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III 1.8 A /APPLIED IM/IGE Inc 5p^ 16^? tast Mam iir«i S^S Roc^p^ter, New ■'•y i*h09 U'iA JSS (716) *82 - OJOO - Phone SSS (716) 288 - 5989 - Ta- DEPARTMKNT OF AGRICULTURE CENTRAL EXPERIMENTAL FARM ':) IS! OrrAWA. CAXADA THE STAVE SILO J. H. GRISDALE, B. AoB. 'gricuUurist, Central Experimental Farm BULLETINS' No. 35 .ri"i.v. i!)0( REPBINTKD DECKMBEH, ISO" Published by ..irectien of'thTSiiT^y^SiiiY A. FISHeS:!^^? Agriculture, Ottawa, Ont. STAFF (m TTTE EXPERIMEXTAL FARMS Wm. Saitnders, LL.D., J. H. Grisdale, B. Agr. W. 1". Macoun, F. T. SiiuTT. M.A., Jas. Fletcher, LLD., t . E. Saunders, Ph. D., A. G. Gilbert, K. lioBKHTSON, James iluRRAY, A\<;rs Mackay, Thus. a. Shabpe, W. 11. Fairfield, <"'. II. IIUTTON, Dinctor. . Agriciilturist. Horticulturist, f'hpmist. Entomologist and Botanist. Cerealisf. Poultry Manager. Supt. Experiraentaf Farm. Nappan, N.S. Supt. Exptrinitntal Farm. Brandon, Manitoba. Supt. Experime; ■ Farm, Indian Head, Sask. Supt. Experimental 'arm, Agassiz, B.C. Supt. Experimental Farm, Lethbridge, Alta. Supt. Experimental Farm. Lacombe, Alta. I 10117— IJ ' il K|.. M , I .1 ii Ki.. :.. I.M,Kit.,dm»l ,«ti.,n ..f Stave Sil.,. -howing: „ „ „. ,lrai„: /,. f,„„„lati..„; ,-, g„„m,l H.k .'. C'liieiit Hon- iiiKi,!,.: f, c, nt Hcwr o.it.i.le: , , ., ,.t,'.. ho..].-. OOlTTEir. ;«« n . Pagef. Rations for cattle •• Approximate capacity of Stava Silofl 5 Construction of Ti ') or Stave Silo q Foundation of Stave Silo a Staves material, etc a Erection of Silo - Doors . Hoops j^ itec. 'Tular Siloe j« €rops for Ensilage jj Preparition of "Material for Ensilage jl ■r i '- f = 1 -I THE STAA'E SILO. As the live stock of the country increase in number and improve in quality, more and more interest is taken in the preservation of succulent food for their uae during the winter. In many parts of Canada the cheapest crop for such a purpose is Indian Com (Zea mayi) and since the preservation of this forage is an important considera- tion, so the question of silos and silo building is claiming more attention. Many letters have been received asking for directions for constructing silos and inquiring as to the relative economy of the difiFerent kinds of silo in use. The most common objection advanced to the more general use of the silo is the considerable expenditure necessary to erect such a large air-tight chamber, as well as the subsequent expense of maintaining such a building in repair, and the apparent short life of the silo as commonly constructed. From extensive observation and study of silos and silo construction, and from experience here with a number of different silos, it would appear that the tub or stave silo is the form of cheap silo that for various reasons is most worthy of recommen.ia- tion. It combines simplicity and cheapni-.s3 of construction, with the requi?i-. <■■ n- ditions to preserve the ensilage in the ver.v best condition for feeding. No data are as yet available as to the longevity of the Stave Silo, its pi-bable life depends, however, upon the quality of the material used and the proper coi.-tTic- tion of the foundation and sides. The first point to decide when preparing to build is the amount of ensilage to be stored and the size of silo required for such an amount. A good average daily ration for a cow being from 35 lbs, to 40 lbs., the amount required for a given r.imV>er of cattle during a certain period may be easily estimated. By referring to the f>llo\v- ing table, the approxiniiite enpncity of different sized tub silos may be asocrtiiined :— Table giving the approximate capacity of stave silos for well matured erii, -ilape, in tons. t'y |)<'|itli in Kt^t in 16 Inxidv l>ittnii't«-i' in Keet 18 1!» ai 21 20. 