McNairy County independent. (Selmer, McNairy County, Tenn.) 1902-1969, 1917-11-02
IS There SILO
ON YOUR FARM
Silage This Year Will Be More
important in Sensible
Feeding Than Before
SILO PAYS ITS OWN COST
There Are Many Kinds Of Good Silos,
But Wood-Hoop 3ilo Is Favored In
Many Places Because of Its lnexpen.
si.eness and Ease of Construction.

In general Tennessee farm practice
the length of the period of usefulness
of the wood-staye silo is not determin
ed by the number of years the slaves
will last, but by the care the silo re-
ceives. 1t is not uncommon to find a
stava silo in good condition that has
been in use for ten years. Neglect OF
tightening the hoops during the sum
mer when the silo is empty results in
it's becoming twisted out of shape and
not infrequently blowing down.
Notifications of the stave silo are in
quite common use in some sections OF
the state, the two types deserving par.
ticular mention being the wood-hoop
and the garter.
The construction of the wood-hoop
silo is described in Publication 26, OF
the Division of Extension, University
of Tennessee, Knoxville, copy of which
can be had for the asking, The partic.
ular recommendation for the od-hoop
silo is the cheapness of construction
considering satisfaction, and the length
of time it will last Wood hoops are
used, made of thicknesses of green
white oak or elm, 11a"x9" generally saw.
ed from log cut on the farm. These
hoops are spaced about feet apart
and the slaves 1"x4" tongued and
grooved pine fiooring) are nailed to
the inside of these hoops, leaving a
space of feet wide for door. This
makes silo that is inexpensive, as
rigid as the regular stave silo, and the
hoops do not loosen when It Is empty.
1t can be constructed at very mod
crate cost, and will last on an average
OF ten years.
The garter type of silo is on much
the same principle, except that rough
lumber is used for slaves. These are
inside are lathed and plastered with
cement plaster. In sections where it
istnot easily possible to obtain tongued
and grooved flooring, and rough lum-
Der is available, and enough cement
to make the plaster can be obtained
at small cost, this type of silo, II well
braced so as not to be shaken by winds
which crack the plaster, will give en-
tire satisfaction at very reasonable
cost.
The cost of silos and materials for
their construction vary so greatly for
different sizes and in different sections
that it is not possible to make a com
parison that is reliable. The average
cost of the concrete silos that have
been built in Tennessee within the
past few years has been between $3.50
and $500 Per ton capacity. The cost
OF the wood-hoop silo averages around
$1.00 per ton capacity. Other stave
silos vary in cost on account of
the different kinds of lumber used in
their construction.
So far as protecting the silage is
concerned, Q roof on the silo is un.
necessary. 1t serves as protection
for the silo and for the feeder during
cold, rainy or snowy weather, but its
value for the purpose hardly justifies
its use where the fact of its, being
very much in the way of filling the silo
is taken into consideration.
The inside of all silos, concrete as
we'll as wood, should be kept painted,
and for this purpose coal tar, thinned
with gasoline or heated so that it can
be put on readily with a brush. is most
commonly used. Wood silos should be
kept painted on the outsider. NJ.
Murphy, Division of Agricultural Elk
tension, University of Tennessee,
Knoxville.