32 



FORAGE PLANTS AND THEIR CULTURE 



24. Loss of hay or fodder in the field. Hay in stacks 

 or fodder in shocks loses much more substance than when 

 stored in barns. This is especially true in humid regions. 

 The additional loss is largely due to leaching by rains, 

 but the bleaching effect of sunlight and the larger loss 

 by molds and other fungi is also important. 



Short at the Wisconsin Experiment Station compared 

 the loss in corn fodder both when stored and when ex- 

 posed to the weather. His results are shown in the fol- 

 lowing table : - 



25. Relation of green weight to dry weight. There is 

 no fixed ratio between the green weight and the dry 

 weight of any plant. This varies, obviously, with the 

 water content of the plant, which is never constant. It 

 also varies with the conditions under which the plant was 

 grown, a rapid succulent growth making a relatively 

 smaller amount of dry matter than a slow retarded growth. 



For these reasons, as well as the variable amount of 

 moisture in hay, there is a wide variation in the ratio 

 of green weight and hay weight, not only for different hay 

 plants but even in different cuttings from the same ploto 



