1048 



Pit, Trench and other Silos. 



[Feb., 



Silos made from Old Barns and other disused Farm 



Buildings. — Quite a number of silos of this type exist, and 

 any farmer having a disused barn or similar building can 

 usually adapt it for use as a silo by the exercise of a little 

 ingenuity. 



Figure 1 shows such a barn in use on Mr. Boggis' farm at 

 Wrentham. In this case the walls of the barn were lined 

 with cement, the corners rounded off internally, and one portion 

 partitioned off from the rest of the barn. Short wooden planks 

 fitted in the partition serve to close up the doorway. These 

 wooden planks are removed one by one as the silage level is 

 lowered during the winter. The portion of the barn separated 

 off in this way is 18 ft. high, and the internal dimensions of 

 the floor are 18 ft. by 16 ft. The silage is elevated into the 

 barn through the opening shown in the illustration. 



An ordinary chaff cutter, placed on a platform and driven 

 by a tractor, is used. The material is lifted to the barn by 

 means of an elevator of a slanting length of 20 ft. , constructed 

 according to Mr. Boggis' suggestions by a local firm. Fixed 

 to the elevator is an endless chain of the type used on binders, 

 with slats fixed at intervals of 2 ft., to carry up the chaffed 

 green material. This elevator cost £16 at pre-war prices, but 

 as it was a new design a second one could probably have been 

 made for a smaller sum. It was found necessary to affix a 

 special bonnet to the chaff cutter, as the ordinary bonnet did 

 not clear the green stuff satisfactorily. 



Trench Silos. — In view of the very high price of cylindrical 

 tower silos, whether of the wooden stave or concrete type, it 

 has been thought desirable to investigate further the system 

 of making silage in trenches, so successfully practised by 

 Mr. Wm. Makens, of Colney, Norwich. As previously 

 mentioned in this Journal* the three trenches used by 

 Mr. Makens vary in size, the largest being 25 yd. long, 

 4 ft. deep and 5 yd. wide. By the courtesy of Mr. Makens 

 the writer was able to visit Colney when this trench was 

 being filled in June, 1920. It is estimated that the trench 

 will hold about 400 loads of green stuff. 



After the heap of green stuff in the trench is well topped up, 

 Mr. Makens covers it up with earth. In winter, when the 

 silage is needed, the earth is removed, and the material is cut 

 out in sections as is done with hay, and is loaded into a cart 

 for conveyance to the stock. The silage is fed in its long 

 state. 



* July, 1919, p. 450. 



