78 BULLETIN" 801, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



But for all buildings of more than one story, fire-resistive con- 

 struction is preferable. 



The port warehouse, which handles cotton in large blocks, should 

 not find any serious objection to piling cotton provided it is held 

 in storage for a considerable time. The port warehouse may re- 

 quire a combination of building designs to meet different forms of 

 business. 



The cotton-mill warehouse requires convenience of handling to 

 a certain degree, but it is overshadowed by the importance of the 

 maximum of protection from fire. Hence the choice is usually be- 

 tween the low one-story wood-end building, if a small quantity of 

 cotton is stored, and the multiple-story building of fire-resistive 

 design if a large amount of cotton is kept on hand. For the mill 

 that handles cotton waste or inferior cotton in quantity favorable 

 consideration may be given to the wood-end building having a single 

 high story with cotton piled. 



In general, one-story buildings for small plants may be of the 

 semi-slow-burning, or wood-end, type of construction, but for large 

 plants or for plants having an exposure from the parallel buildings 

 or from adjacent property the slow-burning design with openings 

 fully protected should- be used. From the standpoint of actual fire 

 hazard, the best slow-burning construction with a tar-and-gravel 

 roof is equally as good as the fire-resistive construction for the one- 

 story building. However, there is a physiological advantage in the 

 fire-resistive construction, and the depreciation charges are less. For 

 multiple-stor}^ buildings fire-resistive construction should be used 

 whenever possible, and always for 'buildings of from four to six 

 stories in height. For buildings of less than four stories and sprin- 

 Idered, slow-burning construction is fairly satisfactory, and for 

 buildings of two stories the feasible construction is often the semi- 

 slow burning or " wood-end." 



It should be remembered in comparing the cost of timber and 

 reinforced concrete floors that often the cost is practically the same 

 for floors to carry heavy loads, while the timber construction is very 

 much cheaper for floors designed for very light loads, particularly 

 if the span, or spacing of supports, is long. Also, the flat-slab 

 designs for reinforced concrete, while always desirable, are more 

 economical as compared with the beams system when the slab is con- 

 tinuous through division fire walls, when the span is regular and not 

 too great and when the loads to be carried are heavy. It is appar- 

 ent that these considerations are closely related to the density and 

 arrangement of bales stored. 



Fire protective equipment should be considered of fundamental 

 importance, and complete protection should be provided for all large 

 warehouses. 



