Professor Cottrell, discussing spontaneous combustion (Kansas Bul. No. 114), says that all cases observed by him have occurred in hay of the season’s first cutting--cut at a time when the growth was rank and the curing most difficult. A period of wet, muggy weather in July or August increases the danger, which in dry weather seems much less. On account of previous trouble from heating in the barn, he had four years prior to writing stacked the first cutting out of doors and put only the later cuttings in the barn. LOSSES FROM STACKING The Colorado station found that the loss in feeding value from the hour of cocking to the hour of taking from the stack was 12.4 per cent, while the loss in hay stored in the barn was about 2.5 per cent. If we add to this the stacked hay lost by exposure, it will easily reach more than 20 per cent under average conditions while in many cases it would reach 40 per cent. This certainly represents an enormous waste, and by preventing it a man with any considerable area of alfalfa could soon save enough to pay for a barn. THE HAY SHED After a barn the next best place for storing hay is a shed with an adjustable or lifting roof. The ground dimensions should be ample to allow the first cutting to cover its floor and not be over five or possibly six feet deep when first put in. The bottom of the mow should be raised at least one foot from the ground, and the floor should have at least a twelve-inch air space about every three feet. Poles or joists covered with dry straw or old hay make a good floor. Spread the hay over the entire floor surface, on a layer of straw or other dry material. Use barrels or boxes as recommended for ventilation in the barn, and lower the roof until the second cutting. For such a roof the covering should be of some such material as ruberoid, and the rafters need not be heavy, except about every sixteen feet. Strong iron clamps can be easily adjusted to the supports. When the second cutting is ready, raise the roof, which should be in sections, and put the second crop on top of the first. Follow this plan for all other cuttings. If a shed with a stationary roof is used, dry straw, or hay, or corn stover should be put on top of each cutting to protect the alfalfa from rain. Almost any kind of a shed or covered structure is preferable to a stack. CONDITIONS FOR STACKING