Hay and Straw Presses at Nottingham. 
571 
which worked exceedingly well, and gave results agreeing accu- 
rately with those general impressions which Judges must, in 
any case, receive during the progress of competitive trials. 
The practice of hay- and straw-pressing divides naturally 
into two branches. The shipper, ^vho pays freight upon 
measurement, makes his bales as dense as he possibly can ; 
while the English farmer, who has no foreign markets, aims 
only at getting 50 cwt. of hay or straw into a railway truck, 
and thus securing the lower rates at which compressed 
hay and straw are carried by the railways of this country. A 
density of 2 cwt. to the cubic yard, or 8"3 lbs. jDer cubic foot, 
is more than enough for this purpose, and only a few points 
of mei'it were consequently allotted in this competition to the 
attainment of densities in excess of the amount in question. 
The following table, giving the rates of three important rail- 
way companies for pressed and unpressed hay from Peterborough 
to some of the larger towns in the country, illustrates the cha- 
racter of the advantages which hay- and straw-pressing offers to 
the farmer : — 
Table I.— Showing Railway Rates for Pressed and Unpressed 
Hay and Straw from Peterborough to various Stations. 
(Company's Risk.) 
station. 
Miles 
Straw 
Hay 
Pressed, 
50 cwt. to 
truck 
Unpressed, 
20 cwt. to 
truck 
Pressed, 
50 cwt. to 
truck 
Unpresseil, 
30 cwt. to 
truck 
Great Norihcrn — 
d. 
d. 
s. 
d. 
s. d. 
Leeds 
110 
15 
0 
31 
8 
15 
0 
26 8 
London 
76 
11 
8 
28 
4 
11 
8 
20 0 
Liverpool .... 
160 
17 
6 
40 
0 
17 
6 
31 8 
Manchester . . . 
12G 
15 
10 
35 
0 
15 
10 
30 0 
Sheffield .... 
85 
12 
6 
30 
0 
12 
6 
25 0 
'North Western — 
Birmingham . . . 
78 
11 
8 
24 
2 
11 
8 
21 8 
Birkenliead . . . 
147 
17 
6 
40 
0 
17 
6 
31 8 
Burton-on-Trent . 
82 
11 
8 
26 
8 
11 
8 
22 0 
Oxford 
94 
i;? 
4 
30 
0 
13 
4 
25 0 
Stockport .... 
146 
16 
8 
35 
0 
16 
8 
30 0 
Wolverhampton . . 
124 
15 
0 
32 
6 
15 
0 
27 6 
Midland — 
Bath 
159 
20 
10 
50 
0 
20 
10 
36 8 
Bradford .... 
115 
15 
10 
33 
4 
15 
10 
28 4 
Bristol 
170 
17 
6 
40 
0 
17 
6 
31 8 
Derby 
70 
10 
0 
24 
2 
10 
0 
20 0 
Lancaster .... 
198 
21 
8 
45 
0 
21 
8 
36 8 
Newport, Mon. . . 
187 
20 
0 
43 
4 
20 
0 
35 0 
AWe.— These rates were oblipngly furnished to the Reporting Judge by Mr. Perkins, 
of tlie Arm of Barford and Perkins. 
