22 
BULLETIN 174, IT. s. DEPARTMENT OE AGRICULTURE. 
While the figures in Table XI would appear to indicate that the 
consumption of fuel per drawbar horsepower is considerably greater 
for the small tractors than for the large ones, Table XIV shows that 
the small tractors are usually loaded more nearly to their full capacity 
than the large ones, and the consumption of fuel per unit of work done 
is slightly less for the 12 and 15 horsepower tractors than for those 
of 30 horsepower. 
Table XI. — Average consumption of fuel per hour by different sizes of engines and per 
drawbar horsepower hour on farms in North Dakota. 
Fuel consumption per hour 
Drawbar rating of engine (horsepower). 
12 
15 
20 
22 
25 
30 
40 
First veai - : 
Per engine 
.gallons.. 
3.264 
3. 462 
3.211 
5.419 
4.725 
5.761 
5.684 
Per drawbar horsepower 
...do.... 
. 272 
.231 
.161 
. 246 
.189 
.192 
.142 
Second rear: 
Per engine 
...do.... 
3.S51 
4.177 
3.140 
5.885 
5.S58 
5.675 
6.367 
Per drawbar horsepower 
...do.... 
.321 
.278 
.157 
.268 
.234 
.189 
.159 
There appears to be considerable irregularity in the figures shown, 
but this is not really the case, as the reasons for the varying con- 
sumption for the different sizes are as follows: The 15, 22, and 30 
horsepower groups all contain a larger percentage of kerosene tractors 
than the 12, 20, 25, and 40 horsepower groups, and, as has already 
been shown, the kerosene tractors consume a greater quantity of fuel 
than the gasoline tractors. There are also more kerosene tractors 
in the 12-horsepower group than in the 20, and several of the outfits 
included in the 20 and 25 horsepower groups are apparently over- 
rated, to judge both by their fuel consumption and by the amount 
of work done, as shown in other tables. 
The fuel cost per unit of work varies, of course, with the price per 
gallon. The prices for the different fuels vary considerably in dif- 
ferent States. The averages of those reported are shown in Table 
XII. The general averages per gallon for the four fuels commonly 
used were as follows: Distillate, 8.17 cents; kerosene, 10.08 cents; 
motor spirits, 15.86 cents; gasoline, 18.94 cents. The distillate and 
motor spirits are not extensively used, as the table shows. 
Table XII. — Average prices for fuels, per gallon, as reported by farm tractor owners. 
State. 
Gasoline. 
Kerosene. 
Motor 
spirits. 
Distillate. 
Cents. 
22.99 
19.51 
18.47 
18.06 
17.72 
.17.50 
17.50 
17.00 
16.23 
Cents. 
15.37 
11.79 
9.86 
9.44 
9.31 
Cents. 
Cents. 
16.53 
14.39 
South Dakota 

:::::::::::: 
Minnesota 
8.29 
Texas 
9.90 
7.90 
7.78 
6.25 
Average 
18.94 
10.08 
15. 86 
8.17 
