1902 
539 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
WHAT ABOUT PAINTING THE SILO? 
What is your opinion about the wisdom 
of painting or staining the silo inside and 
out? Are there any good arguments for 
and against the practice? We are fre¬ 
quently asked this question by silo build¬ 
ers, and would liae to give the best ex¬ 
perience obtainable. 
I do not know that there is any special 
experimental evidence at hand to demon¬ 
strate that painting a silo preserves the 
wood. It has been well shown, however, 
by the Forestry Division of the United 
States Department of Agriculture that 
gas tar is one of the most efficient, if not 
the most efficient wood preservative that 
we have. On that basis, it has been my 
usual custom to paint the interior of 
wooden silos under my charge, with gas 
tar. I have a friend who has owned a 
silo or two tor some years, and he insists 
(or did) that when painted on the outside, 
the passage of moisture through the 
staves was retarded, and as a result they 
decayed more rapidly than if unpainted. 
The two silos at this station are of wood, 
with unpainted exteriors, but gas-tar 
painted interiors. c. s. plumb. 
Indiana. 
We have three Yellow cypress stave 
silos. They have been in use three years 
now, and have always been kept well 
painted, and show no signs of decay. 
Until last year we used a heavy wood 
tiller on the inside, putting on one coat 
every Summer. Last year we coated the 
inside of two of the silos with coal tar 
which was put on hot. In a few days the 
tar is quite hard, and takes a rather 
glossy surface to which silage does not 
hold to any extent. The tar goes a long 
way towards making the silo tight, and I 
am told will last for some, years, but can¬ 
not speak from experience as to the latter 
fact.-' The question of the advisability of 
painting wood under such conditions is an 
interesting one. We all know that the 
decay of wood is caused by the wetting 
and drying rather than by constant mois¬ 
ture. In the case of an ice house or cold 
room where the degree of dampness is 
fairly constant I believe that wood will 
last longer without any kind of paint or 
finish, but in a silo which is sure to be 
quite thoroughly dried out during the 
Summer I would expect decay to set Tn 
sooner where left unprotected. 
New York. Robert scoville. 
I think that even painting or treating 
the silo may sometimes do more harm 
than good. If the timbers were perfectly 
dry before being painted or treated, then 
the treatment might be of marked benefit 
in serving to keep the moisture from 
penetrating the timbers of the silo; but 
usually the timber which is put in the 
silo is but partially cured, and the paint¬ 
ing or treating of the staves or timbers 
may prevent the escape of the moisture, 
and may rather induce decay than pre¬ 
vent it. Several new wood preservatives 
have been put on the market in recent 
years, and while I have given them good 
tests, of course it is many years before 
one can state definitely whether any re¬ 
sults have been secured. In our silo a 
part of the staves have been treated with 
coal tar and part of them were left with¬ 
out any treatment whatever. There are 
no signs of decay in either case, and the 
silage keeps as well where the staves re¬ 
ceived no treatment as it does where the 
staves were treated. It is a well-known 
principle that if timber can be made per¬ 
fectly dry decay takes place but slowly. 
If, then, the silo is so constructed that 
during the Summer, when it is empty, 
there is no chance for moisture to be re¬ 
tained by the timbers or by the staves, 
then tnere is no reason why such a silo 
should not last indefinitely, and I believe 
that treating the staves with wood pre¬ 
servatives or paint does more to satisfy 
Hie fancy than anything else. 
Cornell University. l. a. Clinton. 
It does not appear to me that there can 
be any good argument advanced against 
painting the outside of silos. The argu¬ 
ments in favor of it are the same as in 
the case of any wooden structure. In 
saying this I had in mind especially 
framed silos. In the case of stave silos 
there is possibly a question as to the ex¬ 
pediency of painting, as the staves will 
inevitably swell and shrink with varying 
moisture to such an extent that the paint 
cannot be expected to keep the seams 
closed. This being the case it is doubtful 
whether painting will contribute materi¬ 
ally to the life of the silo. There would 
seem to be no doubt that if the interior 
face of the silo can be covered with some¬ 
thing which will exclude moisture it will 
add materially to its life, but the cover¬ 
ing must be a good one. If the work is 
imperfectly done, if there are cracks and 
imperfections in the protective covering 
which allow silage juices to soak into the 
woodwork, then the inside paint may even 
lead to decay more rapidly than would 
take place without anything whatever, for 
the reason that the lumber dries out less 
quickly when the silo is emptied. I think 
the principle here is the same as in the 
case of painting a shingled roof. If the 
shingles are perfectly covered on both 
sides and edges, and then laid, they last 
longer than unpainted shingles, but if the 
shingles be first laid and then painted on 
the surface the roof is more perishable 
than a roof of unpainted shingles. A silo 
lining should be well seasoned, carefully 
put on and then given a thick protective 
covering. Our experience here is not ex¬ 
tensive; that is, we have not tried any 
considerable number of different materials. 
