158 FEEDING WITH SUGAR BEETS, SUGAR, ETC. 



In certain cases, the size is regulated so that a wagon may 

 turn upon itself in the silo, which calls for a width of at least 15 

 feet. In agricultural attempts at siloing this width is frequently 

 reduced to three feet. The width of the silo must vary with 

 circumstances; if too great, its covering would offer some diffi- 

 culty. However, the width should never be less than that of 

 an average cart. 



It is recommended that the bottom of the silos be paved in 

 such a way that there shall be two-thirds of an inch per yard 

 slant from the entrance to the exit, with the view of facilitating 

 the flow of water that runs off from the cossettes. In certain 

 cases it has been found that this slant should be double, thus 

 permitting the flow from the right as well as the left. Under 

 these circumstances there is no deposit of water at the bottom of 

 the silo, and stagnant water of any kind would soon contaminate 

 the mass of the residuum. Sometimes it has been found an 

 advantage to carry off the water filtration by certain drains; it 

 has also been proposed to allow this water to collect in special 

 wells, filled with stones or other material, from which, when the 

 occasion presents itself, it may be pumped out. On the other 

 hand, some experts advocate the building of these silos on 

 porous soil. 



Complaints respecting characteristic odors of butter made 

 from milk of pulp-fed cows, refer to siloed pulp. The residuum 

 has become acid and undergone certain organic changes during 

 its keeping, due frequently to the contamination caused by 

 badly drained silos. It is important to call attention to the 

 fact, that the drainage-water does not contain more than a slight 

 fraction of the nourishing elements of the cossettes; its compo- 

 sition, according to Vivien, is nitric elements .0020, carbohy- 

 drates .0270, potassic substances .0006, various mineral sub- 

 stances .0052, water and acetic acid ,9818. 



It is to be noticed that the bottom paving of a silo materially 

 helps the conservation of the siloed cossettes, and experience 

 has shown that for a silo of average dimensions all lateral walls, 

 brick or otherwise, are unnecessary, as they render only a very 

 secondary service, mainly so when in especially plastic soils. 



Herzfeld says that the slope of the silos is of secondary im- 



