THE COMPOUNDING OF RATIONS 115 



Estimating Weights of Roughages. — Although, as pre- 

 viously stated, it may not be advisable in all cases to regu- 

 late the amount of roughage, yet in many cases one needs to 

 know approximately how much roughage will be consumed 

 and how much roughage one has in order to estimate how 

 many animals may be fed from the roughage on the farm. 



The weights of loose hay, straw, corn fodder, or stover are 

 quite difficult to estimate with any degree of accuracy, 

 although after a little practice one may estimate approxi- 

 mately the weights of small amounts. 



Woll 1 presents the following weights of different sizes 

 of hay bales : 



Dimensions, inches Weight, lb. 



Smallbales. . . . jl^^l^^^^j 70 to 100 



Medium bales ... I jg x 22 X 36^ 100 to 150 



Large bales 22 X 28 X 46 150 to 225 



Ordinarily, timothy weighs a Httle heavier than clover or 

 alfalfa. 



The weight of hay in the mow may be estimated approxi- 

 mately, especially if the mow is regular in shape so that the 

 cubic content may be obtained. There are approximately 

 590 cubic feet in a ton of hay when it has settled less than 

 60 days. After the hay is well settled, there are approxi- 

 mately 512 cubic feet in a ton. In Wyoming and Idaho, 

 well settled alfalfa is figured at 512 cubic feet to the ton, and 

 timothy and clover at 450 cubic feet to the ton. 



There are several rules for estimating the amount of hay 

 in stacks or ricks of more or less irregular shape. The first 



1 " Productive Feeding of Farm Animals," p. 103. 