The best that I have seen is a coat of 
coal tar, which was first set on fire and 
allowed to blaze until when tested it was 
found to harden quickly. In this burning 
process most of the lighter oils of the tar 
were burned out. After extinguishing the 
flames the tar was kept hot and applied 
with stiff brushes. It .formed a hard 
glaze, filled the cracks perfectly, and the 
silo so treated has been found very dur¬ 
able. wm. r. BROOKS. 
Mass. Agricultural College. 
R- N.-Y.—The wood preservative known 
as "Carbolineum Avenarius” promises good 
satisfaction in many silos. 
COW AND MILK NOTES. 
The condition of cows is good; I think 
the average supply of milk as good as last 
year at this time. The pasture and mea¬ 
dows on upland are good; on the flats, the 
streams have overflowed so often that all 
crops are injured. At present farmers are 
not feeding extra grain. There is a large 
acreage planted to fodder or silo corn. The 
first time it was planted the seed rotted. 
The second planting is very small and yel¬ 
low. Oats are the best looking crop we 
have now. Hay will be a large crop, but 
it is weedy. The potato crop is good and 
bids fair to give average yield, d. w. m. 
Boonville, N. Y. 
Figures given me to-day by the secre¬ 
tary of the principal cheese factory in our 
township show an appreciable increase in 
the supply of milk over the same period 
in 1901. The continued rains are keeping 
pastures much better than usual in July. 
The hay crop is being saved very slowly 
and with difficulty due to cold, cloudy 
weather. There was a large acreage of 
corn planted, but it is now only the size 
of corn June 15, usually, and very grassy. 
In this locality practically no grain is fed 
milch cows from turning to pasture to late 
Summer. Acreage and condition of oats 
about normal. r. j. b. 
Peterboro, N. Y. 
In this section the condition of the cows 
is good. They are in good flesh and in 
good working order. The supply of milk 
is equal to that of last season, and thus 
far has not dropped very materially, al¬ 
though some complaint has been heard the 
past few days at our creameries. The 
cause of the drop is undoubtedly due to 
the flies, and with the present good con¬ 
dition of our pastures, and frequent rains 
which we are having, I do not anticipate 
as great a decrease in yield of milk, as 
usual at this season. It is hardly possible 
for the pastures to dry out very badly 
during next month, as we have had, and 
still continue to have, frequent heavy 
rains, which keep the grass in a good, 
fresh condition. Our farmers are feeding 
very sparingly of grain this season, owing 
to the high price, although some are feed¬ 
ing in small amounts; bran and gluten 
feed are generally used. Owing to the 
very poor prospects for the hay crop, early 
in the season, quite a large acreage of fod¬ 
der corn, especially sweet corn, and some 
oats and peas, were planted. These crops, 
especially the latter, are looking excellent 
at this date. The corn crop is promising 
but late, and will not be ready for feeding 
under two or three weeks later than usual. 
Very little millet is grown in this section. 
The oats and peas are about ready for 
harvesting now, and with favorable 
weather for curing, will eke out our hay 
crop very materially. This section pos¬ 
sesses some very good cows. Attention 
has been given during the past few years 
to the breeding of a better class of dairy 
cows in this section. Improved blood, such 
as Guernsey and Jersey, has been intro¬ 
duced very largely, so that the quality of 
the milk at our creameries is above that 
of sections where less attention has been 
given the breeding of strictly dairy ani¬ 
mals. One creamery man told me recent¬ 
ly that he is now taking less than 22 
pounds of milk for a pound of butter. In 
my immediate neighborhood no milk is 
sold direct to the consumer, it being all 
made into butter or cheese, so that butter 
animals have been bred most largely. 
