Answer.—Measuring is a very crude, unsatisfactory method of estimating the weight of hay. There are times, however, when it is impracticable to use the scales, and a close approximation to the true weight will answer all purposes. Then, by taking into consideration that fine, soft hay will pack more closely than a coarser, stiffer quality, that when cut early in the season it will become more solid than stiff, late-cut hay, that the degree of dryness when stacked will affect the weight, that the compactness of the lower part of a stack or lead is affected by the height, the time it has stood, or distance and kind of roads it has traveled over, it is quite possible for a person of ordinary experience and judgment to make an estimate of the quantity in a load or mow. It is estimated that, with all the above-mentioned conditions at an average, timothy, in stacks of ten feet high and upward, measures about 500 cubic feet to the ton; clear clover, between 600 and 700 cubic feet; new mown hay, about 675 cubic feet; fine hay, well settled, 450 to 500 cubic feet. To find the cubic feet in a circular stack, multiply the square of the circumference by four one-hundredths (.04) of the height. Below is given a set of rules for computing the number of cubic yards in a ton of hay in the field, stack, or load, which can be easily reduced to cubic feet by multiplying the result in cubic yards by 27:
1. The number of tons of meadow hay in windrows is the quotient of the product of the length, breadth, and height, in yards, divided by 25.
2. To find the number of tons of hay in a mow, divide the product of the length, height, and width by 15, if the stack be well packed. If shallow, and the hay recently stacked, divide by 18, and by any number from 15 to 18 according to the density of the stack. In square or long stacks the number of tons is the quotient of the product of the length of the base, the width, and half the height, in yards, divided by 15.
3. In loads the number of tons of hay is found by multiplying together the length, width, and height, in yards, and dividing the product by 20.
BRAVE BARCLAY’S BRAVE BRIDE.
Chicago, Ill.
The allusion to the British commander in the battle of Lake Erie, made last week in Our Curiosity Shop, when giving the fragment of the popular old song of the war of 1812, reminds me of an incident I have read which goes to show that Captain, afterward Commodore, Barclay, our defeated enemy, was not only a brave but a noble-minded man. He was sadly crippled in that battle, and having been previously engaged to marry a lady of rank and fortune in England, after his return to that country he sent a message to her by a mutual friend, saying that although his love for her was not abated, yet, as he was so badly mutilated, if she desired it, he would release her from her engagement. The noble lady replied “Tell Commodore Barclay that I will marry him if he has only body enough left to hold the soul.”
A Reader.