S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE. 
questionnaires on which to record additional facts were sent to the 
men whose reports were summarized in Department Bulletin 910, 
and to those whose reports had been excluded from that summary 
because of insufficient experience. These questionnaires were de- 
signed to ascertain what percentage of the trucks covered by the 
1920 reports were still in use, what percentage had been replaced 
by others, the percentage of farmers who had discontinued the use 
of trucks in their farming operations, and to obtain more definite 
information as to the life, depreciation, and repair costs of these 
machines. In general, information was sought which would make 
possible a comparison of the experience of these truck owners as 
given in their first reports, which covered a period during which 
prices for farm products were relatively high, farm labor scarce 
and high, and conditions generally favorable to the use of trucks 
by farmers, with their beliefs based on wider experience under 
changed conditions. 
The first reports received in 1920 covered the use of the trucks 
in 1919, while the later reports received in 1922 were for the use 
of the machines from June, 1921, to May, 1922, inclusive. For 
convenience the two reports will be referred to as the " 1920 " and 
" 1922 ? ' reports, respectively. 
SUMMARY. 
Among the outstanding facts indicated by compilation and analy- 
sis of the data collected and used in this bulletin are the following : 
The use of a motor truck in many instances enables a farmer to 
take advantage of better markets at greater distances from his farm 
than were available when his hauling was done with horses. For 
those truck owners who have changed markets (see Table 4) the 
distance to the new markets averaged nearly double the distance to 
those formerly used. 
In the area covered by these reports trucks having a capacity of 
1 ton comprised nearly half the total number concerning which 
replies were received, while slightly over half of the owners who 
in 1922 gave their opinions as to the size best suited to their con- 
ditions stated they preferred the 1-ton machines. 
Over 90 per cent of the owners stated they believed their trucks 
would prove to be profitable investments, and that they intended to 
purchase others when those reported on were worn out. 
Saving of time was given as the greatest advantage, and poor 
roads as the greatest disadvantage connected with the use of motor 
trucks. 
On the average it requires less than half the time to make a 
haul of a given length with a truck that it does with horses. 
Not all of the road hauling was done with trucks. Over 60 per 
cent of the owners answering this question stated that they used 
horses for a small part of their road hauling. 
While many owners used their machines for some hauling on the 
farm itself a large part of such battling was still done with horses. 
A small percentage of the owners stated they did some custom 
work, but that it constituted on the average only about one-tenth 
of the total hauling done with their machines. 
