COST OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF SILOS. 77 



figures cannot be taken to represent the relative value of rec- 

 tangular and round silos built equally well. 



A good many figures entering into the preceding summaries 

 are doubtless somewhat too low, if all labor put on the silo is 

 to be paid for, for in some cases the cost of work done by the 

 farmers themselves was not figured in with other expenses. As 

 most farmers would do some of the work themselves, the figures 

 given may, however, be taken to represent the cash outlay in 

 building silos. In a general way, it may be said that a silo can 

 be built in the bay of a barn for less than 75 cents per ton 

 capacity; a round or a good square or rectangular wooden silo 

 for about $1.50, and a stone or cement silo for about $2 per 

 ton capacity, all figures being subject to variations according to 

 local prices for labor and materials. 



Rennie, a Canadian writer, gives the following comparative 

 figures as to cost of silos: Round stave silos, 75 cents per ton 

 capacity; round wooden silos, $1.25, and cement silos, $1.25 to 

 $1.50 per ton capacity. 



The cost of stave silos will of course vary with the kind of 

 lumber used, cost of labor, and other expenses, as in case of other 

 types of silos. It is evident that stave silos can as a rule be 

 built cheaper than other kinds of silos, both from the fact that 

 less material is used in their construction, and because the labor 

 bill is smaller. One of the first stave silos described, built in 

 Ontario, Canada, cost $75.00; capacity, 140 tons. Other and 

 better built stave silos have been put up for $100 for a 100-ton 

 silo, and this may be considered an average price for such a 

 silo, made of white pine, hemlock or any lumber that is cheapest 

 in the particular locality where the silo is to be built. If built 

 of Southern cypress, and complete with conical roof and doors, 

 the price of stave silos will in the North come to about $1.50 per 

 ton capacity, small silos being a little dearer, and larger ones a 

 little cheaper than this average figure. 



Estimating Material and Cost of Silos. 



Several writers on silo construction have published bills of ma- 

 terials used in the construction of silos of moderate sizes of 

 the following three types: Wisconsin Improved Silo, Modified 

 Wisconsin Silo, and Stave Silo. Farmers contemplating building 



