62 HOW TO BUILD A SILO. 



So far as the keeping of the silage is concerned it 

 makes little difference which of these types of construc- 

 tion is adopted. The outward pressure on the silo wall 

 is greater where the wall juts into the silo, but the wall 

 is better protected against the weather. Where the project- 

 ing wall is outside, the silo has a greater capacity, but 

 there is a strong tendency for the wall to crack and allow 

 rain to penetrate it. Where this plan is followed it is 

 important to finish the sloping surface with cement, or to 

 shingle it, to keep out the water. 



Bottom of the Silo. After the silo has been completed 

 the ground forming the bottom should be thoroughly 

 tamped so as to be solid, and then covered with two or 

 three inches of good concrete made of 1 of cement to 3 

 or 4 of sand or gravel. The amount of silage which will 

 spoil on a hard clay floor will not be large, but enough to 

 pay a good interest on the money invested in the cement 

 floor. If the bottom of the silo is in dry sand or gravel 

 the cement bottom is imperative to shut out the soil air. 



Tying the Top of the Stone Wall. In case the wood 

 portion of the silo rises 24 or more feet above the stone 

 work, and the diameter is more than 18 feet, it will be 

 prudent to stay the top of the wall in some way. 



If the woodwork rises from the outer edge of the wall, 

 then building the wall up with cement so as to cover the 

 sill and lining as represented in Figs. 3 and 4 will give 

 the needed strength, because the woodwork will act as a 

 hoop; but if the silo stands at the inner face of the wall, 

 it will be set to lay pieces of iron rod in the wall near the 

 top to act as a hoop. 



Where the stone portion of the silo is high enough to 

 need a door, it is best to leave enough wall between the 

 top and the sill to allow a tie rod of iron to be bedded in 

 thig portion. So, too, the lower door in the woodwork of the 

 silo should have a full foot in width below it of lining and 

 siding uncut to act as a hoop, where the prewure is 

 strongest. 



