270 The Silo and Silage-stack Competition, 1885-86, 
the pressure-beams were lifted at either end. The roof of the silo is of curved 
corrugated iron, fixed upon an iron frame-work, and arranged so that it can be 
lowered or raised at will. For this purpose chains are provided and fitted 
with hooks. Upon these, one or two of the weights, provided for the pressing 
apparatus, are hung for balancing, and the roof can thus be raised by one man. 
This, however, did not prove a success, for it was only raised by two men with 
considerable difiBculty. It is, nevertheless, fair to add that the work was per- 
formed by the men upon Colonel Stallard's farm, in the absence of representa- 
tives from Messrs. Bayliss, Jones, and Bayliss ; but, at the same time, it would 
be necessary in practice for the farm labourers to conduct this work them- 
selves, and not to rely upon the assistance of skilled mechanics. "Within the 
silo, which was filled with coarse unchaft'ed grass, were planks 7 inches by 
2 inches, and reaching the whole length of the silo. These were, unfortunately, 
very much lower at the sides than in the middle, the sides evidently having 
been imperfectly trodden. The consequence of this was that the whole 
pressure applied was concentrated upon the centre, and that the sides, being 
practically unpressed, were very much spoiled, and in many places attacked 
by fungi. The surface of the silage was .spoiled only to a slight depth, the 
pressure being effectual where it was felt. The pressure is exerted upon two 
wooden beams running across the silo. At each end is a pulley-wheel working 
in a groove, and over this runs a chain attached to a cast-iron base fixed in 
the ground. Upon the end of this chain, after passing over the pulley, a 
number of cast-iron 56 lb. weights are hung, and the pressure is severe in 
accordance with their number. This system undoubtedly provides continuous 
jiressure, but, like other mechanical systems, it does not adapt itself to the 
unevenness in the surface of the silage. It is claimed that by means of 
lOcwt. attached to the end of each beam the pressure on each end is actually 
four tons, so that a pressure of 112 lbs. is exerted upon every square foot. 
This pressure can be diminished or increased at will, by the use of a smaller 
or a larger number of weights. The silo is entered from one end by the 
removal of one of the galvanised sheets. The floor is of concrete, and the 
makers state that the silo itself can be adapted for any other purixise by 
fixing the pressure-beams in the sli(ies upside down, and placing the covering- 
boards upon them, converting them into a floor. The cost of the silo, without 
the roof, is 25Z. 10s., and that for the removal of earth and the construction of a 
9-inch concrete floor, 2/. 19s. 2d., whereas the galvanised iron rcof is jiriced at 
SI. lOs. The charge for the apparatus for continuous pressure, including the 
covering-boards, was 'ZGl. 17s. did. ; so that in all, the silo, with an estimated 
capacity of thirty-five tons, is priced at the large .sum of 63?. 16.'!. Qd. The 
princii)al defects appeared to us to be excessive cost, trouble in fixing — this 
applying equally to the weighting apparatus and the roof — and the unevenness 
of the pressure, entailing considerable loss around the sides. 
The second silo entered by Messrs. Bayliss, Jones, and Bayliss was upon the 
same farm, and was filled with chopped maize in the middle of September. 
When the silo was filiecl, the crop reached a height of 8 feet, but when opened 
in the presence of the Judges, it was only 4 feet in depth, and was covered 
with a small quantity of rough grass, which was spoiled. For the purposes 
of examination the galvani.sed-iron door at the end was removed, when it was 
found that the maize lying directly against the iron was particularly bright in 
colour, although the remainder was dark, and that near the sides partially 
decompo.scd. The great bulk, however, beneath the surface, although excep- 
tionally strong in smell, was quite sweet to the taste. The temperature of 
the interior wf.s 85 degrees, and as it was reached, the smell became more 
wholesome, resembling, moreover, that which I had seen in the maize silos 
of M. GolVart and others. The top crust, however, was apparently quite 
spoiled, whether judged by its appearance or smell; but alter careful examina- 
