304 POWER AND THE PLOW 



over, the gas tractor has a better opportunity than in England, 

 owing to the lower price of suitable fuel. 



The selling price of farm products is rarely under the farmer's 

 control. His profits are represented by the difference between 

 the selling price and the cost of production and transporta- 

 tion to market. As the tractor cuts the cost of production, so 

 it adds to his profits. As it further cuts the cost of road trans- 

 portation, it adds greater profits without increasing the cost 

 to the consumer, and by increasing agricultural prosperity, 

 increases the welfare of the country, which is dependent upon 

 that of the farmer. The cheap transportation secured by the 

 use of better roads, which in turn favors the increased use of 

 mechanical power, will enable the extension of the zone around 

 each marketing centre in which certain bulky and perishable 

 products can profitably be raised. It will increase land values. 

 It will equalize supply and demand, since crops can be stored 

 at the lowest cost on the farm and moved at any time during 

 the year. It will equalize the traffic upon railroads, and make 

 Brandeis's saving easier. It will increase rural population, 

 encourage the attendance of children at school, extend the 

 usefulness of motor vehicles for passenger transportation, and 

 develop an attractive social side to farm life. 



What do we need in the way of road improvement? In a 

 nutshell, we need to eliminate grades and establish better road 

 surfaces. The loss in traction efficiency due to poor surface 

 has been shown elsewhere, and that due to grades is perhaps 

 even greater. The power required to lift the prime mover 

 itself up a certain grade is constant, regardless of surface, and 

 the better the road surface the more rapidly will each percent- 

 age of grade cut down the proportion of the tractor's total power 

 which it can exert in pulling the load. To secure ideal condi- 

 tions, we must have ' state- wide road laws and standards of 

 quality in construction. Whether the road shall be built 

 by state or national aid, or by county funds alone, is a matter 

 of detail. The main point is, that the administration of these 



