Le Botteleur (The hay-trusser) by Jacques Perrin, 1888
Square Maurice-Gardette
Quartier Saint-Ambroise, 11th arrondissement
Paris, July 2012
(Thanks to cieldequimper for the translation of the title)
“In days of yore before mechanical balers were designed hay was stored not in stacks of compressed bales but loose in traditional haystacks. The hay became compressed by its own weight during storage and the workers feet as they purposely stamped it down to consolidate the stack as they built it. When the stack was opened for use the hay was cut out with long spade like hay knives into blocks or trusses, of a particular weight and originally tied up - 'trussed' with twisted hay ropes hand made at the time for transport and distribution.” (What's a Hay Trusser, Stephen John Edwards)
2 comments:
Lol, I was wondering what it would be! That is a really nice statue.
Thanks for this explanation.
I lifted and stacked thousands of "square" bales at Heifer Ranch. When they still used the baling twine, it was possible to get your fingers under it and pick up the bale. Later some baling machines switched to wire instead--way too tight.
The ways of Le Botteleur sound friendlier.
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