SB 
 
 pr 
 
 clithic Concrete Silos 
 Folk S; 
 
 UC-NRLF 
 
AGRIC. DEPT. 
 
**lllV%/U I I 
 
 LIBRARY, 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 CALlFORNIAv 
 
Contents 
 
 Frontispiece I 
 
 Officers and Directors - 4 
 
 Introduction 6 
 
 Concrete Its Value 7-8 
 Short Story about Concrete . - 9-13 
 
 History of the Silo 14-16 
 
 The Value of the Silo 17-19 
 
 Table Dry Matter and Digestible Nutriments in Silage 
 
 from Different Crops 20 
 
 Table Showing Acreage Required to fill Silo and 
 
 Amounts to Feed - 2 1 
 
 Photograph Showing "Feeders" 22 
 
 Concrete in Silo . Construction 23-26 
 
 Silo Showing Water Tank 27 
 
 Photograph Showing Filling process - 28 
 
 Handling Ensilage to the Best Advantage 29-3 1 
 
 Photograph 32 
 
 Our System - 33-35 
 
 The Polk Silo Door 36-37 
 
 Capacity of Round Silos in Tons 38 
 
 Facts-^Not Fancies 39 
 
 Testimonials - 40-47 
 
 Remerrfher - . 48 
 
 . 
 
Monolithic Concrete Silos 
 
 The Polk System 
 
 OF 
 
 RE-ENFORCED MONOLITHIC CONCRETE 
 CONSTRUCTION 
 
 Pat. Oct. 23, 1906 
 Pat. Dec. 29, 1908 
 
 C. F. WIELAND 
 
 CONSULTING ENGINEER 
 914 Mutual Savings Bank Bld. 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO, CAL. 
 
 POLK-GENUNG-POLK CO. 
 
 INCORPORATED 
 
 FORT BRANCH, IND. 
 
OFFICERS: 
 
 W. C. POLK, 
 H. 0. CHERRY, 
 H. T. GENUNG, 
 W. A. POLK, 
 
 President 
 
 Vice President 
 
 Secretary-Treasurer 
 
 Assistant Secretary-Treasurer 
 
 DIRECTORS: 
 
 W. C. POLK, 
 H. 0. CHERRY, 
 H. T. GENUNG, 
 R. M. STORMONT, 
 W. A. POLK, 
 
 Fort Branch, Ind. 
 Indianapolis, Ind. 
 Fort Branch, Ind. 
 Springfield, 111. 
 Fort Branch, Ind. 
 
In selecting the photographs for this cata- 
 logue, we have made use of those v/ews that 
 illustrate, to the best advantage, those points 
 which we have endeavored to cover, and we 
 have tried to arrange them with some pre- 
 cision that their force may not be lost. 
 
 The cuts of complete or incomplete jobs 
 represent the work of our machines. The 
 photographs from which they are made have 
 never been re-touched, hence you see exact 
 images of actual conditions. 
 
 We wish to express our. kindest thanks 
 to those who have furnished us cuts and to 
 others for the interest they have shown in 
 this catalogue. 
 
 272656 
 
Introduction 
 
 THE average American farmer is not one-half as rich as he 
 ought to be. There are too many leaks in the business. The 
 one greatest loss to-day is in the handling of the corn crop by the 
 stockman and dairyman. The progressive man who is feeding 
 silage is getting 100 per cent, of the nutriment out of his corn, 
 while the other fellow is getting only about 60 to 65 per cent, 
 and is losing the remaining 40 per cent. 
 
 We are sending this catalogue to you because this is so. We 
 want to give you straight facts in a straightforward manner. We 
 want to show you that you absolutely cannot afford to be without 
 a good silo. The unprecedented rise in land values means that a 
 corresponding return must be got or failure and bankruptcy will 
 follow. The scientific management of the big progressive stock- 
 man means that his competitors will have to stop every leak or 
 else get out of the business. The economy of the silo means that 
 you must own one. 
 
 We wish to show you that the best silo you can buy is the only 
 one you can really afford to buy, that you are losing money 
 when you build a silo that won't last you forever. We want you 
 to read the following pages of facts, undisputable and to judge 
 the proposition fairly. Then if you build anything but an im- 
 perishable monolithic concrete silo we shall be surprised at you. 
 But you won't surprise us you can't afford to. 
 
 We have never had a single failure or a single complaint. Our 
 efficiency is 100 per cent. Every silo that has ever been erected 
 by the Polk system has given absolute satisfaction. Yes, there 
 is a reason. Our machine and our methods don't allow any 
 builder to go wrong. 
 
 We hope that you will closely examine the following pages so 
 that we may convince you that our assertions are true. 
 
THE POLK SYSTEM 
 
 Concrete Its Value 
 
 THE modern farmer would no more think of trying" to get along 
 without concrete than the modern manufacturer would think 
 of dispensing with electricity or steam. Not many years ago con- 
 crete was an unknown quantity, the engineer and builder didn't 
 know whether to use it or not. Today no- man builds that does not 
 consider concrete, and no wise man builds that does not use it. 
 Concrete has not only revolutionized our recent ideas of building; 
 it has exploded them. Concrete is supplanting stone, brick, iron, 
 and wood. The farmer, who some not over-wise people say is always 
 
 
 Silo of Mr. C. W. Broughton, McGirr, III., diameter 16 feet, height 45 feet. 
 Built by Polk System. 
 
 backward about taking up new ideas, has been decidedly in the 
 foreground here, and it is building "for keeps" in concrete, while 
 his less knowing city cousin "burns wood." 
 
 Why has concrete come to the front so rapidly? There are many 
 reasons, but one is, sufficient. IT IS EVERLASTING. It has 
 a cumulative strength and a 100 per cent, plus efficiency. The 
 
 ''They are not built of pieces and they 
 cannot go to pieces. " 
 
8 
 
 THE POLK SYSTEM 
 
 modern farmer has found it his greatest single agency in the con- 
 struction of a farm on the business basis. He has circumvented 
 deteoriation- he has no up keep his profits go into the bank: 
 because, simply because he has used concrete in the building. 
 Concrete is vauable on the farm because it can be put to an almost 
 endless number of uses. From the basement to the water-tank, 
 from the barn to the fence-post, from the silo to the cistern, in 
 the corn-crib and the trough, on the floor and the sidewalk, we 
 find concrete. No one WHO KNOWS builds with anything but 
 concrete, it means sanitary conditions, puts the kibosh on the 
 rats and mice, turns water at the roof and in the basement, laughs 
 
 at fire and makes the insurance 
 man drive on to the next place 
 in hopes of finding an easy vic- 
 tim. Build with concrete and 
 don't mind the weather even if 
 the wind ''do blow." What do 
 you care? Build with concrete 
 and build right and nothing 
 but a double-geared, back ac- 
 tion, hammerless, six-cylinder, 
 earthquake could ever ruffle 
 your peace of mind. 
 
 BUILD RIGHT! We 
 know how to do that today. A 
 few years ago some mistakes 
 were made by workers in con- 
 crete, because they were care- 
 less about proportions and mix- 
 tures. These mistakes have 
 been given wide publicity as 
 
 Monolithic silo, nearly completed by the Polk-Ge- 
 nung-Polk system, on the farm of John Creighton, 
 Geneva, HI W. H. Warford, Contractor. 
 
 suitable material for this kind of 
 
 proof that concrete is not a 
 construction, and consequently 
 some of the unwise fear the concrete is tricky. Today the fail- 
 ures by inexperienced and expert are not one in a hundred. 
 
 ' ' They arm not built of piece* and they 
 cannot go to pieces. 
 
