2 BULLETIN 978, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
it is desired to weigh only a few bales from a carload to check up 
or verify the weights shown on the tags. Retailers of hay also fre- 
quently weigh hay by the bale. 
Small platform or dormant scales having a weighing capacity of 
from 500 to 800 pounds are commonly used. The dormant scale is 
used only when the bales can be weighed in a warehouse, as it can not 
be moved about and is therefore not practicable for other locations. 
WEIGHING AT TIME OF BALING. 
In some sections hay is almost always weighed when baled, in or- 
der that the baler may know for how much hay he should make a 
charge for baling. He usually owns his scales and carries them 
along with the baler from place to place. It often happens that the 
scales are very much jolted in moving and sometimes will not weigh 
correctly after being set up again. While the error may not amount 
to more than 2 or 3 pounds in one bale it will make a considerable 
difference in the weight of a carload. Scales should always be 
handled carefully while being moved and should always be adjusted, 
balanced, and tested in some reliable manner before another lot of 
hay is weighed upon them. Perhaps the simplest and easiest way 
by which small platform scales may be tested is with a 50 pound test 
weight. Such test weights are manufactured by most scale com- 
panies and may be obtained at a small cost. 
RECORDING THE WEIGHTS. 
It is as important that the weight be correctly read and carefully 
recorded as that the scale weigh accurately. It is the practice in 
some sections to use only the numbers ending in 0 and 5 when weigh- 
ing bales of hay. This is sometimes designated as the “give and 
take” method and consists in giving the weight designation to the 
number ending in 0 or 5 nearest to the actual weight. For exam- 
ple: The weight of a bale weighing 107 pounds would read 105 
pounds, while if it weighed 108 it would be called 110 pounds. It is 
claimed that in weighing a large lot of hay, a wagonload or a car- 
load, the total of the weights will be approximately correct, but it 
has been found that this is not an established fact and that weights 
obtained by this method frequently vary from 25 to 50 pounds on a 
ton of hay. The difficulty seems to be that the weigher “ takes” more 
often than he “gives.” To be really accurate the actual weight as 
shown by the scale should be recorded. 
METHODS OF RECORDING WEIGHTS. 
Bale weights are recorded on tally sheets or on tags, the latter 
being attached to the bale. When it is desired to have only the total 
weight of a lot of hay the weights are generally listed on a tally sheet 

