FARM EXPERIENCE WITH THE TRACTOR. 11 



States west of the Mississippi River. 1 This separation was made for 

 the following reasons : Sufficient replies were received from owners in 

 North Dakota to give reliable averages. The conditions under which 

 tractors are used in North Dakota are very similar throughout the 

 State, being generally favorable to the tractor on account of the 

 large, level farms, where the types of farming followed are well 

 adapted to the use of mechanical power. Gas tractors have been 

 used in considerable numbers in North Dakota for a greater length of 

 time than in the other States. 



SERVICE RENDERED BY TRACTOR. 



Table IV shows the average amount of service rendered annually 

 per tractor, together with estimates as to the average life of farm 

 tractors. The figures showing days used per year include custom 

 work of all kinds, as well as stationary work on the home farm. It 

 will be noticed that the number of days the tractor is used per year 

 grows slightly less, as a rule, from year to year, and at the same time 

 the hours lost per day increase. 



In connection with the estimated life of the tractor it may be noted 

 that for the group of States the averages are higher for the men who 

 have used the tractor but one season, while in North Dakota they are 

 slightly lower. This is probably partly due to the fact that in mak- 

 ing the estimate the men were asked to judge by "observations and 

 experience." In North Dakota many men who had used a tractor 

 for only one year could make a fair estimate of the average life of a 

 tractor from observations of outfits which had been used in their 

 neighborhood, while in other States they have not been so widely 

 used and the estimates are made to a greater extent from personal 

 experience only. There are also other reasons, which will appear in 

 connection with subsequent tables. 



Only 24 reports from North Dakota were received from men who 

 had used their tractors more than four years, and about the same num- 

 ber came from the other territory. The age distribution of the 

 tractors reported from North Dakota was as follows: 



One year old, 278; 2 years old, 2S3; 3 years old, 131; 4 years old, 55; 5 years old, 15; 

 6 years old, 5; 7 years old, 2; 8 years old, 2. 



It is known that the number of 4-year-old tractors reported is a 

 very small percentage of the number of tractors actually sold four 

 years ago, much smaller than the percentage reported for the 1 and 2 

 year old tractors. This would apparently indicate that many of the 

 tractors sold four years ago are no longer in use, and, together with 

 the decrease in the number reported for the third year, might be 



i The data in the upper half of Tables IV, V, VI, VII, and VIII are all based on the same group of farms, 

 and by combining these parts of tables the complete tabulation for the group may easily be obtained. The 

 same is true of the lower half of these tables. 