THE POLK SYSTEM 9 
 
 Short Story About 
 Concrete 
 
 T^GYPTIANS. On the top of the huge pyramids of Egypt 
 I* there are enormous blocks of stone of such size that modern 
 engineers wonder how they ever were put there. They are well 
 preserved and show little effect of the 4,000 years weathering they 
 have undergone. Recent investigation on the subject of this vast 
 engineering feat seems to show that those huge stones were prob- 
 ably carried there in water pails or some similiar contrivances. 
 The Egyptians knew how to make a hydraulic cement, and pieces 
 of wood found within these big blocks together with the conglom- 
 erate structure seem to show that they made use of their secret 
 in the erection of the pyramids. 
 
 GREEKS and ROMANS. The Greeks also knew about 
 cement. Many of their walls and slabs of stone which have until 
 recently been supposed to be solid rock, have proved to be exam- 
 ples of an enduring concrete construction. The Romans built the 
 best roads that man has ever known. They dug to solid rock, 
 filled in with crushed rock, bouldei's and pebbles, and then coated 
 the top with a hydraulic cement. Over this they put paving 
 stones. The paving stones have worn away and crumbled to dust, 
 but the concrete mixture remains stronger than it was the day it 
 was put there. Fallen columns, pillars and arches of concrete con- 
 struction among Roman ruins show much better lasting qualities 
 than the hardest marble that was used for mural decoration. 
 
 In this connection the Architecture Record issue of February, 
 1909 says: 
 
 "The Romans mixed their' concrete exactly as we mix ours- in 
 a general batch that is, stones, cement and lime were mixed to- 
 gether and thrown into a wooden form, precisely as we do it to- 
 day. The marks of the wooden forms are at all times discernible, 
 and especially is this so in the corridor of the house of Augustus 
 on the Palatine (P. 10) where the grain of the wood can be clear- 
 ly seen. These walls are some twenty-four feet above the ground 
 
 ' 'They are not built of piece* , and they 
 cannot go to pieces. 
 
10 
 
 THE POLK SYSTEM 
 
 level, and though the construction of the forms seems to 
 
 have been carlessly done, as the photograph shows, yet the result 
 
 is none the less interesting. Here is a splendid opportunity to see 
 
 concrete and leisurely inspect it from every point of vantage. 
 
 Above these concrete foundations rose the palace of Augustus, 
 
 formed of 
 
 these stupend- 
 
 ous walls and 
 
 vaults of 
 
 brick, which 
 
 here, as else- 
 
 where i n 
 
 Rome, thrust 
 
 its arches 
 
 through the 
 
 air with such 
 
 poise and pre- 
 
 cisi on that 
 
 they are t o 
 
 this day the 
 
 admiration of 
 
 every behold- 
 
 er and gave to 
 
 the Romans 
 
 their proud 
 
 p o s i t i on 
 
 HOUSE OF AUGUSTUS 
 Notice impression of the wood forms as well as actual grain of the wood. 
 
 among the master builders of the world. 
 
 The structure of brick above these concrete walls have suc- 
 cumbed to the ravages of time and to the hand of the destroyer, 
 but the concrete remains without a crack or a fracture that could 
 be discovered by careful and frequent examination. Its adhesion 
 is perfect, and that there has not been the slightest disintegration 
 of even the outside surface is attested by the fact that the grain 
 of the wood from the old forms may still be seen on the concrete, 
 though its imprint was made over two thousand years ago. The 
 silent and sturdy witnesses in the Roman Forum and the Appian 
 Way give convincing testimony as to the efficiency and durability 
 of concrete. Looking back through the centuries in which the 
 
 ''They are not built of pieces and they 
 cannot go to pieces. 
 
THE POLK SYSTEM 
 
 I I 
 
 character has been so notably maintained, we must see that there 
 is a material on whose merits we can form a definite and certain 
 judgment, and the judgment thus formed impels us irresistibly to 
 the conclusion that we have no building construction which, viewed 
 from any standpoint, measures up to the incomparable standard 
 established by concrete." 
 
 Other evidences of the constructive uses of cement are found in 
 various parts of the old world. In Ireland are old lookout towers, 
 supposed to have been built by the Druid priests more than one 
 thousand years ago. They are made of hydraulic cement concrete, 
 
 and are cylindrical in form, 
 about six feet in diameter, 
 and 100 feet high. Some 
 years ago one of these tow- 
 ers was undermined and fell 
 over. The shock was so 
 great that the shaft was bur- 
 ied one-half in the ground 
 for its entire length, yet 
 there was not the slightest 
 fracture in the monolithic 
 structure. Any natural 
 rock would have been shat- 
 tered to bits. In Spain and 
 other countries with a flour- 
 ishing early history all signs 
 point to an early and exten- 
 sive use of a rude sort of ce- 
 ment and concrete. The 
 pre-historic people of the 
 New World also knew some- 
 thing of the value of an artificial stone. The Mound Builders who 
 inhabited the Ohio Valley some 12,000 years ago cooked and boiled 
 in vessels that appear to have been made of a rock conglomerate 
 held together by a cement. The Peruvian Incas built themselves 
 houses of a crude concrete to prevent loss from earthquakes and 
 volcanic tremors. 
 
 So the Ancients worked in concrete. Of course they had noth- 
 
 Ed John's Concrete Silo, 16x40 feet, La Fox, III. 
 by Polk System. W. H. Warford Contractor. 
 
 "They are not built of pieces* and they 
 cannot go to pieces. 
 
12 
 
 THE POLK SYSTEM 
 
 ing to compare with the highly developed Portland cement of to- 
 day, yet they did imperishable work. Strange to say, the people 
 of the medieval times lost the secret and all the fine architectural- 
 work of the "dark ages" is fast crumbling into oblivion. Not un- 
 til the opening of the 
 nineteenth century did 
 man again become in- 
 terested in means of 
 making artificial stone. 
 The modern searcher 
 after the secret, how- 
 ever, turned his at- 
 tention to the produc- 
 tion of a fine powder 
 that would do the ce- 
 menting when mixed 
 with rock and water. 
 He wanted a much 
 smoother and neater 
 result than the ancient 
 builder. In England, 
 Germany, and France, 
 chemists and engineers 
 worked on the produc- 
 tion of a dependable 
 cement from 1790 un : 
 
 til 1850 before they made one that fulfilled the requirements. In 
 1865 the first Portland cement was brought to the United States, 
 and in 1872 the first home-made product was put on the market. 
 In 1880 the output of all factories in our country was only 82,000 
 barrels. In 1896 it had passed the million mark, and in 1909 it 
 was sixty millions. That's the way America does things. Today 
 there is practically no foreign cement for sale on our markets. 
 
 Today we stand on the threshold of the concrete age. The 
 possibilities of a concrete construction are numberless from the 
 sewer to the tip-top of the sky-scraper re-enforced concrete is 
 displacing all other forms of masonry and building materfal. En- 
 gineers are doing with concrete, things that we did not -dream 
 
 Twin Concrete Silos on farm of Frank White, La Fox, 111., each 
 
 18x45 feet. Built by Polk System. W. H. Warford, 
 
 Geneva, 111., Contractor. 
 
 ''They are not built of pieces and they 
 cnnnot go to pieces. 
 
THE POLK SYSTEM 
 
 13 
 
 about ten years ago. They go straight to dizzy heights with 
 seemingly little attention to the laws of equilibrium; they bridge 
 
 spans with no at- 
 t e n t i o n to the 
 laws of gravity. 
 Concrete means 
 just as much to 
 the farmerp f; as 
 the same -rapid 
 stride s that 
 characterize the 
 engineering field 
 are being made 
 proportionate- 
 ly of course, on 
 the farm. Prin- 
 ciples of conser- 
 vation and per- 
 manence are be- 
 ing adopted in 
 the agricultural 
 field just as as- 
 suredly as they 
 are in the engi- 
 neering fi e 1 d . 
 
 i.. i6xio feet, capacity Concrete is more 
 
 Built by Polk System |>flB J flr^n permanent; 
 
 -m> Strength -is 
 cumulative?* A^oncrete silo will be stronger 5 ten J^ars hence tKan 
 it is now and "s'tiW stronger when your great-great-grandchildren 
 are ready to use it. Concrete annihilates two words " 
 
 and ".vpmrs." 
 
