138 PROFITABLE DAIRYING 



Projections or rough places on the inner walls 

 of a silo will prevent the even settling and cause 

 dead air spaces which will spoil the silage. It 

 must rest on a strong, solid foundation because 

 the side pressure and weight at the bottom are 

 very great. This pressure may be so great as 

 to burst a heavy stone wall, and the great weight 

 will cause a silo placed on a poor foundation to 

 settle out of shape and crack the walls. 



Silage a satisfactory feed. If this building is 

 so constructed as to provide for sufficient venti- 

 lation and to prevent freezing, and if proper care 

 is used in filling the silo, the silage will be found 

 to be one of the most satisfactory feeds for dairy 

 cows, especially when winter dairying is car- 

 ried on. 



The five types of silos. There are five types of 

 silos in common use; wood, brick, tile, stone, and 

 cement, but they are all built on the same general 

 plan. A hole four or five feet deep is dug in the 

 ground. The bottom of this hole is covered with 

 a layer of concrete and cement and the sides 

 walled up for a foot or two above the top with 

 a heavy stone wall, at least two feet thick. On 

 top of this wall the silo is usually built of two 

 thicknesses of whatever material is used, with a 

 dead air space between. The filling doors open 

 to the outside, and the feeding doors open into 

 the barn. A ventilator is placed on top, and the 



