Truck farming

“ The big thousand acre wheat land represents the loaf, but the vitamine of the vegetable is as necessary as bread to the modern table, keen on the chemistry of foods. The truck farms encompassing Winnipeg and doubly upheld by her home-tables and her pickle factories, stage an army of picturesque foreign-folk—Galicians, Russians, Ruthenians, Mennonites, Dutch—who have the art of truck-farming at their finger tips. ”

“ This industry may readily be combined with regular truck farming, as it furnishes remunerative employment during the winter months. A comparatively small area is necessary for the frames, but several times that acreage of land should be available, so that the site of the frames may be changed every few years to safeguard against diseases and insect injuries. ”

“ The latter raises a few highly specialized crops which he sells in gross, usually through a commission merchant. Truck farming has developed since 1860, in consequence of the growth of large cities, which require enormous supplies of vegetables of fairly uniform quality, and on account of the continuous demand for fresh vegetables as nearly as possible throughout the year. ”

“ It is held by some of the chief opponents of truck in Shetland that the land will be most profitably managed under a system of sheep farming, and that the fisheries also will be most productive if the fishermen are not dependent for a material part of their subsistence upon their crofts, but are stimulated by necessity to go to sea during the greater part of the year. ”

“ Forty to 60 per cent of our potato crop is lost each year by rotting in the ground owing to poor transportation to market because of inadequate transportation over long distance.... By motor trucks the farmer will be able to reach better markets farther away than now by horse and wagon. He will be able to spend more time actually producing on his farm and be able to sell food more cheaply by eliminating the present tremendous waste. By use of the motor truck the farmer will be able to produce more and sell at less cost. ”

“ Whether or not it pays for a farmer to own and operate a truck depends upon the size of the farm, kind and quantity of the commodities hauled, distance from market, character of the roads, and the loading on the back trip. A small farm could not be expected to furnish sufficient hauling to keep a truck busy unless intensively farmed and producing commodities which require frequent marketing. Even a small farmer, though, might by hauling for neighbors keep his truck reasonably busy. Or several neighbors may coöperate in the purchase of the truck and arrange how it shall be operated. ”

“ The need for the system of carrying goods to market without requiring men and teams is generally recognized by farmers and where production of the individual farmer has justified the purchase of a motor truck, the adoption has been very rapid during the past few years. On many farms, however, the quantity of production is not sufficient to justify the investment in a truck by the individual farmer if he must maintain his teams for farm power. ”

“ Pink and rose clouds drifted through a brightening sky as the Honeychile Bakery truck careened along a narrow road badly in need of rock and grading. From the road, the truck rattled into a rutted track through dewy woods and skidded swaying to a stop at the side of a long, low, grassy hill.
The tall creature dressed in black, red-spotted fur stepped from the cab. An opening appeared in the hillside. Four machines—dull metal eggs balancing on single tractor treads—rolled silently through the opening. Jointed steel arms darted from recesses in the eggs. One machine opened the truck doors. ”

“ Added to the increased loads of goods to be transported is the fact that man power must be conserved. Heretofore the farmer has done his own hauling to market, but adoption of the rural motor express will enable him to delegate his hauling and to devote his own time to farm operations. An enormous waste of time and labor of both men and teams can be prevented by consolidating the small loads from a number of farms into a single load to be carried by a motor truck. ”

“ It could be attached to a simple horse frame for transport into the fields. There the farmer would load his produce, and when the body was full it would be returned to the road, picked up by a crane attached to the tractor, swung on to its carriage and wheels, and taken away to join other cars. By making the bodies of such dimensions as to fit three into an ordinary railway truck, they could be entrained easily. On reaching their destination another tractor would lift them out, fit them to wheels, and trundle them off to the consumer. ”

“ The evils of the new system are usually as great as those of the all cotton system. Many farmers rush into the truck business. Of course, truck crops should be grown on every farm in the weevil territory, and, in some particular localities, they may constitute the main reliance for cash, but it seems that the truck business is a gamble for the average cotton farmer. Trucking has lured many a farmer to financial ruin.
The crop rotation for the average cotton farmer should include oats, corn, some cotton, and at least one leguminous crop. ”

“ These useful trucks are California inventions, and of the greatest importance to the grower. They are now made of [132] various sizes, but should never be over four feet wide, while three feet is even better, and their length should not exceed six feet. They are made to turn readily anywhere by having the front wheels or wheel movable, independently of the balance of the truck. By the aid of these trucks the grower can use horse labor in distributing his boxes and trays in the vineyard, even where the vines are planted so close that ordinary wagons cannot pass. ”

