MOISTURE CONTENT AND SHRINKAGE OF FORAGE. 27 
The effect of the stage of development on the amount of moisture 
remaining in the air-dry material, as shown in Table VII, is also a 
matter of interest. In the case of alfalfa at Chico, Cal., the young 
plants air dry contained a little more moisture than the older plants. 
At New London, Ohio, timothy showed practically no difference. 
Red Amber sorghum at Hays, Kans., showed no difference, while at 
Amarillo, Tex., the young plants contained decidedly less. The 
uniformity of the moisture content at Hays and the lack of uniformity 
at Amarillo (Table VI) is accounted for by the fact that at Hays the 
stems of each sample were split, thus allowing the complete drying of 
the mature samples, while at Amarillo the stems were not split, and the 
immature specimens dried out more completely than the mature ones. 
LOSS OF MOISTURE IN FORAGE DURING THE EARLY STAGES OF 
CURING. 
To determine the rate ot loss of moisture in different crops during 
the period directly following the cutting in different localities and 
under different weather conditions, the following crops were used: At 
Arlington Farm, Va., alfalfa and a mixture of tall oat-grass and orchard 
erass; at Chico, Cal., alfalfa; at New London, Ohio, timothy; and 
at Hays, Kans., sorghum. The material was cut as quickly as 
possible and weighed immediately, using about 100 pounds green 
weight. This 100 pounds of green forage was placed on a canvas 
and weighed every 10 minutes through 1 hour, and every 30 minutes 
thereafter until 4 hours had elapsed. At Hays and New London 
determinations were made under both clear and partly cloudy con- 
ditions, but at Chico and Arlington Farm determinations were made 
for each crop under one condition only. 
At Hays, Kans., the experiment was carried out with Red Amber 
sorghum in the soft-dough stage, and records of moisture loss were 
secured both for forage scattered as it would be in the swath, and 
also bunched, as it would be if raked into windrows. On August 18 
the sky was partly cloudy, the wind was blowing but little, and the 
maximum temperature was 104° F. On September 25 the first 
weights were taken at 1.40 p. m., and the last at 5.40 p.m. The 
day was bright, with a gentle breeze and a maximum temperature 
of 82° F. Table VIII gives the rate of loss of moisture in these 
experiments. 
The rate of loss was greatest in the scattered material, but the 
difference is not as great as one might expect. In the first 30 minutes 
the loss ranged from 1 to 2 per cent. The difference in the amount 
of moisture lost by the bunched and the scattered lots was 4.89 per 
cent on August 18 and 4 per cent on September 25. The greatest 
loss in 4 hours in the bunched lots was 8.2 per cent and in the scat- 
tered lots 13.1 per cent. 
