The Rural Voice, 2005-06, Page 44Book Review
Towering over farmland: tower silos a part of farming historg
Totter Silos
Garnet Norrish
Guelph: Garnet
Norrish, 2004
Softcover, $20
Available at
Country Depot
in Guelph,
Milton; Co-op
stores in
Elmira. Mount Forest, Durham,
Drayton; or write/phone Garnet
Norrish, 8 Mayfair Court. Guelph,
NIG 2S1, 519-822-9402
Reviewed by Deborah Quaile
In Tower Silos, Garnet Norrish
creates an account of the numerous
styles of barn -side silos, from aged to
modern, in central Ontario from Lake
Ontario to Manitoulin Island.
The book is compiled with full
colour photos and descriptive text in
a pleasant, easily -read style, and
along the way the author incorporates
several humourous personal stories
besides the age, size, construction
style. or roofing. There are also a
couple of historic silo photos that
appear with his modem ones.
Tower silos, as their name implies,
tower over other farm buildings,
dominating the feeding enterprise.
"There's something majestic and
perhaps stately about a tower silo
even when it becomes old,
dilapidated and long past use...
Farmers are proud of their silos. Like
the competition in the racing of cars,
horses and buggies, there is
competition, but silent and
undeclared, between farmers to have
the tallest silo in the neighbourhood."
Mr. Norrish notes. He has found that
the first silo may have come into use
in Germany in the 1860s, and after
the concept travelled to Wisconsin in
the 1870s and 1880s, it no doubt
appeared in Ontario roughly around
the same era.
Norrish covers both the open and
sealed top styles and their
construction materials. which range
from stone, wood stave, concrete or
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40 THE RURAL VOICE
steel, although this book is not a
discussion of the best type, but a
document of preservation.
Just like the barns of our
countryside, silos won't last forever.
The action of bacteria, organic acids
and silo unloaders are all rough on
silos, and treatment options for
preservation must be considered.
Some of the most unique in design
and material have fallen into
disrepair, decayed, or are being
removed or demolished because of
safety concerns. His first encounter
with a wood stave silo in the 1960s
was a death watch as the old structure
slowly disintegrated. Thankfully,
Norrish has now traipsed across the
countryside with his camera to
capture a variety of structures, some
of which have already disappeared
since those initial encounters.
Also incorporated is the first-hand
knowledge from the Norrish family
farm and remembrances of local silo
bees from the 1930s to 1950s, and it's
important that Garnet Norrish has
taken care to document this heritage.
A former Nassagaweya Township
resident who was born on the
family's mixed farm, Garnet
Norrish's deep immersion in rural life
and education, beginning with a one -
room school and continuing through
to his B.Sc in Agriculture, progressed
until he became active in public
education and demonstrations with
livestock producers across Ontario.
He lectured at Ontario Agricultural
College, was an Assistant Professor
at the University of Guelph, worked
with the Department of Agriculture,
and later became co-owner of an
export company selling feedstuffs
and pharmaceuticals to Asian
countries. He's now retired and trying
to catch up on all the things he
wanted to do while he was working,
but didn't have the time to
accomplish.°
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