THE BUILDING OF SILOS. 27 



bottom of standards firmly in the ground, or by nailing a strip of 

 wood across at the bottom of the standards, and a little below where 

 the floor of the silo will be ; fasten the tops of the standards by a, 

 heavy cross-piece securely nailed, and fasten the pairs of standards 

 in their plumb position by shores reaching the bank outside. Now 

 take plank an inch and a half or two inches thick and fourteen, inches 

 wide, and place them edgeways inside the standards twenty inches 

 apart, thus forming a box fourteen inches deep, and running all along 

 and around the entire foundation of the proposed wall. Fill this box 

 with alternate layers of cobble-stones, or any rough stones, and mor- 

 tar or concrete ; first a layer of concrete, mortar, and then a layer 

 of stones ; not allowing the stones to come quite out to the boxing- 

 plank, but having concrete over the edges, and the concrete must be 

 stamped or rammed down solid. Prepare the concrete as follows : 

 Take one part of good cement (Portland is the best probably), and 

 mix with this four parts of sand (do not have the sand too fine, 

 rather coarse), and mix the cement thoroughly with the sand while 

 dry, and then mix four parts of clear gravel ; make into a thin 

 mortar, and use at once. Put into the box an inch or two of this 

 mortar, and then bed in cobble-stones, then fill in with mortar, again 

 covering the stones, and again put in a layer of stone. When the 

 box is filled and the mortar " set," so that the wall is firm, then 

 raise the box one foot, leaving two inches lap of plank on wall below, 

 and go around again, raising the wall one foot each day, every second 

 day, according to amount of labor at hand. 



If one-half the bulk of finely-stocked quick-lime is added to the 

 water-lime, it will improve it, and costs but little. If Rosendale or 

 Akron cement is used instead of Portland, then proportions should 

 be as follows : One barrel of good live cement, three barrels of good 

 sand, three barrels of good clean gravel. If no gravel is obtainable, 

 then use five barrels of sand to one of cement, and bed in all the 

 cobble-stones possible. Stones with rough edges are better than 

 smooth, as they bind the wall more thoroughly ; but any flat stones 

 found about fields will do as well. A layer of loose cobble-stones 

 should be placed against the outside of the wall before the earth is 

 brought against it, so as to have an air space, and a free passage for 

 water. We think that stone walls two feet thick, plastered with 

 Portland cement, are better than concrete ; and, where people can 

 afford to build of stone, they had better do so. As most farmers 

 have plenty of stone on their farms, they can haul and lay the stones 



