260 



Kansas State Board of Agriculture. 



cured for a long time, when put into the mow is usually mow-burnt 

 and the loss in the center is invariably very great. I^ike rained hay, the 

 loss in protein exceeded 56 per cent. The fluctuation in the loss depended 

 upon the degree of heating. 



Large areas in the center of the mow of hay, that had been mowed and 

 supposedly well dried before it was raked, and allowed to remain in wind- 

 rows for a day, was put up in the mow, with an average loss of 40 per 

 cent in protein within six feet of the outside of a twenty-foot mow. This 

 was not a uniform distance, on account of the different degrees of pack- 

 ing when it was put into the mow. 



Most of the growers throughout the more humid regions have found 

 it necessary to cu/e alfalfa hay in cocks under caps. This is probably 

 the most desirable and most practical method of curing at the present 

 time, but much care must be taken, for if the hay caps are too thin, so as to 

 allow ventilation, with continued rains they will not shed the water, and 

 consequently prevent the cock from drying out. On the other hand, if 

 the cloth is too thick, the moisture driven off by the fermentation of the 

 hay is held under the cap, and as a result the hay will mold. 



These are factors that are difficult to control, and probably the most 

 reliable method for curing hay is to put it under large sheds, spreading it 

 out in thin layers, not to exceed four feet of loose hay, and leaving it until 

 it is thoroughly dried out before mowing it away. Since the leaves are 





itiw blower. ( Cross-section of barn) 



A rARHER'S HOW MAY DRIER 



Capacitn-50-Tons. 



Lnlarqed view showing how 

 to extend pipe, vertically 



FIG. 210. The plan of Professor Erf's scheme for drying and curing hay in the mow. 



