BUILDING THE SILO. 313 



should be a little narrower than the studs when an 

 outer lining is used to furnish ventilation to the air 

 space between the inner and outer linings. The 

 plates, like the sills, are put on the four sides of the 

 silo and they are also spliced at the corners. 



In building silos in the past, the aim has been 

 to get studs as long as the intended hight of the silo, 

 but since lumber of such great lengths must con- 

 tinually become scarcer and higher in price, of 

 necessity, more attention will have to be given to the 

 use of girts in the future. If girts were made to 

 extend around the middle of the silo, the studs would 

 only require to be one-half the usual length. If 

 mortised into the girts, and moreover, if one or more 

 partitions were used, and if one rod in each partition 

 were also run through the girts on the sides of the 

 silo, spreading would be most effectively prevented. 

 The girts, like the plates, should be a little narrower 

 than the studs in silos with an outer lining, and for 

 a similar reason. 



The Inner Lining. The amount of lining 

 required will depend almost entirely on the character 

 of the climate. Ordinarily, when rectangular silos 

 are built inside, one thickness of boards laid over 

 tarred paper will suffice. When but one layer of 

 boards is used, the lumber should be jointed and not 

 more than one inch thick. Boards not more than 

 six to eight inches wide will probably be better than 

 those wider, on the principle that narrow boards for 

 flooring are preferable to those wider. The tarred 

 paper is tacked onto the studs. The strips of the 

 same are put on perpendicularly and are made to 

 overlap where they meet on the studs, so that both 



