COMPOUNDS OF NUTRITION 



35 



Table VIII 



General average loss, 22.2 per cent. 



It is probable that hay seldom loses less than one- 

 eighth of its weight during storage, and often much more. 



As illustrating the variations in the proportions of 

 water in hay due to changes in air moisture, reference is 

 made to observations by Atwater. He found that dry 

 hay hung in bags in a barn varied in water-content 

 between 7.5 per cent and 13.6 per cent during the 

 months of May, June, and July. Hay in large masses 

 would change less, but would be affected, doubtless, by 

 long periods of very dry weather or very wet. 



45. Relation of water to preservation of cattle foods. — 

 The proportion of moisture in coarse foods and grains 

 has much to do with their preservation in a sound con- 

 dition. New hay and grains when packed in large masses 

 are subject to fermentations which injure their quality 

 and diminish their food value. This is due to the fact that 

 sufficient moisture is present to allow the growth of low 

 forms of life with certain attendant chemical changes. 

 Feeding-stuffs containing 20 per cent or more of water— 

 and this is likely to be the case with clover, rowen, field- 



