Live Stock Breeders' Associatioyi. 79 



7. Selling quality. (Only for that portion which is offered 

 for sale.) 



The influence of the time of harvest, or the stage of the de- 

 velopment of the plant when harvested, upon all these factors has 

 been studied. Selected areas of pure timothy of uniform develop- 

 ment were harvested at five different stages of growth, and the 

 cured hays were carefully weighed and analyzed. Digestion ex- 

 periments with cattle were made, and in some instances actual 

 feeding tests were conducted to determine whether the early-cut 

 hays were more palatable to the animals than the later cuttings. 



The five stages of development which we sought to approxi- 

 mate in harvesting were as follows : 



First cutting: When plants were just in full head, on the 

 average about June 12th. 



Second cutting: When the plants were on the average in full 

 bloom, about June 18th. 



Third cutting: When the seed were formed, or when the 

 bloom had all been shed, usually about July 1st. 



Fourth cutting: When the seed were in the dough, about 

 July 8th. 



Fifth cutting: When the seed were ripe but had not shat- 

 tered, about July 16th. 



1. YIELD OF CURED HAY PER ACRE. 



The yield of cured hay at the time of harvest is a very un- 

 reliable guide. The hay is put up at one cutting with more water 

 than at another, and will therefore weigh heavier. As would be 

 expected, there is therefore no consistency, one year with another, 

 in the yields of cured hay, cut at different stages of maturity. This 

 is one reason why the farmer's experience has not enabled him to 

 tell more accurately which cutting has given him the largest re- 

 turn. The reader's attention is especially invited to the yield of 

 dry matter and of digestible material obtained from the various 

 cuttings as given a little further along in the paper. In the mean- 

 time he may be curious to know which cutting gave the largest 

 return of cured hay at the time of harvest. This information 

 follows : 



The first year the second cutting, or when the plants were in 

 full bloom, showed the largest yield of cured hay, and the third 

 cutting, when the seed were just formed, the next largest. There 

 was no difference between the fourth and fifth cuttings, but they 



