CONSTRUCTION AND FIEE PROTECTION OF COTTON WAREHOUSES. 51 
is that it does not afford adequate protection from fires of exterior 
origin. Therefore these two considerations are favorable to the use 
of very light framing, such as 2 by 4 inch studding, carrying lapped 
siding, or weatherboarding, combined with heavy posts that sup- 
port the timbers carrying the floor or roof plank. Thus if the fire 
gains sufficient headway to make destruction of the light inclosure 
necessary it may be accomplished easily; or, in the event of the fire 
having made dangerous progress, the light inclosure may be burned 
away and still leave the roof or floor adequately supported for a 
time. The siding should be applied horizontally and with edges of 
boards well lapped so as not to permit the entrance of sparks. Ver- 
tical boarding is less desirable unless the joints between planks are 
well stripped. Siding may be the ordinary resawed beveled weather- 
boarding, either sized or dressed. The dressed material is to be 
preferred unless the wall is to be whitewashed, in which event the 
rough material affords a better surface for the whitewash. This 
frame wall may be left unfinished or it may be whitewashed, stained, 
or painted. Whitewash affords good protection against attack of 
flame, but the result is unsightly unless the mixture is colored and 
frequent applications are made. Stains made with, creosote may be 
used, or the wall may be painted with such paints as do not burn 
readily. 1 
Clay wall tile may be used as a substitute for the frame wall of 
single-story buildings. The thickness of tile need be only 6 or 8 
1 Framing of the exterior -wall should be constructed so that sills will be 
raised above the ground and protected from moisture. It is desirable that 
the light sill, or " shoe." be raised about an inch above the platform and with 
the boarding overlapping, as a protection from the weather. This suggests 
an advantage of horizontal siding over vertical boarding, as in the first in- 
stance only one or two boards would be subject to rapid decay, whereas the 
ends of all vertical boards would be subject to decay from moisture. A very 
economical manner of framing is that used in the large export plant illus- 
trated in Plate II. In this instance the paving that forms the floor and plat- 
forms is laid continuously and supports the light weight of the wood-end wall. 
The sill is 4 by 4 inch pine cut in between the main roof supports. The ends 
of this sill rest on the cast-iron plate carrying these roof posts, and the sill 
is supported at intermediate points by small cast-iron plates having a lug, 
or knob, projecting into an auger hole bored in the sill to prevent displace- 
ment of the support. The main roof-supporting posts, for both the wall and 
interior locations, rest on plates supported by small concrete or brick piers. 
Where such construction is used, it is important that the floor be raised about 
one and a half inches above the platform, the change of level being made at 
doorways by a slope inside the compartment and elsewhere by an abrupt drop 
or a slope back of the siding. Otherwise blowing rain will result in water 
damage to cotton near the walls. Studding for weatherboarding should be 
set about 24 inches apart. Where there is more than one story the wall for 
each story should be of separate lengths of studding. The upper wall framing 
should be carried by the respective floors. 
