Middletown transcript., 1900-04-07
BARN sILos.
Two Effective and Inexpensive siIos
Built In nm Old Barn.

Two Effective and Inexpensive SiIos
Built In an Old Barn.
A good and effective silo can be built
at comparatively small cost, accord
ing to an American Agriculturist cor
respondent, who tells how he accom-
plished the matter: have two small
silos, one holding 40 and the other 60
tons. raise and put into these silos
on an average 90 tons Of ensilage each
year and find that this amount will
carry II cows for six months. The
smaller of the two silos was erected II
years ago and is still doing good serv-
ice The other one was built eight
years after. They were put up for a
cash outlay Of less than $50 each. Most
of the labor was done by myself on
days when it was too stormy for out
side work.
The silos are built in the ends of two
bays in the barn. The barn is old style,
with no basement, the thrashing floors
being raised about AZ feet above the
level of the ground. In building the
silos a trench two feet deep was first
dug under the three sills and across
the bottom of the bay. This trench
was filed with small field stone well
rammed. A two foot wall Of larger
field stone laid in mortar was built on
top Of this and well cemented under
the sills. 1t was only necessary to
erect studding for one wall, using 2 by
10 plank II feet long, that being the
height Of the barn posts. The frame
of the barn surrounding three sides of
the bay joined the other walls. UQ-
planed spruce boards were nailed up
and down on the frame inside and out.
Tarred paper was then tackled over
this course, tapping the paper six inch
es. A second course of boards was
then nailed on, taking care to break
Joints. This made four courses Of
boards and two layers of paper on each
WALL. e., counting the inside and out
side of wall.
A beveled board one foot wide was
then nailed up and down the inside of
each corner and the space behind filed
with sawdust The bottom or floor
was dug out saucer shaped. Six inches
Of small stones were then put over the
floor and rammed solid. Coarse clean
gravel was next tamped in until the
spaces between the stones were thor
oughly filled, and finally an inch Of
best Portland cement was then put on
and f1oated off smooth. The cement
was made with sand, four parts of the
latter to one of cement. The door was
made 80 inches wide and extended
from plate to barn floor, the latter be-
ing four feet from bottom Of silo. Two
cleats were nailed on inside of door
jambs from top to floor, and door sec
tions were made of two thicknesses of
boards to fit in the grooves made by
the cleats. These sections are put in
as the silos are being filed, and tarred
paper is tackled on the inside and the
silage thrown against it.
Breaking Down Corn Stubble.
Concerning the thrashing down Of
corn stubble in fields that are to
be planted in oats an Ohio Farmer
correspondent advises that the work
be done when the ground is frozen
hard, with an inch or less snow on.
Get a straight pole about 33 feet long
and about inches in diameter at the
smallest end. This will reach across
eight or nine rows. Cut two notches
around it about eight feet apart. Cut
the notches nearer the butt than the
top of the pole, as it is larger and heav-
ier at that end, and then fasten a log
chain around it in each notch and bring
the ends together and fasten to the