104 DESCRIPTION OF FEEDING STUFFS 



The best quality of hay is obtained when the meadows are kept 

 in grass only for a period of three or four years at the outside. A 

 common fault of growers of market hay is to leave the meadows too 

 long in grass after weeds and foreign grasses have entered to lower 

 the quality. The hay crop should be a part of a regular crop rota- 

 tion, which should include some leguminous crop, and a regular 

 system of fertilization, so that the fertility of the soil may be main- 

 tained and a choice marketable hay produced. Hay is often cut 

 at a too late stage of growth, after full bloom has passed. Late 

 cutting, faulty methods of curing, the presence of other grasses and 

 weeds, injuries from the weather in curing and before baling, im- 

 proper baling and loading into cars cause much hay to grade low 

 and are sources of great losses to hay growers. Choice hay always 

 finds a ready sale, for the demand usually exceeds the supply. The 

 better grades of hay, while more expensive, require a smaller addi- 

 tion of concentrates to rations for farm animals than the lower 

 grades, and are, therefore, generally speaking, the best kinds to buy. 



Rule for Measuring Hay in the Stack. Both when hay is 

 sold in the stack and in planning for feeding stacked hay to stock, 

 it is important to know how to measure hay put up in this way. 

 The Government rule used in purchasing hay for army posts has 

 given satisfactory results and has been generally adopted. It is 

 as follows : 



Multiply the width of the stack in feet by the " over " (i.e., the distance 

 of the stack from the base on one side to the base on the other ) , divide the 

 product by 4, and multiply the quotient by the length. This gives the con- 

 tents of the stack in cubic feet; for hay that has stood less than 30 days, 

 divide by 512; for 30 to 60 days, by 422; over 60 days, by 380. The quotient 

 gives the tonnage of the stack. 



Example: A stack is 20 feet wide by 40 feet "over" and 60 feet 

 long. 20 multiplied by 40 equals 800. 800 divided by 4 equals 200. 200 

 multiplied by 60 equals 12,000. 12,000 divided by 512 equals 23y 2 tons. 10 



QUESTIONS 



1. State the difference between early- and late-cut timothy hay, and the 



relative value of the two kinds of hay. 



2. Give the characteristic features of six of the common grasses, and their 



relative value for stock feeding. 



3. Name the different grades of market hay. 



4. State some common defects of market hay, and suggest improvements in 



the present method of growing hay for market. 



5. Give the Government rule for measuring hay in the stack. 



10 Barnes, " Western Grazing Grounds," p. 139. See also Bureau of Plant 

 Industry Circular 131; Woll, Handbook, p. 397. 



