AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING 275 



after. Lack of attention to these things may cause serious 

 loss or damage besides decreasing the value, utility and 

 appearance of the property. 

 Questions: 



1. What can you say about the importance of farm buildings? 



2. Do you thmk the farm home may and should be provided 

 with modern conveniences? Why? 



3. What are some of the things to look after in keeping buildings 

 in repair? 



Arithmetic: 



1. Determine as nearly as you can the total value of all the 

 buildings on your home farm, or some farm with which you are fami- 

 liar. 



2. How many thousand shingles will it take to shingle a roof 

 each side of which is 28 ft. by 80 ft., if 1,000 shingles will cover 125 

 sq. ft.? 



3. ]f a gallon of paint will cover 50 sq. yds. of surface, how 

 much paint will be required to paint a square house 30 ft. by 30 ft.,, 

 16 ft. high? 



THE SILO 



A silo is a receptacle with air-tight walls in which green, 

 succulent feed, usually corn, may be put and kept in good 

 condition until wanted. Silos are usually made round, 

 because in this form they are stronger, and there are no 

 comers in which it is difficult to pack silage. The material 

 stored in a silo is called silage. 



Importance. — A silo is recognized as an important part 

 of the equipment of an up-to-date stock farm. It is no 

 longer an experiment, as silos have now been in use more 

 than twenty-five years in this country. If one will visit a 

 number of farmers who have used silage, one will be con- 

 vinced that the silo is practical on a fair-sized stock farm. 

 Men who have used silos are their strongest advocates. 



Advantages. — Silage is relished by nearly all kinds of 

 farm animals. It is palatable, nutritious, and is a means, 

 by which the entire corn plant may be saved. With a silo 

 one may frequently save an immature crop of corn that 

 would otherwise be largely wasted. Mature corn, how- 

 ever, makes the best silage. The silo provides for the 

 storage of a large amount of feed in a small space. It is 

 a convenient means of storing feed, and silage may be fed 

 at any time of year, summer or winter, or it may be kept 

 over from year to year. So a good silo filled with com 



