34 Clianges which take place in the Field 



Composition of clover-hay injured by rain and badly made — 



Dried at 212° Fahr. 



Moisture .. .. 20-45 



Nitrogenous organic matter .. 8-50 .... 10'69 



Non-nitrogenous substances .. 64-27 .... 80-79 



Mineral matter (asli) .. .. 6-78 .... 8*52 



100-00 100-00 



* Containing nitrogen .. .. 1*36 1*71 



I regret that I did not determine at the time the percentage of 

 woody fibre nor the amount of matters soluble in water. How- 

 ever, the comparison of the preceding analysis with that of well- 

 made clover-hay sufficiently indicates the very inferior character 

 of the clover employed in the feeding experiments. 



On an average, good clover-hay contains : — 



Moisture 16-60 



. ^Nitrogenous substances 15-81 



Non-nitrogenous substances 60-00 



Mineral matters (ash) 7-59 



100-00 

 * Containing nitrogen 2-52 



Although the percentage of nitrogen in food does not afford 

 invariably the means of determining with anything like accuracy 

 its relative feeding value, in the case of clover-hay a very low 

 percentage of nitrogen always indicates inferior quality, for as the 

 leaves and more succulent portions of clover are much richer in 

 nitrogen than its hard stems, a small percentage of nitrogen 

 shows that the more delicate, brittle, and more nutritious leaves 

 have been wasted to a great extent in the process of haymaking. 

 Compared with good clover-hay, the injured sample contained 

 little more than half the amount of nitrogenous or flesh- 

 forming matters, and was no doubt rich in indigestible woody 

 fibre. 



2. — Loss by lad Management in the Field, and subsequent Fer- 

 mentation in the Stack. 



Although haymaking is a simple operation, yet experience and 

 judgment is required to decide when to cut the grass, when to 

 handle, and when to stack the hay. 



I have seen farmers spending labour in turning hay on over- 

 cast days, on which a dew-point hygrometer showed the air to be 

 nearly saturated with moisture, proving that evaporation could 

 not possibly take place at the time, and rain might be expected 

 at any moment. In such a state of the atmosphere it is not only 



