106 



Popular Science Monthly 



A Silo Roof Which Opens Like 

 an Umbrella 



A ROOF built like an urn 

 brella is the ingenious de- 

 vice of a manufacturer of ap- 

 pliances for silos. It has this 

 advantage: the structure 

 can be filled five or six feet 

 above the level of the walls; 

 as the ensilage gradually 

 settles, the roof will close 

 down upon it automatically. 

 This eliminates the need of 

 a second filling of the silo 

 after settling, and saves a good 

 deal of labor and time. 



The silo roof is constructed of 

 triangular sections of galvanized 

 iron, which are joined by sections 

 of tenting. When the roof is open 

 it. forms a continuation of the 

 cylindrical walls of the silo, and 

 as it settles upon the contents the 

 triangles of metal join snugly. 

 By an arrangement of joints that 

 overlap, a weather-proof cover is 

 formed. Within this are the sec- 

 tions of canvas, which are likewise 

 protected from the elements. 



The supports that hold the roof 

 to the upper wall of the silo are of 

 wrought iron, and are so narrow 

 that they offer little resistance to 

 the wind. By pulling on a rope 

 suspended through the center of 

 the structure down to the floor, a 

 single man can open the umbrella. 



The roof can be attached to silos 

 of concrete, metal, wood or tile. 

 It is made in diameters of eight to 

 seventeen feet. 



By pulling a rope 

 one man can 

 easily spread the 

 umbrella roof 



The United States Armies Are Pre- 

 paring to Fight Vermin and Germs 



CLOTHING disinfectors of a 

 portable type similar to those 

 in use in Europe have been pur- 

 chased by the United States Army. 

 The outfit consists of a five-horse- 

 power upright boiler connected by 

 piping with a cylindrical chamber 

 about six feet long and three feet 

 in diameter. The rear end of this 

 jacketed chamber is provided 

 with a door that can be hermet- 

 ically sealed. A rack for clothing 

 slides into the chamber, while 

 smaller articles are laid on a 



grating where they may be steam-soaked. 

 The steam is generated in the boiler at 

 about eighty pounds pressure. 

 Suitable valves are provided to 

 reduce this pressure to ten 

 pounds when it enters the 

 chamber. When the jacket 

 about the chamber is thor- 

 oughly heated, the articles to 

 be disinfected are placed in 

 the rack, which is then 

 pushed into the chamber. 

 The door is closed and 

 made steam tight. When 

 the temperature within 

 the chamber has risen sufficiently, 

 an exhauster is opened until the 

 gage shows about fifteen inches 

 of vacuum. Then a small amount 

 of steam is allowed to enter the 

 chamber. Following this, the ex- 

 hauster again is opened until fif- 

 teen inches of vacuum is indicated. 

 Steam is then allowed to enter 

 the chamber until the temperature 

 within it rises to two hundred and 

 thirty-eight degrees F. The steam 

 is allowed to circulate through the 

 chamber during the period of ex- 

 posure. It is then cut off, and 

 the exhauster draws off steam 

 and vapor. After a short drying 

 period the door may be opened 

 and the clothing removed. 



When using formaldehyde gas 

 as a disinfectant in the apparatus 

 the jacket is brought to a tempera- 

 ture of eighty degrees F. ; the 

 clothing then is placed in the 

 chamber and a vacuum of fifteen 

 to twenty inches obtained. When 

 a temperature of 

 ninety degrees 

 is reached, the 

 gas is admit- 

 ted. 



A disinfector for our Army. It can handle fifty uniforms 

 and kits in forty minutes ridding them of all germs 



