258 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 



silo outside of all buildings meets with greater favor among 

 those using silos. There are good reasons for this. First : 

 the silo with the exception of a few types, is of such a con- 

 struction that it does not need the protection of a covered 

 building. Second : it is not economical to place a silo in a build- 

 ing where it will occupy space which may be put to other 

 use. Third : a silo located inside of a building is often un- 

 handy to fill. The forage cannot be delivered to the cutter 

 conveniently. Fourth : by locating a silo outside of the build- 

 ing and only connecting it thereto with a passage provided 

 with doors, the objectionable odor of the silage may be kept 

 out of the building. By arranging the silo so as to be con- 

 nected to the feeding room with a feed way, it should be as 

 convenient for feeding as when located in the building itself. 

 A very common arrangement is to so locate the silo that the 

 passage-way from silo to barn is a continuation of the feed- 

 way in the barn. In general, it seems that there are few ad- 

 vantages in building a silo inside of a building and many in 

 building it outside. There are types of barns, the large round 

 barn, for instance, which are of a form making it possible for 

 a silo to be conveniently located at the center. 



Essentials of Construction. 



The fundamental principle in the preservation of green 

 forage when placed in a siio is the exclusion of air. It is the 

 purpose of any silo regardless of its construction to exclude 

 air as far as possible from the silage and in this way prevent 

 decay. To prevent the air from reaching the silage all silos 

 must have air-tight walls. These must be rigid enough not to 

 be sprung out of shape by the pressure of the silage, permit- 

 ting air to enter next to the wall. Not only the walls but the 

 doors also, must be perfectly air tight. To accomplish this, 

 they should be well fitted and the joints made more perfect by 

 felt pads or gaskets. It is good practice where the silo door 

 sets against a shoulder, to place clay worked into the consist- 

 ency of putty in the joint. The clay is placed on the bearing 



