Alfalfa in Kansas. 459 



makes no great difference where the hay has been properly cured and 

 baled dry. 



With the second and the later crops we have very different conditions. 

 The days are much longer and the ground usually drier, and the stems 

 finer, making it much easier to cure. If the weather is favorable we 

 can ship these crops from the windrow direct, as there is always a de- 

 mand for good, high-grade alfalfa hay. 



The "five-man" hay press is a curse to this country. To get them to 

 pull into your field you must have twenty acres cut down at one time.' If 

 something happens that they are a day behind time your hay is in the 

 windrow "sunburning," and it will show in every bale, or it is too dry 

 and the leaves are wasting. We have seen twenty acres of alfalfa in the 

 swath and windrow, a big press just starting on the job, and a rain in 

 sight. This means a loss of not less than $100. We advocate smaller 

 presses. Instead of cutting down twenty acres, make it ten. Then if 

 the rain slips up on you there is only half the loss, with a prospect of 



FIG. 371. Feeding a power baler. 



getting the other ten up when the weather is better. We believe we are in 

 a position to criticize when we have shipped hay by the hundred cars, 

 and no one knows the loss to the farmers more than we do. 



A hay rack for baled hay should be made with a tight floor, and at 

 the edge a 2 by 4 should be used to make it stronger and keep the bales 

 from slipping. To load bales to ride well one should load the end of the 

 bale that comes from the press first on the inside, and turn the bale over 

 and put the top, or rough, edge down and the large end out. After the 

 first tier is complete, pile a row lengthways of the wagon, four bales 

 wide, laid flat, and the full length of the rack, which ties the load. Then 

 pile the next tier crossways, the same as the first tier. 



We prefer the 36-foot car to load. Instead of crowding in all the 

 bales we can, we place six bales edgeways across the end of the car. 

 This will leave a space between each bale. Finish the tier the same 

 way, all edgeways, six bales wide and five high, making thirty to the 

 tier. If the hay is properly baled there is no trouble in getting the 

 minimum, 22,000 pounds, in the car. If the bales should be less than 60- 

 pound, order a high, 40-foot car, which takes a minimum of 24,000 

 pounds, and will hold about one-fourth more. 



