PLANNING THE SILO 51 



iitmc concrete silo, the two should be built up at the same 

 time and securely tied together. Some reinforcing should 

 be used in such a chute. 



If the chute is to be of clay blocks, it need not be built up 

 at the same time as the silo, though it is usually found more 

 convenient to do so. The chute must have a trap door or a 

 dormer window in the roof extending out over the chute. 

 At the bottom the chute should be connected to the feedway 

 of the barn; sometimes, if considerable silage is fed outside 

 the barn, it will be found advantageous to set the silo far 

 enough from the barn so that a wagon can be driven under 

 the chute between the barn and the silo, when large doors 

 may be put in the bottom of the chute. 



Points on Floors. In many localities a special silo floor 

 is not considered essential or even advisable. Every one 

 agrees that the floor may be more often dispensed with than 

 the roof. The floor, however, is a considerable advantage. 

 It helps prevent water from seeping into the silo, and reduces 

 the difficulty of cleaning out the silo before refilling. Con- 

 crete is usually used for this, but it need not be made thick nor 

 expensive. A three-inch floor is thick enough, but it should 

 be made quite dense, generally 1 to 4, unless the gravel is 

 exceptionally good. 



In some cases where gravel is expensive, paving blocks 

 or even good hollow blocks may be used to advantage as 

 flooring by simply plastering them with cement mortar. The 

 floor should generally be slightly dished in the center, 6 to 10 

 inches being common. 



