MOISTURE CONTENT AND SHRINKAGE OP FORAGE. 



15 



tirely uniform, but except in a few instances the probable error is 

 quite low, averaging for over 200 samples only 0.28 of 1 per cent. 

 With such a low probable error it seems entirely reasonable to depend 

 upon the air drying of samples for all practical purposes. 



COMPARISON OF SAMPLES OF GREEN FORAGE WITH SAMPLES OP FIELD-CURED 



FORAGE. 



Summary Table III gives a complete comparison of the averages 

 of the probable error in green and field-cured samples for the differ- 

 ent crops as collected by six individuals. These averages include 

 more than 250 samples of green material and more than 200 sam- 

 ples of field-cured material. The best index to the reliability of 

 these samples is in the percentage of moisture in the original samples. 



Table III. — Mean percentages of moisture in forage samples of different sizes, showing 



also probable errors. 



Section A.— Green Material.! 





Crop. 



Place. 



Moisture. 



Sample. 



Origiaal 

 samples. 



Air dry. 



Lost in air 

 drying. 



4-pound 



Sorghum.. 



...do 



...do 



...do 



Amarillo, Tex. 



do........ 



do 



do 



Per cent. 

 73. 2± 0.516 

 71. 2± .248 

 70. 1± .451 

 70. 3± .274 



Per cent. 

 34. 8± 0.894 

 37. 9± .630 

 38. 1± .476 

 37. 5± .209 



Per cent. 

 58.9±0.801 



8-pound 



12-pound 



16-pound 



53. 7± .643 

 51. 6± .523 

 52. 4± .437 



Mean 



71.2 



37.1 



54.2 





Sorghum.. 

 ...do 



Hays, Kans . . 





4-pound 







66. 9± .526 



8-pound 



do 







68. 0± .296 



12-pound 



...do 



do 







64. 9± .289 



16-pound 



...do.. .. 



do. 







63. 4± .393 















Mean 







65.8 





Timothy.. 



...do 



...do 



...do 



New London, 

 Ohio. 



do 



do 



do 









4-pound 



58. 1± .204 



57.8H- .310 

 57. 8 ± .137 

 58. 4± .167 



15. 0± .192 



15. 3± .070 

 15. 0± .176 

 15. 4± .179 



50. 6± .272 



8-pound 



12-pound 



16-pound 



50. 2± .359 

 50. 5± .230 

 50. 8± .194 



Mean 



58.0 



15.2 



50.5 





Tall oat- 

 grass. 



'.'.'Ao'.'.'.'.'.'. 

 ...do 



Arlington, Va. 



do 



do 



do 





4-pound 



71. 1± .203 



71. 5± .268 

 72. 2± .056 

 73. 3± .355 



15. 8± .095 



17. 4± .145 

 17. 5± .157 

 17. 6± .079 



65. 9± .129 



8-pound 



12-pound 



16-pound 



65. 5± .353 

 66. 3± .060 

 67. 5± .424 



Mean 



72.0 



17.1 



66.3 





Alfalfa.... 



...do 



...do 



...do 



Arlington, Va. 



do 



do 



do 





4-pnnTld 



74. 0± .344 

 74. 8 ± .225 

 75. 5± .160 

 76. 5± .155 



10. 7± .517 

 10. 5± .129 

 10. 9± .107 

 10. 8± .251 



71. 0± .237 



8-pound. 



12-po\md 



16-pound 



71. 8± .257 

 72. 5± .136 

 73. 6± .155 



Mean 



75.2 



10.7 



72.2 





AlfaUa.... 



...do 



...do 



...do 



Chico, Cal 



do 



do 



do 





4-pound 



75. 1± .258 

 76. 7± .2.34 

 77. 7± .129 

 78. 0± .109 



7.6± .253 

 9.8± .407 

 10. 3± .113 

 10. 2± .098 



73. 0± .249 



8-pound 



12-pound 



16-pound 



74. 2± .258 

 75. 2± .144 

 75. 4± .108 



Mpan 



76.9 



9.5 



74.5 











1 Average probable error for the 4-pound samples, 0.305; for the 8-pound, 0.257; for the 12-pound, 0.187; 

 for the"16-pound, 0.212; and for all the samples, 0.240. 



