The Grasses Including Indian Corn. 176 



Hay put into the barn when so dry that it will not pack well, is 

 not in first class condition. It should be mowed away with just that 

 amount of moisture which allows it to settle compactly when treaded 

 down. Salt and lime scattered over hay when put into the mow tend 

 to prevent fermentation and check the growth of molds and mildews. 

 Salt also renders it more palatable. These materials are not essen- 

 tials, but are helpful, especially when storing partially cured hay 

 during bad weather. Damp hay may be improved by placing it in 

 alternate layers with dry straw. The straw absorbs moisture as well 

 as aroma from the hay so that cattl'e the more readily eat both straw 

 and hay. Hay from second-growth grass, or aftermath, is rich in 

 nutrients, but it is made at a time when the ground is often damp, 

 the days short, and the heat of the sun weak. This combination 

 renders the curing of aftermath difficult, and the product is usually 

 of less value than first-crop hay. Cured under favorable conditions, 

 aftermath hay is excellent for winter feeding. 



New-made hay is laxative and should not be fed to horses, since 

 it makes soft flesh. Not until the sweating process has been com- 

 pleted in the mow and the mass cooled off can new-crop hay be fed 

 with entire safety. 



241. Measurement and shrinkage. Woll 1 states that 420 cubic 

 feet of timothy or 500 of clover hay in the mow equals 1 ton. Wheeler 

 and Adams of the Rhode Island Station 2 found that field-cured, 

 mixed red top and timothy hay, containing from 25 to 29 per ct. 

 water when placed in the barn, showed a shrinkage of from 15 to 

 20 per ct. of the original weight when later removed. Jordan of 

 the Pennsylvania Station 3 found that timothy hay stored in the mow 

 shrank on the average 22 per ct. and red clover 37 per ct. Wilson 

 of the Arizona Station 4 found the shrinkage of stacked alfalfa hay 

 to range from 11 to 23 per ct. Sanborn of the Missouri Station 5 

 estimates that a hay stack 12 ft. in diameter has 33 per ct. of its 

 contents in the surface foot where it is more or less exposed to the 

 weather. A stack of second-crop clover lost 30 per ct. in weight 

 between early August and the following March, 17 per ct. being 

 water and 13 per ct. dry matter. 



IV. STRAW AND CHAFF. 



With our steadily increasing population and the gradual exhaus- 

 tion of the fertile lands of the Northwest, the pioneer stage of wheat 



1 Handbook for Farmers and Dairymen. 4 Ept. 1907. 



2 Bui. 82. 5 Bui. 25, 1st series. 



3 Bui. 5. 



