Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1919-09-18


A Busy Hay
prepared by the United States Depart
ment of Agriculture.)
Were it as easy and simple to save
hay when it rains as it is to make hay
when old Sol has his blast furnaces
working to capacity, hay producing and
marketing problems would, to GER
tain extent be simplified. To put a
gauge on the weather man and to reg
ulate the amount of dew, rain and
sunshine served out during the hay
making season, would be the hay farm
er's dream of Utopia. Although the
hay raiser cannot cash in on any such
a vision, he can materially improve
his hay revenue by more careful mar
ket preparation of his cash crop of
forage Uncle Sam wants to help
every farmer to make the most of his
surplus hay crop, ard hence he has
just published Farmers Bulletin 1919
which is replete in helpful hints and
practical suggestions on when, why,
and how to bale hay and manage bal
ing crews.
Hay is graded according to the way
in which it is baled. Bales of uni
form size and Of neat, attractive APP
pearance bring top prices, other con-
ditions being equal, while ragged, I'M
slightly bales are penalized. In balihg
hay for market, various practices are
in operation; some are followed un-
consciously in order to avoid extra
work, while others are followed de-
liberately with intent to deceive the
buyer, which tends to lower the mar
ket value of hay in the bale ire
spective of its actual quality.
The new department of agriculture
publication describes the various types
Of hay presses, discusses their adapta-
bility and operation under different
conditions, and gives detailed informa
lion concerning the management of bal
ing crews. The question of owning a
press or hiring the work of baling is
rather fully considered, as it is be-
.ieved that many hay growers who
aow hire custom balers would do well
to give careful consideration to the adj
vantages that may accrue from hav-
ng press on the farm.
Types of Presses Discussed.
+ Presses are divided into three
classes, according to the manner in
which the bale is made-loose or box
presses, perpetual or continuous
presses, and round-bale presses. These
machines are operated either by horse
>ower or by steam, gasoline or kero-
tene engines. The perpetual press,
which is the most popular type in all
,ections where hay Is grown for mar
net, features continuous pressing; that
Is, hay is fed into the press, fork
full at a time, and the finished bale is
discharged from the opposite end of
the bale chamber without stopping the
press. = If the hay is properly fed into
the press it will be easy to separate
the bale into as many portions for
feeding as there are numbers Of
charges in the bale, which varies from
or 8 to is or 20. The first box presses
were operated by hand, but now they
are run by horsepower or by engines.
The box press always makes bales hav-
ing the same or .'even" length, a very
valuable feature when loading cars.
Round Bale New Kind.
One of the most recent types Of
presses makes cylindrical bale, bound
with binding twine and having an air
space running lengthwise through its
center. This press was designed SO
that hay baled from the windrow
would cure out after it was baled, the
hole in the center being intended to
allow air to circulate through the bale
and prevent heating. This bale is not
US easily torn apart as the continu-
ously pressed bale, it being necessary
to chop or split it lengthwise with an
AK or other edged implement. When
round bales are fed in open hunks or
on the ground in the feed lot, they are
not opened; the animal pulls out the
hay by mouthful at a time. 1t is
claimed that this way Of feeding the
hay prevents waste.
One-horse, perpetual presses, made
by reliable concerns, are capable Of
turning out the same kind of bales
as are made by the regulation two
Morse presses. They are designed for
the farmer who has small average
of hay, and they can be especially rec
commended for the small hay grower
If he Is in section where little hay
is grown and where hay presses are
scarce and hard to hire. The only OBJ
lection to this type of press is Its
small production day. If the pros
pective purchaser is in doubt as to
which size to buy. it would probably
be better in many instances for him
to buy the two-horse press. The one
horse press can be used to advantage
IL hay is baled from the stack or barn