 S. 
 
 C. M. Saxby's Concrete Silo, Freeport, 111. 
 180 tc 
 
 "They are not built of piece* and they 
 cannot go to pieces. ' ' 
 
14 THE POLK SYSTEM 
 
 History of the Silo 
 
 ALONG time ago, even before man had become accustomed 
 to settled agricultural life, the primitive farmers were 
 guessing at the secret of the silo. A "pit" was first used as a 
 receptacle for dry grain. The Greeks called such a pit "siros" 
 and the Spanish have a word "ensilar" meaning to store grain m 
 a pit. From these two words comes our term "ensilage." The 
 Roman farmers stored green forage in air-tight pits and fed the 
 "silage" to their stock. That was two-thousand years ago. 
 
 In 1786 we have our first authentic record of the actual prep- 
 aration of stock food by the "silage" method when Symonds wrote 
 of Italians preserving fresh leaves for cattle in casks and pits in 
 the ground. In 1843 an Englishman named Johnston who had 
 been observing Germans store green clover, grass, or vetches in 
 pits, published an article giving his views on such a method for 
 treating food. These pits the Germans used were ten or twelve 
 feet square and about as many feet deep. The floor was of 
 packed clay and the sides were lined with wood. The green food 
 was well salted as it was thrown into the pit and the top was 
 given an extra thick layer of salt and then a close-fitting cover of 
 boards was put over it. Then enough dirt to make the pit air- 
 tight was thrown over the top of the boards and the "silage" was 
 allowed to ferment and settle for a few days. Then more green 
 stuff was added to fill the crude silo, and the board and dirt cover 
 was again added. The grass thus treated had the appearance of 
 being boiled, was sharply acid, and was much enjoyed by the cat- 
 tle. Between 1860 and 1870 Samuel Jones in England experi- 
 mented extensively with tares or rye. He cut it green, chopped 
 it up, and then allowed it to ferment in air-tight vats. 
 
 To Adolph Reihlen, a sugar manufacturer of Germany, belongs 
 the credit for first storing green maize in pits. He had lived a 
 number of years in the United States and had taken back to the 
 old country with him some large dent corn. Since the crop did 
 not always mature in that climate he conceived the idea of treat- 
 
 "They are not built of pieces, and they 
 cannot go to pieces. 
 
THE POLK SYSTEM 
 
 15 
 
 ing- it the same way that he had successfully treated green beet 
 leaves and beet pulp. The results of his works were published in 
 
 the German and 
 French papers at 
 the time and the use 
 of thesilo was 
 strongly urged upon 
 the people of 
 France. The French 
 farmers wisely 
 heeded the good ad- 
 vice and built them- 
 selves many pits in 
 the earth for the 
 storing of green 
 forage. In 1877 
 Auguste Goffart, a 
 French farmer, 
 wrote a book giv- 
 ing the results of 
 twenty-five years 
 experience with the 
 method of preserv- 
 ing green forage in 
 air-tight pits. He 
 told little that was 
 new, but what he 
 told was so well put 
 and so well ar- 
 ranged that he now bears the distinction of being the Father of 
 Modern Silage. 
 
 Now, when America is not first at anything she is always a very 
 close second, and in 1876 a progressive Maryland farmer named 
 Morris built a structure to contain silage. Shortly after the intro- 
 duction of the silo in America enthusiasts made many extravagant 
 claims for its usefulness and effectiveness which early experiments 
 failed to vindicate. These early experiments were crude and ex- 
 travagant, and the silo did not become popular at that time. In 
 
 Silo of George Dick, Sycamore, III., Size: Diameter 16 
 feet, Height 40 feet. Polk Syitem 
 
 "They are not built of pieces and they 
 cannot go to piece*. " 
 
16 
 
 THE POLK SYSTEM 
 
 fact in 1882 only 92 American farmers used the silo. Later and 
 more careful investigations by agricultural schools and scientific 
 farmers revealed the true worth of the silo until it is to-day an un- 
 disputed fact that no man who raises stock for any purpose what- 
 ever can afford to be without one. There are over 500,000 silos in 
 the United States at the present time. 
 
 16 x 50 feet monolithic silo of State Hospital Farm No. 1, Fulton, 
 
 Missouri, showing cutter in position for filling. 
 
 Built by Polk System. 
 
 "They are not built of pieces and they 
 cannot go to pieces. 
 
THE POLK SYSTEM 
 
 17 
 
 The Value of the Silo 
 
 SILO MEANS SAVE 
 
 HPHE silo offers a quicker and larger return on the investment 
 1 than does any other improvement that is being considered 
 by the dairy farmers and stockmen of America today. We assert 
 this without fear of contradiction because we have the judgment 
 and experience of the progressive, brainy American farmer to up- 
 hold us. We have boiled down a great mass of facts here for your 
 
 convenience and enlighten- 
 ment. Our authority for 
 the following statement 
 consists of the experiments 
 of Agricultural Schools and 
 Stations and of the personal 
 experiences of advancing, 
 broad-minded farmers. We 
 have no desire to burden 
 your mind with rows of facts 
 and figures that confuse you 
 and make your head swim. 
 We want to give you in 
 tabloid form some informa- 
 tion about the value of the 
 silo. Here it is: 
 
 Lewis McNutt's monolithic silo, Brazil, inu., 
 showing cutter and blower in position ready 
 for filling. 
 
 Notice That Every Fact Cited 
 Means a Saving. 
 
 1. THE SILO REDUCES THE COST OF PRODUCTION, (a). The cost 
 of feed is reduced one-half. Chemists who have examined fodder 
 as it goes in the shock and as it is when ready to be fed later in 
 the winter find that often only half of the original nutriment re- 
 mains. The weather and the air have made way with one-half of 
 your feed. The Silo does not retain all of the food value, but the 
 
 "They are not built of pieces and they 
 cannot go to ot'eces. 
 
18 
 
 THE POLK SYSTEM 
 
 loss is never greater than ten per cent, (b) An acre of corn 
 can be placed in the silo at much less cost than it can be put up as 
 cured fodder. An experiment made in 1903, in filling a 100-ton 
 silo, shows the cost of filling- to be only i > > 50 cents per ton. 
 
 (c) There is abso- 
 lutely no waste to 
 any part of the corn 
 crop, provided you 
 exercise a fair de- 
 gree of care in han- 
 dling it. (d). Care- 
 ful and fair experi- 
 ments show that you 
 can feed your stock 
 on one-half of the 
 acreage other- 
 wise needed. 
 
 II. THE SILO IN- 
 C REA SES THE 
 AMOUNT OF PRO- 
 DUCTION, (a) Dai- 
 ry cattle give more 
 milk and cream 
 when fed on silage 
 than when fed on 
 dry fodder and ear 
 corn, (b) The in- 
 crease in butter fat 
 is enough to reduce 
 the cost of produc- 
 tion 9c per pound, 
 
 from22c to 13c. (c) Steers fattened on silage show a saving of 50c 
 for every 100 pounds, and bring an average of 20c per 150 better on 
 the market; a total saving of 70c on every 100 pounds. 
 
 III. MISCELLANEOUS ADVANTAGES. (a) Ensilage fed cattle 
 have a good appetite are healthy, (b) Your stock does not have 
 to be reduced during a dry season, (c) There is no exposure to 
 bad weather in feeding ensilage, (d) There is great economy of 
 
 Twin Silos, 16x40 feet, in process of construction by Polk 
 System. Built for W. T. Robinson, Harrodsburg, Ken- 
 tucky. Scaffolding and superstructure is unnecessary in 
 this System. 
 
