SILOS 157 



built in a variety of ways and of a variety of materials, 

 including wooden staves, concrete, wood plastered with 

 cement, stone, wood, brick, iron and tile. It is not the 

 purpose in this article to give details for construction of 

 silos, but rather to give information regarding the sub- 

 ject in general and the advantages of the first three types 

 mentioned. 



The most common silo found in America is that known 

 as the stave silo. This is built on the plan of a stave 

 water tank. It is purchased ready to put together, requir- 

 ing only that the foundation be made. A foundation is 

 built of concrete. The walls should be about eight inches 

 thick. A stave silo 16x32 feet will cost about $300. The 

 foundation is not included in this estimate. The cost of 

 a concrete block or solid wall silo of the size given is 

 from $300 to $500. 



The concrete silo may be built of blocks or with solid 

 walls. The latter is sometimes called monolithic. The 

 kind most to be recommended is the solid wall structure. 

 The advantages of a concrete silo are that when once 

 properly built it is a permanent structure, and is not 

 damaged by fire or wind, or from drying out. It does 

 not preserve the silage any better than does one with a 

 wall of wood. On the other hand, if the concrete wall is 

 properly constructed, so that the air is kept out, the silage 

 will be preserved in perfect condition. The objections 

 that are often raised to the concrete silo, especially by 

 those interested in the sale of the stave silo, are that it 

 will crack and fall down, and, furthermore, that it will 

 not preserve the silage. It is quite true that both these 

 conditions have been met with in many cases. If the 

 structure is properly reinforced, there is not the least 

 danger of it cracking or falling down. If the walls are 

 made of a mixture containing sufficient cement, so that 

 the wall is not too porous, the silage does not spoil. It 

 requires some skill to properly build a concrete silo. A 



