254 



STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



inches but not all have the same thickness and structure. There are 

 38 tiers of blocks in the wall. The blocks of the lower 12 tiers are hol- 

 low and are 10 inches thick. Those of the next 14 tiers are hollow 

 and are 8 inches thick. Those of the upper 12 tiers are solid and have 

 a thickness of 6 inches. Gravellj' sand and cement in the proportions 

 of 5 to 1 were used in the construction of the blocks and it is estimated 

 that one barrel of cement will make 16 S-inch blocks. Seven hundred 

 blocks were required. The blocks were laid in a rich cement mortar of 

 2 parts sand to 1 of cement. 



There are three doorways, each three tiers deep and one block (30 

 inches) wide. Two-inch shoulders were molded into the blocks bound- 

 ing the doorways at the time of making the blocks and these shoulders 

 carry doors made of double thickness flooring with building paper be- 

 tween. The lower doorway rests upon the sixth tier of blocks above the 



Fig. 17. Blocks used in the construction of the Weeks 

 silo and the fonn used in making them. 



floor and each doorway is separated from next (above or below) by five 

 tiers of blocks. 



In laying the upper tier of blocks, 12 bolts were set in alternate joints 

 to hold the x)late for a 4-foot wooden superstructure and roof. 



The blocks used in the construction of the silo (see Fig. 16) were 

 home made. The form seen in Fig. 17 is also home made. It was made 

 of wood with front and back faces covered with sheet iron. The hollows 

 in the blocks were made by using pieces of wood 2 inches thick, 10 

 inches long, 9 inches deep and slightly tapering so as to be easily re- 

 moved after molding the block. 



To mold a block the mold was set on its side on a cement or other 

 floor, or plank. The wooden pieces were set on end on the floor within 

 the mold and in such a position as to form the hollows where they 

 should be in the block. The wet mixed material was then introduced 

 about the wooden pieces in the mold, thoroughly tamped and struck ofl; 

 so that the mold was even full. The Avooden pieces were then removed, 

 the mold was carefully loosened and lifted away from the block and set 



