THE SHRINKAGE OF MARKET HAY. I 



GAIN IN WEIGHT IN HAY IN THE STACK AND BARN. 



In some of the experiments carried on to determine the rate of 

 shrinkage occurring under average conditions, it was found that 

 instead of a loss there was a decided gain in weight in hay in the 

 barn and stack during several months. The results of some of these 

 experiments are as follows: 



(22) At the Kansas station (see footnote 7, p. 5) a bag of prairie 

 hay buried in a mow of hay for 4 months gained 0.4 per cent. 



(23) A bag of clover hay, at the same time, gained 3.17 per cent 

 in 4.5 months. 



(24) Gains have also occurred when large amounts of hay were 

 used in experiments. At the Utah station (see footnote 6, p. 5) 

 4,565 pounds of timothy hay was stacked on July 20, 1892. On 

 April 21, 9 months later, the hay was weighed and found to have 

 gained 70 pounds, or 1.5 per cent. 



(25) Again, at the same station (see footnote 6, p. 5), 4,090 pounds 

 of clover was stacked on July 15, 1892, and the following April the 

 hay weighed 4,528 pounds, showing a gain of 438 pounds or 10.7 

 per cent. 



DATA NOT CONCLUSIVE. 



In evaluating the results of these experiments two outstanding 

 facts must be taken into consideration. The first is the wide and 

 seemingly unexplainable variation in the percentages of loss due to 

 shrinkage. The extreme loss, experiment 1, amounts to 44.2 per 

 cent. The losses found in the other experiments gradually decrease 

 until a minimum loss of only 0.29 per cent is found in experiment 21. 

 Experiments 22 to 25 show actual gains in weight, varying from 

 0.4 to 10.7 per cent. In other words, the extremes show a range of 

 gain and loss amounting to 55 per cent from the time the hay was 

 taken from the field until it was well cured in the stack or barn. 



The second fact to be considered is the lack of data concerning the 

 manner in which the experiments were carried out. There are prac- 

 tically no data on the methods used in curing the hay or the treat- 

 ment the hay received up to the time it was removed from the field. 

 In order to interpret or understand the results secured in a shrinkage 

 experiment it is necessary to note carefully every factor that may have 

 a bearing on shrinkage. These are the factors that every good hay- 

 maker observes and makes allowances for, more or less, when making 

 hay, such as condition of the weather, presence or absence of dew, 

 temperature, clouds, wind, humidity, all factors which bear on the 

 rapidity of curing; the yield, whether light or heavy; the use of the 

 tedder to accelerate curing; length of time the hay is in the swath, 

 windrow, bunch, or cock; time of day the hay is put into the barn or 

 stack : and water content of the hav when stored. 



