Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1873-01-16

cultivated grasses tne MaSSdcuusetlS
Pleugman says
"Many farmers, particularly those
who have been building new barn
within the last five years, have the adj
vantages of good hay scales, and know.
in consequence. exactly how much Eng
hsh hay the farm has yielded, but the
great majority have no such conve-
nence, and they must get 1T in some
other way. In such eases there
is nothing left better than the
simple measurement, but that is stuff
cient for all practical purposes. 1t can
never, in the nature of things, be de-
pended upon for perfect accuracy, be-
cause so many elements are involved,
as the character of the hay, whether
timothy, red top or clover, the time
during which it has been stored, the
depth and height of the NOV or the
bay" the time when it was cut, etc;
but bearing the modifying circum-
stances in mind, we can arrive Mt II
very close approximation to exactness,
as we know from experience, having
sold hay by measurement, with the
right to weigh at the buyers option and
expense, and the results almost invari-
ably justified the estimate.
1--WE allow for timothy, red top, and
similar grasses for hundred and fifty
cubic feet to ton at the bottom or
lower half of a ebay" that extends
from the floor to the barn beams, and
five hundred and fifty cubic feet for Il
ton at the top or upper half of such
bay, after it has lain few weeks and
settled. Of clover hay on n scatlold 1t
will take about six hundred cubic feet
for ton after it has lain say three
months, 1t will be seen that the aver
age of the full of red top and timothy
will not be far from five hundred cubic
feet to the ton, varying, of course,
somewhat by the circumstances alluded
to, that ia, the season, the time of cut
ting, the thoroughness with which it
was cured, the time it was settled, etc.
"Testmony on this point may not be
uninteresting Mt this time. A farmer
in Uxbridge gives four hundred feet in
NOW twenty feet high, twenty feet
long ard twenty feet wide as the lowest
number of feet nc ever estimated. He
says: In n scaifold of hay eleven and
half feet square and nine feet high,
making /, 1907 solid or cubic feet, there
was by actual weight sob pounds of
hay; or, II little over two tons and
half of hay. The hay was upland in
terval, resembling red top. This gives
fraction less than fourteen hundred
and sixty nine cubic feet to the ton.
Under ordinary circumstances five
hundred solid feet of well-packed, not
very close, hay, is considered with us
to be fair estimate tor II ton.
ga farmer in West EnosburP, Vt,
says; When there is large guam
tity together, 400 cubic feet will make
ton, but where only small quantity
like n scanold is stored, it will take for
ton not far from 800 cubic feet. 1t
depends something on the quality, but
| am speaking of good herd grass hay.
| saw a scallold measured and weighed
few days ago. 1t was twenty-s six feet
long, eleven feet wide, and nearly five
feet high, making l,430 cubic feet. 1t
weighed 8, 800 pounds, so You must see
it varied but fraction of 500 feet TO
the ton.
"a farmer in Freeport, Me, says
For NOW forty feet long, sixteen feet
wide, and fourteen feet deep, well-set-
tied, the common estimate is 1915 TO 500
cubic feet to the ton For some fifteen
successive years | have pressed hay in
my own barn for NOW less than the
above, and the average number of feet
required, including ture, which IS
about five per cent, has been about
425 feet per ton.
at viii appear from these state
ments, that as general average rule q
cube Of eight feet will make a ton of
timothy, and we should allow about q
quarter more for clover, ii there is a
considerable mixture of clover, as there
frequently is, the proper allowance
must be made for it, and it will REQUIRE
the exercise OF some judgement and
skill 10 get at it, So if the hay is very
fine and unusually solid, it will require
a less number OF feet TO the ton.
Now to make a calculation rs TO
how many herd of cattle it will do to
attempt to winter, farmers call il in the
rough about two tons to the COW, and
make allowance, Of course, for other
stock according to age and size, and
for other feeding substances, like roots,
etc. AS general rule, it is well to
stock pretty well up to your capacity,
and if likely to come a little short buy