 "They are not built of pieces and they 
 cannot go to pieces. ' ' 
 
THE POLK SYSTEM 
 
 19 
 
 storage room. Ten tons of silage occupies the same space that one 
 ton of hay does. (e). The food supply is constant. With the right 
 kind of a silo there is no fear of fire, flood, drouth, lightning nor 
 wind. 
 
 A careful reading and a brief review of the foregoing will con- 
 vince you that the most extravagant farmer in the business to-day 
 ir, the one who is trying to get along without a silo. Ask yourself 
 if, in the coming days of closer competition, you can stand up 
 
 against your progressive 
 neighbor who is producing 
 the same goods that you 
 produce at one-half of your 
 cost of production. Be one 
 of those progressive neigh- 
 bors yourself and let the 
 other fellows wonder where 
 you get the money to keep 
 your farm so well stocked 
 and equipped, and your 
 buildings in such good shape. 
 Let him wonder how you 
 can afford to pay cash for 
 your fine touring car. As 
 any business grows and iu- 
 tensifies, as competition 
 becomes fiercer, there is al- 
 ways a struggle for a de- 
 decreased cost of production 
 and the man who solves the 
 problem first is the man who makes the money. The silo solves the 
 problem for the man who feeds stock. 
 
 C. A. Baber's Monolithic Silo, LaFox, Illinois. Diam- 
 eter 18 feet, height 45 feet. Polk System. W. H. 
 Warford, Geneva, Illinois, Contractor. 
 
 "They ore not built of piece* and they 
 cnnnot go to piece*." 
 
20 t 
 
 THE POLK SYSTEM 
 
 ea 
 
 1 
 
 
 "x <u 
 
 <u o 
 
 ^- ^ 
 
 NoOfMOTCDO^KD^fs, 
 
 u 
 
 
 .cCX 
 
 
 
 
 W ' 
 
 
 fli 
 
 N 
 
 
 
 V 
 
 IN 
 
 c 
 
 (D 
 
 L"' 
 
 
 j 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 1 
 
 |1 
 
 SS^SSSodSS 
 
 
 
 CD 
 .0 
 
 1 V- 
 
 O O) 
 
 
 
 
 'J5 
 
 (ti 
 
 
 1* 
 
 So 
 
 
 
 
 HH 
 
 Q 
 
 
 
 0) 
 
 
 
 
 "DO v , 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 J2 i 
 
 
 C c 
 
 
 * ' ' . : ; 
 
 
 
 
 (ft 
 
 
 1! 
 
 ooi ' io- T* * oi *- J-H 
 
 w 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 (A .<B 
 
 
 
 
 "5 
 C - 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 *C < 
 
 
 ^ (P 
 
 O5OCT)tOON>OOOO 
 
 +* 4-- 
 
 
 >> o 
 
 OOOKDIOOJOUD' <^ 
 
 3 ^ 
 
 
 u . 
 
 CNCNOJCNrOCMCNCNCN 
 
 z 1 
 
 
 oj 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^ D. 
 
 I 
 
 < 
 
 
 In Q 
 
 
 
 
 0) 
 
 
 
 
 TOD co 
 
 
 
 
 IN 
 
 
 
 
 Q D 
 
 
 
 
 T3 KO 
 
 I 
 
 0) 
 
 to) 
 
 S 
 
 r* 
 
 
 
 nJ 
 
 ttf ^ 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 ^ c 
 
 
 ^2 
 
 ^ 
 
 0) ID 
 
 
 
 
 tn 
 
 "^ "5 
 3 DQ 
 
 
 t/3 
 
 a 
 
 C C 
 
 5* w 
 
 
 a 
 
 "CD "^ 
 
 ^ v 
 
 
 o 
 
 ^ S >> 
 
 > I 
 
 
 
 
 .S oo 
 
 Q fc 
 
 E 
 
 
 
 > P > S ^ -o 
 
 11* - s s s 
 
 73^:^ co a- ^ 
 
 g 
 
 
 
 ^^i-c^f^g^l^^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 OCC;CO<OOCOCQO 
 
 "They are not built of pieces and they 
 cannot go to pieces. 
 
THE POLK SYSTEM 
 
 21 
 
 USEFUL TABLE 2 
 
 Showing Acreage Required to Fill Silos 
 and Amounts to Feed 
 
 ! 
 
 Inside Height 
 Diameter p e |t 
 Feet 
 
 Acres to Fill 
 12 Tons per 
 Acre Average 
 
 Amount that 
 should be 
 Fed Daily 
 
 Head 
 Dairy Cattle 
 Will Feed 
 180 Days 
 40 Ibs. per day 
 
 Head 
 Beef Cattle 
 Will Feed 
 180 Days 
 25 Ibs. per day 
 
 10 
 
 28 
 
 3.56 
 
 525 
 
 12 
 
 19 
 
 10 
 
 30 
 
 3.92 
 
 525 
 
 13 
 
 21 
 
 10 
 
 32 
 
 4.25 
 
 525 
 
 14 
 
 23 
 
 10 
 
 34 
 
 4.66 
 
 525 
 
 15 
 
 25 
 
 10 
 
 38 
 
 5.42 
 
 525 
 
 18 
 
 29 
 
 10 
 
 40 
 
 5.83 
 
 525 
 
 19 
 
 31 
 
 12 
 
 28 
 
 5.08 
 
 755 
 
 17 
 
 27 
 
 12 
 
 30 
 
 5.58 
 
 755 
 
 19 
 
 29 
 
 12 
 
 32 
 
 6.17 
 
 755 
 
 21 
 
 33 
 
 12 
 
 34 
 
 6.66 
 
 755 
 
 22 
 
 35 
 
 12 
 
 36 
 
 7.25 
 
 755 
 
 24 
 
 38 
 
 . 12 
 
 38 7.83 
 
 755 
 
 26 
 
 41 
 
 12 
 
 40 
 
 8.41 
 
 755 
 
 28 
 
 44 
 
 14 28 
 
 6.91 
 
 1030 
 
 23 
 
 37 
 
 14 
 
 30 
 
 7.58 
 
 1030 
 
 25 
 
 40 
 
 14 
 
 32 
 
 8.25 
 
 1030 
 
 28 
 
 44 
 
 14 
 
 34 
 
 9.08 
 
 1030 
 
 30 
 
 48 
 
 14 
 
 36 
 
 9.83 
 
 1030 
 
 33 
 
 52 
 
 14 
 
 38 
 
 10.66 
 
 1030 
 
 36 
 
 56 
 
 14 
 
 40 
 
 11.5 
 
 1030 
 
 38 
 
 61 
 
 16 
 
 28 
 
 9. 
 
 1340 
 
 30 
 
 48 
 
 16 
 
 30 
 
 9.91 
 
 1340 
 
 33 
 
 52 
 
 16 
 
 32 
 
 10.91 
 
 1340 
 
 36 
 
 58 
 
 16 
 
 34 
 
 11.91 
 
 1340 
 
 40 
 
 63 
 
 16 
 
 36 
 
 12.91 
 
 1340 
 
 43 
 
 68 
 
 16 
 
 38 
 
 13.91 
 
 1340 
 
 46 
 
 73 
 
 16 
 
 40 
 
 15. 
 
 1340 
 
 50 
 
 79 
 
 18 
 
 30 
 
 11.58 
 
 1700 
 
 42 
 
 66 
 
 18 
 
 34 
 
 15.08 
 
 1700 
 
 50 
 
 80 
 
 18 
 
 38 
 
 17.66 
 
 1700 
 
 59 
 
 93 
 
 18 
 
 40 
 
 19.08 
 
 1700 
 
 64 
 
 101 
 
 18 
 
 42 
 
 20.5 
 
 1700 
 
 68 
 
 108 
 
 18 
 
 46 
 
 23.5 
 
 1700 
 
 78 
 
 125 
 
 20 
 
 30 
 
 15.58 
 
 2100 
 
 52 
 
 82 
 
 20 
 
 34 
 
 18.66 
 
 2100 
 
 62 
 
 98 
 
 20 
 
 40 
 
 23.41 
 
 2100 
 
 78 
 
 124 
 
 20 
 
 44 
 
 26.66 
 
 2100 
 
 89 
 
 140 
 
 20 
 
 48 
 
 30.08 
 
 2100 
 
 100 
 
 159 
 
 20 
 
 50 
 
 31.83 
 
 2100 
 
 106 
 
 169 
 
 "They are not built of pieces and they 
 cannot go to pieces. ' ' 
 
Flashlight photo of 1 12 head of "feeders. ' ' Low overhead loft prevented good picture. 
 
