92 HOW TO BUILD A SILO. 



barrel is best. If when the silo staves are put in place 

 they are toe-nailed securely to the ones previously set; 

 if they are fastened firmly to the permanent upright posts 

 (Fig. 15, a, a, a, a) ; if the barrel staves are used as 

 directed above, the silo will have sufficient rigidity to stand 

 until the hoops are put in place. However, if it becomes 

 necessary for any reason to delay for any considerable 

 time the putting on of the hoops, boards should be nailed 

 across the top of the silo. 



When it is found impossible to secure staves of the 

 full length desired, a joint or splice must be made. 



For a silo 30 feet deep, staves 20 feet in length may be 

 used. A part of these should be used their full length and 

 part should be sawed through the middle, thus making 

 staves of 20 and 10 feet length. In setting them up the 

 ends which meet at the splice should be squared and toe- 

 nailed securely together. They should alternate so that 

 first a long stave is at the bottom then a short one, thus 

 breaking joints at 10 feet and 20 feet from the base. 



For the hoops, %-inch round iron or steel rods are 

 recommended, although cheaper substitutes have been 

 found satisfactory. Each hoop should be in three sections 

 for a silo 12 feet in diameter, in four sections for a silo 

 16 feet in diameter. If the method of construction shown 

 in Fig. 15 is followed, the hoops will need to be in four 

 sections each, the ends being passed through the upright 

 6x6 posts, and secured by heavy washers and nuts. The 

 bottom hoop should be about six inches from the base of 

 the silo; the second hoop should be not more than two 

 feet from the first; the third hoop two and one-half feet 

 from the second, the distance between hoops being in- 

 creased by one-half foot until they are three and one-half 

 feet apart, which distance should be maintained except for 

 the hoops at the top of the silo which may be four feet 

 apart. The hoops, should be drawn fairly tight before the 

 silo is filled, but not perfectly tight. They must be tight 

 enough to close up the space between the staves, thus 

 preventing any foreign matter from getting into the cracks 



