1913. 
THE RURAL, NEW-YORKEH 
IQS 
CONCRETE vs. WOODEN SILOS. 
Believes in the Concrete Silo. 
J. D. N., on page 82, asks for cement 
silo information. Here is our five years’ 
experience with cement block silos after 
15 years’ use of wooden ones. Under 
some conditions the cement block silo 
will not keep silage as well as a wood¬ 
en silo. The first year we used our 
cement silo we had six inches of dam¬ 
aged silage next the wall. This was 
caused by the porous blocks absorbing 
moisture from the silage, which was 
somewhat dry when put in. Painting 
the inside with cheap asphalt or other 
waterproofing will overcome this, and 
the cement silo will then prove a much 
better investment than a modern one. 
It can be built entirely by the farmer 
at a surprisingly small cost. Be sure 
the foundation is right, and do not try 
to economize on the reinforcement of 
the first half, and you will have a build¬ 
ing you will be proud to show anyone. 
There are no hoops to loosen, no wind 
can blow it down, and last, but not 
Prefers a Wooden Silo. 
In a recent issue J. D. Nichols says 
he has failed to find anyone who can 
give the cause for silage spoiling in 
cement silos. In the first place, it is 
hard to build a cement silo without hav¬ 
ing hollows in the walls and corre¬ 
sponding projections; this means that 
as the silage settles past the projec¬ 
tions the mass is formed and will not 
change shape to fill the hollow, and as 
this hollow must have something in it 
of course it will be air. This air pocket 
starts fermentation and results in a lot 
of rotten silage. If you make the walls 
tapering on inside or funnel shape you 
overcome this, but in such construction 
it is very expensive making the walls 
strong enough to stand the pressure 
when the silage is settling. The worst 
trouble with cement silos is loss of 
silage through rotting—due to sweating 
caused by sudden changes in tempera¬ 
ture. The cement is a perfect conduc¬ 
tor of heat and cold, and after a cold 
spell when the weather turns warm it 
causes the cement to sweat on the in¬ 
side of the wall, and this moisture rots 
the silage. 
I have studied the cement silo and 
found that it is far better to build a 
CONCRETE SILOS GO THROUGH THE FIRE. Fig. 59. 
least, if the barn should burn down you 
can go into your silo next day, and 
feed your cows, if you have any left, as 
if nothing had happened. Twice ^ince 
our first cement silo was built our 
barns have been destroyed by fire, leav¬ 
ing the silo almast uninjured, so we 
.have reason in making much of the 
fireproof qualities of cement. I enclose 
view of our barn and silos taken short¬ 
ly after our last fire, Fig. 59. This 
barn contained 175 tons of hay and 
grain, yet the cement block walls stand 
as plumb as ever, and show almost no 
marks of the fierce heat. You will 
notice the silage cutter in place, the silo 
being partly filled. h. m. k. 
Auburn, N. Y. 
Prefers Concrete Silos. 
In reply to J. D. Nichols’ inquiry 
about the relative keeping qualities of 
wood and cement block silos, page 82, 
my own experience has been almost 
wholly with reinforced concrete solid- 
wall silos, and when made ot one part 
cement, two sand and four gravel, and 
waterproofed inside, they will keep si¬ 
lage in perfect condition clear to the 
wall even if not opened till the next 
Summer. We have built 28 in this sec¬ 
tion, and all are giving the best of sat¬ 
isfaction. If the blocks were made as 
dense as a 1-2-4 mixture, and water¬ 
proofed, a silo built that way would keep 
all right. Blocks as made ordinarily 
are one cement and four or five of sand, 
and this does not allow enough cement 
to fill the voids in sand and make a 
porous wall. I presume if such a wall 
was painted two coats of neat cement 
and water (as thick as cream) and 
waterproofed, it would keep silage. 
As near as I can figure it out, the 
walls on sides of a silo must not absorb 
the moisture from the silage, or the 
fodder against the walls will get musty. 
I have one block silo in mind where 
the inside was not treated the first year 
and eight inches spoiled next the wall. 
Before filling the next time, it was 
painted with neat cement and water, 
and only half as much was lost. Flad 
it been waterproofed in addition.to the 
painting, I have no doubt it would have 
kept perfect. w. a. w. 
Weedsport, N. Y. 
wooden one, using “long-leaf Florida 
pine,” as this is so full of pitch and 
resin that it cannot be affected by the 
acid of the silage. If you should 
change your stables you can easily alter 
the wooden stave silo, but not the ce¬ 
ment one. You must blow it up, and it 
is a big job to haul it away. Another 
reason why you should build a wood- 
stave silo is that the extra cost of ce¬ 
ment over wood placed at interest in 
your bank would build you a new wood 
silo every 10 years. This makes it as 
everlasting as cement is supposed to 
be, and without its many objectionable 
features. geo. bennett. 
Middlesex Co., Mass. 
Concrete 
Manure Pits 
The old fashioned way of dump¬ 
ing manure into an ordinary hole 
in the ground, or into a wooden 
bin, is rapidly giving way to the 
modern concrete manure pit. A 
concrete pit holds the valuable 
fertilizing juices—keeps the ma¬ 
nure rich—increases its value 
10% to 50%. And 
LEHIGH 
PORTLAND CEMENT 
is the best all-round cement for 
concrete work on the farm. Spec¬ 
ify Lehigh and you are following 
the example of leading engineers 
who have chosen Lehigh for big 
jobs after exhaustive tests. The 
trade mark on each bag is your 
sure protection. 
Two Books on Concrete FREE 
These two books should be read 
by every progressive farmer 
in the country—they will 
save you money. The first, 
‘‘The Modern Farmer,” de¬ 
scribes over 20 different 
farm uses of concrete, 
while the second, “Con¬ 
crete Silos,” is full of 
valuable Information on 
Silos. Send to the 
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Dept. 3892 Allentown, Pa 
• n mills, 11,000,000 Barrels 
Capacity 78 
-e -a 
m 
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