Concrete is the greatest rat-proof material known.
In addition to these reasons, concrete silos are not attacked by the juices coming from the fodder. They do not rot by alternate wetting and drying.
Fire, that greatest of farm scourges, cannot destroy the crop if stored in a concrete silo. A farmer may rebuild a barn, but the crops lost through the burning of the building are lost forever.
Sanitary Water Supply
As the laws of health become better understood, greater precautions are taken to prevent sickness. For years all evidence has been pointing to drinking water as a common source of most diseases and the principal means of spreading sickness. Every well, spring and cistern, open to surface water or walled and covered with materials through which surface water can seep, is liable to contain disease germs. Concrete walls and covers are water-tight: they afford perfect protection for both man and beast.
How to Protect Wells
Many bored and dug wells, sunk years ago, afford such excellent water that their owners prefer to keep them. This is often made possible by the use of concrete. Remove the brick of the wall down to dense clay through which water will not run, usually not more than 6 feet. If the earthen wall stands firm, only one form, fitting inside the brick wall, is needed. Make this form of narrow flooring securely fastened on the inside to wagon tires or to curved wooden templates, and long enough to extend 2 feet below the point to which the brick are to be removed and 4 inches above the ground level. If the earthen wall shows signs of crumbling, before taking out the brick, dig back the ground to the necessary depth and use an outside form. Lower the forms into place and fill them with 1: 2: 4 concrete. In placing the concrete follow the directions given under [Underground Cisterns], page 68.
The steel casing for driven well must end below the frost line so as to keep the underground connecting pipes from freezing. This construction exposes the house supply to the dangers of surface water. Concrete walls or housings are the only means of protection. Make the forms and build the housing according to the rules laid down for [ Underground Cisterns], pages 68-70. The housing [shown in the photograph] is 5 by 6 feet by 4 feet deep, sufficiently roomy for inspecting, adjusting and repairing pipe connections. The walls and floor are of 1: 2: 4 concrete 6 inches thick. One-half inch bolts project 2½ inches above the walls for fastening the wooden cover. A 4-inch removable cover of concrete, molded in two pieces, makes a more sanitary covering. The service pipes were laid in 4-inch drain tile slightly above the floor of the housing. A tile of the same size, laid on a grade, carries away all the leakage of the fittings. Two men built the housing in one day.