268 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 



with a roof, but during snowy or rainy weather the silage is 

 mixed with snow or wet down with rain. Furthermore, a 

 silo without a roof becomes a catching place for husks, dust 

 or anything carried in the wind and a favorite feeding ground 

 for the neighborhood pigeons and birds. Although many 

 silos are not provided with roofs and the live stock eagerly 

 eat the silage from them, it is evident that a roof would not 

 only reduce the amount of frozen silage, actually save silage 

 and preserve its quality, but be worth its cost in making a 

 more pleasant place to feed from in bad weather. The roof 

 is also valuable in protecting and strengthening the silo and 

 in adding to its appearance. A door for filling, large enough 

 to admit the carrier or elevator from the ensilage cutter, 

 should be placed in the roof. A simple trap door may be 

 used for this purpose, but a dormer window with glass is pref- 

 erable. Some light should be admitted to the silo, for if not 

 it will be necessary to use a lantern when removing the silage. 



The pitch of the silo roof may vary from one-quarter to one- 

 half. The steeper roof permits the silo to be filled above the 

 top of the wall so as to be nearly full after settling. A flat 

 roof does not permit the silage to be elevated to a point high 

 enough to do this, does not give the workmen room for work 

 during filling, and does not shed the snow like a steeper roof. 

 The sheeting is sawed into triangular pieces diagonally across 

 the board and both ends used to prevent waste. The sheeting 

 may be covered with shingles or what is better, prepared roofing. 

 The latter will make a roof more nearly air tight and is very sat- 

 isfactory when a good quality is used. It also has the advan- 

 tage that it is very easy to put in place. The roofing should 

 be cut into three cornered strips of a length to extend from 

 the top of the cone to the eaves. In this way the material will 

 be used economically and an air tight roof, retaining the heat, 

 will be obtained. Plain boards do not make a good roof. If 

 they are used the cracks should be carefully covered with bat- 

 tens. Concrete has many of the same advantages for roof 

 construction that it has for other purposes, that is, it can be 



