Conditions of Curing Fodder 207 



So far as we know, grass, which in "good haying 

 weather" is well stirred during the day and packed 

 into cocks over night so as to avoid the action of 

 heavy dew, suffers practically no deterioration, while 

 dull weather or rain may cause a serious loss. It is 

 doubtful, however, whether night exposure during good 

 weather is sufficiently injurious to justify the expense 

 of cocking partially cured hay. On the other hand, 

 the economy of using hay caps during unfavorable 

 weather is without question. The over -drying of hay 

 before raking into winrows and "bunching " so as to 

 cause a loss of the leaves and the finer parts- through 

 brittleness may be as wasteful as under -drying and 

 the consequent fermentation. Over -dried hay does 

 not pack well in the mow and is less palatable. The 

 leguminous hays, such as clover and alfalfa, are es- 

 pecially subject to loss from over -drying before han- 

 dling. Fodder crops, if dried at all, should be dried 

 to such a per cent of moisture that they will not 

 " heat " to discoloration after being packed in large 

 masses and lose dry matter from the same general 

 causes that operate in field - curing under bad con- 

 ditions. 



The harvesting of forage crops. — The result to be 

 achieved in the growing of forage crops is the produc- 

 tion on a given area of the maximum quantity of di- 

 gestible food materials in a palatable form. The age 

 or period of growth at which a forage crop is harvested 

 is an important factor in this relation and may affect 

 the product in three ways: (1) in the quantity of ma- 

 terial harvested, (2) in the composition of the crop, 



