CHAPTER VIII. 

 THE MONOLITHIC SILO. 



The word "monolith" is derived from two Greek 

 words and means, literally, a single stone. The term 

 "monolithic" is therefore applied to concrete struc- 

 tures which are built up in one continuous process and 

 form practically a single stone when they are 

 completed. 



As stated in a previous chapter, any broadly general 

 classification of silos would include under this heading 

 not only the silo which is built up of either solid or 

 hollow walls poured in forms, but also the pit silo and 

 the silo plastered on metal lath. These others are, 

 however, dealt with in separate chapters further on in 

 this volume ; and as a number of different systems have 

 been developed for constructing the silo of poured 

 walls, these too have been dealt with in other chapters, 

 so that this chapter need only concern itself with a few 

 general observations on this type of silo. 



It has been the custom in the compilation of 

 bulletins by the U. S. Department of Agriculture, the 

 experiment stations of the several states, and the 

 bulletins of the cement companies, to give detailed 

 directions for what 'are known as "home-made" silos; 

 that is, silos built wholly or largely by the farmer him- 

 self, and in forms which are also of his own manu- 

 facture. The present writer, after having given the 

 subject careful consideration, has not seen fit to include 

 such matter in this volume. While undoubtedly a large 

 number of very satisfactory silos have been built in this 

 way, the practice is not to be recommended. The 



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