34 HOW TO BUILD A SILO. 



thickness of staves, will doubtless be the main silo type of the 

 future; hence we shall give full information as to their building, 

 and shall then briefly speak of the other forms mentioned which 

 may be considered preferable in exceptional cases. 



Round Wooden Silos. 



Round wooden silos were first described, and their use advo- 

 cated, in Bulletin No. 28, issued by the Wisconsin Station in 

 July, 1891, at a time when lumber of a good quality could be se- 

 cured at much less cost than at present. This type has come to 

 be known as the Wisconsin or King silo, named after the late 

 ProL King, the originator. The first detailed and illustrated de- 

 scription was published in the above bulletin; since that time 

 it has been described in several bulletins and reports Issued by 

 the Station mentioned and in numerous publications from other 

 Experiment Stations. This type, and the one to be described hi 

 the following, the stave silo, are practically the only kind of 

 wooden silos that have been built in this country during late 

 years except where unusual conditions have prevailed that would 

 make some other kind of silo construction preferable. 



The Kind of Woods for Silos. — Conclusions drawn from Bulletin 

 No. 100, Iowa State College, place the merits of woods for silo 

 use as follows: 1, Redwood; 2, Cypress; 3, Oregon Fir; 4, Tam- 

 arack; 5, White Pine; 6, Long-leaf Yellow Pine. 



The following description of the King silo is taken from Bul- 

 letins Nos. 83 and 125 of the Wisconsin Station: 



The Foundation. — There should be a good, substantial cement 

 foundation for all forms of wood silos, and the woodwork should 

 everywhere be at least 12 inches above the earth, to prevent decay 

 from dampness. There are few conditions where it *will not be 

 desirable to have the bottom of the silo 3 feet or more below the 

 feeding floor of the stable, and this will require not less than 4 

 to 6 feet of stone, brick, or concrete wall. For a silo 30 feet deep 

 the foundation wall of stone should be 1.5 to 2 feet thick. 



Bottom of the Silo.— After the silo has been completed the 

 ground forming the bottom should be thoroughly tamped so as to 

 be solid, and then covered with two or three inches of good con- 

 crete made of 1 of cement to 3 or 4 of sand or gravel. The 

 amount of silage which will spoil on a hard clay floor will not be 

 large, but enough to pay a good Interest on the money Invested 

 in the cement floor. If the bottom of the silo is in dry sand or 

 gravel the cement bottom Is imperative to shut out the soil air. 



The Superstructure.— The wood superstructure of the King silo 

 has a wall 5 or 6 inches thick, whereas the foundation wall is 



