UNIVERSAL PORTLAND CEMENT CO. 
45 
The Advantage of Concrete as a 
Silo Material 
It has been admitted by those who have studied the subject from an 
impartial standpoint, that silage can be kept in good condition in a silo of 
any material — be it concrete, stone, tile, or wood — if the material selected 
is properly used and the walls remain air tight. The length of time for 
which the silo will continue to fulfill in a satisfactory manner the service 
required of it depends, however, upon the selection of the material best 
able to combat the action of the elements, withstand the heavy strains 
due to the weight of the silage, and furnish reserve strength for such 
extraordinary conditions as fires and cyclones. 
Concrete — whether placed in forms cast in blocks or slabs, or ap- 
plied to a metal frame as cement mortar — is the ideal silo material be- 
cause it is permanent, wind-proof, rodent-proof and fire-proof, and is 
economical in first cost and maintenance. As regards permanency, there 
is no question but that a good concrete silo will remain indefinitely. 
Concrete grows stronger and tougher with age, outlasting almost every 
other known material. Reinforced concrete is the strongest and most en- 
during construction known. It is selected for the great engineering proj- 
ects — long bridges, massive dams, and lofty skyscrapers. 
One of the special advantages of a concrete silo is the fact that it is 
just as wind-proof and fire-proof when empty as when filled, and always 
retains its maximum strength regardless of whether full or empty. An 
investigation made by the Universal Information Bureau immediately 
after the terrific wind storms which swept the United States during 
March, 1913, failed to reveal a single monolithic or concrete block silo 
damaged by the storms. The development, during the past ten years, of 
slender reinforced concrete chimneys of great height, shows that from a 
standpoint of safety against wind resistance, this type is unequaled. 
Mice have been known to cause considerable loss by burrowing into 
wooden silos. Mice holes allow the air to get in, often causing the silage to 
spoil for a foot or more in all directions from the holes. Mrs. L. H. Adams, 
of Parma, Michigan, had an experience of this sort, and as she has a con- 
crete silo of the same size adjoining the stave silo, a fair comparison be- 
tween the two is easily made. The loss of silage from mice holes in the 
wooden silo brought the total loss in that silo up to more than twice the 
loss in the concrete silo, notwithstanding the fact that the latter was not 
provided with roof, chute, or doors, the continuous door openings being 
roughly boarded up. 
Concrete silos prevent silage from drying out. The old idea that the 
juices of the corn seep through concrete walls with bad effect upon the 
latter has been entirely disproved — ^in fact, it never has been entertained 
for a minute by owners of concrete silos. The bugaboo of a concrete silo 
disintegrating through the action of corn acids is an absurdity. There are 
hundreds of cases where the concrete bases and floors of wooden silos have 
been in use for a long term of years without discoloring or disintegrating 
in the least, showing conclusively that silage acids have no effect. 
