Construction of Stone Silos. 307 



ground, the settling and the early feeding before severe 

 cold weather will usually have earned the surface of the 

 silage so low that little inconvenience from frost will be 

 experienced even in stone silos. In all the wooden silos, ex 

 cept the questionable stave types, the construction needed 

 for strength and to keep the air from the silage will usually 

 be a sufficient protection against frost. 



CONSTRUCTION OF STONE SILOS. 



Whenever stone can be had on the farm suitable for 

 building purposes these may be used in silo construction, 

 thus converting idle into active capital. So far as the silo 

 itself is concerned no better or more durable material can 

 be used, and where it can be 10 to 13 feet in the ground 

 the inconveniences from freezing will be small, and the 

 stone silo will be found one of the cheapest of the thor- 

 oughly good forms. Great pains should be taken in build 

 ing the walls to fill all spaces between stones solid with 

 smaller ones and mortar and to have them thoroughly 

 bonded in order to secure strength and prevent cracking. 



494. Laying the Wall. The portion of the silo wall 

 which is below ground better be about 2 feet thick and laid 

 in one of the cheap brands of cement rather than lime, the 

 cement being desirable because lime mortar becomes hard 

 so very slowly in heavy walls, especially below ground. 

 After the wall is two feet above ground good lime mortar 

 may be used, but in this case there ought to be at least two 

 months for the wall to season and set before filling. The 

 upper portion of the silo wall need not be heavier than 18 

 inches, and if the size of stone permit of it, the outer face 

 of the wall may be drawn in gradually to a thickness of 12 

 inches at the top. 



Too great care cannot be taken in making the part of the 

 wall below and near the ground solid, and especially its 

 outer face, so that it will be strong where the greatest strain 



