SILOS AND SILAGE 153 
is on account of this fact and because of the economy of construc- 
tion that only round silos are now built. 
After the silage has once settled there is no lateral pressure in 
the silo; cases are on record where a filled silo has burned down to 
the ground with the silage remaining practically intact as a tall 
stack. 
Silo Structures.—It does not lie within the scope of this book 
to discuss different methods of silo construction; suffice it to say 
that there are four or five different kinds of materials now used in 
the building of silos: Wooden silos (either stave, so-called re-saw, 
plastered), cement (solid or block), brick, stone, glazed tile, and 
steel. A satisfactory and more or less permanent silo can be built 
of any one of these materials, provided due care is taken in the 
construction. The cost of different kinds of silos will bi Bie 
Fie. 29.—A California dairy barn, with concrete silos, accommodating four rows of cows, 
with a driveway in the middle. 
in different sections, according to the relative prices of lumber, 
cement, brick, etc. A number of different experiment stations have 
published bulletins on silo construction which describe the silo 
materials best adapted to the conditions in the respective States, 
and these may profitably be consulted before a silo is built. Silos 
built by farmers living in the same localities may also be examined, 
and advantage thus taken of the experience of others (Fig. 29). 
Advantages of Silos.—There are several reasons for the rapid 
increase of silos on American farms during the past few decades; 
the most important ones are given below. 
1. Generally speaking, the silo enables the farmer to secure 
the largest possible amounts of feed materials in the corn crop for 
feeding farm animals in the most convenient and cheapest manner. 
2. Corn silage furnishes a uniform succulent feed during the 
winter and spring, which is greatly relished by all classes of farm 