Sugargrove, Pa. r. j. w. 
The imported starling, says the South 
Australian Journal of Agriculture, is rap¬ 
idly increasing all over Australia, and may 
possibly become as great a pest as the 
sparrow. Flocks of 1,000 or more may be 
seen occasionally. They are very attentive 
on sheep, and it is claimed that they do 
much good by picking vermin out of the 
fleeces. Perhaps the benefit may be over¬ 
balanced by the fact that the birds befoul 
the wool, and, anyway, the owners cannot 
be congratulated upon the benefits derived 
from the work done by the starlings in 
ridding their sheep of a few of the vermin 
which diminish the value of the wool, im¬ 
pair the health of the sheep, and evidence 
the stupid neglect of their owners in fail¬ 
ing to destroy the vermin by dipping, 
which operation they arc required by law 
to perform. 
Rice meal, according to the Scientific 
American, is a material which dairy farm¬ 
ers have recently been using in increased 
quantities as a food for dairy cattle. The 
advantages of rice meal, it is stated, are 
its high percentage of oil, which averages 
about 12 per cent, some samples contain¬ 
ing as much as 15 per cent. The oil is one 
that becomes solid at ordinary tempera¬ 
ture. possesses a sweet odor and agree¬ 
able taste, and is in every way a satis¬ 
factory food constituent. The mild and 
pleasant flavor of the meal is also an im¬ 
portant factor, for obviously it is thus 
rendered free from any objectionable prop¬ 
erties, in this respect to dairy produce, 
while the richness of the ash in phosphoric 
acid assists in making it well adapted to 
the preparation of young animals’ natural 
fool Rice meal contains a comparatively 
low percentage of nitrogen, which is equal 
to about 12 per cent of albuminous sub¬ 
stances, but, nevertheless, with the ex¬ 
ception of only a small proportion, these 
consist of albuminoids, and they, as nu¬ 
trients, are by far the most valuable con¬ 
stituents containing this element. How¬ 
ever, an increase in the quantity present 
may be made with advantage, and as the 
percentage of oil Is so considerable, it is 
possible to mix with materials poor in that 
ingredient, and yet obtain a food supply¬ 
ing a satisfactory amount. For example, 
by adding beans and peas to rice meal, in 
the proportion of two-thirds of the latter 
to one-third of the former, a valuable and 
digestible feeding stuff may be prepared, 
for these leguminous seeds, although poor 
in oil, are very rich in nitrogen. 
A BOY DOES 
A MANS WORK 
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REQUIRE NO EXTRA HELP 
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Discs roll over or cut through trash 
and cover all the seed. * 
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The Superior Disc and Superior Feed 
make seeding easy and good results cer¬ 
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You run no risk when you buy a 
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crops—Wheat, Oats, Cow Peas, Corn, 
etc., as well as all Grasses. 
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Your request on a postal card will 
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Springfield, Ohio, U. S. A. 
With a 
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Seed Sowing Time i 
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Spangler 
Low-Down 
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DRILL 
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lumpy, damp or dry fertilizer*. High wheels, broad tiros, low wood or 
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which tells all about the 
EMPIRE Running 
’CREAM SEPARATOR. 
If you own cows it will pay you to 
read the book, whether you want 
a separator or not. Let us send it, 
tr. s. butter extractor co. 
Kloomfleld, N. J. 
DeLaImL 
Cream Separators 
For twenty years the World’s Standard 
Send for free catalogue. 
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PAYS AT THE SCALES 
nflN’T FFFI1 licks ’ Lice an d Microbes on your profits. They eat 
UUI1 I ILLU pounds and dollars off each animal. Comfort your live 
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that carry diseases. 
Askyou dealer; if he does not keep ft, send to us. We will ship, prepaid 1 p-il 
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. j 
THE RECORDS SHOW 
COMPETITORS ADMIT 
USERS TESTIFY , . . 
THAT 
THE U. S. SEPARATOR 
STANDS WITHOUT A PEER 
272 
Its record at the Pan-American Model Dairy of average test for 
50 CONSECUTIVE RUNS . . .0138 
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SELF-EMPTYING BOWL, STABILITY, BEAUTY, ETC., 
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VERMONT FARM MACHINE CO., BELLOWS FALLS, VT. 
