MISCELLANEOUS 229 



monly bought or sold as a ton ; yet seven-and-a-half feet 

 square, or 422 cubic feet, are often made the basis of 

 estimating. The author is advised that in the alfalfa 

 growing districts of the Yellowstone valley it is the 

 general custom to accept as a ton 422 cubic feet of alfalfa 

 hay if it has settled thirty days or more. Also that hay- 

 men find there is a noticeable variation between the dif- 

 ferent cuttings. The first cutting will fall short of actual 

 weight more than the second, while the third cutting will 

 hold up in weight, and sometimes overrun. Prof. E. 

 A. Burnett, of the Nebraska experiment station, thinks 

 an eight-foot cube, or 512 cubic feet, a fair figure. 



Professor Ten Eyck says : 



'The rules for measuring hay in the stack will vary 

 according to the length of time the hay has been stacked 

 and the kind and quality of the hay, and also according 

 to the character of the stack. With alfalfa or prairie 

 hay which has been stacked for thirty days it is usual to 

 compute an eight-foot cube or 512 cubic feet as a ton. 

 When the hay has been stacked five or six months, usually 

 a seven-and-a-half-foot cube or 422 cubic feet is calcu- 

 lated for a ton. In old stacks which have been stacked a 

 year or more a seven-foot cube or 343 cubic feet is allowed 

 for a ton. 



'There are different methods of measuring a stack, 

 depending upon its shape and also its size. For a long 

 stack or rick the usual method is to throw a line over 

 the stack measuring the distance (in two or three places, 

 and use the average) from the bottom on one side to the 

 bottom on the other; add to this the average width of 

 the stack, divide this sum by four (which equals one side 



