284 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 



juices, and is so easily penetrated by the tines of 

 tlie fork used in handling the silage, that much of it 

 scales off. 



Plaster is even more objectionable than water 

 lime, more especially when applied to wooden walls. 

 It disintegrates even more readily and therefore peels 

 off more easily. The springing of the wooden walls 

 cracks the plaster when it occurs. The acids wet 

 the lining and render it more liable to injury from 

 frost, and when they penetrate to the underlying 

 lath they hasten its decay. 



Shingles answer fairly well for lining, but they 

 add to the expense of the same. Where shingles are 

 used, matched lumber and tarred paper must also be 

 used, hence lining with shingles would seem to be 

 superfluous, and there is more or less danger that 

 they will be loosened or torn off by the fork in remov- 

 ing the silage. 



Bricks not coated with cement do not make a 

 good lining for the silo. They become damp and 

 do not sufficiently exclude the air, but they would 

 seem to be much less objectionable than unplastered 

 stone, even thougii the stones were smooth. Bricks 

 draw dampness too easily and do not readily exclude 

 frost. Much of the silage adjacent to such walls 

 would spoil and in time the acids from the silage 

 juices would cause the mortar between the stones 

 to crumble and would thus make the walls rough. 

 Brick or stone walls should be kept lined with a high 

 quality of cement. 



Metal lining for silos has not thus far proved 

 a success. Sheet iron and tin have been tried. Pro- 

 fessor F. H. King, of the Wisconsin Experiment 



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