The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1898-01-15
BUILDING A L

hOoel tarms
II. J. Waters, dean and director Of
the agricultural college in connection
witE the University of Missouri. fur
nishes the following directions fol
building a silo. which is becoming an
important adjunct to every model farm
nowadays:
l. 1t should be as nearly alright as
possible.
.. The inside surface should be as
smooth as possible. to allow the silage
to settle easily and uniformly, without
leaving air pockets under the projec.
tions, as would be the case with rough
walls.
8. 1t should be of such form as to ex-
pose the smallest possible wall surface
in proportion to its capacity. Silage
rarely rots except in the corners and
along the walls. A square pit is
preferable to q rectangular one;
for example, a rectangular silo 16x4S
and % feet deep. has 2,S16 square
feet of wall surface exposed to the
silage. A square pit S2x32 and % feet
deep, holds one-third more silage and
exposes the same wall area. A round or
cylindrical form is better than either
of the above, inasmuch as the wall sur
face is still further reduced in proper
ton to its storage capacity, and all
corners are dispensed with.
4. Its greatest dimension should be
its depth. Silage rarely keeps we'll in
a pit less than 20 feet deep. unless it is
I hnauil- puairbtal ,ritI, efNnae 49, an
such material. Artificial weighing is
expensive.
3. Under no circumstance put more
than 5Or6feetof the silo under ground.
If it is built all above ground except
the foundation 1t will answer quite a:
well and be cheaper. The disadvan-
tage of having to raise the silaTe out
OF Il deep pit by hand as it is required
for feeding is so great as to render an
underground silo a nuisance. The fod-
der may be easily and cheaply elevat-
ed to any height, as the silo is filled by
means of a carrier attached to the cut
ter.
TO BUILD A SQUARE
The foundation wall should be OF
stone laid in good lime mortar, below
freezing, and not less than IS inches
thick. The sills should be 2x10 planks
thoroughly spiked together, and Sc
curely anchored TO the foundation, and
laid in mortar. The s~tudding should
be of 2xl2, placed not over l6 incnes
apart. By having the sills : inches
than the studding, an air
space On the outside is left for ventila-
ton, which will greatly retard the
rotting of the walls and sills. The
plates rest on top of the sutdding. and
are of the same material and dimen-
siOns as the stills.
The lining should be of two layers of
good boards, white pine preferred, un-
less too expensive; in that case, use vel
low pine. The boards should be of uni.
form thickness. all joints broken, and
a layer of tarred paper placed between
the Innings. Paint both layers of boards
ION n side only with hot coal tar,
boiled enough to be sticky after cool
ing. Place the tarred sides face to face.
with the tarred paper between. The
Silo need not be sided, if built inside of
a warm barn. Ii outdoors or in an
open barn. box with any suitable nate
rial, with Il layer of tarred paper next
to the studding, The space between
the lining and the siding should not be
flied, and openings should be left at
the top and bottom to allow a free
movement of air between these walls.
The doors for empting the silo should
be made at convenient distances. not
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When filling the silo, these openings
should be closed by inserting two
tbicknesses of boards. cut to tit closely,
with tarred paper between and tarred
paper over the ends.
ROUND sILos.
In round silOs, for the 2x10 stills and
plates and 2x12 studding used in the
square silo may be substituted XXI
sills, plates and %studding, and tue
anchor bolts may be dispensed with
entirely. In this form of silo the sills,
plates and %studding have no work TO
do beyond supporting the structure.
The lining acts as a hoop and susLains
all the outward pressure of the sIiage,
and prevents the sills from bullying or
spreading.
In Il round silo the sill is n single
thickness of 2X4 stuff 3 or 4 feet long,
cut on the arc of the siio circle. beddrd
in mortar, and the sections toe-nailed
together. The plate is made in the
same manner and nailed To the top of
the studdiny. The studding should be
2x4 stuff, placed one foot apart and
toc-nailed to tine sill. If the silO is
to be 30 feet deep, instead of pa ing IA
high price for extra long timbcrs. use
two lG-foOt studs Tapped and nailed
together. The lining is made of
good fencing boards, split in two.
making them one-half inch thick 10y
8 inches wide, tarred, and laid with
tarred faces together, with tarred pa.
per between the same, as in the case
of the square siio. Special pains should
be taken to break all joints in both di-
rections. A line Of doors or openings
from bottom to Top, one above the 9th
er. 3 feet wide and 4 feet high. at in.
tervals of about 4 feet, should he pro
vided. These may be closed with pieces
of boards made to fit, or with swing
doors. The studding on each side of
the doors should be doubled. The roof
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