THIRTY-FIFTH ANNUAL CONVENTION. 273 



sary freezing. If the air above the silage is confined, no 

 serious loss of heat can possibly take place. When the top 

 of the silo is open and free circulation of air permitted, it 

 is almost impossible to prevent the surface from freezing in 

 severe weather. A personal investigation of silos in cold 

 weather proved conclusively that those provided with a tight 

 roof did not contain nearly as much frozen silage as those left 

 open. 



The freezing of silage does not necessarily mean a loss, as 

 it may be thawed out and made fit for feeding and when prop- 

 erly attended to need not rot or mold. The frozen silage may 

 be often thawed by mixing with the warm silage at the center 

 of the silo. It is generally considered dangerous to feed 

 frozen silage. 



Types of Silos. 



Square silos are practically a thing of the past. They were 

 developed before the round silo, but generally gave trouble by 

 the bulging of the straight sides and the spoiling of the silage 

 in the corners. In addition to this the material of construction 

 is not so economically used or distributed to resist the pressure 

 of the silage as in the round silo. The first two difficulties 

 were somewhat reduced by filling the corners of the square 

 silo, making it octagonal. However, this was only a tran- 

 sitional stage in the development of the round silo and very 

 few are in use. To those who may be especially anxious to 

 build a square silo in the bay of a barn or a similar place, it 

 is just to state that a few very satisfactory square silos are 

 in use. The success of the square silos investigated depended 

 upon the fact that they were quite small, usually ten by ten 

 feet, that the walls were made very stiff and when filled great 

 care was used in tramping the silage well into the corners. How- 

 ever, the building of a square silo can seldom, if ever, be profit- 

 able or desirable. 



The King Silo. 



The Wisconsin silo or the King silo, as it is generally 

 known, was designed by Professor F. H. King of Wisconsin, 



