Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1913-05-10
A SUCCESSFUL UNDERGROUND sILo
Farmer Tells Of Cheap Method of Silo
Building and Benefits Derived
Therefrom


interesting the farmers and especially |
over this part of the state. AS the |
amount of range for stock diminishes |
the feed problem confronts the stock
man. It has been proven that the
silo is feed saver but the cost of a
silo causes many to hesitate in under
taking to construct one. G. J. Hook,
writing for the Osborne Farmer, tells
of his method of constructing sue
cessful low priced silo and for the
benefit of our readers we print the
article in full as follows:
The silo is a good thing. Every
farmer who keeps a few cows ought
to have one, but the cost is what
handicaps the erection of new silos.
A great many farmers would build a
silo if they were able to spare the
money. My plan does not cost much
and is a complete success. The silage
is just as sweet and good as can be-:
not one bit of waste or spoiled ensi-
lage in it; no freezing; the same
temperature the year around; will
not blow down or burn up; will last a
life time and be as good as when first
to dig hole 10 feet in diameter and
% feet deep: gave them $50 to dig it.
| Then / plastered cement on the dirt
about one inch thick, using 80 sacks
of cement and one big load of sand to
do the job. Three men and myself
plastered it in one day, and it was
finished. Ready TO fill in the fall /
filed it in with green corn fodder, us
ing four teams and rack wagons. We
filed it in one day putting in fifty
loads or green feed from fifty acers.
Have been feeding ten mich cows
for five months out of it and it is
half full yet and I tell you it is good
feed The cattle will run after you
and ball for it. 1t is the cheapest
lot of good feed / ever had. / built
my COW barn right over iu-thau is
have the silo in one end of the barn.
We pull the feed up in a half barrel
with windlasS. Our feeding is all
done under shelter. No matter how
stormy it is, we don't care; we are
warm and dry. Any farmer can have
silo just as good as anybody else's
for few dollars, say not to exceed
|
work done and even less if he does
his own digging. Some people seem
to entertain the idea that there is
danger of damps in an underground
silo, but there has never been sign
of damps in mine, but to be on the
safe side, if there should be any such
thing as damps in one, it would be
well when digging silo to cut a
small cavity in the earth down on one
side large enough to bed small four
inch tile, and about every three
feet put in tie joint, let the tie
come flush with the inside of the
cement and plug all of these openings
before filling. As you go down with
your feed pull out a plug, this will
carry off the gases should any form.
Let the tile go clear up through the
roof of the building. By putting this
tile in a small cavity in the earth you
can cement over it and leave a smooth
! projects through would be the tie
joint, and this would be flush with
the wall, so it will be perfectly smooth.
Although we are not afraid of any
damp, we would put the tile in the
next sile. We expect to build sec
ond silo this season. This is not an
advertisement but is free and may
help to solve the tsilo problem foI
some one who is not able to expend
five or six hundred dollars TO build
one on top of the ground.