190 THE CREAMERY PATRON'S HANDBOOK. 



high priced barns that they do not question the expense of a thousand- 

 dollar hay barn, while they consider a $150 silo an extravagance. 



LOCATION. 



The silo should be placed close to the feeding place as silage is very 

 heavy. If located on the outside it should be well secured to the barn, 

 to prevent the wind from wrecking it while empty; when built above three 

 feet from the barn the space between silo and barn can be so boarded up 

 as to make a chute down which the silage may be thrown at feeding time. 



CAPACITY. 



A twenty cow dairy will need a silo about 16 feet in diameter by 26 

 feet high to hold the necessary silage for a six months feeding period. It 

 has been found that a silo 36 feet high contains five times as much as one 

 12 feet high, which is due to the increased density by settling; it is best 

 to build not less than 24 feet high. 



A silo 25 to 30 feet deep will contain on an average approximately 

 enough silage in one cubic foot to feed one cow one day, from this may be 

 computed the size of silo required. 



CHEAP SILOS. 



Much dissatisfaction has come from building cheap tub silos, that at 

 slight provocation have become wrecked, and no end of discouragement 

 has followed the building of elaborate concerns which were placed inside 

 of other buildings and lacked the proper construction and ventilation, caus- 

 ing them to soon become worthless from decay. 



Tub silos properly constructed have been standing for ten years and 

 are still in a good state of preservation. The main requisite is to 

 have them made of strong staves of good material held together by a suffi- 

 cient number of hoops and well secured to the barn, and the hoops kept 

 reasonably tight while the silo is empty. 



BUILDING A TUB SILO FOUNDATION. 



This should be built of good brick or stone, and settled well in the 

 ground to keep out rats; otherwise, a cement floor should be provided to 

 answer the same purpose. If the drainage is good, a ground floor i as 

 good as any for the ensilage to rest upon. 



Many tub silos are now being built without a foundation. A narrow 

 trench is dug in the ground one or two feet deep. The tub is set up in this 

 trench and then this ditch on both sides is filled in and above the ground 

 with a mixture of cement and sand. While this method has not passed the 

 experimental stage it is highly recommended by some. 



THE STAVES. 



The tub silo is built on the same principle as a huge barrel, without 

 the bulge in the middle. Either 2x6 for a small silo or 2x8 for a large one may 

 be used for staves. Bevel the edges of these staves, and have them straight 

 so that the pressure of the hoops when tightened will bring them close 



