Abstract
IN the agricultural world, much has been heard recently of the high nutritive value of grass and fodder crops when cut at a very early stage, and also of the possibility of preserving these special qualities by artificial drying. The Committee appointed by the Agricultural Research Council to investigate these questions has now issued its report, “The Preservation of Grass and other Fodder Crops” (London: H.M. Stationery Office. Is. net), which provides an up-to-date authoritative account of the whole subject. After surveying the methods at present available for hay-making, ensilage, etc., the committee shows that the artificial drying of grass in the usual hay stage does not promise to be a paying proposition. Drying grass cut young at frequent intervals throughout the season, however, has a good prospect of economic success, particularly in districts of moderate or high rainfall on land in good condition. The report then gives a full account of the methods for cutting and collecting young grass, the physical principles of drying grass, the special practical requirements of a farm drier, the cost of drying and the methods of processing and storage. Descriptions are also given of driers now on the market or those shortly to appear there, those suitable for farm as apart from large-scale factory use receiving special attention. The report concludes with a bibliography for those desirous of still further information.
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Artificial Drying of Grass and Other Fodder. Nature 136, 790 (1935). https://doi.org/10.1038/136790b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/136790b0