16 DEPARTMENT BULLETIN 1254, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE. 
some extent for such work. No information was obtained as to the 
proportion of the total hauling in the field and around the buildings 
that was done with trucks, but the 1920 replies from the compara- 
tively small number of men who at that time reported using their 
trucks for this work showed that they did a large part of their farm 
hauling with horses. Some of the smaller machines are too light to 
carry the loads to be hauled, some have bodies unsuited to the ma- 
terial to be moved, and sometimes the ground is so soft as to make it 
difficult, if not impossible, to use trucks. 
The time saved was mentioned more frequently than any other 
reason by the men who in 1920 stated they did some of the hauling 
on their farms with trucks instead of with horses. However, a large 
part of the time required for hauling on the farm is spent in load- 
ing and unloading, and but a comparatively small portion of it in 
actual travel, and consequently the percentage of the total time which 
can be saved by using a truck for such hauling is small as compared 
with that saved when using it for road hauling. Then, too, if horses 
which would otherwise remain idle are available, it would seem more 
profitable to use them in those cases where nothing would be gained 
by using the trucks. 
CUSTOM HAULING. 
As stated on page 1, reports from men using their trucks prima- 
rily for custom work, and only incidentally for farm work, were 
omitted from this summary. However, of the 305 men who answered 
the question " Did you do custom work (hauling for hire) with your 
truck in 1921 ? " 55 stated they used their trucks to some extent in 
this manner. In 1920, 78 out of 235 truck owners gave the same 
answer. The men who in 1922 reported doing some custom work 
were asked what percentage of the total hauling done with their 
machines was for hire, and the replies indicated that only one-tenth 
of it was of this nature. It is probable that most farmers owning 
motor trucks can obtain custom work if they so desire, and if their 
time is not fully occupied with their own work they can increase 
their incomes by using their trucks in this manner. However, when 
such work was done largely for the accommodation of neighbors, as 
shown by the 1920 reports, the charge made for it in many cases was 
too low to make it profitable. 
ANNUAL USE OF TRUCKS. 
As the number of miles per year which a truck travels has a direct 
bearing upon the cost per mile run and per ton hauled, a prospective 
purchaser of such a machine should give considerable thought to the 
amount of use he will probably have for it. The quantity of material 
to be moved, the size of the truck, and length of haul will all have an 
influence on the total distance covered by a truck annually. Depreci- 
ation and repairs tend to increase somewhat as the annual mileage 
increases, but in general the greater the distance traveled, or the 
larger the amount of material hauled, the smaller will be the charge 
per mile run, or per ton moved, for these items. 
In 1920, 230 truck owners estimated the average distance their 
machines traveled dining the preceding year to have been 3,518 miles. 
The distances which 274 of the 325 truck owners reporting in 1922 
