Questions about Hay Making

Reference code: FOL.QUES/5
Level of description: Series
Title: Questions about Hay Making
Scope and content: 1. Describe the complete process of hay-making, from the stage where the hay is growing in the field to the final phase where it is stacked in some manner for winter use.
2. Give the local English and/or Irish dialect names, in order, for the heaps of hay, from the smallest at the start of hay-making, to the largest winter storage heap.
Please supply as many words as were involved in the complete sequence – in some places it may be as few as three, in others five or more.
3. How was the hay moved from the hayfield to the place where it was stored for winter? Describe any vehicles and special equipment used and give any local names for these.
4. Was a covering put over the heap of hay at any stage? If so, of what did it consist, and how was it secured? Did it have any special name?
5. Was the final heap of hay built up on a specially prepared base? If so, how was this constructed, and what was it called?
6. Please provide a simple sketch of the shape of the final heap of hay.
7. Where was the final heap of hay located, in the fields or elsewhere? (Be as precise as possible)
8. At what time of year did hay-making traditionally commence in your district? Were there any special customs associated with hay-making, or were there any traditions about hay-making in the past?
9. Was hay ever made on the road-sides as well as in the fields; if so, by whom, and had this hay any special name?