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 wdiieh 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, 283; 3 years old, 131; 4 years old, 55; 5 years old, 15; 
6 years old, 5; 7 years old, 2; S 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. 
