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@ Friday, 24. Aug, 2007 – 08:32:43
Before the onset of steam, petrol and diesel, transport, whether equine or bovine based ran on hay. In those days owning hay meadows was as good as having your own little oilfield. Just think of the vast amounts of the stuff that had to be carted into cities to power all those posh carriages, cabs, horse-buses, carriers' carts and "honey wagons",
Another Stubbs from the Liverpool Museum Gallery.
Usksider
Pro 
Munzly
I'm not sure about hay, but straw has been becoming more popular recently. In fact vast numbers of flat roofs on schools and other utility buildings including the household garage or extension, have used a board called "Stramit" for years. It's just that we (as architects) always tried to downplay its origins, because in the past they tended to spoil people's confidence in the material.
Hay is meadow grass, including clovers and lots of wild flowers weeds etc. (avoiding ragwort) and is generally used as fodder, usually in the form of silage mixed with other agricultural side-products like turnip tops etc.
Usksider
Pro You're right of course, straw not hay; you'd have thought a country boy would have got that right wouldn't you? 
Munzly
It's easily done, I had to think twice, myself 
Usksider
Pro I put it down to be half asleep this morning
What always strikes you about these old pictures is the sheer number of people present. Now it's one man and a tractor. Still the old saying 'Make hay whilst the sun shines' seems very appropriate today.
Munzly
Good point, some villages in Norfolk had about the same population in 2000 as they did in 1700, but in 1700 they were all working on the land and living 10 to a room, not commuting from bungalow estates.
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Interestingly, hay is making a comeback isn't it? As a building material at least.