CONSTRUCTION AND FIRE PROTECTION OF COTTON WAREHOUSES. 9 



surancc stiindard of volume having a preferred limitation of 72,000 

 cubic feet, with progressive penalties in rates of insurance when this 

 voliune is exceeded. The limitation of volume is probably the 

 fairest method of limiting capacity in bales.' 



The area and proportions of the compartment should depend upon 

 still other factors, such as economy of cotton handling, cost of con- 

 struction, adaptation to withstand fire and to permit effective use of 

 water from sprinklers, hose streams and hand appliances, and ade- 

 quate daylight diffusion. 



The most economical method of handling cotton is that of stor- 

 ing the bales one high on end, but for a plant having a large bulk 

 of its business concentrated in a few months of the year this system 

 requires an investment in buildings and site disproportionate to the 

 capacity. It is economical to provide a story height that will permit 

 of tiering the bales of cotton two high on end, or the equivalent, 

 during the rush season, although the deposits remaining for a large 

 part of the year would probably not require the practice of tiering. 

 This latter system is especially suitable for warehouses used as de- 

 positories for producers, or for those whose business necessitates a 

 severe peak load of storage. However, the practice of storing 

 single bales on end in a low-story height compartment is very de- 

 sirable in such plants as maintain storage fairly distributed over the 

 year, or where there are frequent "turnover," or changes, in the 

 bales stored. This arrangement is adapted particularly to the ware- 

 house of several stories in height. 



The influence of cost of construction of the compartment is readily 

 appreciated when it is recalled that the floor and roof of the single 

 story compartment usually cost the same regardless of the exact 

 height of the story. Furthermore, the cost of the walls is but 

 slightly more for a story height of 13 feet (which permits tiering 

 two bales high on end or the equivalent) than for a story height 

 of 8| feet, as a la.rge proportion of the wall cost is in the part of 

 the wall below the floor and above the roof, the cost of these parts 

 being the same in either case. Moreover, where the sprinkler system 

 is used, the cost per bale capacity is practically cut in half where 

 the story height permits two tiers of bales on end, or the equivalent 



^ In computing the volume of a compartment the floor area should be con- 

 sidered as extending to the outer side of exterior walls and between centers 

 of division fire vralls, while the height should be taken as the average distance 

 from the first floor to under side of the roof plank or slab measured midway 

 between the high and low parts of the compartment, but not including such 

 additional volume as may be inclosed by skylights. In the case of a fire-resis- 

 tive floor serving as a fire-break between compartments, the vertical dimen- 

 sion should be the distance from the first floor to such fire-resistive floor, or 

 the distance between successive fire-resistive floors. 



