Below the chutes on the next floor are what are known, and have just been referred to, as garners. These are simply square bins holding 1,000 bushels each. Immediately under each is a platform-scale, with its bin of the same size as the garner above it, and receiving grain from the gar ner when desired. Here the grain is weighed. The garner, it will be seen, can receive grain during the opera tions of weighing and discharging the weighing-bin, and when the lat ter is emptied can at once refill it. From each weighing-bin the grain is delivered into the bins and pockets that completely fill most of the height of the main building. These range in size front .500 to 7,000 bush els capacity, so as to suit every re quirement. Much of the grain re ceived is simply graded, and an equivalent weight of grain of the same grade is delivered when called for. Other grain is to be received with its "identity preserved." In this case the specific grain, and no other, must be delivered on call. The great variety in size of bins adapts the elevator to this work. The garners, weighing-bins, and stor age-bins have sloping bottoms, so that no grain lodges in them. An inclination of 6 in. in a foot is suffi cient to insure this. Grain is weighed when received and when delivered. Each weighing operation involves the elevation of the grain from the lower floor, where the bins deliver it clear to the top of the building, for delivery through the revolver and fixed chute to the proper scale. Transfer-elevators arc employed to effect the transfer of grain from one bin to another. These elevate it so that it can descend through inclined chutes in the desired direction. If t he chute (Ines not carry it far enough, one or more additional elevators and chutes are called into requisition. One function of the elevator is the cleaning of grain. Some of the bins.
termed cleaning-bins, are equipped with winnowing-fans for blowing out dust and chaff, and with screens through which the grain has to pass. The lin ter remove the coarser parti cles. The winnowed and sifted grain then falls into the bin. The bins all terminate some distance above the ground-level. A train of curs has amide head-room below them. from the level of the hot toms of the bins to the \VVie1111Lr-1100r the entire area is devoted to the honeycomb of bins, except the few small trunks through which the elevator-belts travel, or through which grain descends from one tier of bins to the tier below. A space at one end is also free for the great driving-belt to travel in. The elevator-belts descend into hoppers below the ground-surface, into which grain to be elevated is delivered. At intervals along the platforms forming the bottom floor are trap doors giving access to these hoppers. Grain does not remain in these hoppers ; it is at once elevated.
To deliver the grain from the cars into the elevator-hoppers there is used a scraping shovel about 3 ft. sq., to which a rope is attached. The rope leads to a steam apparatus, by which it is taken in at the proper time, as if on a windlass. The operator draws the shovel back into
the car of grain, and Bolds it nearly vertical and pressed down into the grain. The rope draws along the shovel with the grain in front of it, and a number of bushels are delivered at each stroke. In this way a couple of tnen can very quickly empty a car. The movements of the shovels succeed one another with sufficient rapidity to keep the men in active movement. One of the features of this elevator is the use of the electric light, which is arranged to light the interior of ears, so that night-work can be carried on. In the recent heavy grain deliv eries it was found necessary to work day and night.
The portion of such elevators containing the bins is built without framing. Planks are laid flatwise upon each other and spiked through to the layer below. In this way the outer walls and the bin divisions are built up, giving immense strength and power to resist lateral thrust. A usual timber for the sides is 2 X 8 in. spruce, giving S=in. walls, and for the bins 2 X 6 in. is often employed. The Armour elevator contains over 8,000.000 ft. of wood, and about 4,000 kegs of nails were used in its construction. The main building is bricked in out side of the timber walls, and the roofs and cupola walls are covered with tin. It was erected between June, 1887. and March, 1888, being put in operation on the last-named date. It cost about $600,000.
The elevator described represents one of many similar stilt& tires situated in the principal cities of the United States. and designed to handle the enormous grain clops of the Western States and Territories. To give some idea of the extent of the business in our cities, the fol lowing statement of number of elevators and their capacity for some leading cities will be of interest : Coal-Thid (Fig. 11) represents a novel form of coal-hoist, constructed by the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, for coaling locomotives.
The lower side of an endless-link carrier, a, runs in a trough, t, which extends from the d, to the top of the pockets. To this carrier, at intervals of about 30 in., buckets—or rather scrapers—are attached, which are shaped to fit the interior of the trough. A coal-ear is pushed over the pit and dumped, and the coal runs by gravity through a chute at d in the end of the pit upon the carrier. There are three pockets in line, the center one being filled directly from the main trough, while the coal is carried into the others by short movable chutes, leading from the upper end of the main trough. Coal of any size is handled by the carrier. The engine is 15 horse-pow er. Power is transmitted from the engine by a link-belt to a geared pul ley at the top of the hoist, This pul ley engages with a which bears the carrier. The hoist ing capacity is stated to be 90 tons of coal per hour. The usual load is 00 tolls per hour ; 100 locomotives elm be coaled daily.