UNIVERSAL PORTLAND CEMENT CO. 
53 
In a large number of instances farmers have built their own silos under 
the supervision of a competent foreman hired by the day. Foremen who 
make a business of superintending silo work frequently have 
^ired ^^^^ their own forms which they rent to the farmer for a nominal 
Foremen sum. When the silo is built under contract, the farmer usually 
does the hauling and sometimes furnishes the materials and a 
part of the labor; when a foreman is employed, the farmer must buy and 
haul the materials, furnish the labor, and pay for the work as it progresses, 
without an accurate previous knowledge of the cost. In addition he some- 
times has to build his own forms. 
If neither a good contractor nor a good foreman is available, the 
farmer may undertake the building of the silo, but he must pay close at- 
tention to the details of the work. The inexperienced worker 
Under y^\]^ concrete too often considers cement a sort of magic material 
Supervision which may be used without precaution and still secure first class 
work. On the contrary, precautionary measures are constantly 
necessary and the directions given on the following pages must be care- 
fully complied with if the best results are to be obtained. To acquaint 
inexperienced contractors as well as those desiring to build their own silos 
with the best practice, is the purpose of the two sections immediately fol- 
lowing. A later section is devoted to a description of several of the leading 
commercial silo forms now upon the market. 
Where there are several silos to be built in the immediate vicinity, 
and it is desired to use home-made forms and do the work with home 
labor, a very considerable saving can be made by co-operation. 
fn SUo^Work ^^^^ moderately fair weather, such as usually prevails from 
April to October, four or five farmers working together can 
construct one moderate size silo in an average time of less than two weeks, 
working but 4 hours per day, with one set of forms. In about two months' 
time they can complete a good silo on the place of each, without having 
this work interfere seriously with general farm duties, and at a compara- 
tively small expense, as only one set of forms is used. 
There is no doubt but that time, labor and money can be saved by 
farmers through organizing concrete silo clubs. Where organizations like 
Farmers' Clubs, The Grange, etc., exist, members of such societies can 
undoubtedly combine and by hauling the materials co-operatively and 
purchasing them from local dealers in carload lots, the best prices can be 
obtained and a minimum amount of time and labor occupied. Neighbor- 
ing farmers may unite in the purchasing or renting of silo forms, silo cut- 
ters and fillers, and in the purchase of similar materials. 
"During the past season, five farmers in Barnes County, N. D., co-oper- 
ated in the building of concrete silos on their farms, buying their material 
in one lot, which alone made a considerable saving. Then they used two 
sets of forms, moving the crew from one silo to another, so that there 
was no time lost in waiting for the concrete to set. They also bought 
a silo cutter and filler for their combined use, so that by assisting each 
other in filling the silos the expense is reduced to the minimum. This 
is an example that can profitably be followed in every part of the Dakota 
Farmer Empire." — The Dakota Farmer, Aberdeen, South Dakota. 
