276 Hie Silo and Silage-stack Competition, 1885-86. 
is below the ordinary floor in the barn, earth having been dug out, at a cost 
of 7s. Q>(1., as deep as was considered safe — about 3 feet. This silo was 
weighted with 10 tons of very hard stone laid upon covering planks 2 feet 
thick by 11 inches wide, which cost 3Z. 10s. 2d. The cubic measurement of 
the silo being 3348 feet, it was estimated that allowing 56 lbs. per square foot, 
it would hold 82 tons if full ; but in this instance it was not full, nor, con- 
sidering that silage necessarily sinks, can it be filled to the top without some 
provision in the form of temporary walls to keep the crop together above the 
top. The crop in this silo was a first cut of cow-grass taken from 10 acres, the 
yield having been exceptionally good. It was chaffed, and produced silage of 
tirst-rate quality. Examination was made in different parts of the silo, and 
the waste was found to be chiefly upon the surface and at the sides and 
corners ; but this was not large, and the experiment may be regarded as a 
distinct success. The crop was mown in a day and a half, at a cost of 12s. 
Carting and delivery costing 3?. 6s. chaffing Zl. Os. 7c?., and filling and 
treading 21. Is. Qd. These sums, with the cost of weighting, amounted to 
9s. 10s. \d., or, estimating the silo to have contained 60 tons, 3s. 2d. jier ton, 
or 19s. an acre ; but, as the yield was a large one, there can be no doubt that 
the quantity was more than that estimated. The door referred to above is 
at one side of the silo and level with the barn floor : it is boarded up, the 
joints being keyed with iron. The mixing floor being in the same barn as 
the silo, it was found that the system of chaffing was most convenient, the 
silage being simply cut out and at once mixed with chaff and other foods. 
'J'he chief failings, however, in a silo of this kind are, first, the difficulty in 
elevating, and, secondly, the trouble of removing so large a quantity of stones. 
The silo at the Penhill Farm is built in a barn upon the same principle as 
the above, but in this instance the door opened into the chaff-house at the 
side, and not directly into the barn. It is 19 feet 5 inches in length, 18 feet 
3 inches in width, and 14 feet 6 inches inside height. The total cost was 
18Z. 9s. Hd., including the door and covering-boards, 3Z. 12s. The walls, 
18 inches thick, are supported by a buttress 18 inches wide, carried up the middle 
of the wall, within 4^ feet of the top. The erection of these cost 6/. 10s. %id. 
The inside plastering with Portland cement and sharp river sand, as before, 
cost 11. lis. \d. The covering-boards in one corner are cut short, so that too 
large a proportion of silage is not disturbed at one time. The corners of the 
silo are square. In the process of filling, the chafl" was elevated to a stage 
some 6 feet hii^h, and then thrown into the silo, a process admittedly .some- 
what troublt'some. The crop preserved in the silo was composed of sainfoin 
mixed with cocksfoot and dogstail grasses, all chaffed. It consisted of twenty 
acres of a two year's ley, and was mown at a cost of 2s. dd. an acre. In carting 
and delivering, four horses were employed, at 3s. a daj', two carters at 2s., two 
women at Is., and three boys at &d., amounting in all to 19s. Qd. a day^for six 
days. Chaffing cost 4Z. 14s. %d., divided as follows: — Engine, 4s. a day, 
chaft'cutter, 2s., driver, Is. Qd., trcader, 2s. 2d., unloader. Is. lOd, coal, 4s., 
oil, M. — or 1.5s. 9'^. per day for six days. Filling the silo cost 21. lis , in- 
cluding five men for si.x days, and one horse three days. This, witii an 
expense for hauling, brought the cost to 16/. 4s. Gd. Estimating the cubic 
contents of the silo at 5160 feet, it would appear to hold, at 56 lbs. to the foot, 
92 tons, so that the silo costs some As. per ton, while the cost of cutting, 
chaffing, and filling upon the basis of the above crop was about the same sum. 
The silage in this instance was nearly dry, and of an exceedingly bright yellow 
colour. The sainfoin was somewhat crumbly, as dry clover hay is found in 
the stack. It was agreeably warm without being actually hot, and the smcHl 
was quite equal to that of the best clover hay. There can be no question 
that silos erected in this manner are exceedingly valuable, inasmuch as they 
will produce silage quite equal to that made under a more elaborate system, 
