12 
BULLETIN 980, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
constitutes the various grades of hay, and they must know what their 
buyers want. When a car of hay reaches the plug tracks it is opened 
and 30 or more bales are placed on the ground in front of the car. It 
is officially inspected only when it has been bought " to arrive " and 
does not seem to be of 
the grade bought, or 
when the market has 
declined and the re- 
ceiver hopes that by 
having it officially in- 
spected he can refuse 
the shipment. Many 
unfair practices have 
grown from this situa- 
tion, the most common 
of which is the double 
standard of grades, 
one for inbound ship- 
ments and the other for 
outbound shipments. 
While the plug 
method is much better 
than the car-door 
method, most dealers 
are of the opinion that 
it still does not really 
give the grade of all 
of the hay in the car. 
Consequently, inspec- 
tion certificates based 
on plug inspection are 
not entirely satisfac- 
tory, since they do 
not furnish complete 
information regarding 
the amounts of different grades upon which to base accurately the 
returns to the shipper. 
WAREHOUSE INSPECTION. 
Warehouse inspection usually consists of inspecting hay after it 
has been placed in the warehouse. The value of this method de- 
pends directly upon how the hay is piled. It is obvious that the 
longer and narrower the pile the more hay will be exposed for in- 
spection. When a carload of hay is piled high in a square pile the 
inspector will be able to see only the outside of the stack, and if 
Fig. 3. — Inspecting hay by plug method. 
