THIRTEENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART XII 699 



"It is impossible properly to cure first cutting if raked with an ordi- 

 nary rake, but where the side-deHvery rakes are used and we have sun, 

 the hay is raked after cutting and often stacked — in the windrows 

 it can lay day or two without hurting. If stacked with swinging stacker 

 stacks will never spoil as the dump is in the center of stack. The over- 

 shot stacker is not good for alfalfa unless the stacks are covered. We 

 often cover with green weeds and let them mould on top of stack. 



"If we are so unfortunate as to get the hay wet, which is generally 

 the case with the first cutting, we let it lie until fairly dry on top, then 

 turn over with side-delivery rake and stack in an hour or so, aiming not 

 to turn more than we can stack, as continual turning with side-de- 

 livery rake twists it up. Never shake it out to dry as too many leaves are 

 lost. 



"I have never seen any difference in choice of the cattle. They 

 seem to eat the brown hay which has been wet just as well as the green 

 nicely' cured hay providing the leaves are kept on. I have hay now 

 cut five days and it has rained ever since cutting, which will make good 

 hay as it is in the windrow. If left in swath a few hours sun would 

 have made it so brittle the leaves would have dropped off." 



"We start cutting the first crop about the time it starts to bloom and 

 leave it lay in the swath about half a day, or until it wilts, and then rake 

 and cock and leave until dry and stack. The second crop is ready to 

 cut about three weeks after the first. The third about the first of Sep- 

 tember. If the season is late we get a fair fourth crop." 



Three factors in curing hay are of prime importance and largely de- 

 termine the value of the product. They are: 



1. That it shall be cured with the loss of as few leaves as possible. 



2. That it shall be placed in the barn or stack without being washed 

 with rain or dew. 



3. That it shall retain as much of its natural color as possible. 



It has been determined that the food value of the leaves is excep- 

 tionally high, in that they are very palatable, very high in protein 

 content, and also that this protein is very highly digestible. 



Hay washed with rain has a lower feeding value than hay cured with- 

 out wetting, as the rain actually carries away some of the more soluble 

 food elements. 



Good color is of prime importance in making hay. The bleaching of 

 hay lessens its palatability, as its pleasing odor is largely lost. 



Danger of loss in curing alfalfa hay may be reduced by using covers. 



SHRINKAGE OF HAY IN CURING. 



The yields of alfalfa hay on various plots have been reported in 

 tons per acre of field cured hay, since this will be the character of the 

 hay used by practical growers in making comparisons. It is recognized, 

 however, that there is considerable shrinkage between the time the hay 

 goes into the barn and when it may be fed. A very wide range of 

 variation has been found in this shrinkage, depending upon the degree 



