168 



ARID AGRICULTURE. 



method of measuring hay seldom gives accurate 

 results. In the first place, the measurement 

 itself is only an estimate of the number of cubic 

 feet of hay in the mow or stack ; in the second 

 place, the number of cubic feet of hay which is 

 required to weigh a ton varies greatly. If a 

 mow is full of hay, it may be squared up. Sim- 

 ply multiply the height by the width, and this by 

 the length, which will give the total number of 

 cubic feet. Stacks in the field, however, have no 

 square sides or peaked top. There are five 

 methods in general use for measuring stacks : 



First, the one known to most farmers is to 

 measure the distance over the stack by throwing 

 a rope or a tape over from one side to the other, 

 letting it come to the ground. To this distance 

 add the width of the stack, in feet; divide by 

 four to get the square of the end of the stack ; 

 square this number to get the square feet, and 

 multiply by the length to determine the total 

 number of cubic feet. 



Second, take one- third of the over and mul- 

 tiply by the w T idth for the end surface, and mul- 

 tiply this result by the length. 



Third, subtract the width from the distance 

 over ; divide by two for the height ; multiply this 

 by the width, and this product by the length. 



Fourth, multiply the width of the stack by 

 the distance over, and this product by the length 

 and divide by four. This method has been 



