60 ESSAYS ON WHEAT 



XI. Terminal Elevators 



Relatively to the country elevators, the terminal ele- 

 vators where inspected wheat is stored ready for shipment, 

 are few ; but they make up for their small number by their 

 immense size. Upon the immigrant, passing west for the 

 first time and on the look-out for wheat-fields, the imposing 

 bulk and curious form of the terminal elevators at Port 

 Arthur and Fort William make a never-to-be-forgotten 

 impression. Thirteen such elevators have a combined ca- 

 pacity of 41,750,000 bushels or, on the average, of 3,000,- 

 000 bushels each. Terminal elevators are usually con- 

 structed of concrete, a building material which, although 

 not beautiful to look at, is yet well suited to its purpose ; 

 for it gives to the elevators great strength, so that they may 

 resist the pressure of the grain in the bins, and, at the 

 same time, renders them non-inflnmmable with a conse- 

 quent saving in insurance against fire. 



In the mind of the immigrant, when first he beholds one 

 of the huge terminal elevators, some very curious questions 

 are apt to arise, for while he has heard of the vast crops 

 of wheat which are produced annually in western Canada, 

 he, of necessity, is ignorant of the means whereby the 

 grain is handled for export : " I wonder what all those 

 great big pillars are for ? They seem to be quite solid ; 

 but I never before saw a building with such thick pillars 

 as those. They don't seem to be supporting much above 

 them. Ah ! perhaps they are hollow ; but why have they 

 not got windows ? How do people see when working in 

 them? I suppose they are lit up with electric light. I 

 wonder whether they have spiral staircases ? I suppose 

 the bins are on different floors in each column ; but how 

 on earth is the wheat put into them and taken out again ? " 

 And so forth ; but the immigrant does not stand alone, for 



