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unless tliu proper precautions mentioned below are taken, 

 during the process of filling-in the fodder, or of emptying 

 the silage, if not during the actual excavating, the sides 

 are liable to fall in. Should this happen when the silo 

 is in use, the presence of soil would greatly reduce the 

 value of the silage. To prevent this happening, it is neces- 

 sary to line the sides, and for this purpose smooth-faced 

 wooden planks, running vertically so as to lessen the fric- 

 tion during filling, are recommended. Bricks lined with 

 good cement will answer better where they can be afforded. 

 The chief precaution to be taken is to have the walls as 

 perpendicular and smooth as possible, so that during filling 

 the whole may settle down easily and evenly. The bottom 

 may be bricked or cemented. The mouth of the pit, if ex- 

 posed, should be protected from rain and surface water, 

 and if a shelter is not built over it a rough tarpaulin will 

 be found handy when heavy rain falls. It must be said 

 that we have seen on several occasions silage made in an 

 ordinary hole, with sides sloping so that the bottom is 

 smaller than the mouth, in cases where it was practically 

 impossible, or economically disadvantageous, to have a 

 properly built one. But the silage round the sides and 

 bottom of these has invariably been rotten or dirty, and 

 we have been told that the filling was difficult. 



