MOTOR TRUCKS ON EASTERN FARMS. 



17 



CUSTOM HAULING. 



While all the men whose reports are included use their trucks pri- 

 marily for hauling to and from their own farms, about 28 per cent 

 reported that they did some custom work during the year preceding 

 the time of reporting. Of 492 farmers who reported concerning 

 custom work 355 said that during the past year they had done none 

 whatever. The remaining 137 had received on the average $174 

 for such work. The number of men who reported hauling different 

 materials, and the price which they received per ton-mile, are given 



in Table XI. 



Table XI. — Returns for custom work. 



Material. 



Crops 



Milk 



Feed 



Fertilizer 

 Other.... 



Nnmher 



Price 



of 



per ton- 



reports. 



mile. 



60 



SO. 37 



6 



.69 



6 



.39 



6 



.28 



71 



.48 



About 30 per cent of these men who had done custom work stated 

 that it had not been profitable. Many of them stated that the main 

 reason for doing custom work was to accommodate their neighbors, 

 and ordinarily in such cases the price was not high enough to make 

 the work profitable. Most of the custom work reported was done by 

 men owning large or medium sized trucks. Only seven of the men 

 who own half-ton trucks reported that they did any custom work, and 

 the average amount received by the seven for the work which they did 

 during the past year was $53. 



EFFECT OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF ROADS ON USE OF TRUCKS. 



It has been shown that the majority of these farmers considered 

 poor roads the greatest disadvantage in the use of a motor truck, and 

 that most of those who still use horses for part of their road hauling 

 do so because of poor roads. In order to gain a more definite idea 

 of the effect of the kind of roads on the use of motor trucks, each 

 farmer was asked to specify the kind of roads over which his truck 

 traveled and the number of weeks during the past year the roads 

 had been in such condition on account of mud or snow that the truck 

 could not be used. 



All kinds of roads, from unimproved dirt roads to high-class State 

 highways, were reported. Twenty-nine per cent of the men who 

 reported on this point stated that their trucks ordinarily travel only 

 on dirt roads, 46 per cent stated that the roads which they ordi- 

 narily use are part dirt and part improved, and the remainder stated 

 that they have all improved roads, either macadam, gravel, or better. 

 8335°— 20 3 



