DAIRY MEETING. I5I 



There were twenty-five rectangular silos built inside, average 

 capacity 144 tons, and average cost, per owners' statement, 

 $1.46 per ton capacity. Now let us compare those jfigures 

 before we go further. The round, stave silo was constructed 

 at an average cost of 65 cents per ton capacity. The square 

 or rectangular, under the same conditions, cost $1.45 per ton 

 capacity, a little more than double the cost of the round, stave 

 silo. One round, cement silo — I am sorry that I could not get 

 the cost of more than one — had a capacity of 300 tons, costing 

 $500, an average of $1.67 per ton capacity. Nine square or 

 rectangular stone or cement silos — I will say that these' facts 

 were gleaned from bulletins and not from personal investiga- 

 tions — with an average capacity of 228 tons, cost on an average 

 $1.93 per ton capacity. 



There are two points I want to call to your attention particu- 

 larly. I referred to the ro^md, stave silo as the cheapest to 

 construct, and I referred to the round silo as the cheapest form 

 of silos. I have shown you from investigation of silos in use 

 that the round silo, whether built of wood or stone, is much 

 cheaper than the square silo of the same material and capacity. 



Now for a specification for a stave silo: Take one 12 feet 

 in diameter and 24 feet high, having a capacity of about 49 

 tens, built inside of the barn. This would require 2 2-3 barrels 

 of rock and gravel, 6 barrels of sand, 2 barrels of cement for 

 the foundation, 1780 feet of 2 x 4 staves, 24 feet long, 144 feet 

 of 4 X 6 timbers, 24 feet long, 378 feet of ^-inch iron hoops, 

 which will weigh about 490 lbs., lOO feet of one-inch boards 

 and 10 lbs. of nails, with 50 nuts to go on the hoops. In case 

 the silo is to be made of staves entirely, three 2x4 staves will 

 take the place of the three 4x6 timbers referred to, and it will 

 then be necessary to have 20 lags for the hoops. 



In the drawing are shown portions of a cross-section of the 

 silo to which I refer. The square piece of timber at "M" shows 

 its relative position at the back of the silo, with the hoops pass- 

 ing through it with several staves at either side. The two 4x6 

 pieces at "N" and "H" are door posts in their relative positions 

 with staves on either side. The staves, you will note, are not 

 tongued and grooved, neither are they beveled, but bear on each 

 other only upon the inside edge. This is desirable as the silo 

 will dry out quickly when empty, and decay will not take place 



