2 BULLETIN 978, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF. AGRICULTURE. 



it is desired to weigh only a few bales from a carload to check up 

 or verify the weights shown on the tags. Retailers of hay also fre- 

 quently weigh hay by the bale. 



Small platform or dormant scales having a weighing capacity of 

 from 500 to 800 pounds are commonly used. The dormant scale is 

 used only when the bales can be weighed in a warehouse, as it can not 

 be moved about and is therefore not practicable for other locations. 



WEIGHING AT TIME OF BALING. 



In some sections hay is almost always weighed when baled, in or- 

 der that the baler may know for how much hay he should make a 

 charge for baling. He usually owns his scales and carries them 

 along with the baler from place to place. It often happens that the 

 scales are very much jolted in moving and sometimes will not weigh 

 correctly after being set up again. While the error may not amount 

 to more than 2 or 3 pounds in one bale it will make a considerable 

 difference in the weight of a carload. Scales should always be 

 handled carefully while being moved and should always be adjusted, 

 balanced, and tested in some reliable manner before another lot of 

 hay is weighed upon them. Perhaps the simplest and easiest way 

 by Avhich small platform scales may be tested is with a 50 pound test 

 weight. Such test weights are manufactured by most scale com- 

 panies and may be obtained at a small cost. 



RECORDING THE WEIGHTS. 



It is as important that the weight be correctly read and carefully 

 recorded as that the scale weigh accurately. It is the practice in 

 some sections to use only the numbers ending in and 5 when weigh- 

 ing bales of hay. This is sometimes designated as the "give and 

 take " method and consists in giving the weight designation to the 

 number ending in or 5 nearest to the actual weight. For exam- 

 ple : The weight of a bale weighing 107 pounds would read 105 

 pounds, while if it weighed 108 it would be called 110 pounds. It is 

 claimed that in weighing a large lot of hay, a wagonload or a car- 

 load, the total of the weights will be approximately correct, but it 

 has been found that this is not an established fact and that weights 

 obtained by this method frequently vary from 25 to 50 pounds on a 

 ton of hay. The difficulty seems to be that the weigher " takes " more 

 often than he "gives." To be really accurate the actual weight as 

 shown by the scale should be recorded. 



METHODS OF RECORDING WEIGHTS. 



Bale weights are recorded on tally sheets or on tags, the latter 

 being attached to the bale. When it is desired to have only the total 

 weight of a lot of hay the weights are generally listed on a tally sheet 



