UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



BULLETIN No. 978 I 



8£ "si 



1£r Contribution from the Bureau of Markets and Crop Estimates > 

 ■&&$*$&U H. C. TAYLOR, Chief £\JS?"^rL 



Washington, D. C. 



November 17, 1921 



THE WEIGHING OF MARKET HAY. 



By G. A. Collier, Investigator in Hay Marketing, and H. B. McGlure, Specialist 



in Hay Marketing. 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 



Weighing by the bale 1 



Weighing at warehouses 7 



Weighing on wagon scales 13 



Weighing on railroad track scales- _ 24 



Page. 



Types of scales compared 2S 



Reliability of weighmaster 28 



Proper records 28 



A better understanding is needed among those interested in the 

 marketing of hay as to the weighing methods in use throughout the 

 country. It is the purpose of this bulletin to describe the various 

 methods and practices now in use, so that the merits of all may be 

 studied and compared in order that those methods which are an 

 improvement over others may be adopted for the improvement of 

 marketing facilities, and that careless, inefficient, and unprofitable 

 practices may be discontinued. 



There are four general methods of weighing hay. These are by 

 the bale, by the truckload on hand trucks, by the wagonload or 

 motor truckload, and by the carload, but for each method there are 

 numerous variations caused by the use of various kinds of scales, the 

 manner in which the weights are obtained, and the method by which 

 they are recorded and preserved for future reference. 



WEIGHING BY THE BALE. 



Weighing hay by the bale is practiced principally by producers 

 and balers in certain sections of the country, the timothy-producing 

 sections of Michigan and New York probably being the most repre- 

 sentative. Hay is sometimes weighed by this method in terminal 

 markets, where tagged weights are recognized as official x or when 



1 By " official " is meant that the agency, by whose authority the certificate is issued, 

 guarantees the correctness of the statements contained therein and assumes the liability 

 for any loss or damage which may be caused by any errors on the part of its agents. 