 "Da they l-.ke ensilage?' ' 
 
THE POLK SYSTEM 23 
 
 Concrete in Silo Construction 
 
 THE REQUIREMENTS OF A GOOD SILO 
 
 HPHE man who has owned the wrong kind of a silo generally knows 
 1 more about the requirements of a good one than anybody 
 else does. Our broad experience in the silo business, our acquaint- 
 ance with hundreds of users of silos, and our careful research in 
 the results of experiments in the best agricultural schools in the 
 land have put us in a position to know what the qualities of a good 
 silo are. The Silo makes six cardinal demands before it allows the 
 adjective "GOOD" to be coupled with it. 
 
 I. THE GOOD SILO MUST BE DURABLE AND PERMANENT. A 
 temporary silo has only one thingto recommend it it demonstrates 
 the value of feeding silage. Otherwise it is a poor investment. Rap- 
 id depreciation of value is one thing the seller of any kind of a 
 non-permanent silo says nothing about. Since there are silos 
 that last forever, no silo is good that does not. 
 
 II. THE GOOD SILO MUST BE FREE FROM THE NEED OF REP AIRS. 
 This is merely corollary to the first requirement. Anything that 
 is truly permanent never needs repairs. Any farmer knows how 
 much bigger his bank balance would be if he never had to spend 
 anything for "repairs" on his house, his barn, his thresher, his 
 binder, his mower, and his other implements. Just think of own- 
 ing one thing on the farm that never calls for repairs! 
 
 III. THE GOOD SILO MUST BE FIREPROOF. Insurance with ex- 
 tra high rates is the bug-a-boo of the American farmer. The farm 
 building that gets on fire generally burns down. Of course the 
 insurance companies have to protect themselves by making their 
 rates higher. A silo that contains six months or more valuable 
 food supply that is absolutely safe from the fire demon certainly 
 deserves the honor of being called good. 
 
 IV. THE GOOD SILO MUST BE AIR-TIGHT AND WATER-TIGHT. Si- 
 los that allow air or water freely to pass through them are value- 
 
 "They are not built of pieces and they 
 cannot go to pieces. ' ' 
 
24 
 
 THE POLK SYSTEM 
 
 less. If the air gets in, the silage molds and the cattle refuse to 
 eat it. There is enough air for fermentation left in when the silo 
 is filled. Any silo whose material expands or shrinks with heat or 
 cold, wet or dry weather can not keep from developing air and 
 water leaks. Silage that be- 
 comes dry quickly spoils. 
 
 V. THE GOOD SILO MUST 
 BE SMOOTH ON THE INSIDE. Si- 
 lage must be packed tight in 
 order to exclude air. Rough 
 sides, edges, corners and other 
 obstructions to the free set- 
 tling of silage cause imperfect 
 packing and ruin your valuable 
 
 food. 
 
 VI. THE SILO MUST BE VER- 
 MIN PROOF. If the rats can 
 get into your silo they will do 
 
 ^so. Build out of something 
 that the rats can not gnaw 
 through. The rat is the fore- 
 runner of too much air and 
 consequently damaged ensilage. 
 CONCRETE THE PERFECT 
 MATERIAL FOR THE SILO 
 
 Recall the foregoing require- 
 ments of a good silo. Read 
 this sentence with them in mind. The monolithic concrete 
 silo is durable, never needs repair, is absolutely fireproof, is 
 air-tight and water-tight, is smooth on the inside and defies the 
 ravages of all vermin. The concrete silo will never warp, rot, 
 crack, burn, leak, blow over, nor waste away. It will never al- 
 low your silage to spoil by freezing, WILL NEVER COST YOU ONE 
 CENT FOR REPAIRS, and will make you quit worrying about fire. 
 Not a single good argument has ever been brought against a prop- 
 erly built concrete silo. No man who has owned one has ever con- 
 sidered the erection of any other kind afterward. 
 
 There is one false objection that is sometimes raised: It is said 
 
 Twin Silos, diameter 16 feet, height 60 feet, near- 
 ing completion. Built by Polk System on Peter 
 Emge farm, Fort Branch, Indiana. 
 
 "They are not built of piece*, and they 
 cannot go to piece*. ' ' 
 
THE POLK SYSTEM 
 
 25 
 
 that the cost is too great. We wish to meet this objection square- 
 ly in the face by saying that the monolithic concrete silo is 
 the cheapest silo that can be built. In the first place there is only 
 one cost to the monolithic concrete silo, and that is the first 
 one. When you have paid that, there is nothing more to go out 
 
 for repairs or a new 
 
 silo. A nonpermanent 
 silo is a constant foe 
 to a bank balance; you 
 are never through 
 paying for it until it 
 has burned up, fallen 
 down, or been thrown 
 away. Any article 
 costs as much as you 
 spend for it and on it 
 plus 100 per cent, 
 when you have to re- 
 place it. The mono- 
 lithic concrete silo 
 never costs but once, 
 and there is absolutely 
 no depreciation in val- 
 ue. For it, total cost 
 and first cost are one 
 and the same thing. If 
 you build a permanent 
 silo the satisfaction of 
 having been wise and 
 far-sighted will re- 
 main long after you 
 have forgotten the 
 price you paid. 
 
 We do not advise the building of a roof because, with our con- 
 crete silo the roof is not necessary for the preservation of ensilage, 
 except in extremely cold climates. Moreover the elements have 
 no damaging effect on the interior of our silo a claim which 
 other types of construction can not make. We have seen less 
 
 18 x 45 feet Silo under construction. P. A. Quanstrong, Genoa, 
 Illinois, Contractor. Polk System. 
 
 "They are not built of pieces and they 
 cannot go to piece*. ' ' 
 
26 
 
 THE POLK SYSTEM 
 
 damaged ensilage in silos without roofs than we have where roofs 
 have been used. Especially where the corn has been put up a 
 little dry the rains will keep it moistened so that there will be no 
 danger of it drying and spoiling. 
 
 However we are well equipped for building concrete roofs and 
 have an excellent proposition for the man who wishes a good 
 everlasting water tank on his silo. 
 
 "They are not built of piece* and they 
 cannot so to pieces. 
 
THE POLK SYSTEM 
 
 27 
 
 Floor Line of Tank 
 
 Two monolithic concrete silos, built by the PoIk-Genung-PolU Company, 
 right hand silo has a water supply tank 4 feet in depth on top. 
 The silos are 16 feet in diameter by 45 feet in height. 
 
 The 
 
 The above illustration shows twin silos built by the Polk System. 
 These structures are 16 by 45 feet, the upper four feet of the one 
 on the right being given to a concrete water tank. This shows one 
 of the excellent possibilities of our machine. Here is the stand for 
 a tank of sufficient height to give good pressure a stand that 
 would otherwise be a great cost given to you absolutely free of 
 cost when you pay for your silo. WE HONESTLY CONSIDER THIS 
 
 THE BEST OFFER WE ARE MAKING TO THE AMERICAN FARMER TO- 
 DAY. 
 
 "They are not built of pieces and they 
 cannot go to pieces. 
 
THE POLK SYSTEM 29 
 
 Handling Ensilage to the 
 Best Advantage 
 
 NO matter how excellent a silo one may have, it is necessary to 
 use good judgment and great care in the handling of ensilage 
 before one secures the best results. 
 
