COST OF USING POWER ON WHEAT FARMS IN OREGON 1 
more, 3 had not been out of order when needed and 8 had been out 
of order for an average of 2.2 days each. 
Reports of these tractor owners indicate that the tractor on these 
farms is a very dependable source of power when handled by an 
experienced tractor man. 
OPINIONS OF TRACTOR OWNERS AS TO THEIR ADVANTAGES AND 
DISADVANTAGES 
The opinions of tractor owners relative to the advantages and dis- 
advantages of the use of tractors are given in Table 9 in the order of 
frequency of mention. 
TABLE 9.—Opinions of 40 tractor owners relative to their advantages and dis- 
advantages, 1922 
Advantages of tractors in the order of | Number Disadvantages of tractors in the order | Number 
frequency of mention reporting of frequency of mention reporting 
More work in given time and work done First cost and depreciation____________-- 23 
UMeSCOSO Mise ess ree ae eile Bh ete 34 || Incompetent operator _-_____..-__-_-_-_-- 15 
VEAnE aOR SANGO ee a 27 || Time lost through breakage____________- 14 
Displacement of horses_______.___-_-_-__- 25 ll Roughstoporrap hye 22 ein ae) ee 14 
PBCGL OT WOR Kents aoe is oe ee 25.) sRunmin ge expenses:s- 4.222 Woes Sela 12 
Saving horses in hot weather____________ 1 3B | ACL tla eres it SR Ree 4 
TAU Oth Gs te nes ee ga ye ES 4 | 
The ability of the tractor to do work quickly, and thus to perform 
the various field operations more nearly at the proper time, was an 
advantage mentioned the greatest number of times. Importance of 
early plowing and its effect on the yield of wheat is recognized by 
these farmers. Experiments at the Oregon experiment substation at 
Moro have shown that early spring plowing of summer fallow land 
has resulted in an appreciably larger yield of wheat per acre than 
late-plowed fallow land. From the standpoint of number of times 
mentioned, man labor saved through the use of tractor came second. 
An equal number thought that the number of horses displaced and 
the quality of. work done with tractors was an important advantage. 
Saving of horses in hot weather was an advantage mentioned by 13 
of 40 tractor operators. 
The disadvantage mentioned by the greatest number of tractor 
operators was the first cost and depreciation. The fact that many 
of these tractors were bought at a time when the price was very high 
serves to make the item of capital invested in the tractor and depre- 
ciation of first importance. Lack of skill on the part of the tractor 
operator ranked second in number of times mentioned. The skill | 
required to operate a tractor successfully is probably greater than for 
any other kind of farm machinery, and unless the owner is méchani- 
cally inclined and operates the tractor himself or is able to hire a 
thoroughly competent operator, he is almost certain to find his 
machine an unprofitable investment. Time lost because of breakage, 
rough topography, and running expenses were mentioned by approx- 
imately the same number of owners. Rough topography, as a dis- 
advantage of tractor operation, is lessened to a large degree by the 
crawler type of tractor which is in general use in this county. 
