76 Kansas State Board of Agriculture. 



Hay is put in the windrow with either the sulky rake or the side- 

 delivery rake. (See Figs. 61 and 84.) If it is to be cured in the wind- 

 row it is permitted to lie where the rake leaves it; but if it is to be cured 

 in the cock, the cocks are immediately made up from the windrow. Some- 

 times, to cause a more thorough drying, especially where it has been 

 rained on, hay in the windrow is turned over with the side-delivery rake 

 or the sulky rake, or the hay tedder may be used on it. Cocking is 

 probably best done with pitchforks, one forkful at a time, carefully 

 placed. Some growers make their cocks by bunching with the sulky rake 

 and patching up a little with the pitchforks. The most popular size of 

 cock is one that is comparatively small, of about two big pitchforkfuls. 

 One grower says that a cock weighing 100 pounds is big enough. 



The time required for hay to cure in the windrow, in good weather, is 

 about twenty-four hours, while the time required to cure in the cock is, 

 on the average, about forty-eight hours, and may vary from one to four 

 or five days. On being asked, "How soon after mowing can hay bo 

 placed in stack, shed or mow?" the growers, when their replies had been 

 analyzed and averaged, estimated as follows : Cured in the windrow, it 

 requires an average of thirty-six to forty-eight hours from time of mow- 

 ing till time of storing, in good weather, and a day or two longer in bad 

 weather; cured in the cock, it requires sixty to seventy-two hours in good 

 weather, and longer in bad weather. It is impossible to give a hard-and- 

 fast rule, as conditions are so variable, in regard to weather, the moisture 

 content, and the size of the crop. 



CURED HAY. 



Hay is reported to be cured, and ready for storage, when: 



1. No moisture can be wrung out of a wisp twisted in the hand, and 

 the stems break. 



2. It is dry enough not to heat or mold, and still not so dry as to cause 

 a preventable loss of leaves. 



3. The leaves are quite dry and practically all the moisture is out of 

 the stems. 



4. The stems are almost -brittle. 



5. It smells cured. 



6. There is no outside moisture (dew or rain) on it. 



7. So dry that the tools will handle it readily and it will not roll under 

 the sweep rakes. 



8. For the mow, somewhat drier than for the stack, and for horses 

 drier than for cattle. 



(See pages 243 to 245.) 



PLACE OF STORAGE. 



To find out the general custom in storing hay the following ques- 

 tion was asked: "Do you store alfalfa hay in the stack, the shed or 

 mow?" 



