The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1912-11-19
BALE THE HAY
BY G. n. Afford, I n C Service Bureau,
Atlanta, Ga.

Atlanta, Ga.
Baled hay is much more valuable as
a feed than loose hay, even when the
loose hay is we'll housed.
Loose hay carries great quantity
of dust and often gives the farm ami
mails a severe cough while baled hay
does not.
Baled hay takes up about one-fifth as
much room as loose hay and for this
reason the entire crop Of baled hay
can usually be stored under cover
while loose hay must be exposed to
the weather in stocks and ricks.
Baling breaks up coarse hay so that
the stock will eat it more readily and
there is no waste in feeding baled
hay.
Baled hay is always ready for the
market. 1t is convenient and salts
factory to handle in every way. 1t
can be hauled by team or shipped by
railroad.
Much of the tops and sides of stacks
is spoiled by the weather.
Loose hay becomes dusty and
musty. Baling hay keeps out the dust
and preserves the hay.
Baled hay retains much of the
sweet hay odor that stock relish.
There's a freshness and appetizing
quality and feed value in baled hay
that is never to be found in loose
hay.
We should bale our hay whether we
feed it on our own farms or sell it. Of
course the market demand is for baled
hay-and for baled hay only and for
this reason baling is the only way to
be sure of having a market for
it.
The growing of hay and especially
leguminous hay as cowpea, soy bean,
peanut and lespedeza will rapidly in
crease the fertility of our soils, make
the raising of good live stock profit
able and add very much to the income
on the farms.
We can buy a one-horse pull-power
hay press or we can buy a motor hay
press. For the small farmer who
bales his own hay, the one-horse pull
power hay press will prove very salts
factory and economical. With it he
can bale his hay at the time most con
venient and with small amount of
help. For the farmer who grows large
quantities of hay or for the farmer
who bales hay for his neighbors the,
two-horse pull-power or the motor hay
press is necessary.
OF course, no man can tell the exact
capacity of any hay press as this de-
ponds to a considerable extent upon
the kind and quality of hay being
baled, the skill of the operators, and
the speed Of the team. However I'M
der ordinary conditions a 14x1S two
horse pull-power hay press will bale
about 8 tons per day, a 14x18 press
operated with a 3-horse power engine
will bale about u tons per day, a
16x18 press with a 4-horse power en-
CINE about Ia tons per day, and
17x22 press with 6-horse power en-
CINE 16 tons per day.
We should purchase a hay press
that has been designed for conVen-
fence. There should be a considerable
distance between the sweep and the
feeding table. Both of these points
should be located at the extreme end
of the press SO that the baling cham
Der may be set well into the interior
of the shed or barn and ample room
be had for the revolution of the sweep
to be made outside the shed or barn
Another advantage OF the arrangement
of such a press is that the bale cham.
her may be set between two stacks
and fed from both stacks without re
setting the press. The close arrange
ment of feeding table and sweep viii
not allow sufficient space for the
sweep to describe the circle necessary
to operate the press.
The reach bed should be very mar
row and should not be more than four
or five inches high to enable the
horses to walk over It without the
least trouble. When operating presses
that have a high step-over, the horses
will generally slow down, hesitate,
and otter stumble at this point which
Is annoying to the man, wearing on
the horses, and slackens the speed Of
the press.