122 CONCRETE OR CEMENT SILOS. 



non-conductor of heat and cold; that the silage acids that 

 affect wood and metal have no effect on concrete; that 

 they are vermin proof; that they will last practically for-, 

 ever and need no repairs, and that they are fire proof. 



The general concensus of opinion among those who 

 have made a study of the matter seems to be well voiced 

 in Bulletin No. 102 of the Agricultural Experiment Station 

 of the University of Illinois when it says: "From what we 

 know now the round wood silo plastered with cement 

 seems to be the best construction, but the indications are 

 that when we learn to handle concrete to the best ad- 

 vantage this will be the material for building silos." 



The United States Government has, in every state in 

 the Union, established Agricultural Experiment Stations 

 for the purpose of giving the American farmer and Ameri- 

 can Agriculture in general the benefits of the best and 

 most improved methods. Several of these stations have 

 investigated the subject of silo construction and we feel 

 that we cannot do better than quote some of their results. 

 The station at the University of Wisconsin very clearly 

 introduces the situation in ttieir Bulletin No. 125 as fol- 

 lows: 



"Cement is being more and more widely used in all 

 kinds of construction work. It is not strange, therefore, 

 that it is being tried in silo construction. Concrete has 

 been used for a long time in silo foundations, but it is 

 now being used in the superstructure also. As yet, how- 

 ever no careful work has been done to determine what 

 is the best method to follow in construction of silos in 

 concrete. Concrete in itself is very strong, much stronger 

 than ordinary brick or stone masonry, that is, providing 

 good cement is used and the concrete properly made. 



"Reinforced concrete, or concrete steel, is very much 

 stronger than ordinary concrete. Reinforced concrete is 

 concrete in which steel rods or wires are imbedded in 

 such a way as to take the strain. By placing wires or 

 rods in the concrete it is possible to make the walls or 

 beams much thinner or lighter than would otherwise be 



