INSPECTION AND GRADING OF HAY. 11 



than if he had to visit personally all the cars located in several hold- 

 ing yards in different parts of the city. 



Reinspection in or near the terminal market usually consists of 

 bale inspection at the warehouse of the buyer, which will be dis- 

 cussed in detail under bale inspection. Appeals from the inspector's 

 decision are usually settled by a committee of hay men appointed 

 by the local hay dealers' association or exchange. This committee 

 inspects the hay, but it is seldom necessary to overrule the inspector. 

 Reinspection is usually caused by improper loading, that is, by 

 putting the best hay in the doorways and poorer hay where the in- 

 spector can not see it. This is a pernicious practice that should 

 be stopped. 



PLUG INSPECTION. 



Plug inspection is the newest method of inspection and has been 

 in vogue only a few years. This method is used in a few of the ter- 

 minal markets and would be used more extensively if proper facili- 

 ties could be secured. Plugging is usually made under the supervi- 

 sion of the inspector. Men are hired by him to handle the hay as 

 he inspects the cars. The plugging consists in taking out a number 

 of bales from the doorway and toward each end of the car until the 

 inspector thinks he can see enough of the bales to determine the 

 grade of the hay in the car. In some instances only about 30 bales 

 are removed, while in others the larger portion of the hay is moved, 

 but the inspector seldom actually sees all the hay in the car. In one 

 market hay from the doors and one end of the car is loaded on 

 wagons and the hay from the other end is moved along the car. 

 Sometimes a section is taken out along one side of the car to the 

 end, in which case less than one-half of the hay in the car is seen 

 by the inspector. In some markets the hay is put back into the car 

 immediately after the inspector has finished. In such instances the 

 owner must be on hand when the car is plugged if he wishes to see 

 the hay inspected and graded. In other markets the plug is left out- 

 side the car until after the car has been sold, which usually occurs 

 within a few hours after the car has been plugged. Plug inspectors' 

 fees ranging from 75 cents to $3 per car are charged in the various 

 markets. These charges are almost always assessed against the ship- 

 per, although he is not allowed in most markets to call for an official 

 inspection of his own hay. 



Markets have changed to the plug method of inspection for several 

 reasons. In one large market plug tracks were established primarily 

 to eliminate bale inspection. Shippers from this market do not want 

 an official grade placed upon the hay which they ship out, as they 

 wish to use their own grades. They claim that the dealers in the 

 southern territory to which they ship have different ideas as to what 



