0 ) good ee in any of these bales, and not much that would be eaten by Hoce Ve 
‘of the hay was covered by a white mold, and some of it seemed to be partially rotten i 
The hay which was baled when wilted and that baled from the cock was about o: 
_ the same grade, and but little better in quality than the hay which was baled whe 
green. The heavier and more closely pressed bales .contained the best hay, b 
- none of it was salable hay, and the best of it was inferior for feeding. The hay whi 
- was baled after being cured was seemingly as good a grade of hay as when baled, a 
_ just as good as if it had been stacked. It hada good color and the leaves were w: 
ae ‘retained. It would grade No. 1. 
Tt may be concluded from this experiment that it is not advisable to bale alfa 
except when it is well cured and dry enough to stack * * * . (Kansas. Sta 
Agricultural Experiment Station. Bul. 123. March, 1904. Pp. 230-232.) 
In this experiment an attempt was made to bale and market alfalfa in different 
stages of curing. The interest centers around the baling of hay when wilted anc 
_ alsoin thesweat. It was found that such hay spoiled in the bale and was not even fit —__ 
for feeding. The loss by shrinkage in the bale amounted to about 45 per cent, whi 
was about the same as the loss in experiment 1, page 4. Thus it will be seen t 
itis an error to class such material as hay and to regard loss of water as causing a loss — 
tothe producer. The experiment also bears out the view that hay can not be classec 
as hay unqualified, until it has passed through the ‘‘sweat’’ which is the final stage 
_ of the curing process. It will be of interest to note that the hay which was w 
_ cured and in condition to be baled lost only 6.2 per cent of water when stored so th 
_ the air could circulate freely between the bales. 
Commercial dealers in hay, on the other hand, sometimes ue 
actual money losses on account of shrinkage, as, for example, when | 
< _ partially cured hay, containing more than the normal percentage of 
a water, is delayed too long in transit, or when it is held for a con- 
e Elerablo length of time in storage. If such hay is kept movin 
_ rapidly through the successive steps of marketing any loss that m 
affect anyone, except, perhaps, the consumer. Even the latter does _ 
_ not lose if he buys by the bale rather than by weight. 
Cases in which serious loss is entailed by shrinkage are the exce 
tion. Heavy shipments of ‘‘new”’ hay do not usually appear on t 
- market until after the process of shrinkage is practically over; indeed, 
_ hay is not customarily classed as marketable until it is thoroughl 
cured; thatis, until it has almost ceased to shrink. Thus it appea 
that ho one has any real reason to feel seriously concerned over the 
question of shrinkage, least of all the producer. 
later. (See experiment 6, p. 5.) In-some instances there may 
only 80 tons or even less when it is baled or weighed out sever 
panos later. Many hay erowers have been led to believe tha 
