Hay,
cured in humid regions, often contains from 12 to 20 per cent of
water; in arid climates it contains as little as 5 per cent and
seldom more than 12 per cent. The drier hay is naturally more
valuable pound for pound than the moister hay, and a difference in
price, based upon the difference in water content, is already being
felt in certain sections of the West.
The moisture content of dry-farm wheat, the chief dry-farm crop, is
even more important. According to Wiley the average water content of
wheat for the United States is 10.62 per cent, ranging from 15 to 7
per cent. Stewart and Greaves examined a large number of wheats
grown on the dry-farms of Utah and found that the average per cent
of water in the common bread varieties was 8.46 and in the durum
varieties 8.89. This means that the Utah dry-farm wheats transported
to ordinary humid conditions would take up enough water from the air
to increase their weight one fortieth, or 2.2 per cent, before they
reached the average water content of American wheats. In other
words, 1,000,000 bushels of Utah dry-farm wheat contain as much
nutritive matter as 1,025,000 bushels of wheat grown and kept under
humid conditions.
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