PORT SERVICES AS REGARDS GOODS i 
Bulk Cargo is principally dealt with by appliances capable 
of maintaining a steady and continuous flow, such as 
the transporter and conveyor, consisting of rails and bands 
and piping, along or through which the material can be 
transmitted with regularity and dispatch. It will only be 
possible to mention a few typical instances. 
Grain is raised from a ship’s hold either by a pneumatic 
elevator (suction pump), or the bucket elevator (an endless 
chain of buckets moving vertically). It is passed on to 
conveyor bands for transmission to silos or warehouses, 
where it can be sorted, cleaned, aerated and delivered 
in bulk or into sacks, i.e. ‘“ bagged off.” The pneumatic 
system is rather more costly in power, but it is much 
more convenient, as there is no manual feeding required, 
as in the case of the bucket elevator, and the nozzle 
of the suction pipe can be easily taken to the further- 
most parts of a ship’s interior. With bucket elevators, 
there is always a difficulty of cleaning up the last portion 
of the grain. Moreover, the suction method is a healthier 
process for the few men required to attend to the plant. 
For export, grain is run out of the silos on to bands, 
which lead to spouts discharging into the holds of ships 
alongside. 
Coal for exportation is also handled by conveyor bands, 
but not so commonly, nor on so large a scale, in this 
country as in America ; generally it is shot direct from the 
wagon into the hold. At ports where the approach tracks 
for the colliery wagons are at a sufficiently high level 
naturally (as on the banks of the Wear and Tyne), the coal 
is simply dropped into shoots. In other cases, the wagons 
are raised from quay level by means of hoists and are 
tipped. Sometimes, the wagons are lifted bodily on a 
cradle by a crane, slung over the ship’s hold and emptied 
by releasing a catch. As an import, coal is principally 
and, in fact, invariably, extracted from the hold by means 
of grab buckets suspended from cranes. These are 
cylindrical in shape, with two arms or jaws, which clutch 
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