40 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 
considerable hay is baled for the export trade, a great 
deal of it is double compressed. The ordinary bales 
are put into a hydraulic press and the size is reduced 
about one-half, so that a ton of double-compressed hay 
occupies only fifty-five cubic feet, or a cubic space less 
than four feet each way. Hay thus compressed secures 
lower freight rates than that in ordinary bales. The 
practice of baling from the cock, or even from the 
windrow, is becoming common in some sections, espe- 
cially on the Pacific Coast, where fine weather is always 
assured in the haying season (except near the ocean). 
When baled direct from the cock or windrow it is nec- 
essary: to let the hay get a little dryer than it needs to 
be for stacking to avoid heating in the bales, and the 
bales should not be closely bulked until they have had 
. time to ‘‘ go through the sweat.”’ 
GRAZING THE AFTERMATH 
It is a common pra¢tice in this country to allow 
stock to run on the meadow after the hay is off unless 
it is desired to cut a second crop. In this case stock 
is usually turned in after the last crop is off. (Tim- 
othy makes only one crop of hay, while clover makes 
two, and alfalfa three or more in a season.) In the 
North there is little harm in this if the number of ani- 
mals is not too large. It is always unwise to let stock 
eat a meadow down very close, especially late in the 
fall. ‘The meadow is much more liable to injury from 
cold in winter when left bare. It is decidedly bad 
policy to turn stock on a meadow in wet weather, for 
they puddle the soil and cut up the sod with their 
hoofs. ‘Timothy should never be pastured close, for it 
