108 



SILOS OTHER THAN WOOD. 



tramping or filling to tlie top of tlie silo, causing botli spoilage 

 and loss of capacity. Despite these objections, however, the 

 majority of purchasers seem to prefer the roof. 



Foundation. — Too much care cannot be taken in building the 

 foundation of a metal silo. Solid ground is the first essential be- 

 cause the silo with its contents is very heavy. The foundation 

 wall and floor should be of concrete of ordinary 1:2:4 propor- 

 tions. The wall should be at least 12 inches thick and extend 

 6 inches below freezing point or about 3 feet in the ground — deep 

 enough to prevent the frost from heaving the silo out of level 

 and to prevent rats from digging under. The first row of metal 

 sheets should be imbedded in the center of the wall at least 12 

 inches deep. 



Freezing in Metal Silos. — In extremely cold climates silage 

 will sometimes freeze in any kind of silo, taut it must be very 

 severe and protracted cold weather to freeze silage very deeply 

 because of its own generated heat. Metal silo manufacturers 

 contend that while the so-called double — or hollow — wall silos are 

 slower to freeze than some other types, they are also much 

 slower to thaw; that unlike other silos, freezing and thawing has 

 no injurious effects on the metal silo, or on its contents; that 

 silage freezing to the sides of ordinary silos requires to be 



k; 



Fig. 49. — Large Metal Silo on Sunny Slope Farm. Emporia, Kans., 

 being filled with Silver's Ohio No. 22 Cutter. 