31 22 2;! 24 25 27 28. 2!l ;» Ton-. Tons. i Toiw. Tons. Tons, Ti>nn. ToiiN. T..,i«. .-* m; 75 84 94 104 115 12.1 «2 n 80 no 100 111 123 I.e. 67 7ti 8)i 96 107 119 131 144 71 81 !»2 103 115 127 140 154 7« 8« !17 109 122 135 Nil im 811 89 103 iii; 129 143 lis 17.f Ho »7 10!) 123 137 151 167 183 W) l'»2 115 129 144 160 176 \:» 'M 108 122 13l> 152 168 1S6 2m 'M 113 128 143 IfiO 177 11)5 214 lt).-> lilt 1.-M lol 168 1H6 205 225 T >n-. ! Ton« 13S 1.50 147 1 161 IM ' 172 168 183 17i< 194 189 ' 20t( 2110 218 212 230 223 243 234 , 255 246 , 268 In all silo construction, a most important point is to build as high as possible, since each foot added in height increases by so much the chance of success and gives a more than proportionate inorense in capacity, due to the greater pressure of the taller column of material. The silo may be built inside the barn or adjacent to it, as convenient. If built outside, it may be expected to prove as satisfactory as if built under cover, though into the details of construction of a silo of a pamcu CoNSTBUonoN OF Stave Silo- The Foundation. ,h« .«rf.« .t«~ l«i»8 b,ok=. q«.t. .»■" »J J°i„Ta left L . f.. a.!-- f -€L'ht>s?roX*irX- « ^. ..^ -..a . .«. . -.. '"' A-s/a-s'-Sa b. p"^t;'jt,^ji„:r;ftAr "»a"£ economical and equally serviceable. described foundation, but it would The Staves. ,.. ., „„ ™»»« »«.w«a. „., b. «»a ,. .u.». H».* Pi" »a 5 st.*.r".rra^ »a J:,"niM *..., i. ^.» i. ^^^ .. Flii. I. — A settion of a stavi . Tin face " i-. A t" i It*- than I. U Flii. 2.--A stave splici . In any case, great caro must be taken to have lumber well sized and with no loose knote or shaky spots. It will be found impossible to get staves much over 20 feet long, and so for a 80-foot silo it will be necessary to make up each stave from two or more pieces. These must be exactly the same size. The ends should be carefully squared, and it is generally advisable to insert a bit of heavy hoop iron as shown in figure 2. This is not imperative, but where the parts of the stave are not connected in some way it will be necessary to insure the joint r-c^ming immediately under a hoop. II Eredino tht Silo. When built under cover it will usually be found easy to erect scaffolding for use in setting up the silo. Where the iilo is built outside and over 20 feet high, the erection of scaffolding becomes rather more difficult. One method is to erect 4 posts 6 x 6 the desired height and equidistant from each other, on. or 2 inches outside, the circle traced on the cement. If placed on the circle they will take the plaee of staves. These posts will serve in the place of clips for the hoops which may be made in two or four parts as preferred and tightened on the posts. If the posts are used and tli.- .scaffolding erected outside the silo, it will be necessary to erect four other temporary posts of 2 x 4 material. A studv of figure 3 will make this clear. , ,.„, , .,1 ,,( clii- t.i hold the hivyy- in l>o"ii" A bettf, though somewliat more expensive plan, is to erect scaflfolding inside th« •ilo. Three circular plntfornia of the exact diameter of the ailo are constructed M shown in figure 4. One is placed on the foundation, one near the splicing lines of the staves and one near the top. The staves may then be quickly and eaaily pla-'ad, toe nailed, hooped and the doors cut. Fio. 4.