 SIZE OF SILO. Strange to say, the first thing to consider in the 
 handling of ensilage is the size of the silo. Two things will deter- 
 mine the diameter of your silo the number of cattle you have and 
 how many pounds per day you intend to give to each animal. The 
 statement, that the diameter of a silo should be one-half of its 
 height, has no basis in reason, but is made only by people that can 
 not conveniently build them very high. The weight of a concrete 
 silo makes it possible to disregard wind pressure so that height is 
 not a drawback on this account. The tall silo is really much more 
 economical of space. By reference to table No. 2, page 21, you 
 can determine the size you will want. For instance, a 10 by 28 
 silo will feed 12 head of dairy cattle 40 pounds per day each for 
 180 days, or 19 head of beef cattle 25 pounds per day each for the 
 same length of time. It will have a capacity of 43 tons, and will 
 require 3^ acres of corn to fill. You will notice that the amount 
 to be fed daily varies directly with the diameter. This is because 
 silage must be fed in even layers of a thickness of about 2 inches 
 deep each da^ during the winter season and slightly more in the 
 summer time on account of increased fermentation. We have pre- 
 pared this table at much expense and the greatest care, and we 
 want it to be of value to you. 
 
 TIME TO PUT UP SILAGE. Corn should be put up when it is at 
 its prime when the ears are beginning to glaze and the indenta- 
 tions are becoming well marked, and just after the husks are be- 
 ginning to die. This takes place a short time after the roasting 
 ear stage. Corn should be put into silage when the amount of nu- 
 
 "They are not built of piece* and they 
 cannot go to orece*. " 
 
30 
 
 THE POLK SYSTEM 
 
 trition in it is at its highest bafore that 40 per cent, of food mat- 
 ter that is not in dry fodder has escaped. Frequently in catting 
 up corn for fodder the farmer runs across patches that are too 
 green. If, when the corn is shacked out, the grains are loose on 
 the cob, the corn is too green for silage. It is better to put up si- 
 lage too dry than too green, for green silage is always too sour, 
 while a small stream of water thrown 
 on corn a trifle dry will make good 
 ensilage. 
 
 PLACING SILAGE IN THE SILO. Put- 
 ting the corn in the silo is perhaps 
 the most important single step in 
 making good ensilage. In fact most 
 users of silos personally supervise 
 this work or have perfectly trust- 
 worthy men to do it for them. - Slip- 
 shod work here means spoiled silage. 
 The chopped fodder must be well 
 packed in even layers of about two 
 inches thickness. There must be no 
 large bunches or ' 'knots" of it any- 
 where, for these check regular set- 
 tling, form cavities for air spaces, 
 and consequently endanger the si- 
 lage. It is a good idea to keep the 
 silage slightly higher in the middle 
 in filling, because the wall, be it 
 ever so smooth, will have a tendency 
 to retard the settling. An experienced silo man told us recently 
 that he got excellent results from having his silage tramped a lit- 
 tle around the edge each day for five or six days after it had been 
 put in the silo. This, you see, overcomes wall friction and insures 
 solid packing. 
 
 How TO FEED SILAGE. Silage may be fed just as soon as the 
 silo is filled. It is not necessary to wait a few days for the "cur- 
 ing process" to set in; and in our Monolithic Concrete Silo it may 
 be fed at any time after storing that you may wish. The average 
 dairy cow will eat about 40 pounds a day. The silage should be kept 
 
 Polk System Silo on George Fox farm, 
 Sycamore, Illinois. Size, 16x40 feet. 
 
 "They are not built of pieces and they 
 cannot go to piece*. " 
 
THE POLK SYSTEM 31 
 
 at a level in the bin. This does not leave any part exposed to the air 
 long enough to render it unsuitable for feed. The practice of dig- 
 ging into ensilage and allowing it to remain exposed to the air for 
 a day is bad practice. It deteriorates more rapidly from much ex- 
 posure when the weather is warm. From one and one-half to two 
 inches should be fed each day. Silage should not be fed in 
 the room where the milking is done, nor should it be fed 
 just before milking time. No more should be given than the 
 cattle will eat up clean, because what is left around carelessly will 
 fill the air with acid odor that is readily taken up by milk. The 
 complaint, that milk will smell if silage is fed, is due entirely to 
 careless and unsanitary handling, and never to an intrinsic fault of 
 ensilage. 
 
 ''They are not built of piece*, and they 
 cannot go to piece*. ' ' 
 
il 
 
THE POLK SYSTEM 33 
 
 Our System 
 
 IN the development of our machine we have kept two things in 
 mind ease of ^Deration and the erection of an absolutely flaw- 
 less structure. Neither pains nor expense has been spared to 
 produce a machine that will enable you to put up as good a silo as 
 our best workmen can erect. Our machine automatically keeps 
 the walls plumb, it does away with an elaborate, complicated, 
 risky system of scaffolding, it imposes no strain upon the section 
 of wall already built, and it so unifies and simplifies the work 
 that any intelligent man, after seeing one silo constructed, can 
 easily erect the best silo on earth. 
 
 As usual, the thing that makes all this possible is a very simple 
 thing after all. So simple indeed is it, that you will wonder why 
 other builders of concrete waste time, money and labor on costly 
 dangerous scaffolding. The great unifying, simplifying principle 
 in our machine is the use of a centermast. This centermast is 
 erected in the center of the silo floor and is guyed to a perpendi- 
 cular at the top by means of wires and turn buckles. It is a four 
 inch pipe, provided with a series of transverse openings adapted 
 to receive a key which supports a widely flanged collar, the latter 
 serving to support jacks by which the forms are lifted. Resting 
 upon the jacks is a hub, consisting of a flanged base collar and a 
 top dished collar connected by a central pipe of sufficient bore to 
 work easily over the centermast. On the base collar of the hub 
 radiate T irons which are supported from the upper collar by 
 tension bars. The T irons are rigidly clamped to the top edge of 
 the inner and outer forms, which are made of sheet metal. Each 
 form is composed of separable sections which have angle iron 
 edges. The separable sections are connected by threaded studs 
 which pass through alining apertures formed in the opposite 
 angle irons. The outer forms are bolted together and the inner 
 forms carry a wedge between each segment, the lifting of which 
 will allow the forms to swing free. 
 
 They are not built of pieces and they 
 cannot go to piece*. ' ' 
 
34 
 
 THE POLK SYSTEM 
 
 Detachably connected to the outer forms is a series of stanch- 
 ions provided with an inwardly directed overhanging- arm which 
 has an aperture for receiving and retaining verticle reinforcing 
 rods. These rods, as the building of the wall proceeds are twined 
 about transversely by horizontal reinforcing. 
 
 Polk System machine with two sections of forms removed showing interior, 
 by patents in United States and Canada. 
 
 Fully covered 
 
 Both inner and outer scaffoldings is swung from the radiating 
 T irons, as can be seen in the illustrations. 
 
 For filling in between the forms a V shaped dumping bucket is 
 provided. It is pivo tally supported by a crane above the hub so 
 that it can readily be swung to any part of the wall space. The 
 bucket is hoisted by means of a rope and series of pulleys so 
 arranged that the hoisting force is applied horizontally from with- 
 out the structure. A small opening is cut in wall at the bottom of 
 the first setting of concrete through which the hoisting rope works. 
 When the bucket is hoisted it is coupled to a carrier on the crane 
 by the means of a hinged hook. 
 
 "They are not built of pieces and they 
 cannot go to pieces. ' ' 
 
THE POLK SYSTEM 35 
 
 The operation of the machine is simple. The forms are set, the 
 reinforcing bars arranged, the concrete is mixed, hoisted, dumped 
 packed between the forms, and allowed to set. On the next morn- 
 ing the nuts connecting the separable sections of the forms are 
 loosened and the forms swing free from the wall. Then by means 
 of the jacks the whole mechanism is lifted until in a position for a 
 new ''fill" when the forms are again tightened. The raising of 
 the forms for a set of 3 feet, 10 inches does not require more than 
 ten minutes work. It takes three men only fourteen days 
 to build a 16 x40 silo, everything complete. This includes 
 excavating, erecting, taking down and cleaning machine. 
 
