CONSTETJCTION AND FIRE PROTECTION" OF COTTON WAREHOUSES. 7 
form is equipped with a series of rollers so that the bale, when ele- 
vated to the top of the pile, may be pulled off easily. Another good 
type of this machine is arranged to revolve upon the castorecl truck 
base, which gives great convenience in moving and setting. The. 
machines are constructed for operation by hand and by electricity. 
The hand machines are necessarily rather slow in .operation when 
elevating a bale of cotton, but the electric machines make possible 
very rapid piling. When they are equipped with a properly en- 
closed motor, the machine affords practically no fire hazard, pro- 
vided the wiring and all connections are properly designed and 
installed, The cable extending to the machine should be inclosed 
in a flexible metal conduit and all socket connections should be 
located on the ceiling. By using a cable with a length equal to the 
combined height of the story and of the machine and by connecting 
the cable to the top of the elevator it is possible to move the machine 
within a circle of considerable area without the cable coming in 
contact with the floor. In cases where the cable is allowed to lie on 
the floor and is not inclosed there is introduced a serious fire hazard 
because of the probable damage to the cable from trucks passing 
over it. 
Scales in general use for weighing cotton are the ordinary beam 
scale, the portable platform beam scale, and the dial scale, which 
may be stationary or arranged on castors so that it can be moved 
from one to another of a series of very shallow pits. This movable 
dial scale is well adapted to weighing the bale of cotton while on 
the truck for the platform is large and a "tare beam" is jDrovided 
for deducting automatically the weight of the truck. A view of 
such a scale in use is shown in Plate XII. Since this method of 
weighing requires that trucks be of a uniform weight, those made of 
steel are particularly desirable. The illustration shows portable 
inclines on each side of the scale. This arrangement is excellent 
where the shallow pits can not be provided readily. Such scales are 
coming into more general use and are beginning to displace the beam 
scale, which for a long time has been considered standard equipment 
for the cotton warehouse. 
THE WAREHOUSE PLANT AND BUILDINGS. 
Local conditions influence the layout of the warehouse to such an 
extent that the arrangement of buildings should be decided upon 
after consideration of these factors and with the approval of the, 
insurance rating bureau having supervision of the particular terri- 
tory involved. 1 
1 Nixon, Robert L. Cotton Warehouse Construction. IT. S. Department of 
Agriculture. Bulletin 277, 1915. 
