Pit Silos. 423 



should be provided with long threads and joined with iron 

 Ings and nuts, as represented in D, Fig. 208. The iron Ings 

 should always be used in preference to the 2x4's or 4x4 's 

 i -cause they are better in eveiy way. So, too, should they 

 be used in preference to posts set up against the silo outside 

 or shaped to act as a part of the staves as has been recom- 

 mended. In visiting over 100 silos in 1801 it was found 

 that wherever a silo lining had a heavy timber back of it, 

 the holding of dampness caused rotting there in three or 

 four years, and it is quite certain that the use of iron lugs 

 is the safest way to avoid this danger in stave silos. 



523, Doors for Stave Silos. A good method of construct- 

 ing doors for the stave silo is represented in Fig. 208. 

 Two inch lumber is bolted to the staves on the outside, pro- 

 jecting two inches into the doorway all around, thus form- 

 ing a rabbet against which the door may rest. A strip of 

 thick ruberoid roofing should be used on the rabbet under 

 the door and the door drawn down tight with lour lag bolts 

 and washers. 



A common way of making these doors is to cut the staves 

 out on a bevel and make the door fit into this beveled cut 

 directly. If the work is carefully done and then, at the time 

 of filling, if the face of the bevel is plastered with a thick 

 coat of puddled clay and the door forced tightly into this a 

 fairly close joint may be secured. 



524. Pit Silos. In localities where both lumber and 

 masonry are expensive or cannot be had, and where the soil 

 is of such a character that a pit 15 to 20 feet deep may be 

 sunk in the ground, a good silo may be made in this way. 

 The. most serious objection to such a silo is the incon- 

 venience of removing the silage to feed. 



If the soil is of such a character that it will not cave in 

 the pit may be made circular in form, of the desired size 

 and depth and then plastered with cement in the manner 

 of a cistern. If there is a little difficulty in the walls stand- 



