INSPECTION AND GRADING OF HAY. 9 



"average." the grade, while at other times he does not feel justified 

 in doing so. To avoid unjust criticism it is customary in some 

 markets to make out the certificate as showing, for example, No. 1 

 Timothy and " some " No Grade hay, etc. Of course such an in- 

 spection is of little, if any, value to the receiver. 



Hay in transit is often damaged by rain entering a partly closed 

 doorway. The inspector has no way of knowing how much hay has 

 been wet or damaged, and he is obliged to grade the hay as low as 

 it can possibly be, wjiich may cause a loss to the shipper if the set- 

 tlement is made as per the inspection certificate. 



Some shippers of alfalfa in the irrigated sections of the West 

 complain bitterly against car-door inspection because of the bleach- 

 ing of the hay at the doors. They claim that the entire car is graded 

 as bleached, when as a matter of fact the only bleached bales are the 

 few that the inspector sees in the doorways. If this is true, car-door 

 inspection should not be used for alfalfa shipped from points so dis- 

 tant that bleaching takes place in transit. 



CAR-DOOR INSPECTION CERTIFICATES. 



As might be supposed, car-door inspection certificates can not be 

 depended upon to tell all of the truth concerning a carload of hay. 

 If the car contains only one grade it is so stated on the certificate. If 

 more than one grade is showing in the doorway, however, the cer- 

 tificate is of little or no value to the shipper, for it does not state how 

 much of each grade the car contains. 



Inspection certificates are sometimes made out with respect to 

 the contents of the car as follows : No. 1 Timothy and No. 2 Tim- 

 othy ; No. 1 Timothy and No. 3 Timothy ; No. 1 Timothy and some 

 No Grade, etc. Since the shipper has no practical way of proving 

 how much of each grade he loaded into the car, he is obliged to allow 

 the receiver to make the returns as he sees fit. Unless the shipper 

 knows personally that the receiver is considered honest he is likely 

 to be dissatisfied with the returns from hay shipped to terminal 

 markets using car-door inspection. 



SAMPLE INSPECTION. 



Sample inspection is used but little in terminal hay markets. It 

 is somewhat similar to car-door inspection, but is less dependable 

 except under ideal conditions. Sample inspection is made by open- 

 ing one or two bales and taking or selecting a few handfuls of hay, 

 which are then brought to the inspector's office and there graded. 

 It is taken for granted that these small samples are truly representa- 

 tive of the entire car, since the carload is graded as being of the 

 grade shown by the samples. In making sample inspection it is 

 customary to select one or two of the bales in the doorway, usually 



