108 SILOS OTHER THAN WOOD. 



will sometimes freeze in any kind of silo, but it must be very 

 severe and protracted cold weather to freeze silage very deeply 

 because of its own generated heat. Metal silo manufacturers 

 contend that while the so-called double or hollow wall silos are 

 slower to freeze than some other types, they are also much 

 slower to thaw; that unlike other silos, freezing and thawing has 

 no injurious effects on the metal silo, or on its contents; that 

 silage freezing to the sides of ordinary silos requires to be 

 chipped away with danger of injury to the walls; whereas the 

 sun beating against the metal walls for a few hours on the cold- 

 est winter day melts the silage loose; and that metal silos are 

 giving satisfaction in northern territories where the thermometer 

 hovers around 20 degrees below zero for weeks at a time. 



Detailed directions regarding the building of foundations 

 and the erecting of metal silos will be found in the catalogs 

 of metal silo manufacturers, which should be secured by anyone 

 interested in this type of silo. 



Pit or Underground Silos. 



Pit or underground silos date back to antiquity. For over fifty 

 years they have been demonstrating their value in Europe, not 

 only in preserving silage but in economy of construction. The 

 pit method of storing green feeds had been followed for many 

 years before the advent of the modern silo or silo filler. The fact 

 that the above-ground silo ever since its introduction has made 

 such rapid strides in comparison, would indicate that this type is 

 far more satisfactory in actual use. 



In the United States the underground silo is distinctly a West- 

 ern type, having its highest degree of adaptability in those sec- 

 tions visited by sparse rain fall and where the water table is not 

 near the earth's surface. These silos are therefore numerous in 

 Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colorado and the Western parts 

 of Kansas and Nebraska. Norton County alone in Kansas has 

 over 100 pit silos. Some are in use in the semi-arid parts of 

 South Dakota as well as in Illinois, Michigan and other states. 

 They are NOT adapted to humid sections or to localities subject 

 to regular and heavy rain fall. 



The underground silo is generally considered a temporary ex- 

 pedient or makeshift and it seems to show up to best advantage 



