32 



BULLETIN" 353, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTUEE. 



Table XIII. — Moisture content of baled oat hay and moisture lost in air drying at Chico , 



Cal., in 1914. 





Weight. 



Moisture. 



Sample. 



July 

 1. 



July 

 10. 



July 

 20. 



July 

 27. 



Aug. 

 4. 



Aug. 

 19. 



Aug. 

 24. 



Oven 

 dry. 



Orig- 

 inal 

 sam- 

 ple. 



Lost in 



air 



drying. 



No. 561 



Ounces. 

 44.5 

 44.5 

 44.5 

 44.5 

 44.5 



Ounces. 

 43.00 

 43.00 

 42.75 

 43.25 

 42.50 



Ounces. 

 43.25 

 43.25 

 43. 00 

 43.50 

 42.75 



Ounces. 

 42.75 

 42.50 

 42.50 

 43.00 

 42.25 



Ounces. 



Ounces. 



Ounces. 



Ounces. 

 39.0 

 39.0 

 39.0 

 39.5 

 39.0 



Per ct. 

 12.4 

 12.4 

 12.4 

 11.3 

 12.4 



Per ct. 

 4.0 



No. 562 









4.5 



No. 563 









4.5 



No. 564 









3.2 



No. 565 









5.1 













Average 



44.5 



42,90 



43.15 



42.60 









39.1 



12.2 



4.3 





44.5 



44.5 

 44.5 

 '44.5 

 44.5 



43.25 

 43.00 

 43.25 

 43.00 

 43.25 



43.00 

 43.00 

 43.25 

 43. 00 

 43.25 





No. 591 



39.5 

 39.5 

 40.0 

 39.5 

 39.5 



11.3 

 11.3 

 10.0 

 11.3 

 11.3 



3.2 



No. 592 











3.2 



No. 593 











4.0 



No. 594 









3.2 



No. 595 









4.0 













Average 



44.6 



43.15 



43.10 



39.6 



11.0 



3.5 











Thesamples described in Table XIII were taken from bales 566 to 570, 

 used for the investigations recorded in Table XIV, This hay was baled 

 on June 1, and the samples taken one month later had 12.2 per cent 

 of moisture, while the five samples taken two months after bahng 

 averaged only 11 per cent of moisture. The weather during July 

 and August was unusually dry and hot, so that the loss of 1.2 per 

 cent of moisture from July 1 to August 4 is not excessive, even for 

 baled hay. The 44.5-ounce samples which were inclosed in cotton 

 bags and suspended under a shelter where the air could circulate 

 freely about them lost in the same period an average of 4,3 per cent 

 of moisture. This loss probably left the samples practically air dry, 

 since the samples taken from the bales August 4 lost only 3.5 per cent 

 during the period from August 4 to August 24. 



SHRINKAGE OF HAY AFTER STORING AND VARIATION IN WEIGHT DUE 

 TO CHANGES IN ATMOSPHERIC HUMIDITY. 



In order to determine just what shrinkage in weight might be 

 expected in baled hay and also the effect which radical changes in 

 atmospheric humidity might have on this weight, four bales of oat 

 hay were weighed at intervals during the season from June 1 to De- 

 cember 1, 1913, and five bales during the season from June 1, 1914, to 

 February 25, 1915, at Chico, Cal. The record of these weights is 

 given in Table XIV. 



