Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1919-08-01
Better Baling of Hay
Means More Feed

Were II as easy and simple TO save
hay when 1t rains as II is to make hay
when old Sol has his blast furnaces
working TO capacity. hay producing
and marketing problems would. to a
certain extent. be simplifled. To put
a gauge on the weather man and 70
regulate the amount OF dew. rain, ano
sunshine served out during the hay
making season. would be the hay
farmers dream Of Utopia. Attic the
! hay raiser can not cash in on any
such a vision, he can materially I'm
prove his hay revenue by more careful
market preparation OF his cash crop OF
forage. Uncle Sam wants to help
every farmer to make the most OF his
surplus hay crop.
Hay is graded according to the way
in which II 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 baling
hay for market, various practices are
in operation; some are followed un-
consciously or in order to avoid extra
/ II.
erately with intent to deceive the buy
er, which tend to lower the market
value of hay In the bale irrespective
of its actual quality
| The new department OF agriculture
publication describes the various
types of hay presses, discusses theii
adaptability and operation under dif-
erent conditions. and gives detailed in
| formation concerning the mana cement
of baling crews The question of own
| ing a press or hiring the work Of bal
| ing is rather fully considered. as II Is
believed that many hay growers VINO
now hire custom balers would do well
TO give careful consideration to the
advantages that may accrue from haV-
| ing a press on the farm
Types Of Presses Discussed.
Presses are divided into three class
es, according to the manner in which
! the bale is made-loose or box press
es. perpetual or continuous presses. and
round bale presses. These machines
are operated either by horsepower or
! by steam. gasolene or kerosene en-
gines. The perpetual press. which Is
! the most popular type in all sections
where hay is grown for market, feat
ures continuous pressing: that Is, nay
is fed into the press, a forkful at
time. and the finished bale Is dis
charged 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 feed
ing as there are number of charges IN
no % which nrinG from or
eight or fifteen or twenty. The first
box presses were operated by hand,
but now they are run by horsepower or
by engines. The box press always
makes bales having the same or "even'
length, very valuable feature when
loading cars. Bales of even length can
be made with a perpetual press also'
but not as easily as with the box press.
A disadvantage Of box-pressed nay
comes from the difficulty experienced
in separating the bale into small por-
tons for feeding, because the hay is
generally more or less tangled or mat
| ted together.
Round Bale New Kind.
One of the most recent types OF
presses makes a cylindrical bale, bound
with binding Irvine and having an air
space running lengthwise thru its CEN
ter 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 thru the bale and pre-
vent heating. This bale is not as cas-
lily torn apart as the continuously
pressed bale, it being necessary to chop
or split it lengthwise with an axe 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
mouthful at a time. It 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 horse
presses. They are designed for the
farmer who has a small acreage of hay,
and they can be especially recon-
mended for the small hay grower If he
is in a section where little hay Is grown
and where hay presses are scarce ana
hard to hire. The only objection to this
| type of press Is its small production a
day. If the prospective purchaser is in
doubt as to which size to buy. 1t would
probably be better in many instances
for him to buy the two-horse press.
The one horse press can be used to
advantage II hay is baled from the
the stack or barn at time when there
is no urgent need to do other farm
work
The two-horse, full-circle, or con-
tinuops travel, perpetual press is the
type Of horse press most extensively
used. In operating this machine the
horses travel in circle. In buying a
press Of this type the purchaser should
pay especial attention to the power
mechanism, the material used for I'M
portant parts Of the press. size Of the
feed opening, plunger return device
self-feeding attachment, and convent
ence in tying the bales and in setting
and moving the press.
The reversible-lever type Of press Is
called the half circle press, since
the team travels half a circle, turns
around, and pulls the lever to the other
side, charge Of hay being pressed for
each half circle. This type is easily
portable and Is always ready for work,
since it is not necessary to take off the
wheels or lower them into the ground
to the axle or to stake the front end OF
the press It has a smaller hour ca