20 BULLETIN 873, U. S. DEPARFMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
CURING PRACTICES. 
The best way to prevent a large shrinkage in stored hay is to get 
rid of the greater part of the surplus water while the hay is curing in 
the field. If this is done, the commodity when put into the barn or 
stack will be good field-cured hay, instead of partially cured forage 
which must of necessity be subject to a large shrinkage, frequently 
accompanied by discoloration and destruction of dry matter by heat- 
ing and other processes. 
Detailed methods of curing hay? will not be given here, but the 
careful use of the tedder, or of the left-hand side-delivery rake, or 
both, will, in average haying weather, cause the hay to cure quickly 
and evenly throughout and thus prevent excessive shrinkage later on. 
Heavy yields of mixed timothy, clover, and alfalfa should be tedded 
soon after cutting and sometimes again before being raked. If hay 
is left undisturbed in the swath until it is hauled the top hay appears 
dry and leads the haymaker to believe that it is ready to haul in. 
Such partially cured hay will lose considerably by shrinkage in 
storage. The use of the tedder will cause the hay to cure out evenly. 
If part of the curing is done in the windrow, the left-hand side 
delivery should be used, as it throws the hay into loose windrows in 
such a position that the air has access to it and cures it rapidly. 
It is safe to rake hay in a greener state when the side-delivery rake 
is used than with the straight or sulky rake. This is the chief ad- 
vantage of the side delivery. It is not to be recommended for 
raking legume hay that cures altogether in the swath, because of the 
loss of leaves by shattering. 
METHOD OF STORING. 
If he thinks it worth while, the haymaker may control, to a limited 
extent, the loss of water from part of his hay at least, by the way in 
which he stores it. It has already been noted (see p. 13) that 
when hay is put into large mows or stacks the hay in the interior 
shrinks more slowly than does that of the top and sides. Water is 
lost more rapidly from hay in small stacks or mows than from large 
ones. It would not pay, however, to build large hay barns or stacks 
merely in an attempt to delay the escape of a comparatively small 
percentage of water for a short period. The economy of making 
large stacks depends on such factors as amount of labor required 
and the method of disposing of the hay, rather than on that of trying 
to conserve water above the normal percentage found in well-cured 
hay.” The practical haymaker does not give the matter of shrinkage 
any thought in deciding what size to make his stacks, as the labor 
involved in making a large stack counteracts the saving in shrinkage. 
5 See Farmers’ Bulletin $43 for information on haymaking. 
26 See Farmers’ Bulletin No. 1009 for a general discussion of size of stack to make uffder different condi- — 
tions. 
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