June, 1938] The Transportation of New Hampshire Milk 15 



those operated by independent haulers and those operated by distribu- 

 tors. 



The classification according to locality was made by including in one 

 group all routes operating in, or adjacent to, the Connecticut River 

 valley (henceforth referred to as the Connecticut valley) ; and in a sec- 

 ond group, routes in the Merrimack valley and coastal region (hence- 

 forth referred to as the Merrimack-Coastal region). (Figure 2, page 

 7) Several factors prompted this classifi^cation. Perhaps of greatest 

 significance is the fact that most of the Connecticut valley is included in 

 the type of farming area in which production of milk for wholesale 

 markets reaches its highest degree of specialization. Farms are rela- 

 tively large and close together and opportunities for economical truck- 

 ing of milk are present in greater degree than in most other parts of 

 the state. 



Another reason for making this classification is that practically all of 

 the milk hauled on commercial truck routes in the Connecticut valley 

 goes to country stations, while that collected on routes in other parts 

 of the state goes largely to city plants. 



The routes were also classified according to whether they were op- 

 erated by independent contractors or by distributors. Independent 

 contractors included operators who owned their trucks, planned their 

 routes, set their charges and, aside from the distributor deducting haul- 

 ing charges and indicating producers whose milk was to be collected, 

 had complete control of their own trucking business. Distributors' 

 trucks were those owned and operated by, or under the direct control 

 of, a distributor who set rates, planned routes, and generally super- 

 vised their operation. 



Using the two bases of classification outlined above on the 152 com- 

 mercial routes operating in New Hampshire, 88 were found to lie in the 

 Connecticut valley and only 64 in the Merrimack-Coastal region. Of 

 the routes in the Connecticut valley, all but two were operated by in- 

 dependent contractors. Of those in the Merrimack-Coastal region, dis- 

 tributors' trucks were more of a factor. Of the 64 routes, 19 were op- 

 erated by distributors. 



Table III shows the data of Table II classified in the manner outlined 

 above. Because of the existence of only two distributors' truck routes 

 in the Connecticut valley, it is with hesitation that data regarding them 

 are presented, and readers are warned against basing conclusions upon 

 so small a sample. 



Two comparisons appear valid: First, that of independent haulers' 

 routes in the Connecticut valley with independent haulers in the Merri- 

 mack-Coastal region; second, that of independent haulers' routes in the 

 Merrimack-Coastal region with distributors' routes in the same section. 



Significant differences are brought out by each of these comparisons. 

 Considering first, that of independents in the one part of the state with 

 independents in the other: Table III shows that though the average 

 amount of milk hauled per independent route varied only slightly in 

 both sections of the state, routes in the Merrimack-Coastal region trav- 

 eled more than half as far again as those in the Connecticut valley. 

 They traveled over more unpaved road, made more stops, and handled 

 milk from a third more farms than did those along the western part of 



