20 BULLETIN 873, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



CURING PRACTICES. 



The best way to prevent a large shrinkage in stored hay is to get 

 rid of the greater part of the surplus water while the hay is curing in 

 the field. If this is done, the commodity when put into the barn or 

 stack will be good field-cured hay, instead of partially cured forage 

 which must of necessity be subject to a large shrinkage, frequently 

 accompanied by discoloration and destruction of dry matter by heat- 

 ing and other processes. 



Detailed methods of curing hay 25 will not be given here, but the 

 careful use of the tedder, or of the left-hand side-delivery rake, or 

 both, will, in average haying weather, cause the hay to cure quickly 

 and evenly throughout and thus prevent excessive shrinkage later on. 



Heavy yields of mixed timothy, clover, and alfalfa should be tedded 

 soon after cutting and sometimes again before being raked. If hay 

 is left undisturbed in the swath. until it is hauled the top hay appears 

 dry and leads the haymaker to believe that it is ready to haul in. 

 Such partially cured hay will lose considerably by shrinkage in 

 storage. The use of the tedder will cause the hay to cure out evenly. 

 If part of the curing is done in the windrow, the left-hand side 

 delivery should be used, as it throws the hay into loose windrows in 

 such a position that the air has access to it and cures it rapidly. 

 It is safe to rake hay in a greener state when the side-delivery rake 

 is used than with the straight or sulky rake. This is the chief ad- 

 vantage of the side delivery. It is not to be recommended for 

 raking legume hay that cures altogether in the swath, because of the 

 loss of leaves by shattering. 



METHOD OF STORING. 



If he thinks it worth while, the haymaker may control, to a limited 

 extent, the loss of water from part of his hay at least, by the way in 

 which he stores it. It has already been noted (see p. 13) that 

 when hay is put into large mows or stacks the hay in the interior 

 shrinks more slowly than does that of the top and sides. Water is 

 lost more rapidly from hay in small stacks or mows than from large 

 ones. It would not pay, however, to build large hay barns or stacks 

 merely in an attempt to delay the escape of a comparatively small 

 percentage of water for a short period. The economy of making 

 large stacks depends on such factors as amount of labor required 

 and the method o*f disposing of the hay, rather than on that of trying 

 to conserve water above the normal percentage found in well-cured 

 hay. 28 The practical haymaker does not give the matter of shrinkage 

 any thought in deciding what size to make his stacks, as the labor 

 involved in making a large stack counteracts the saving in shrinkage. 



e Farmers' Bulletin 943 for Information on haymaking. 



26 See Farmers' Bulletin No. 1009 for a general discussion of size of stack to make under different condi- 

 tions. 



