables that the wire and twine used to secure each bale of rectangular hay and the labor involved in packing and securing it were costlier than those for producing round haystacks.
Perhaps the most important advantage of “round hay” is that it weathers better than its compressed rectangular counterpart, as Gary Smith, of the University of Maryland’s Agricultural Engineering department explains:
The round bales shed the weather better. They reduce the need for storage space indoors, depending on what part of the country you are in, they can be left outdoors with minimum loss. Out West there is virtually no loss. In Maryland, there is about a 15% loss. This is cheaper than having to build storage for rectangular bales.
Submitted by Rosemary Arseneault of Halifax, Nova Scotia .
What are the little white particles found on the bottom half of English muffins?
The particles are farina. Farina helps add to the taste of the product, but the main function of farina particles, and the reason why they are placed only on the bottom half of the muffin, is to prevent the ball of dough from sticking to the oven plate during cooking.
Submitted by Jessica Ahearne of Madawaska, Maine .
How do they assemble tall cranes without using another crane?
George O. Headrick, director of public relations and administrative services at the Construction Industry Manufacturers Association, was kind enough to direct us to several manufacturers of cranes. While they were uniformly generous in sharing their knowledge of how cranes are erected, they tended to provide us not with more than we wanted to know but a great deal more than we were capable of understanding. So we are indebted for the following explanation to the former secretary-treasurer of the Construction Writers Association, E.E. Halmos, Jr., who is now majordomo of Information Research Group, an editorial consulting group in Poolesville, Maryland:
The tall cranes, which often carry booms (known to the trade as “sticks”) of 120 feet or more, are assembled on the ground, at the construction site. If you’ll notice, most of the tall booms are built as steel lattice-work structures, and are thus comparatively lightweight. Usually, the machine arrives on the scene on its own, carrying only the base stub of the boom.
The sections for the full length of the boom usually arrive separately, via trailer-truck. At site, the stub of the boom is lowered to a horizontal position, and the sections of the finished boom laid out on the ground, attached together (much like a child’s erector set), then mounted on the stub, and raised into position by cables attached to the crane body.
Likewise, extensions can be added when needed by laying the boom on the ground.
The use of these conventional rigs has been steadily declining, however, in favor of the “tower crane.” These are the cranes that sit in the middle of a site and can be raised after they have been erected. The center column on which the control cab and the moving “head” sit is built up to three or four stories. As the building rises around the crane, added height is built onto the center column, and the whole top assembly
Round bales are much larger than square ones, often about a thousand pounds, ten to twenty times heavier than rectangular bales, so they must be picked up by machine. Still, there are economies of scale achieved by assembling larger units of hay, and mechanically, there are fewer technical problems—there are fewer moving parts in the machinery that produces round bales. Kendell Keith, of the National Grain and Feed Association, told Imponderables that the wire and twine used to secure each bale of rectangular hay and the labor involved in packing and securing it were costlier than those for producing round haystacks.
Perhaps the most important advantage of “round hay” is that it weathers better than its compressed rectangular counterpart, as Gary Smith, of the University of Maryland’s Agricultural Engineering department explains:
The round bales shed the weather better. They reduce the need for storage space indoors, depending on what part of the country you are in, they can be left outdoors with minimum loss. Out West there is virtually no loss. In Maryland, there is about a 15% loss. This is cheaper than having to build storage for rectangular bales.
Submitted by Rosemary Arseneault of Halifax, Nova Scotia .
What are the little white particles found on the bottom half of English muffins?
The particles are farina. Farina helps add to the taste of the product, but the main function of farina particles, and the reason why they are placed only on the bottom half of the muffin, is to prevent the ball of dough from sticking to the oven plate during cooking.
Submitted by Jessica Ahearne of Madawaska, Maine .
How do they assemble tall cranes without using another crane?
George O. Headrick, director of public relations and administrative services at the Construction Industry Manufacturers Association, was kind enough to direct us to several manufacturers of cranes. While they were uniformly generous in sharing their knowledge of how cranes are erected, they tended to provide us not with more than we wanted to know but a great deal more than we were capable of understanding. So we are indebted for the following explanation to the former secretary-treasurer of the Construction Writers Association, E.E. Halmos, Jr., who is now majordomo of Information Research Group, an editorial consulting group in Poolesville, Maryland:
The tall cranes, which often carry booms (known to the trade as “sticks”) of 120 feet or more, are assembled on the ground, at the construction site. If you’ll notice, most of the tall booms are built as steel lattice-work structures, and are thus comparatively lightweight. Usually, the machine arrives on the scene on its own, carrying only the base stub of the boom.
The sections for the full length of the boom usually arrive separately, via trailer-truck. At site, the stub of the boom is lowered to a horizontal position, and the sections of the finished boom laid out on the ground, attached together (much like a child’s erector set), then mounted on the stub, and raised into position by cables attached to the crane body.
Likewise, extensions can be added when needed by laying the boom on the ground.
The use of these conventional rigs has been steadily declining, however, in favor of the “tower crane.” These are the cranes that sit in the middle of a site and can be raised after they have been erected. The center column on which the control cab and the moving “head” sit is built up to three or four stories. As the building rises around the crane, added height is built onto the center column, and the whole top assembly
Similar Books
The Wedding: A Family's Coming Out Story
Doug Wythe, Andrew Merling, Roslyn Merling, Sheldon Merling
