CONSERVATION AND PREPARATION OF FEEDING STUFFS 19 



With the approach of warm weather in the spring, when the tempera- 

 ture in the pit reaches 59° F., the covering of the pit must be removed to 

 prevent decomposition of the potatoes. 



For further information see Albert, Konservierung der Futterpflanzen 

 (ThaerbibUothek), and publications of the United States Department of 

 Agriculture. 



2. Curing or Drying 



Feeding stuffs are cured or dried in order to preserve them throughout 

 all the seasons of the year without loss of feeding value or palatability. 



Conservation by dry curing is practiced chiefly with the forage plants, 

 grasses, etc., but is also applicable to potatoes, brewers' grains, distillery 

 slops, beet pulp, etc. While the curing of hay and other forage plants is 

 accomplished by the aid of natural means (sun, air and wind), the other 

 classes of feeding stuffs mentioned are subjected to artificial processes of 

 desiccation. 



a. The Preparation of Hay 



In the preparation of hay the green plants of field and forest (trees, 

 grasses and herbs) should be cured with a view to preventing every pos- 

 sible loss during the process. 



The preparation or "making" of hay consists usually of the simple pro- 

 cedure of exposing the green forage after it has been cut, to the action 

 of the sun's rays and the circulating air, until the coarse stems lose their 

 elasticity and break when bent. In this condition the dried vegetation 

 has a water content of 13 to 16 per cent. The usual custom is to expose 

 the mowed grass to the action of the sun's rays and supplement this by 

 one or more teddings to expedite drying. Toward evening it is collected 

 into small cocks and on the following morning spread out again, and so 

 on until the drying process is completed. This is the customary proced- 

 ure, but is practicable only under favorable weather conditions. This 

 method of making hay is referred to as "sun curing," as distinguished 

 from "air curing" in which the drying process is accomplished by cur- 

 rents of air. The plants or grasses are gathered into sheaves, either im- 

 mediately after being cut or after having been exposed to the air or sun 

 for a longer or shorter period, and set up in various forms of shocks or 

 cocks, or supported on specially constructed racks, poles with cross bars, 

 trusses, etc. (Figs 5 and 6). The advantage of these various devices 

 consists in keeping the forage off of the wet ground, an indispensable 

 condition in the mountainous regions of Europe and some of the South- 

 em States where wet seasons are the rule and haying by methods prac- 

 ticed in dryer climates is out of the question. When thus suspended the 

 water from the rains is readily shed, the forage will not rot as fast as it 

 would if resting directly on the ground, and it may be left thus suspended 

 for a week or ten days during rainy weather without spoiling. 



The losses suffered in the sun-curing process of hay making, even in 

 favorable seasons, are not inconsiderable. Raking, tedding, cocking, and 



