The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-06-12
building and Filling the siIo and
Feeding the SiIage.

1
The silo should either be in or adioipine,
the stable, barn or feed pens, writes West
ropP Roe of Texas. The square or rec
tangular silo can be built within the
| barn or stable, but if round silo is 70
be constructed it is more convenient and
there Is less waste space if built on the
outside of the barn. with the side con-
| tanning the doors for emptying il let into
! the SIDE or the barn. so that the silo NAV
! De emptied from the inside of the barn
| Inc main points to be observed in locat-
! ing silo are to place 1t where IL will he
| convenient to feed from and where il can
! De Hlled with the least possible labor. The
ioulu or Darrel silo is without doubt the
| cheapest and strongest silo made. and the
silage is easily packed. as there are no
corners. When the idea is once under
stood 1t is easy to build. If it can be
avoided 1t is not advisable to build
portion of the silo underground. as il Is
very lnconvenient to unload and the silage
IS more apt to mold at the bottom.
Inc size of the silo depends upon the
size OF the herd, and the length of time
winch 1t must be fed. One cubic foot of
good silage is about all an average COW
will eat day. So in building we must
figure how many head are to be supnlied
and the number of days, and then allow
one cubic foot a day for each animal
IL Is also necessary to bear in mind that
the exposed surface of the silage on ton.
after feeding is commenced, should not he
greater than can be fed in one day 10
the depth OF four or five inches, as the
surface VIII mold In twenty-four to thirty
hours after being exposed to the air
Here in the extreme South YOU can see
silos running from twelve feet in diameter
70 100 feet, and twenty-four feet high
Under no condition should a silo be less
than ten feet high
Under most conditions a silo 16 feet in
diameter and IS feet high will meet the
requirements of the average farmer. To
build take ten 2x4 scantlngs 20 feet long
and plant them, about two feet in the
ground, in a circle 16 feet in diameter
about feet apart, bracing well from the
inside so as TO be perfectly rigid and
plumb Now take lathing, 1x3 inches. %
feet long Nail on, one foot from the
ground all around, to the 20 feet posts.
then nail another on this, and so on m
til you get the hoop four laths thick. In
mailing the laths be sure 10 break the
joints where the ends meet, as this gives
a good strong hoop. Now, three feet
above nail another in like manner. and so
on up to the top. Now you have the hoops
for your barrel silo. Now commence in
side and nail 1x10 planks 20 feet long to
the hoops the dressed side in. AS Won
come TO the 2x4 scantlings knock them
out, they are only temporary. to hold
the hoops until the lining is in After all
the lxlO are nailed to the hoops, tar we'll
with hot tar 10 prevent the work of in
sects and consequent destruction of the
lumber. Over this place a complete lining.
tackled on loosely to hold in place of tar
red building paper, covering the entire
wall of silo. After the building paper is
on. finish with a second lining of lx1o
dressed plank, placing the plank so as 10
break the joints of the first lining. and
give another coating of hot tar inside.
In putting in the lining leave an open
space, , feet wide, all the way up at The
side, most convenient to feed from. Have
doors each three feet long made Of 1x1O.
like the lining of the silo, with building
paper between, made to fit we'll tapping
a the top and bottom on the hoops and
al sides, so as to be alright. The silage
holds them IN place, and they can be taken
out as il is fed. Now we come to the floor.
concrete with a covering of cement Is
the best. Great care must be taken to
see that the joints between the floor and
lining is air and water-tight. A silo needs
no cover other than a roof to keen our
the sun and RAIN and is not as some
think, fitted with an air-tight cover A
silo this size will take $500 feet Of lumber
and LOCO square feet of building paper
Corn makes good, in fact the best IN
silage; next comes sorghum; the saccho-
rine and non-saccharine varieties both
make good siiage. Horses and mules eat
the sorn Stage much more freely than
that made from sorghum. Silage made
from weil-matured saccharine sorghum ia
the only silage that can be fed to bogs |
with any profit. The whole secret of soo5 |
silage lies in cutting at the right stage of |