UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



BULLETIN No. 277 



Contribution from the Office of Markets and Rural 

 Organization, CHARLES J. BRAND, Chief 



jZfir'&J'u 



Washington, D. C. 



August 7, 1915 



COTTON WAREHOUSE CONSTRUCTION. 



By Robert L. Nixon, 

 Assistant in Cotton Marketing. 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 

 Introduction 1 



Importance of storage houses 2 



Principles of storage 3 



Explanation of the terra "standard" as ap- 

 plied to cotton warehouses 7 



Page. 



Types of standard warehouses 7 



Miscellaneous fire-insurance schedules 27 



General considerations relating to cotton stor- 

 age and fire insurance 28 



Conclusion 37 



INTRODUCTION. 



The purpose of this bulletin is to outline, in a general way, some of 

 the essential features of a warehouse for the storage of cotton. It 

 is a fact, not a theory, that loans on cotton in warehouses of "stand- 

 ard" construction can be obtained much more readily and at a lower 

 rate of interest than on cotton stored in many of the other types of 

 warehouses now widely used. The expense of storing cotton in an 

 accepted type of warehouse, such as the standard, is much lower than 

 in many of the structures now used. The present system of storing 

 the bulk of the cotton crop in buildings which are not considered good 

 risks by the insurance companies and the consequent high rate of in- 

 surance demanded on the cotton, together with the higher rate of inter- 

 est on loans made on cotton stored in these warehouses, has resulted in 

 a marked movement for the improvement of cotton-storage f acilities. 

 It may be used as a guide in deciding what type of warehouse to build 

 and in making plans for the building; but neither the descriptions 

 nor the illustrations should be used as specifications. An endeavor 

 has been made to keep in mind the cost of construction, the arrange- 

 ment necessary to minimize the cost of handling cotton, and those 

 features which tend to reduce the insurance rate. The term "stand- 

 ard warehouse" does not refer to any Government standard, but to 



Note.— This bulletin should be of special interest to warehousemen, cotton dealers, and those con- 

 templating the construction of cotton warehouses, and of general interest to all farmers, bankers, and 

 business men of the South. 



98036°— Bull. 277—15 1 



