312 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 



silo as in making the floor of the stave silo. (See 

 Pages 282 and 299.) 



The Studs. — The size of the studding used in 

 the framework of the walls varies with the dimen- 

 sions of the silo. The same is true of the spacing 

 and bridging of the studs. The larger the silo, and 

 more especially the greater its hight, the larger 

 •should be the studs where no girts are used and the 

 more closely should they be spaced and bridged. In 

 silos twenty-four to twenty-eight feet high it has 

 been found necessary to use studs 2x10 inches or 

 3x8 inches, to place them not more ^than twelve to 

 twenty-four inches apart and to bridge between each 

 pair of studs in not less than three places. 



By bridging is meant the nailing of short pieces 

 of narrow boards or miniature scantlings between 

 the studs^. They are cut at both ends with a proper 

 bevel so that they may be easily nailed to the studs. 

 Even when thus constructed, walls have been known 

 to spread somewhat. But where partitions are used, 

 it is not necessary to use studs so heavy, nor to place 

 them so close, since the iron rods which run through 

 the partitions effectually aid in preventing spreading. 

 The studs are usually toe-nailed to the sills below, 

 but in some instances they are mortised into the 

 same. When toe-nailed, several large spikes are 

 driven into each. Plates of the same material should 

 be laid on top of the studs and spiked to them when 

 the size of the material will admit of this, but when 

 it is of thicker size than the studs, the latter should 

 be mortised into the plates. The method more com- 

 monly adopted is to simply fasten the studs by 

 spiking them both above and below. The plates 

 Digitized by Microsoft® 



