58 BULLETIN 801, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
The chief objection to the iron-clad building is that in case of fire 
the supporting framing is destroyed very qnickly and the hot metal 
sheets fall upon the cotton and thus prevent the effective applica- 
tion of water. The result is that the amount of salvage from such 
fires is very small. 
For some climates the iron-clad warehouse has a certain disad- 
vantage from the standpoint of cotton storage because of the loss in 
weight caused by excessive drying-out in the great heat. This, how- 
ever, is not an inevitable result as it depends upon the condition of 
the cotton when deposited, the local climatic conditions, and the 
period of the year during which the warehouse is used for cotton 
storage. The field for this type of building may be considered as 
limited to the small country warehouse, 
AUXILIARY STRUCTURES. 
Most warehouse plants require other structures besides the ware- 
house buildings. The number and character vary with the size of 
the plant and the nature of the business. Such structures may in- 
clude detached platforms and sheds, classing room, sample file room, 
office, hose (or hydrant) house, pump house, and boiler house. Gen- 
erally speaking, the type of construction used for these is independent 
of that used for the warehouse itself. 
DETACHED PLATFORMS AND SHEDS. 
Detached platforms, either open or covered by sheds, afford great 
convenience for receiving, weighing, and sampling cotton. The ex- 
tent and arrangement depends on the arrangement of the plant and 
whether or not receipts are from wagons or cars. In any event such 
facilities should be ample from the standpoint of convenience to the 
management and the public and should allow the adequate protection 
of cotton from weather and fire, Consideration should be given to 
the type of scales used for weighing and the methods of handling 
employed. 
Platforms may be constructed of concrete and may be either ele- 
vated and of the reinforced concrete design, or may 'be simply a pave- 
ment resting on the ground or on an earth fill surrounded by low 
retaining walls. The pavement is the less expensive usually. Such 
platforms afford an excellent surface for trucking, present in them- 
selves no fire hazard, and require practically no expenditures for up- 
keep. If such construction is not feasible, heavy frame and planking 
on the order of slow-burning construction may be used. In the latter 
