IHIRTY-SIXTH ANNUAL CONVENTION. 325 



faction than the straight block. The wall is smoother inside and 



out which is of obvious advantage to th^ preservation of silage 



inside and the appearance outside.* 



*The curving of these blocks is not so difficult that any manufacturer 



should hesitate in doing it. The authors make no pretense of being clay- 

 workers, but have personally helped to arrange a cutting table to bend 

 these blocks automatically. An outlay of a few dollars is sufficient to 

 equip an ordinary cutting table for this bending. Then no other extra 

 labor is necessary as the ends need not be cut radial and they will fit 

 concave to convex sides, thus little difficulty will be found in setting 

 them in the kiln. 



The Roof. 



Reinforcing walls, the construction of doors, the manner of 

 doing the work of building and all the details are given in the 

 bulletin. The general remarks about the roof are as follows : 



Perhaps the greatest advantage of a roof is the lessened lia- 

 bility of the silage freezing. Not only is it impossible to pre- 

 vent freezing in severe weather unless the silo is provided 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 car- 

 ried in the wind and a favorite feeding ground for the neigh- 

 borhood pigeons and birds. Although many silos are not pro- 

 vided 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 adding to 

 the silo's appearance. A door for filling, large enough to admit 

 the carrier or elevator from the ensilage cutter, should be placed 

 in the roof. Some light should be admitted to the silo for if not 

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

 It is advisable to have all portions of a building as near equally 

 durable as possible, therefore, concrete roofs have been built on 



