The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1920-04-30
fARMFpS ARE ALIVE
TO VALUE Of TRUCKS
Thousand Throughout t h e
Country Are Well Supplied
and Would Not Go Without
them.

Fifty theusan farmers in the
limited States own motor trucks
such il the estimate made by a pre-
firntrary survey Of the government
for itx census Of 1920. These figures
do not include motor trucks operat-
iaz on regular routes nor those doing
custom work
Ado 10 this Sc ooa the trucks op-
Grated i'm rurai districts by indrld
s&g corporations and city transfer
companies. and the number of motor
t-asSs handling farm product direct
frsss, the producer win be more than
soSoied,
MARYLAND and Long Island TURNER'S
Truck Users.
During rne world war there was ca-
II 4sised la Maryland twenty TWO
oral rntar truck lines with total
=. 1arifv or more than 19e tons OF
syo@gscts daily. Practically all of the
s,3,cs farmers and market growers
az Ixnc Island send their products
laYs. tae Nes ork market by motor
f.-yasks The stock ra4scrs within
<arrv or ATTY miles Of the big PACK
ipg ceuters, e.. Chicago, Omaha ana
Kansas CITY. have found that the
stock shipped TO market hay truck ar
vice in better condition 1han when
SHIPPED By other means.
RApid Increase in Motor Truck tse
lnaica tons point to a rapid in
rreaae tn motor trucks IN rural dts~
rf,cts along Two lines. private owner
sb4g and public utilities in the shape
as motor truck transportation com
pwuies These relieve producers 81
TIE work and trouble Of having to 81
Ia market with their products
farmer irving on or near rea-
sons. ny good highway aud within a
radius Of. say. sixty miles or TESS
FIRM his market has usually t"o
means ~ getting 10 the market 10
fsn either ship b$ train or by motor
truck IL the farmer owns a motor
truck. he simply loads his shipment
4nto the truck ard carries + direct 10
tae eenslgnee.
A. many farmers cannot spare the
sitne 10 take trips to town. the rural
1no4or truck com panies come IN
handy as they take the shipment dl-
rect from the farmers home and de-
liver II to The proper place
Cost of Hauling Wheat and Corn.
In comparing the efficiency Of the
motor truck and the horse drawn
vehicle. the department Of agricui-
tire found, In investigating. that
corn and wheat can be hauled 10
market b. truck at cost of 5 cents
Der mile as against 30 20 40 cents
Der ton mile by horses. These ilg-
ures take into account time spent on
me road cost or horses feed ana
care and fuel, off. depreciation and
repairs for the truck.
n some localities a single farm err
viii utilize his truck for his own pro
duce. as well as his neighbor's. anc
h~ In position to make considcrao Die
prott from IT,
Various Types Adaptable to the Farm
The size and types Of trucks used
on the farm are as varied as can De
imagined There is a movement or
the part of manufacturers TO make
truck bodies that will answer thu
farmers requirements in many ways
Some Of the latest types are SO con
structed that in few minutes the!
cen be changed from one kind TO an
other For example, a COnVerlbi'
body with Stats. forming II rack TO
live stock can be made into ugh
grain bog body by simply folding tn
stats, or by opening the stats 1t CAT
be converted into a balloon frame To-
hauling hay This clever arrange
FntEH fIhNS bfaSA LII a. Nm 'NS
makers are considering the farmer>
needs.
Trucks bought to be operated sole
~ as rural express and freight car
riers are chosen for capacity an
Mower But with the farmer buyin
truck for all-around work on IN
farm the adaptability Of the true
must be considered From the ligh
truck up to the big iive-ton vehicle
The choice is made according to III
farmers needs and notions.
Actual Figures in Trnck
Transportation.
Below are some significant Stats
fics that show the growth of the rura
motor truck transportation idea
Last year Indianapolis received 4G+-
313 hogs shipped in by motor truck
The distance varied within maxi
mum limit OF eighty miles. Tn
trucks were Of all types from Ia
smallest built 10 the huge double
deckers And the number Of hog
shipped by truck exceeded the mum
Der shipped by railroad TOR the frs
;ime in history
st Joseph. Mo. received ia 1871
by motor truck 20.6S6 head II cattle
l21,l3s hogs and 81, 1877 sheep, Il
1913 the receipts were Is 043 hea'
Of cattle, 56,52s hogs ANA 3los
sheep.
Omaha also shows q marked IN
crease along the same lines. and a
Sioux City there is the same story
The farmer is shipping nv truck. An'
q the truck dealer knows that the bust
ness Of the future viii show large
and larger percentage of sales mad
IN rural districts. The conservative
estimate of So 600 trucks on the farm
made above Is preliminary survey
The complete census viii no doub
he nearer 70 80 GEO
Rank OF States In Number of
Trucks on Farms
New York leads the states witt
@l7I Iowa In second with ana
Pennsylvania IL a close third will
2.-S9 Then comes Nebraska with
2.7as The Southern states ranl
close 70 the front with the eXceptio.
e or Louisiana and Florida. Nevada
n the list Nevada Is credited with just
49, ~ IA M