— Plan i.f iiitericr »c»tf.)ldiiig. .1. .1. «. etc., IkjuivIs cut (•, iM-gnientsof 20 fet-t ciiclc; h b 4 I, biaces nailed to p, p, p, p iiots and e\tendinfr tu support circular platform made u|i of u>W in Dlace by a 6-inch bar cut to fit the curve The parts of the door may be held in pia^ oy and to which each part \. firmly bolted (see fig. 7). The Soops. .prieht. .. 'k"" '» *^".l, V, ^„ toeing .fpto ■!"«" '» " intt"* *!;'« U,. SS.'SJ^^. «^ «»S»f r ^.uldi UJ.» .b.. ..ch ...ve i. K, ..«h.d to two or mare hoopa. j ^j^ jj^^k before attempting „ pj; r.'L'^..'r ™:rr»rstT»i.. . .» -«"^™ »-'" - - „, t. found in »J »'r;'«',;'J"i?S' found ..-.ug enough for . MM .il«. Sr^^r^o^K- Ct. .. 'bo bo.... ..d .nnb., .p... fo«H. -b. * Titi.?if U- b. «. «^. .^i"*; '.Xbr.S1trbigb.,. The second about ^^ '"chM from tne n ^^ ^.^^ ^^p StrS. *1° SSouSrinif. I ..."d nie... .0 ~. H i. "- „,f In»"»ber,I«..Uto.n.tl»en"« ___ j^^^j ,„ ,„, A CHEAP RECTANGULAE SILO. When it is not convenient or poseible *o buUd a atave .iK a -J^f -P -*«,f ^^rt one may be constructed by '^''''^^''Z%SgoSr.M\nn.her one inch thic' Ll a^^hL tn r„"tslTLtL«! l!f.^imtntal Farm for eight yeara and ha. given good results. 11 CROPS FOR ENSILAGE. The best material for ei iilagc appears to be com, but almost any crop cm nt the proper stage may be uied. Clover hag been used with sucoess in some parts, but it is rather uncertain as its peculiarities have not been studied sufficiently as yet The conditions nece^^ary for success with this plant and the exact staae of cutting appear to be more .xa.-ting than in the case of com {Zea mayi.) Any plante with hollow stems as rye or clover are more uncertain of curing properly than those with solid stems as Indian corn or mangold tops. Prkparatioi of Matebul. Most mate.ial for ensilage seems t; give best results when cut previous U, -torinir m silo. " Indian rorn put in uncut has been known to come out in good shape, but the low from feedinif the long coarse stalks and the uncertainty of properly curintr n.,i,.l> more than make jp for the trouble of cutting. Clover bas been a success in many instances when put in the silo uncut Sorgh- n, where it can be grown, makes an excellent crop for ensilage. It needs to be cut The best length to cut corn, &c., for the silo is into pieces thre. ..narters 01 an inch long. FILLING THE SILO. In filling the silo it will be found an excellent plan to have the material as it falls from the carrier descends through a tube made up of a number of salt sacks tacked together with the bottoms out. By this means it will be found possible to mix the eaves and stems much more thoroughly and easily than where forks are used in keei ng the surface level. Packing the ensilage evenly in all parts of the silo is a considerable factor in the quality of the finished product. The sil" should be filled to the top, allowed to settle, then filled again. This filling up operation should be continued as long as possible. The ensilage needs no pressure on the top nor cover of any kind as it very soon forms a layer of partially decayed matter 2 or 3 inches thick, quite impervious to air which ferves as a protector for the rest of the contents of the silo. This process mav be hastened, however, and a small saving of ensilage effected by pouring about a pafl of water to the foot of surface and sowing oats thickl.- over it, or by scattering chaff on top and wetting it in the same way. i