34 BULLETIN 277, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
erooved. To get the best insurance rate, the space from the floor to 
the ground should be filled in with some noncombustible material. 
If this is not done it is essential that there should be no openings 
from this space to the outside of the building. 
AUTOMATIC SPRINKLERS. 
While it is not possible to give specifications for a system of auto- 
matic sprinklers, the installation of such systems in all cotton ware- 
houses is urged.. To do so means additional cost, but the saving in 
insurance will more than offset this cost of installation. The ex- 
penditure is fully justified by the protection given the cotton, which 
results in saving in the cost of insurance. Numerous warehouses 
have been found where the insurance rate has been reduced from 
$1.50 per hundred dollars to 30 cents. Many companies are now sell- 
ing and installing these systems. Before anyone purchases he should 
have detailed specifications prepared, and these should be submitted 
to the underwriters having jurisdiction. The importance of this can 
hardly be overestimated. An owner of a warehouse recently had a 
sprinkler system installed in his warehouse, expecting to get the usual 
reduction in insurance rate. However, it developed that the capacity 
of his tank was only 3,000 gallons, while the requirements called for a 
minimum capacity of 25,000 gallons. 
History.—In connection with the discussion of the automatic 
sprinkler as a means of controlling fires, it is mteresting to note the 
development of this system. Formerly there were many fires in cot- 
ton mills, especially in picker rooms, in which department much 
loose cotton is handled. Disastrous fires frequently start in the 
picker itself. This machine has spikes on a cylinder which tear or 
loosen the cotton. When one of these spikes becomes slightly bent, 
it may touch another spike on the machine, and the resulting spark 
usually starts a fire. For along time there was no protection against 
such fires except the casks of water and pails. Finally it became cus- 
~tomary to provide this room with a crude sprinkler system. This 
consisted of numerous perforated pipes throughout the room. These 
pipes were connected with a supply of water. A valve on the out- 
side of the building was designed to turn the water into the perfo- 
rated pipes. Under this arrangement when a fire started some em- 
ployee went out to the valve and turned on the water. This appa- 
ratus was a great improvement over the old condition, but*it was 
weak in several respects. In the first place, the water was not turned 
on until some one went from the scene of the fire and opened the 
valve. Another very serious objection was that the water was 
applied to all portions of the room. This damaged the building, 
machinery, and cotton in places where it was not necessary, besides 
exhausting the water supply unnecessarily. 
