MOISTTJRE CONTENT AND SHEINKAGE OF FORAGE. 



35 



dry enough on that date to place in a mow. The weight of the hay 

 at this stage, when it was supposedly ready to be placed in a barn, 

 is used as the base for figuring all percentages. 



Table XV. — Shrinkage of timothy hay after storing and variation in weight -due to changes 

 in atmospheric humidity, New London, Ohio, 1914- 





Lot 1. 



Lot 2. 





Date of 

 weighing. 



Weight. 



Percent- 

 age of 

 original 

 weight. 



Loss in 

 weight. 



Weight. 



Percent- 

 age of 

 original 

 weight. 



Loss in 

 weight. 



Weather conditions. 



July 10 



Pounds. 





Per cent. 



Pounds. 





Per cent. 



Clear. 



July 11 



108.5 

 103.5 

 97.5 

 101.0 

 99.5 

 97.5 

 97.5 

 96.5 

 99.0 



100.5 



166.6 

 95.4 

 89.9 

 93.1 

 91.7 

 89.9 

 89.9 

 88.9 

 91.2 



92.6 







4.6 

 10.1 



6.9 



8.3 

 10.1 

 10.1 

 11.1 



8.8 



7.4 









Do. 



July 17 



Aug. 27 



Sept. 2 



Sept. 11 



Sept. 21 



Sept. 28 



Oet.5 



Oct. 13 



Oct. 19 



Oct. 26 



295.25 

 246.00 

 250.00 



250. 75 

 242. 25 

 244. 75 

 243. 75 



251. 75 



255.50 

 253.00 



.. 250.75 



100.0 

 83.4 

 84.7 

 85.0 

 82.1 

 83.0 

 82.6 

 85.3 



86.6 



85.8 



85.0 



84.0 

 85.4 







16.6 

 15.3 

 15.0 

 17.9 

 17.0 

 17.4 

 14.7 



13.4 



14.2 



15.0 



16.0 

 14.6 



Do. 

 Rain, Aug. 6. 

 Rain. 



Very dry. 



Clear. 



Cloudy. 



Rain on several preceding 



days. 

 Cloudy and some rain on 



every day since Oct. 13. 

 Clear from Oct. 20 to 23; Oct. 



Nov.2 









24, rain; Oct. 25, clear; 



Oct. 26, rain. 

 Weather clear nearly all the 



time since Oct. 26. 

 Weather clear since Nov. 2. 



Nov.ll 









247. 75 

 252.00 



Dec. 2 









Cloudy for foiu: or five days 

 preceding Dec. 2. Rain on 

 two days. 











The seasonal effect is not so marked in this instance as it was in 

 the alfalfa at Chico, Cal., but the more frequent weighings provide 

 an opportunity to observe the almost immediate response of loose 

 hay to changes in atmospheric humidity. This point is illustrated 

 best by the increase in weight during the period from October 13 to 

 October 26, a maximum increase of 4 per cent over the weight reg- 

 istered on October 5 being noted on October 19. This decided 

 increase in weight is accounted for by a period of almost continuous 

 rain between these dates. Clear, sunny weather after October 26 

 caused sufficient loss of moisture to reduce the weight 2.6 per cent 

 by November 11, showing that even as late as this in the season dry, 

 sunny weather would affect the moisture content noticeably. 



The average amount of shrinkage from a field-cured condition in 

 lot 1 was 8.6 per cent, while in lot 2 the shrinkage was 15.6 per cent. 

 A compilation ^ of the results obtained at several experiment stations 

 showed an average shrinkage of 17.9 per cent in timothy when it was 

 stored in a barn from 5 to 10 months. These figures represent 

 fairly well the shrinkage that is to be expected in timothy hay 

 which has been stored in a haymow, but more data on this point are 

 needed. 



r Vinall, H. N., and McKee, Roland. A digest of literature relating to the moisture content and shrink- 

 age of forage. In Jour. Amer. Soc. Agron., v. 8, no. 2, 1916. 



