Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1884-08-14
Fermentation Of New-Made Hay.


damp hay, where, under favorable con
ditions, the evolution of heat may even
.ome to the point of Inflammation, il
Is well known that new hay will
''sweat' somewhat in the NOW or stack
after it has been stored, no matter how
dry it seemed to be at the moment OF
storing; and it is tenet of faith
among horse-keepers that hay is not fit
food for horses until after this sweating
fermentation has thoroughly run its
course. Many farmers believe, indeed,
that this fermentation is advantageous,
and not few of them hold that it is
not well to dry hay too thoroughly be-
fore storing it, lest the necessary ripen-
ing in the NOW should be hindered. A
couple of English chemists, Percy
FARMLAND and Jordan, have recently
experimental upon this matter with the
view of ascertaining what kinds of gases
are evolved during the fermentation.
They find. as was to have been ex-
pected, that even.at the ordinary tenn
perature of the air good deal of car
bonic acid is given off, and that this gas
is accompanied by mere traces of n.y.
drogen and hydrocarbons. In the be-
ginning. when the comparatively dry
grass was in contact with air. and was,
so to say, saturated with air, the oxy-
gen of the air was rapidly absorbed and
changed to carbonic acid. But even
after the oxygen had been completely
removed in this way from the confined
volume of air employed in the expert
ment, there was still evolution of car
bonic acid from the hay, the
oxygen for which must have come from
some constituent OF the grass. On
account of the presence of nitrogen in
air, it was difficult to conclude from the
experiments made in the air as to what
happened with regard to the nitrogen in
the grass during the fermentation. Hence
experiments were made upon other
portions of the incompletely dried grass
confined, in some cases, in an atmos-
phere of carbonic acid, and in other ill.,
stances in atmospheres of oxygen and
hydrogen. II appeared, however, that
the atmosphere with which the grass
was surrounded had but little influence
either upon the volume or the compost
ton of the gases produced. The evo-
luton of carbonic acid took place about
as rapidly in the artificial atmosphere
as it did in air, but it was noticed that
in the atmoshere of oxygen there was a
considerable evolution of nitrogen. as
well as of carbonic acid; hence the in
ference that nitrogen is really evolved
when hay ferments in the air. The OK
ygen was so rapidly absorbed by the
grass that, even in the experiment Is
with pnre oxygen, it was completely
used up in the course of a week, after
which time the evolution of nitrogen
from the grass practically ceased. On
adding new quantities of oxygen, how
ever, nitrogen was again liberated from
the hay, though somewhat less than at
first; the amount given off was still
very considerable. however, even after
the lapse of several months. The funda-
mental fact that even in the absence of
any oxygen in the free state, considera-
bic quantities OF carbonic acid were
produced at the expense of combined
oxygen originally contained in the grass
was conspicuously enforced by these
in artificial atmospheres.
Naturally enough the evolution of car
bonic acid was more rapid at \ tempera-
ture of 81 degrees than at 60 degrees.
When grass was allowed to decom-
pose under water much larger quanti-
,ies of gas were evolved than were OBJ
,ained in the foregoing experiments,
and the gas, though mainly carDonic
acid, as before, was characterized by
he presence of notable percentage of
hydrogen. But in other expert
nents, where the water was made
poisonous by adding to it small quanti-
les of carbOlic acid or corrosive SUBJ
innate, no gases at all were evolved,
md similar negative result was OBJ
aimed when a tube containing grass
md water was exposed to steam heat
or several hours and then left to itself;
whence the conclusion that the fermenta-
ion and the evolution of gas must be
dependent upon the presence in the
lay or grass of low forms of organic
ife. In confirmation of this view, the
always revealed numerous
bacteria in the water taken from tubes
n which the grass had fermented.
This water was found to contain acetic,
actic, and, probably, propionic acids.
The fact enforced by these experiments
hat the fermentation of hay in mOws
will 90 forward in the absence of air,
md that the practical result (not to say
he cause) of the fermentation is the
destruction of certain chemical con-
tituents of the hay. is calculated to
brow considerable light, not only on
he significance of the sweating of hay
n mows, as aforesaid, but upon the
question of baling hay also. 1t is COM
monty held to be quite improper to bale
lew-made hay, no matter how dry
he hay may be, and that, indeed, the
'peratiOn of baling can not be per-
orned with safety to the hay until
fter it has been allowed to lie some
ime in the barn. Undoubtedly, beside
he gases that are evolved, various new
compounds are formed during
he fermentation by the breaking up of
matters originally contained in the hay, |
nd some of these new products may
e more useful, or less hurtful, than |
hose in the unfermented fodder. In |
lew of the fact that a certain degree
f fermentation of green hay can hardly |
e avoided anyway, even if it were de- |
irable to avoid it, it may well be true
hat the doctrine taught by some skill
III farmers that it is always best in cur
1g hay to let it sweat somewhat in
lunches, windows or cocks before car
wing it to the barn is correct doctrine.
t consists curiously with objections
'hich have been made, at one time and
mother, in England, to processes of |
rying grass artiticially in currents of
ir. as introduced there by several in
entors. The waste of nitrogen from
ay by long-continued keeping has re-
eatedly been noticed before by agri-
ultural chemists. 1t follows that al
hough the popular belief that the new
ay is bad for animals may be true
al Loxz not M oooao .;l.z coed