62 Concrete Silos 



the upper part of the silo at the outer edge of the foun- 

 dation walls. The shoulder was thus left projecting 

 into the silo. Owners of such silos report a large 

 amount of rotten silage around the joints. This is ow- 

 ing to the fact that the silage does not settle properly 

 where such joints occur, leaving pockets of air which 

 cause rotting of the silage. In some cases the owners 

 have felt it worth while to sacrifice a part of the ca- 

 pacity of their silos by filling them up to this shoulder. 



If the ground is firm it can foe used as an outside 

 form for the foundation walls, using an inside form of 

 wood or metal. 



It may be said, however, that while it has been the 

 custom in the past to build a foundation wall up to 

 about a foot above ground, irrespective of the kind of 

 construction to be followed above that point, the prac- 

 tice is coming into quite general use of starting the 

 walls of the structure directly on the footing, making 

 them uniform from that point to the top, whether they 

 be of monolithic construction, blocks, staves, or plas- 

 tered on metal lath. This is a more simple method of 

 construction, except for the fact that in some instances 

 this may require a little more excavation. 



Where a silo is to be reinforced vertically, this re- 

 inforcement should be imbedded in the footings and 

 allowed to project from them up into the walls. 



