6 



BULLETIN 931, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



ket with the distances from market of the farms on which trucks are 

 owned show clearly that most of the men whose reports form the 

 basis for this bulletin have exceptionally long hauls. 



SIZE OF TRUCKS. 



The motor trucks owned on these 831 farms vary from one-half ton 

 to 2 tons in size. Only 10 are of the one-half-ton size, however, and 

 in all of the tables following the one-half -ton and three-fourths-ton 

 sizes are combined into one group. Similarly, there are three trucks 

 rated at 1] tons, and they have been combined with those rated at 1| 

 tons. Xone over 2 tons in size was reported. In general the larger 

 trucks are used on the larger farms. 



The number of the different sizes, the average size of the farms on 

 which they are owned, and the average number of crop acres per 

 farm are shown in Table II : 



Table II. — N umber of trucks of different sizes and size of farms on which they 



are used. 



Size of truck. 



•Total 

 number. 



Average 

 size of 

 farm (to- 

 tal acres). 



Average 

 crop 



acres. 



Won and J-ton 



74 

 588 

 109 



60 



333 

 328 

 407 

 434 



229 

 236 

 294 

 309 



lj-ton and H-ton.. 

 2-ton 



Total 



831 





347 248 











AGE OF TRUCKS. 



The length of time the 831 trucks had been in use at the time the 

 reports were made is as follows : 



394 had been in use 7 to 12 mouths. 

 375 had been in use 13 to 24 months. 

 55 had been in use 25 to 36 months. 

 7 had been in use 37 months or over. 



ARE THESE TRUCKS PROFITABLE INVESTMENTS? 



No attempt was made to determine to what extent the incomes 

 of these men had been increased through the use of their trucks. 

 However, 91 per cent of them stated that in their opinion their trucks 

 will turn out to be profitable investments. 



On the average these trucks travel 2,777 miles a year, and the 

 cost of operation is between 16} cents and 17 cents per mile, making 

 the total annual cost from $460 to $470. Each truck displaces 1.2 



