FARM EXPEBIENCE WITH THE TRACTOR, 
31 
for the farms of more (ban 040 acres, although it will also be observed 
that these men show a rather high percentage of kerosene tractors, 
which may be partly responsible for this, as well as other favorable 
averages for the larger farms. 
While the estimated life of the tractor is slightly higher for the 
small farms, it should be borne in mind that these farms for the most 
part have comparatively small tractors, especially the 15-horsepower 
size, and this tractor shows a high average life in Table XVIII. 
There is no appreciable difference in the number of days used per 
year, which would indicate that the smaller farms not only have a 
greater percentage of owners who do custom work, but that the 
amount of custom work per farm is also greater. 
Table XIX. — Relation of the size of the farm to the results obtained with tractors. 
Item of comparison. 
Number of farms reported 
Average size of farms acres. 
Owners stating that tractor is a good investment, 
per cent 
Drawbar rating of engine horsepower. 
Cost of engine dollars. 
Cost of special equipments do. . . 
Cost of repairs required: 
First season do. . . 
Second season do. . . 
Horses now kept: 
Number 
Value dollars. 
Life of tractor (estimated) years. , 
Used per year days. , 
Time spent in the field per day hours., 
Time lost in the field per day do-..., 
Fuel used in engines: 
Gasoline per cent. , 
Kerosene do — 
Motor spirits do — 
Reporting night work per cent- 
Average nights used by men reporting night work.. 
Owners doing custom work percent. 
Men doing custom work who find it profitable, 
per cent 
Size of farms (acres). 
101 to 
320. 
25 
300.2 
10.0 
20.0 
, 286. 19 
624. 98 
30.89 
106. 74 
5.7 
957. 73 
7.3 
80.8 
13.2 
2.4 
47.8 
47.8 
4.4 
15.8 
13.0 
79.2 
56.2 
321 to 
480. 
33 
424.2 
30.8 
22.5 
2, 497. 72 
641. 18 
20.47 
82.28 
6.9 
1,135.88 
7.1 
78.3 
12.3 
2.1 
71.9 
25.0 
3.1 
14.3 
12.8 
84.8 
48.1 
481 to 
640. 
58 
583.2 
22.2 
22.8 
2,416.49 
635.04 
50.49 
90.01 
9.0 
1,427.59 
6.0 
79.1 
12.9 
2.0 
58.7 
39.1 
2.2 
14.0 
13.0 
64.9 
36.7 
641 to 
] ,000. 
83 
846.4 
39.7 
25.0 
2,579.45 
766.59 
58.01 
82.84 
11.6 
2, 004. 75 
6.3 
86.8 
13.3 
2.3 
49.2 
45.9 
4.9 
11.9 
14.1 
78.5 
67.9 
1,001 to 
2,000. 
55 
1,411.5 
40.0 
27.4 
2, 730. 56 
799. 37 
59.62 
177.04 
19.2 
3,100.57 
6.6 
77.1 
12.7 
2.2 
44.2 
55.8 

19.6 
33.2 
The percentage of owners who use their tractor at night is greatest 
for the farms of 1,000 to 2,000 acres, and these men likewise use their 
tractors for the greatest number of nights per year. From this fact it 
would appear that only on the larger farms is there sufficient work to 
utilize the full capacity of the tractor during the busy season, and even 
on these large farms more than 46 per cent of the owners do custom 
work. 
As would be expected, the cost of the tractor increases with the size 
of the farm, owing, of course, to the increase in the size of the outfit. 
The repair charges and value of special equipment likewise increase 
with the size of the farm for the same reason. But while the cost of 
special equipment undoubtedly bears a close relation to the size of the 
