58 ESSAYS ON "WHEAT 



the spout is directed by the operator to each end of the car 

 in turn, so that the filling is more or less evenly accom- 

 plished. If necessary, however, when the car has been 

 filled, the operator climbs into the car over the top of one 

 of the grain doors on his hands and knees and levels the 

 load with a scoop shovel. After the load has been levelled, 

 the outer doors on the sides of the car are slid back into 

 position so as to cover the grain doors and entirely block 

 the two openings. The railway agent then seals the side 

 doors, whereupon the car is ready for transportation to 

 Winnipeg for inspection. 



The depth of the wheat in a loaded car is a few inches 

 less than the height of the grain doors and varies from 

 four feet ten inches to six feet four inches, according to 

 the size of the car. Between the wheat and the roof of the 

 car there is always a space left, two feet or more high, in 

 which a man may move when he is obtaining samples of 

 the grain for the government inspector at Winnipeg. 



Most of the box-cars now in use for transporting grain 

 are of two sizes only, the smaller cars having a capacity 

 of 60,000 pounds and the larger ones of 80,000 pounds, 

 so that for the former the full load is 1,000 bushels and 

 for the latter about 1,350 bushels. During the last two 

 years, however, the Canadian Pacific Railway Company 

 has been building still larger cars with a capacity of 

 94,000 pounds, or about 1,650 bushels. The loads in all 

 cases may be exceeded by shippers to the extent of 10 per 

 cent, of the car's capacity without special rates being 

 charged. 



Box-cars require to be strongly built, for wheat in bulk, 

 like water, exerts an enormous pressure upon the sides and 

 base of its container. In constructing the grain doors, the 

 original intention was that they should not be nailed or 



