104 DESCRIPTION OF FEEDING STUFFS 
The best quality of hay is obtained when the meadows are kept 
in grass only for a period of three or four years at the outside. A 
common fauit of growers of market hay is to leave the meadows too 
long in grass after weeds and foreign grasses have entered to lower 
the quality. The hay crop should be a part of a regular crop rota- 
tion, which should include some leguminous crop, and a regular 
system of fertilization, so that the fertility of the soil may be main- 
tained and a choice marketable hay produced. Hay is often cut 
at a too late stage of growth, after full bloom has passed. Late 
cutting, faulty methods of curing, the presence of other grasses and 
weeds, injuries from the weather in curing and before baling, im- 
proper baling and loading into cars cause much hay to grade low 
and are sources of great losses to hay growers. Choice hay always 
finds a ready sale, for the demand usually exceeds the supply. The 
better grades of hay, while more expensive, require a smaller addi- 
tion of concentrates to rations for farm animals than the lower 
grades, and are, therefore, generally speaking, the best kinds to buy. 
Rule for Measuring Hay in the Stack.—Both when hay is 
sold in the stack and in planning for feeding stacked hay to stock, 
it is important to know how té measure hay put up in this way. 
The Government rule used in purchasing hay for army posts has 
given satisfactory results and has been generally adopted. It is 
as follows: 
\ 
Multiply the width of the stack in feet by the ‘‘ over ” (1.¢., the distance 
of the stack from the base on one side to the base on the other), divide the 
product by 4, and multiply the quotient by the length. This gives the con- 
tents of the stack in cubic feet; for hay that has stood less than 30 days, 
divide by 512; for 30 to 60 days, by 422; over 60 days, by 380. The quotient 
gives the tonnage of the stack. 
Example: A stack is 20 feet wide by 40 feet “over” and 60 feet 
long. 20 multiplied by 40 equals 800. 800 divided by 4 equals 200. 200 
multiplied by 60 equals 12,000. 12,000 divided by 512 equals 2314 tons.” 
QUESTIONS 
1. State the difference between early- and late-cut timothy hay, and the 
relative value of the two kinds of hay. 
. Give the characteristic features of six of the common grasses, and their 
relative value for stock feeding. 
Name the different grades of market hay. 
. State some common defects of market hay, and suggest improvements in 
the present method of growing hay for market. 
. Give the Government rule for measuring hay in the stack. 
an FPO 
* Barnes, “ Western Grazing Grounds,” p. 139. See also Bureau of Plant 
Industry Circular 131; Woll, Handbook, p. 397. : 
