THE COST OF HAY AND QUALITY OF OATS. 395 



stated weight correspond. The very difficulty of determining 

 this balance results in much dishonesty. In all places there 

 are weighers who register the weight on a slip which they 

 indorse. In buying hay that is pressed and baled no deduc- 

 tion is allowed for the sticks and wire used. All hay that is 

 mouldy or has become damp in transit from snow or rain 

 should be rejected. 



THE COST OF HAY. 



Hay can be bought cheaper at the time it is being gath- 

 ered than at any other period. As the season progresses, 

 the price gradually rises until an advance of about five dollars 

 per ton has been made to offset the cost of storage and the 

 interest on the money invested. The time when hay for 

 immediate use may be purchased at the lowest price is in 

 November. The hay sold at this season is either that which 

 was gathered in June and July or the hay cut the preceding 

 year. The latter, in point of age, is preferable for horses in 

 hard or fast work. The price of hay varies between ten and 

 twenty dollars per ton and is determined by the size of the 

 crop, the quality of the produce and the extent of the local 

 demand. At the present time the price is very low as the 

 result of unusually large crops and the decrease in the de- 

 mand due to the substitution, in many instances, of electric 

 for horse power. 



THE QUALITY OF OATS. 



In testing the quality of oats it is advisable to take a 

 handful and spread them out on a flat surface so that each 

 grain can be seen separately. They should be short, plump, 

 heavy, hard and clean ; the husks should cling firmly to the 

 kernel and be free from beards, the skins thin and the ker- 



