CHAPTER IV 

 MASONRY SILOS 



Advantages and Disadvantages. Masonry and steel 

 makes a successful and permanent silo when properly used. 

 The chief advantages are permanence and the slight amount 

 of care necessary. The disadvantages are the length of 

 time required to build and the difficulty of getting men prop- 

 erly skilled in this kind of work. It is necessary, as with any 

 other silo, to use sufficient material to prevent the pressure of 

 the silage from bursting the sides. Masonry alone cannot 

 be depended upon to withstand this pressure, and steel must 

 be applied in the form of wires and rods to withstand this 

 tension or outward pressure. In order that the steel may be 

 as permanent as the masonry, it must be protected from the 

 air by at least an inch of mortar or concrete. 



Quality of Materials. It is necessary, in the use of 

 masonry, to use only such material as will be practically 

 air tight; that is, it must not be capable of absorbing water 

 to the extent of more than one-tenth to one-twentieth of 

 its own weight. In case the masonry silo is found to be 

 faulty in this respect, it can be improved by plastering the 

 inside with good rich plaster, or covering with coal tar, 

 creosote, or similar substance. 



It is a poor plan to make one link of a chain weaker than 

 the others; it is likewise foolish to build one part of a silo less 

 permanent than another. Wood door frames are less per- 

 manent and more expensive than masonry, and often cause 

 leakage of air between the door frames and the wall. To do 

 away with this difficulty, it is simply necessary to mold con- 

 crete door frames to receive the doors. The only logical 



