Arizona republican., 1920-01-23

eter to the feeding requirements of the herd and straight walls which are strong, durable and impervious to air, there need be little concern as to what constitutes the material entering into the construction of the silo. Almost every builder has his preference for a given silo material, and each repre- sentative Of Sflo material would have you believe that his product is superior to all other materials used in silo build ing. It is well that we have this com petition and in support of each of these representatives of silo building ma terial we can see about us in successful daily use, silos constructed of con- crete. both the solid wall. the concrete stave concrete block, the tile silo, the tung-lok, which is Octagon shaped; the many different makes of slave SiloS re- inforced with iron hoops, and also various types of home made silos, in cludfng the cylindrical hole in the ground and the trenches and pits which were the only types of silos known to man 100 years ago. There are two men whose information as to the kind of silo you should build is worthless to the prospective builder. The first is the agent of a silo manufacturing com pany who, before selling silos, sold shoes, candy or beer, and has the evil dence" that all other silos than the one he is selling are failures: the other is the man who has used silo but one year, for any silo is good for a year. In general, let the factors of economy and durability determine the kind of a siIo you erect. For instance, in a dis trict where lumber can be obtained for the building of a 100 ton sile for $500. ie would not be advisable to construct a concrete silo or 8 tile silo which in that locality might cost $1,000. Again, it would not be wise to build the stave silo where it's cost was almost as great as concrete or tile silo and, where the clements of the weather would tend to shorten it's period of service and necessitate frequent repairs. The ma jority of silo builders in Arizona have chosen the solid wall concrete silo be- cause of its permanence and economy as compared with other types of silos available. In addition to this type of concrete silo we have builders of the concrete block, also the concrete stave silo, both of which are desirable and permanent. In the building of any type of concrete silo or the tile silo due consideration must be given to the foundation which is to carry the enor- moCs weight of the silo walls above ground. For silo 16 feet in diameter and 40 feet high. the foundation should not be less than 24 inches deep, and of the same width, on ground that is
 
 foundation should be put down lower and a wider foundation used. silo floor is desirable in any silo for the reason that no silage is lost from the action of gophers, or rats; moisture does not seep away, and the silage does not come in contact with the ground. causing a loss by spoilage. It is we'll to provide a drain which may be used to remove excess moisture that may have been due to putting the silage crop into the silo when very inn mature or the addition of too much water to a crop that needed but little moisture added. The two most com mon mistakes made by the average silo builder are lack of plans in ad- vance and not informing himself thoroughly as to the size of the silo he needs and the relative merits of silos constructed of different materials. It is safe to say that two out Of every three silos built are from two to six feet greater in diameter, or from five to g feet less in height than they should be. Many times have seen a l 6x26 foot silo used where there should have been a silo 10x36. Where such is