50 
BULLETIN 9^7, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
Table 36. — Fuel and oil requirements per day and per acre of 2-plovo tractors for different 
operations. 
Operation. 
Number 
of 
tractors. 
Requirements per 
day. 
Fuel. 
Oil. 
Requirements per 
acre. 
Fuel. 
Oil. 
Spring plowing 
Fall plowing 
Disking. 
Disking in combination 
Harrowing, etc 
Drawing hay loader 
Drawing grain binder. . 
164 
129 
95 
101 
53 
24 
101 
Gals. 
17.97 
18.46 
17.98 
17.78 
16.23 
11.45 
14.50 
Gals. 
1.10 
1.06 
1.03 
1.09 
1.01 
.85 
.92 
Gals. 
2.71 
2.86 
.83 
.90 
.42 
1.09 
.73 
Gals. 
0.17 
.16 
.05 
.06 
.03 
•08 
.05 
Table 37. — Fuel and oil requirements of 3-plow tractors for different operation^. 
Operation. 
Number 
of 
tractors. 
Requirements per 
day. 
Fuel. 
Oil. 
Requirements per 
acre. 
Fuel. 
on. 
Spring plowing 
Fall plowing 
Disking 
Disking m combination 
Harrowing, etc 
Drawing hay loader 
Drawing grain binder . . 
Gals. 
23.12 
23.33 
22.02 
22.74 
21.60 
15.06 
17.31 
Gals. 
1.29 
1.32 
1.34 
1.30 
1.51 
1.09 
1.16 
Gals. 
2.68 
2.71 
.71 
.95 
.42 
1.30 
.75 
Gals. 
0.15 
.15 
.04 
.05 
.03 
.09 
.05 
Between 75 and 80 per cent of the tractors were operated on kero- 
sene. Some of the tractors which were operated on gasoline only 
were not designed for burning kerosene, and the owners of the others 
believed that the better service given by their machines when operated 
on gasoline was sufficient to pay for the difference in cost between 
gasoline and kerosene. 
The average costs of fuel and oil to these farmers during the year 
of the investigation were: Gasoline 28 cents, kerosene 19 cents, and 
cylinder oil 72 cents. The price of fuel and oil increased considerably 
during the year. The average price of each kind of fuel was practi- 
cally the same for all areas. The quality and price of the lubricating 
oil used varied considerably, depending upon the owner's idea of 
what constituted proper lubrication, and to some extent upon the 
make of the tractor. 
Costs per day and per acre. — The average costs per day and per 
acre of using the 2-plow and the 3-plow tractors for different drawbar 
operations on the home farm are shown in Table 38. The fuel con- 
sumption per day for the lighter operations was less than for the 
heavy work of plowing and disking, and this is partly responsible 
for the somewhat lower cost per day of using the tractors for harrowing 
and for drawing the hay loader and the grain binder. 
