282 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 



materials may consist of what is termed grout or 

 concrete. The cement floor may be made by cov- 

 ering the ground to the depth of several inches with 

 coarse gravel or small stones. These are covered 

 with a good coating of water lime, not less than two 

 or three inches, and over all is put a layer of good 

 cement of say half an inch or more in thickness. 

 Where bricks are used they should be laid in cement, 

 and two layers would probably prove more satis- 

 factory than one. Floors so expensive however 

 are seldom necessary. 



It has been claimed that the floor of the silo 

 should slope downward toward the center to facili- 

 tate the even settling of the silage, but whether the 

 end thus sought is certainly attained can scarcely be 

 paid to have been proved. When silo floors are 

 thus shaped, drainage where it is necessary, should 

 lead from the center. If the floor is rather higher 

 at the center than the sides, then drainage into tiles 

 laid around inside the walls would be facilitated. 



Linings for Silos. — The various materials that 

 have been used for lining silos include boards, ce- 

 ment, water lime, shingles, brick, metal and tarred 

 paper. 



Board linings are by far the most frequently 

 used in silos, and except in the case of cement they 

 have been found the best. Various forms of board 

 linings have been used. The best results have been 

 obtained from using one thickness of matched lum- 

 ber with tarred paper under it, or two thicknesses of 

 matched boards with tarred paper between. The first 

 is of course the cheaper method and should there- 

 fore be given the preference wherever it will suffice 

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