Thirty-fourth Annual Convention. 



213 



Form of Silo. 



Nearly every one who builds a silo adds some new feature, 

 giving rise to a great variety of shapes and methods of construc- 

 tion. Before building a silo it is w^ell to consider both the ad- 

 vantages and the disadvantages of the different styles, as well 

 as the cost of each. It should be borne in mind, however, that 

 no silo is cheap, no matter how small the first cost, if it does not 

 preserve the silage perfectly. The first silos in this country were 

 usually built inside the barn and consequently the square form 

 was commonly used in order to utilize the space more completely. 

 The square silo has not proved satisfactory, however, as it is 

 practically impossible to build this form so that the side walls 

 \Y\\\ not spring put and allow the air to pass down between the 

 silage and the wall, which invariably results in the rotting of the 

 silage. Another difficulty with the square form is that the silage 

 does not settle readily in the corners and there is consequently 

 considerable loss from this cause. Square silos having heavy 

 cement walls are shown in Cut 10, but even these have cracked, 

 allowing the air to enter. 



An example of great loss owing to the form and faulty con- 

 struction came under the writer's notice a few years ago when a 

 square silo with a capacity of fifty tons, was built with air-tight, 

 but not rigid walls. Simply the springing of the sides of the 

 silo allowed the air to gain access to the silage to such an extent 

 that the entire fifty tons spoiled completely. Since for mechanical 

 reasons it is practically impossible to build a square wood silo 

 with perfectly rigid walls, the round silo is the only proper form. 



Silage has been put up at the University for the past seven- 

 teen years. The first silos were square and built inside the barn. 

 These were made of two thicknesses of J^-inch flooring with 

 paper between. After having been used seven or eight years the 

 double walls began to show signs of decay, and after nine years 

 the walls were so badly rotted that the silO' was useless. If silos 

 are to be built of wood the wall should be of but one thickness. 

 The difficulty with double walls is that moisture gets between 

 the two layers of wood and as it does not dry out readily, decay 

 follows rapidly. 



Proportion and Capacity of Silos. 



To obtain satisfactory results, silage must be in perfect con- 

 dition when fed. Since fermentation soon takes place when sil- 



