28 BULLETIN 978, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



draft the number of drafts need not be shown. All other items are 

 of equal importance, whether weighed upon platform, wagon, or 

 railroad scales. 



TYPES OF SCALES COMPARED. 



It can scarcely be said that any type of scale properly adjusted and 

 balanced is more accurate and reliable than any other type of scale. 

 The chances for an error, however, are greater when certain types 

 of scales are used. When weighing hay in drafts of from 1 to 5 

 bales at a time each draft must be weighed very carefully, for the 

 reason that a great number of drafts are necessary to weigh the 

 amount in a car of hay and an error of only 1 pound on a draft when 

 only one bale is being weighed at a time will amount to from 250 to 350 

 pounds on a car. If the hay is weighed on wagon scales, where only 

 four or five drafts are sufficient to fill a car an error of 10 pounds on 

 a load would make a total error of only about 50 pounds on a car. 

 It is therefore apparent that the chances of error decrease as the 

 number of drafts decrease. There are other factors, however, which 

 affect the weighing on wagon and railroad scales. Some of these are 

 the failure of the weigher to note whether the same persons or ob- 

 jects are weighed with both the gross and tare weights on wagon 

 scales and the difficulty of obtaining a correct tare weight of cars 

 weighed on track scales. 



The convenience or practicability of a certain type of scale may be 

 the principal reason for its use. A baler who must carry his scale 

 with his baling machinery must use a small platform scale. Dealers 

 owning warehouses may also find it more convenient to use platform 

 or dormant scales, while farmers or country shippers who own wagon 

 scales prefer to use that kind. 



RELIABILITY OF WEIGHMASTER. 



Since the type of scale does not necessarily affect the accuracy of 

 the weights, it is apparent that the efficiency and reliability of the 

 weigher is of great importance. All weighmasters should know 

 enough about the mechanism of a scale to keep it in proper adjust- 

 ment or at least to know when it is not in proper adjustment. They 

 should know how to do the physical act of weighing properly and 

 how to record the weights accurately and systematically. They 

 should realize the responsibility of their position and should know 

 the loss and trouble any error on their part is likely to occasion. 



PROPER RECORDS. 



Scales may be properly adjusted and weighers may be accurate and 

 efficient, but if the weights are not properly recorded and the proper 



