Tlie Silo and Silage-stack Competition, 1885-86. 277 
even though rough stones are adopted for the purposes of pressure. If the 
farmer can afford to overlook the disadvantages which have been pointed out, 
he can rely upon saving a crop at any season, or producing food for his stock 
at a much cheaper cost than by the process of haymaking, by simply running 
a strong -n-all across the bay of a substan^al barn and cementing the interior 
in a manner similar to that adopted by Mr. Elwes. 
Mr. Borer's Silo. — The silo erected by Mr. Borer at Angeston, Dursley, was 
upon the Blunt system, but it was not an unqualified success. It is an en- 
tirely new structure, 11 feet 5 inches in width, 20 feet 9 inches in length, and 
12 feet in height inside, 5 feet being below the surface of the ground. The 
total cost was 35?. 8s. 9c?., including the pressing apparatus, weights, roof, fixing, 
and excavating 47 cubic yards of eai th. Exclusive of the pressing apparatus, 
the cost of the silo building was 201. The walls are of one-inch red deal, 
tongued and grooved, and cost, including ledges, tie posts, and fixing, 8Z. 18s. 
No special floor was prepared, nor were there any drains. The roof is of 
curved corrugated iron sheets, erected at a cost of Al., which included bolts 
and fixing. The wooden building is composed of upright 7-inch boards tied 
together with horizontal rafters, 2 inches by 4 inches at the bottom, and 
2j inches by 7f inches from the top, these being bolted together. There 
is also a post, 4 inches by 4 inches, in the middle of each side, and a 
tie-beam across the top, to keep the sides from bulging outwards. At one 
end of the building the top portion of the wooden wall is removable, being 
screwed to the top rafter. This is for the purpose of assisting in either filling 
or emptying. The roof, which in shape resembles that of a railway carriage, 
is put on in sections, as the beams attached to the pressing apparatus cut 
right through them. When the silo is filled, the silage is covered with boards, 
1 inch by 7 inches, but these do not fit quite close. Above these are battens, 
7 feet by 2\ feet, placed on edge ; while above the battens are the two pressure- 
beams, which are 12 inches by 4 inches in thickness, and which are laid on 
edge across the silo, the end projecting through the wood- work or side. .Through 
these ends iron rods are passed, at th3 top of which is a screw, and at the 
bottom a stirrup through which the levers pass. These stirrups practically 
suspend the levers, as when the screws are loosened from the top of the silo, 
both levers and weights fall ; in other words, the weight which gives the pres- 
sure bears fully upon the stirrups, and thence upon the pressure-beam above. 
The levers are about 20 feet in length, and there are two on each side of the 
silo, both of which have their weights suspended at one end, and not crossing, 
as shown by the Blunt principle in general. Each lever is formed of two 
pieces of deal bolted to an iron plate, which is placed between them. They 
taper to the end, the thickest part being 43 inches by 6 inches, and the thin- 
nest 45 inches by 3j inches. At the top tnd they are shod with iron, and a 
hook is provided to which the chain is fixed for the suspension of the weights. 
At the thick end, near the bottom of the silo, is an iron heel, which is passed, 
through an iron staple fixed in the ground, thus furnishing a suitable fulcrum. 
As the levers fall by the settling of the silage, a continuous pressure is given ; 
but by screwing down the nuts, at the upper end of the rod, the levers are 
again raised. It was noticeable that one of the levers in particular was much 
bent and wrenched out of position by the heavy weight to which it was sub- 
jected, its great length clearly contributing to this result. The weights at the 
end of each lever were three in number, and each 1 cwt. Each hundred- 
weight is estimated to give a pressure of one ton, and as each lever is also 
assumed to give one ton, the pressure upon the silage was at the rate of 170 lbs. 
per square foot. It should be mentioned that on the top of the silage was 
a covering of 3 inches of straw ; but this was somewhat afi"tcted, together with 
the silage beneath it, by the ingress of rain through a not very substantial 
roof. The grass put into the silo was of moderate quality, and uncut. It was 
