CONSTRUCTION AND FIEE PROTECTION OF COTTON WAREHOUSES. 5 



building sliowino; the iirrangement of the automatic sprinkler heads 

 and method of storing is shown in Plate XVI, figure 1, and the 

 exterior of such a building is shown in Plate XVII, figure 1. 



COTTON HANDLING EQUIPMENT. 



Inasmuch as the design of building adopted is related to the 

 handling equipment employed, this equipment' should be provided 

 for at the time of construction. 



For the majority of warehouses the two-wheel truck is in general 

 u.se. These may be had constructed entirely of steel. 



Large plants are using the electric storage battery truck or tractor 

 and trailers to a considerable extent. The latter arrangement is 

 quite satisfactory for cotton handling. A photograph of such a 

 tractor and a train of cars loaded with cotton is shown in Plate V. 

 The low trailer cars are easily loaded without lifting the cotton. 

 They are arranged to follow the tractor accurately, so that a train 

 of several cars is carried readily through doo^s and around corners. 

 These tractors may be operated inside the storage compartment 

 without danger of fire. There are several makes of tractors on the 

 market, some being driven and steered by all four wheels, others 

 being driven by two wheels and steered by two, while still another 

 type has but three wheels, using two as drivers and one as a steering 

 wheel. Batteries are charged at night and operated all day. 



Several large warehouses use an overhead trolley system such 

 as is shown in Plate VT. ^^lile this system is developed well for 

 these particular plants, it is not recommended for the average ware- 

 house. 



In the warehouse of several stories elevating equipment usually 

 is needed in addition to trucks. Two-story warehouses occasionally 

 can be arranged so that cotton is received on the level of the upper 

 floor, 4 feet above the driveway or railway siding. The bales 

 may then be trucked down an inclined platform or sent down a 

 sliding chute, such as is shown at about the center of the platform 

 of the warehouse illustrated in Plate III, figaire 2. In such case 

 it is necessary to provide a railway siding depressed sufficiently 

 to bring the car floor to the platform level. Unfortunately, such 

 arrangements seklom can be made economically. There are but 

 few conditions which justify the labor of trucking up an incline, 

 so that elevating equipment usually must be provided. 



A development of the incline for elevating cotton placed on the 

 two-wheel truck is shown in Plates VII, figure 1, and Plate VIII. 

 This consists of an incline, preferably of reinforced concrete, con- 

 taining a slot in which travels an endless sprocket chain having 

 bracket or hook links at intervals. These hooks engage the axle 