 'Thy are not built of pieces and they 
 cannot go to pieces. " 
 
36 THE POLK SYSTEM 
 
 The Polk Silo Doors 
 
 THUS far in our discussion of silo construction, no mention has 
 been made of doors, openings for which must be left in the 
 walls. The cut below is an outside view of our door closed and 
 sealed. 
 
 The openings which receive the doors are 20x30 inches. They 
 are usually spaced 30 inches apart but the number and location of 
 
 Polk System Silo Door 
 
 doors are optional with the builders. We have chosen the oval 
 shape in order to avoid sharp angles which invariably cause air 
 cracks both in the jamb and in closing the doors when filling. 
 We use a sheet steel door form, set between the shells of the ma- 
 chine as the work progresses. This form molds a concrete jamb 
 one inch wide and one-half inch in depth from the inner surface 
 
 "They are not built of pieces and they 
 cannot go to pieces. 
 
THE POLK SYSTEM 37 
 
 of the wall. Owing to the shape and draft of this form the jamb 
 is left in perfect condition for sealing- the door when the form is 
 removed. Immediately after the machine has passed the opening 
 the form is removed, leaving the opening in perfect shape. 
 
 The door itself is made of heavily galvanized No. 12 gage sheet 
 steel cut to fit snugly in the concrete jamb made by the form, flush 
 with the inner wall and bent to the radius of the silo. On the out- 
 side of the door are fastened four malleable clips in which hook 
 bolts engage and make a flexible fastening. Across the opening 
 on the outside of the silo wooden bars are placed, through which 
 these bolts pass. The desired stress is obtained by malleable tail 
 nuts. This combination gives you a LIGHT, DURABLE DOOR that is 
 air-tight. 
 
 In sealing the door, a thin gasket of moist clay is smeared around 
 the inner surface of the jamb; the door is then set in place and 
 drawn tight by turning the tail nuts by hand. When the silage is 
 fed down past the doors, they are replaced in the openings and it 
 is necessary when refilling the silo only to smear the mud gasket 
 back of the door and draw it tight. It is then always in the place 
 in which it is going to be used. 
 
 Can you conceive of a simplier operation that will solve the silo 
 door problem? The door is closed quickly, easily, lightly and se- 
 carely year in and year out without any trouble and expenses 
 other than that bit of clay. It fits as well and tight on the 10th 
 or 20th year as it does on the first. It is the IDEAL DOOR for the 
 
 IDEAL SILO. 
 
 "They are not buitt of piece* and they 
 
38 
 
 THE POLK SYSTEM 
 
 Capacity of Round Silos in Tons 
 
 Height 
 in 
 Feet 
 
 Inside Diameter of Silo in Feet 
 
 10 Feet 
 
 12 Feet 
 
 14 Feet 
 
 16 Feet 
 
 18 Feet 
 
 20 Feet 
 
 20 
 
 25 
 
 3? 
 
 50 . 
 
 67 
 
 83 
 
 102 
 
 21 
 
 28 
 
 41 
 
 54 
 
 71 89 
 
 109 
 
 22 
 
 30 
 
 43 
 
 58 76 96 
 
 118 
 
 23 
 
 31 
 
 47 
 
 62 80 103 
 
 126 
 
 24 
 
 34 49 
 
 67 85 110 
 
 134 
 
 25 
 
 36 52 71 91 116 
 
 143 
 
 26 
 
 39 
 
 56 75 97 123 
 
 159, 
 
 27 
 
 40 
 
 58 
 
 79 102 130 
 
 160 
 
 28 
 
 43 
 
 61 
 
 83 103 137 
 
 169 
 
 29 
 
 45 
 
 64 
 
 . 87 . 
 
 114 144 
 
 178 
 
 30 ' 
 
 47 
 
 67 
 
 91 119 151 
 
 187 
 
 31 
 
 49 
 
 70 
 
 96 124 158 
 
 196 
 
 32 
 
 51 
 
 74 
 
 100 131 163 
 
 205 
 
 33 
 
 54 
 
 77 
 
 105 136 174 
 
 215 
 
 34 
 
 56 
 
 80 109 143 181 
 
 224 
 
 35 
 
 58 
 
 84 11.4 149 189 
 
 234 
 
 36 
 
 61 
 
 87 118 155 195 
 
 243 
 
 37 
 
 63 
 
 91 
 
 123 161 
 
 204 
 
 259. 
 
 38 
 
 65 
 
 94 
 
 128 157 i 212 
 
 262 
 
 39 
 
 68 
 
 97 
 
 133 
 
 173 220 
 
 272 
 
 40 
 
 70 
 
 101 
 
 138 180 
 
 229 
 
 231 
 
 41 
 
 72 
 
 105 
 
 143 
 
 187 
 
 233 
 
 291 
 
 42 
 
 74 
 
 109 
 
 148 193 
 
 243 
 
 300 
 
 43 
 
 77 
 
 113 
 
 154 9.J] 
 
 252 
 
 310 
 
 44 
 
 79 
 
 1 17 
 
 159 
 
 2J7 
 
 231 
 
 320 
 
 45 
 
 82 
 
 121 
 
 165 
 
 215 239 
 
 330 
 
 46 
 
 85 
 
 126 
 
 170 
 
 223 2tt 
 
 340 
 
 47 
 
 88 
 
 131 
 
 176 
 
 229 
 
 235 
 
 350 
 
 48 
 
 91 
 
 136 
 
 182 
 
 236 
 
 293 
 
 361 
 
 49 
 
 94 
 
 142 
 
 183 
 
 243 
 
 301 
 
 371 
 
 50 
 
 98 
 
 148- 
 
 195 
 
 250 
 
 311 
 
 382 
 
 "They are not built of piece* , and they 
 cannot go to piece*. ' ' 
 
THE POLK SYSTEM 39 
 
 FACTS NOT FANCIES 
 
 wood silo is a good thing; so 
 is a board walk while it lasts. 
 ^|The practical silo is the high silo; 
 better ensilage, more capacity, 
 cheaper per ton capacity. 
 <IThe Polk System concrete silo 
 can be built as easily high as low. 
 We are bulding sixty feet high, and 
 predict even higher silo building. 
 tJThe Polk System monolithic silo 
 lasts so much longer that it is 
 cheaper than a wood silo would be 
 as a gift. 
 
 "They are not built of piece* and they 
 cnnnot go to pieces*" 
 
Testimonials 
 
 In compiling this booklet our object has been, not the produc- 
 tion of a literary selection, but a thorough, concise and honest 
 exposition of the monolithic silo and our system of building it. 
 Our aim has been plain straight forward facts, which we take 
 pleasure in endorsing. We know, of course, just what the Polk 
 System is, and what it will do, and we back all our statements 
 concerning it, with all the facts and figures that the reputation 
 and reliability of our company guarantee. Of course we may be 
 prejudiced so we wish to conclude our booklet with the opinions of 
 just a few of our well pleased customers, whose reliability we gladly 
 vouch for. Lack of space precludes the possibility of a long list, 
 so we have chosen a few representative endorsements that sub- 
 stantiate our position. 
 
THE POLK SYSTEM 
 
 41 
 
 610. A. FOX 
 
 1 ^i & 
 
 bet f4 for all 
 
 llv.rtock. 
 
 A Concrrt* BUo wlU 
 EndUga perfectly. 
 
 WlU Hot 
 
 BUHN, 
 
 BLOW DOWM, 
 OB ?T 
 
 NO ADJUSTING 
 HOOPS. 
 
