8 BULLETIN 978, U. S.. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
into these warehouses three types of scales are used—the platform 
scale, the dormant scale, and the steelyard. The first two are in 
very common use, but the latter is now used only in cotton sections, 
where cotton is stored extensively in the same warehouse. 
- When the platform scale is used the hay is usually weighed one 
bale at a time in the manner already described, but as most of the 
hay in the warehouses is weighed while being taken in or out, the 
dormant scale can be used to the best advantage, as the hay can be 
weighed while on the hand trucks en route to the car or warehouse. 

lig. 3.—Weighing on dormant warehouse scales. Trucks are usually used when 
weighing on such scales, and care should be taken to see that tare weights of all 
trucks used are uniform and that proper tare is allowed. 
WEIGHING ON THE DORMANT PLATFORM SCALE, 
Hand trucks hold from 3 to 5 or more of the medium-sized bales, but 
those holding 3 such bales are the more generally used, as they are. 
more convenient to handle and to load and unload. When two or 
more trucks are used at any one warehouse they are usually standard- 
ized as to weight and that amount of tare weight is set upon the scale 
beam. This facilitates the weighing, as the weight then indicated by 
the poise weight on the beam when it comes to a balance is the net 
weight of the hay. This method of weighing hay has been adopted 
a. 
