MOISTURE CONTENT AND SHRINKAGE OF FORAGE, 



37 



(4) Timothy at New London, Ohio: Very young (10 to 12 inches high), 77.5 per 

 cent; just heading, 76.6 per cent; early bloom, 71.4 per cent; full bloom, 67.2 per 

 cent; leaves drying, 58.6 per cent; seed mature, 51.2 per cent. 



(5) The excessive percentage of moisture in young sorghum explains the very 

 chaffy character of sorghum hay when the crop is cut too soon, and the 90 per cent 

 loss in weight is an additional reason why sorghum should be fairly mature before it 

 is harvested. 



(6) The moisture content of any crop at a given stage of maturity is not constant, 

 but may vary with the conditions under which the crop is grown. 



A study of the rate of loss of moisture in forage during the early 

 stages of curing shows the following results: 



(1) The approximate losses in the different crops were — 



Crop and location. 



Moisture loss. 



i hour. 1 hour. 2 hours. 3 hours. 4 hours, 



Alfalfa at Chico 



Alfalfa at Arlington Farm 



Tall oat-grass and orchard grass at Arlington Farm . . 



Timothy at New London 



Sorghum at Hays 



Per cent. 



Per cent. 

 17 

 14 

 12 

 10 

 5 



Per cent. 

 35 

 23 

 24 

 18 

 9 



Per cent. 



Per cent. 

 69 

 32 

 • 34 

 30 

 13 



(2) The rate of loss of moisture after cutting differs in different varieties of the 

 same crop, as well as in different crops. 



(3) Although the Arabian alfalfa loses moisture faster than the Peruvian or ordinary 

 alfalfa in the first one or two hours after cutting, still the total percentage of moisture 

 is about the same for the three varieties. 



(4) A high percentage of leaf surface in alfalfa varieties is correlated with a rapid 

 loss of moisture immediately after cutting, but it does not indicate a high moisture 

 content. 



Studies of the variation in the moisture content of growing alfalfa 

 during a single day at Chico, Cal., show an average of 1 per cent more 

 moisture in the aKaKa at 8 o'clock a. m. than at 3 o'clock p. m. 



Studies of the shrinkage in hay after storing and variation in 

 moistm*e content due to changes in atmospheric humidity made with 

 baled oat hay at Chico, CaL, and loose timothy hay at New London, 

 Ohio, indicate results as follows : 



(1) At Chico, Cal., where the atmospheric humidity changes radically from the 

 dry summers to the wet winters, baled oat hay showed a shrinkage in 1914 of 8.1 per 

 cent between June 1 and August 31, and a gain in weight from August 31, 1914, to 

 February 25, 1915, of 5.9 per cent of the original weight. 



(2) The results at Chico, Cal., indicate that even baled hay responds noticeably to 

 changes in atmospheric humidity, and that hay dealers are justified in taking into 

 account the shrinkage of their hay when fixing prices. 



(3) The results secured at New London, Ohio, with loose timothy indicate a 

 shrinkage of 8.6 per cent in one lot and 15.6 per cent in another lot when the hay was 

 stored in a barn for about three months. The effect of a week of rainy weather was 

 indicated by an increase of weight in the loose hay. 