 Cb.pt Of AU 
 la The End. 
 
 OZT OVB FBICES. 
 
 mtorete 
 
 . BUILDERS OF 
 
 RE-IN FORCED CONCRETE SILOS 
 
 421 DlKALB Avi. 
 SYCA 
 
 , 12/7A1 
 Polk, Genung, Polk Co. , 
 
 Fort Branch, Ind. 
 Gentlemen: 
 
 Replying, to your favor of Dec* 4th. we beg 
 to advise that the Polk System Silo Machine which 
 we bought of your company has given us splendid satis- 
 faction. We built ten silos with It this season and 
 they are a fine lot, not one of them showing any 
 defects whatever, and every one of our customers are 
 well pleased with our work. The machine is substan- 
 tial and apparently as good AS new. 
 
 Further beg to advise the silos you put up 
 a year ago as well as the one you put up two years 
 ago in this vicinity are giving fine satisfaction and 
 are keeping ensilage as well, if not better than any 
 of the other silos in this vicinity. 
 
 We know Uenolithic Concrete Silos are all 
 right and are more than pleased with our Polk System 
 Machine. 
 
 Respectfully, 
 FOX-TIBBITS COMCRifiTE SILO CO. 
 
 "They are not built of piece* and they 
 cannot go to piece*. " 
 
42 THE POLK SYSTEM 
 
 Genoa, Illinois* 
 
 October 12th. 1911 
 Polk, Genung, Polk Co., 
 Port Branch, Ind., 
 Q^entlemen:- 
 
 The cement silo you built for me last year we 
 filled during the month of Sept. 1910. 
 
 On December 1st. we commenced feeding forty head 
 of steers after removing the cover from the silage which 
 consisted of cut straw with a bushel of oats scattered over 
 the top. The oats sprouted and grew to form a sod. 
 
 After removing the straw we found only about 
 two incheo of silage spoiled. All the rest of the whole 
 surface was in perfect condition and cattle ate it with 
 great relish. We continued to feed silage with a ration 
 of corn and cotton seed meal until May. 
 
 I will say that we never secured as rapid and 
 cheap gains on dry feed. We thought so well of the cement 
 silo that we engaged your local Agents here Messrs. Pox & 
 Tibbits to build us another this season of the same dimen- 
 sions 16* x 40'. 
 
 You can rest assured that the CEMENT ,SILO is all 
 you claim for it. 
 
 Yours respectfully, 
 
 "They are not built of pieces and they 
 
THE POLK SYSTEM 43 
 
 W. H. WARFORD 
 
 TELEPHONE CONTRACTOR ""c'EK' 
 
 GENEVA GRAIN STORAGE. 
 
 ,201 Usin* The Polk System Of STAN DOPE'S G S^O. 
 
 HE-ENFORCED CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION ANDJBSTANOUUA! 
 
 ALSO ALL KINDS OF GENERAL CEMENT WORK 
 
 Geneva, Illinois Nov. 29. 1911. 
 
 Polk ,Geriug, Polk Co., 
 Port Branch, Ind. 
 Dear Slrs:- 
 
 Replying to your letter of 28th inst. relative to the 
 Buocese and operating expenses of your system, I an glad to state 
 that I have been successful far beyond expectations, my machines 
 having been busy from the start until too cold to do more work. 
 
 My expenses for a year's work has not been a cent on 
 the machine proper except for a few cheap bolts to replace those 
 worn out and it is in first class condition, ready to do another 
 year's work. 
 
 After having had a years experience with your system I 
 would not trade for anything I have seen yet. 
 
 Yours truly 
 
 "They are not built of pieces and they 
 cannot go to piece*. ' ' 
 
44 THE POLK SYSTEM 
 
 CHAUNCKY W. BROUOHTOI* 
 
 OARCTON ILL., P.O. MoOiRH, It,t. 
 
 January 10, 1910. 
 
 Polk, Genung, Polk Co., 
 
 Fort Branch, Indiana. 
 Dear Sirs: 
 
 1H regard to the cement silo that you built for me will say 
 that I am well satisfied with it and think it is all right in every 
 respect, hut I have not as yet opened it so I cannot say as to the 
 condition of the ensilage. Just as soon as I open the silo I will 
 write you. again but I have not the slightest doubt but that it is 
 all. right. 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 "Th*y arm not built of piece* and they 
 cannot go to oiecm*. ' ' 
 
THE POLK SYSTM,. 
 
 Seward, 111. f Dec. 5, 1911. 
 
 Polk, Genung, Polk Co., 
 
 Ft. Branch, Ind. 
 Gentlemen: 
 
 Have had a very successful year with yv>ur 
 silo machine. Built six without any expense as to 
 repairs, and don't look as if there was much wear on 
 the machine. 
 
 *t Everyone that I built for was well pleased 
 and thought it was a great labor saver. 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 "They arm not built of piece* and they 
 cannot go to piece*." 
 
POLK SYSTEM 
 
 STATE OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 7 NORTH LAKE STREET 
 AURORA, ILLINOIS 
 
 J P MASON PRESIDENT 
 
 t to >N 
 A N ABBOTT VICE PBES.OENT 
 
 MORR.SON 
 FRANK H HAIL. SUPERINTENDENT 
 
 H A M C KEENE SECRETARY 
 
 F I MANN. AUDITOR 
 
 January 2, 1910. 
 
 TO WHOM IT MAY COHCERJJ: 
 
 In the spring of 1909, the Polk, Genung, Polk Co. of 
 Port Branch, Indiana, built for me a reinforced concrete silo, 
 1 ft. by 40 ft. 
 
 The structure seems to be perfect in every respect, and 
 the men who built it, so far as I can Judge from my dealings with 
 them, are courteous, competent, reliable business men. They know 
 their business and promptly do as they agree. 
 
 They are not built of piece*, and they 
 cannot go to piece*. 
 
THE POLK SYSTEM 
 
 LKWIS McNUTT 
 
 -*-, 
 
 MWBR HII'K 
 
 j^jjfg^^ 
 
 IXI>KPK.XI>*NTWO. B 
 
 u9uirrti WALNUT rr. BRAZIL. IN l>.. August 10, 1909. 
 
 Messrs. Polk, Genung, Polk Co., 
 
 Fort Branch, Indiana. 
 Gentlemen: 
 
 Let me commend you for the workmanship and the square 
 dealing on the silo that you built for me, 14/40 ft. it ex- 
 ceeded my expectations. I could not realize that a silo that 
 tall could be built perfectly 'Straight both in the radius and 
 the perpendicular, and the manner in which it ie re- enforced I 
 think it is impossible for it to ever give way in any particular, 
 
 I do- not know when I have had anything done that gave 
 me as little anxiety and trouble as this job did. Everything, 
 went along smoothly; the contract was carried out to the letter 
 and settlement made without the least hitch. I do not believe 
 I could consent to have it removed for considerable more than 
 t cost me. 
 
 I also want to speak a word for the gentlemen that 
 did the work, for they were everything that the word gentleman 
 means. 
 
 With kindest regards, I am, 
 
 respectfully, 
 
 "They are not built of pieces and they 
 cannot go to piece*. " 
 
48 THE POLK SYSTEM 
 
 R 
 
 e m e m b e r 
 
 1 That the Polk System mono- 
 lithic silo lasts forever. 
 
 2 That "they are not built of 
 pieces and they can not go to 
 pieces/' 
 
 3 That there are no bands or 
 any wires to adjust and re-ad- 
 just. 
 
 4 That they are rat proof. 
 
 5 That they are "insurance 
 agent proof." 
 
 6 That the wind has never yet 
 blown strong enough to blow one 
 down. 
 
 7 That high silos are the prac- 
 ticable silos and easy, high con- 
 struction is the Polk System's "long 
 suit." 
 
 "They are not built of piece*, and they 
 cannot go to piece*. ' ' 
 
272656 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY