Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1911-11-22

u
Iowa.l
The Importance and value OF the
silo in furnishing succulent food for
dairy cows and other farm animals
S now being more generally appre-
,iated. Only a trial is necessary to
convince stock raisers that silage is an
economical feed for the production OF
beef as well as for the production OF
milk. Silage when included in the
'ation for steers makes IL more pal
atable. and in this manner is an active
agent In bringing about more rapid
gains. Also in many cases well pre-
served silage has been found cheap
and successful feed for sheep. swine
and horses.
The silo may be made an ornament
10 any group OF farm buildings. It's
form is such that it may be madu TO
add to the appearance of any style of
construction. One or more conical silo
roofs when viewed from a distance.
Or in the full height of the curved
walls at a closer range. gives a very
pleasing effect when placed in a set
ing OF rectangular buildings.
1t is the purpose OF any silo. re-
gardless of its construction. to exclude
air as far as possible from the silage.
and in this way prevent decay. To pre-
vent the air from reaching the silage,
all silos must have alright walls.
These must be rigid enough not to be
sprung out Of shape by the pressure
Of the silage. permitting air to enter
next to the wall. Not only the walls
but the doors. also. must be perfectly
air tight. To accomplish this they
should be we'll fitted and the joints
made more perfect by felt pads or
gaskets. II is "a good practice where
the silo door sets against shoulder
to place clay worked into the con
sistency of putty in the joint. The
clay is placed on the bearing surface
and the door placed over it, and when
the pressure of the silage comes
against the door an air-tight Joint is
obtained. Tar paper is successfully
used by some silo owners. either in
strips to cover the cracks around the
doors or in widths sufficient to cover
the entire door and lap a few inches
on the silo walls.
Not only should the walls be tight
and rigid, but they should also be
perfectly smooth on the inside to per
NIT the silage to settle without form
ing air pockets. which cause q certain
amount of the adjoining silage to rot.
Several failure have been caused by
a shoulder being made where the walls
join the foundation. The foundation
wall. and in fact the walls of the entire
silo. should be as smooth as possible.
II due care Is used in tampine the
silage during the Killing. doors which
extend into the silo are not a serious
objection. though perfectly flush
doors are certainly an advantage A
vertical wall is the only satisfactory
wall TO use. as a wall inclined out
ward Will support the silage to a
certain extent and prevent it settling
satisfactorily, thus creating air
pockets. When the wall is inclined
inward the silage will settle away
from it. In the case of concrete silos
with tapered walls. these should be
vertical on the inside.
Best results are obtained where the
silage is uniformly distributed
throughout the silo and is carefully
packed near the walls and around the
doors by tramping. Care should be
taken that the heavy and light por-
tons shall be uniformly mixed. Some
silo owners are of the opinion that a
great amount of tramping is unneces-
sary. but the investigations OF the