CONSTRUCTION AND 'FIRE PROTECTION OF COTTON WAREHOUSES. 5 
building showing the arrangement 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 
use. 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 doors 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 VI. While 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, figure 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 seldom 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 
