THE SHRINKAGE OF MARKET HAY. ke 
practical point of interest to the hay maker and shipper—that is, the 
manner in which the bales were stored during the experiment. If they 
were stored separately, cross piled, placed on the top or outside of a 
pile, or in a small pile by themselves, then the small bales would 
naturally be influenced by weather conditions to a greater extent 
proportionally than would large bales. If baled hay is stored flat- 
wise—that is, the bales resting on their sides and no air space allowed 
between, then there should be practically no difference in the amount 
of gain and:‘loss due to changes in the weather, etc., between hay in 
large bales and hay in small bales, provided the degree of compression 
were the same. 
Reactions from changes in the weather do not affect the entire 
mass of hay quickly unless the bulk is small. In large mows and 
stacks the hay in the interior is more or less protected by the top 
and side layers of hay; consequently it loses water slowly without — 
being affected by exterior changes in humidity. The center of the 
stack often dries out much more slowly than the top and bottom. 
The Colorado station'® found a difference of 10.3 per cent in the 
amount of water lost by different parts of stacked alfalfa hay. A 
large stack of well-cured alfalfa was put up June 15, being divided into 
four layers by slats. On February 12, eight months later, the loss 
of the different layers was found to be as follows: Bottom layer 
17.6 per cent, third layer 17 per cent, top layer 23.8 per cent, and 
the second layer only 13.5 per cent. Experiments by Wale * also 
show a greater loss by shrinkage in the top layers of stacked hay 
than in the lower layers. 
These experiments explain why hay that is baled after having 
passed through the sweat sometimes loses weight by shrinkage. 
The loss of water occurs in the hay taken from the middle of the 
stack, where it has been insulated by the hay on the outside. 
- It is not definitely known to what extent the degree of atmos- 
pheric humidity influences the water content in well-cured hay in the 
barn or stack. The data indicate that, under average conditions, 
the water content will vary with the weather from 2 to 4 per cent 
below normal, to about the same amount above normal. There is — 
need for a number of carefully conducted experiments to determine 
the extent of gain or loss of cured hay in storage. 
The loss by shrinkage of well-cured hay during dry weather is, in 
time, offset by the gain in weight during wet weather, although, in 
individual cases, shrinkage may cause a loss to the producer or 
shipper. In various hay-growing sections the high price of hay during 
the summer months (see p. 26) more than makes up for any loss 
caused by low water content. 
15 Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station, Bull. 57,1900. p. 6-10. 
16 Journal Southeastern Agricultural College, Wye, No. 18. 1909. p. 52-53. 
