208 THE BOOK OF WHEAT 



involved, for the foundation of the whole system rests on the 

 prosperity of the wheat-grower. 



Storage of Wheat at the Seaboard. The elevators at the sea- 

 board are not as large as those at the primary markets. The 

 largest storage capacity of an elevator on the Atlantic coast at 

 present is 1,800,000 bushels. Such an elevator can unload grain 

 cars at the rate of 560,000 bushels per day and simultaneously 

 it delivers grain to vessels at the rate of 1,000,000 bushels per 

 day. An ocean steamship pier is usually about 250 feet wide 

 and about 800 feet long. The railroad tracks are in the middle 

 of the pier, and ocean vessels are moored on either side. The 

 capacity for handling cars depends upon the size of the ter- 

 minal, and varies from 65 to 1,000 cars per day. Grain in bulk 

 is easily loaded on a vessel by transferring it through spouts 

 running from the elevator to the hold of the ship. There are 

 also two different arrangements for loading grain on a vessel 

 while it is alongside a pier taking on board other freight. One 

 arrangement consists of a series of belt conveyors which carry 

 the grain along a gallery above the pier. The grain is trans- 

 ferred to the hold through spouts lowered from the sides of the 

 gallery to the hatches of the vessel. The other method of 

 loading is by means of a floating elevator, and it is used when 

 the grain is loaded from boats. The latter are towed along- 

 side the vessel, and the floating elevator transfers the grain 

 from them through the hatches of the ship. 



New York and New Orleans are the only seaports where the 

 docks and wharves are largely under the ownership and control 

 of city government. The stationary grain elevators of New 

 York have a total storage capacity of about 17,000,000 bushels, 

 and they are able to transfer over 375,000 bushels of grain per 

 hour. From 5,000 to 14,000 bushels per hour can be trans- 

 ferred by each of the floating elevators, which have a com- 

 bined capacity of 178,000 bushels per hour. It has been esti- 

 mated that the New York elevators, working 10 hours per day, 

 could transfer in 30 days the 157,280,351 bushels of wheat ex- 

 ported from the United States in the fiscal year of 1892. 



Philadelphia has five stationary elevators and three floating 

 elevators. The total storage capacity in 1904 was over 4,000,000 

 bushels. One thousand carloads of grain, or 800,000 bushels, 

 could be received in a 10-hour day, and at the same time 



