The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1912-05-09
LARSEN FAVoRs THE FARM slLo
Continued from Page ~

ANOIllHuCo llOli oBC III
the number Of cattle and the length
of time they are to be fed. The aver
g cow about between
thirty and forty pounds per day. In
South Dakota silage can be economi-
cally fed eight months in the year or
two hundred and forty days. To feed
one cow eight months would then re-
quirc practically five tons. The writer
would not advise building a silo Of
less than one hundred ton capacity.
There is always danger of getting too
little silage rather than too much.
Many times it is advantageous to
feed silage during the latter part Of
the summer. In some instances feed
in pastures gets very short early in
the fall. Silage can then be fed to
COWS and young stock to great advant-
age.
"A silo holding about one hundred
tons should be about fifteen feet in
diameter and thirty feet high. The
writer would not advise building one
greater than twenty feet in diameter.
1t is better to build two of medium
size than to build one immensely
large.
The owner should figure on remov-
ing at least an inch and a half of sill
age every day from the surface during
the winter, and about two and a half
to three inches per day during the
summer.
an most places in South Dakota the
silo can be dug into the ground about
six feet. This brings the foundation
down below frost level and on solid
ground. Besides, this six feet of
space in the ground is about the
cheapest part of the silo. The writer
would not advise going down deeper
than this. If it is deeper there is
danger of water seeping in. Then too,
it is in%convenient to remove the sill
age. Poisonous gases are likely to ac-
cumulate in a deep hole.
First locate the center Of the silo,
drive a stake and nail one end of a
horizontal stake to this center one.
Then measure out the radius Of the
silo, plus the thickness of the founda-
ton wall, drive a nail or spike at the
end Of this radius and make a com
plete circle. Then excavate this hole,
and put in the concrete foundation.
If a reinforced concrete silo is built,
or any of the other silos built from
the heavy materials, the wall should
be about two feet in width at the ex-
IRENE bottom and quickly tapered in
to about eight inches in thickness.
Build the first six or seven feet from
this same material. This will give a
good solid foundation and if a wooden
silo is to be put up, the foundation
does not need to be quite so heavy.
This provides a good foundation for
any kind of a super-structure.
IF a wooden silo Of n kind is to
be put up on this foundation, be sure
and stay it we'll with guy wires on all
sides. Also stay it with bolts on the
concrete foundation. These bolts
should be such that the diameter OF
the silo can be decreased as the hoops
are frightened.
IF clean gravel is obtainable near
by and the farmer is able to do his
own hauling and perhaps most OF
the labor connected with the building
Of a silo, a reinforced concrete silo
may prove to be the cheapest. If such
a silo is built, are should be taken in
getting it well reinforced. The writer
built one last fall. He used heavy
woven wire fencing for reinforcement
We used the four foot high fencing
and used n heighth for every three
feet Of concrete wall. This made the
reinforcement overlap one foot ever,
three feet. We mixed the concret.
in proportion Of one OF cement Il
nearly six Of clean, fine gravel. Thit
silo has proven a success, so far, il
every way"