STORING 99 



20 per cent tinder average conditions while in many cases 

 it would reach 40 per cent. This certainly represents an 

 enormous waste, and by preventing it a man with any con- 

 siderable area of alfalfa could soon save enough to~pay for 

 a barn. 



TlMJEi. BCA.Y SHEDD. 



After a barn the next best place for storing hay is a 

 shed with an adjustable or lifting roof. The ground 

 dimensions should be ample to allow the first cutting to 

 cover its floor and not be over five or possibly six feet 

 deep when first put in. The bottom of the mow should be 

 raised at least one foot from the ground, and the floor 

 should have at least a six-inch air space about every three 

 feet The saving of leaves will in a few years pay for a 

 floor. Spread the hay over the entire floor surface, on a 

 layer of straw or other dry material. Use barrels or boxes 

 as recommended for ventilation in the barn, and lower 

 the roof until the second cutting. For such a roof the 

 covering should be of some such material as ruberoid, and 

 the rafters need not be heavy, except about every sixteen 

 feet Strong iron clamps can be easily adjusted to the 

 supports. When the second cutting is ready, raise the 

 roof, which should be in sections, and put the second crop 

 on top of the first This plan should be followed for the 

 third or other cuttings. If a shed with a stationary roof 

 is used, dry straw, or hay, or corn stover should be put on 

 top of each cutting to protect the alfalfa from rain. 

 Almost any kind of a shed or covered structure is prefer- 

 able to a stack. 