“ In this evolution will be found the money-making possibilities of investment in the motor tractor and the motor truck. Their adaptation to the smallest as well as the largest needs of the tiller of the land is now being assured.
With the horse, the farmers of the United States have been able to break up only 70 per cent of the cultivable land not in timber. There are over two hundred million acres of tillable land that have never felt the cold steel of a chilled plow. There are two hundred million more acres in timber that will, much of it, ultimately come under the plow. ”

“ The kind of bodies available should be studied, remembering that he may wish to haul grain on one trip, hogs or sheep on another, then cream and vegetables. He will want, probably, to haul back groceries, flour, feed, lumber, hardware, implements, fertilizer, cement, and gravel. In looking ahead he should estimate the increase in the quantity of hauling that more rapid transportation, the going to more distant markets, and the possible raising of different products which may come about through the owning of a truck, will bring to his farm. ”

“ As to fat cattle for market, after they are trained, they should not go a yard except by rail or steamboat. As to trucking store cattle, this must be regulated entirely by the season of the year and the weight of the cattle, &c. I have always had a reluctance to truck store cattle if I could possibly avoid it, not only for the expense, but for the risk incurred from dirty and infected trucks. I would recommend, if the cattle have a distance to travel in March, April, and May, and until they have been fourteen days at grass, that they should be trucked. ”

“ The results in benefit to the agriculture of the country in a general system of good roads, will be most felt through the facility it will give the farmer in marketing his products. With the aid of the motor truck, the farmer may be able to meet, in many cases, the congestion-of-freight-by-railroad problem.
Adding to its other benefits, the automobile promises to be an element in the reduction of the high cost of living, and if it does aid in this it will be in two directions, first, as a freight carrier, and, second, by displacing the horse. ”

“ Hundreds of farms were renovated, cleared of foul weeds, drained, and liberally manured. New vegetables were cultivated. Tomatoes, peas, rhubarb, and early potatoes rose into prime staples. Green corn has been taken from a single county to the extent of two thousand tons daily. Other products go to market by thousands of baskets at a time. Way-trains are run for the sole accommodation of this truck business, stopping every few miles to take in the waiting contributions collected at the stations. To both railroad and farmer it has proved a highly remunerating traffic. ”

“ There are almost innumerable tracts situated close to public highways, or where temporary roads can be built, which may be very serviceable during the summer months, giving ample time to clean up the timber before wet weather sets in. In such instances, road construction and maintenance costs are of very minor importance. In the larger operations and in the use of the motor truck as an auxiliary to railroad logging, there are many opportunities for the reduction of logging costs. ”

“ There is no doubt but that pneumatic-tire equipment, and to a lesser extent, the cushion-tire equipment will extend the average haul to 50 miles. Hard-surfaced roads will again extend it 25 to 50 miles, making a haul of 75 to 100 miles not uncommon.
A further effect of the truck and the ease of marketing which it will bring about is that hogs will be marketed in smaller quantities but oftener. The farmer instead of turning off his marketable animals twice a year will send them in four times a year, possibly monthly. The tendency will be to stabilize the market over the several seasons. ”

“ For passenger traffic roads these baby railroads would be as nothing. But for the handling of goods, particularly of farm produce, they would offer a rare opportunity. It is not every farmer that can afford to own a motor-truck; in fact if he were to do really sharp bookkeeping in regard to such a mechanism he would find that it is only the large farmer who really can afford its use, not alone from the point of view of the cost of its upkeep but also because of its “overhead.” ”

“ By the use of the trailer and the Government-made good roads the truck is able to haul logs of almost any length down from the logging grounds. Trucks and tractors are utilized in the forests, too, for snaking logs and pulling stumps. In places where the grades are steep or on the interior where the roads have not yet penetrated causeways have been built of timber; these usually being cross-ties, and under trussing across draws, with lengthwise planks for the wheels to run on and side planks or logs to keep the machine on the track. ”

“ Similarly, the hauling of raw materials and finished goods to and from the factories, warehouses, docks and railroads generated a tremendous volume of truck and dray traffic. Outside of the industrial areas, city dwellers depended on their streets for deliveries of coal, ice and groceries.
A typical 3-horse truck of the 1890’s weighed 7,000 pounds empty and could carry a 10-ton pay load, and horsedrawn trucks and drays capable of hauling 18-ton net loads were fairly common in large cities. These vehicles ran on steel tires which pulverized all but the hardest pavement surfaces. ”

“ He further claims that the truck is replacing the older means of transportation, dragging by horses and oxen, skidding down mountain sides, rafting upon rivers, not because it is cheaper but because the great stands of timber are gradually decreasing and the modern method of cutting only properly developed trees is coming into vogue. “Thus the logging industry has developed from one of independence to almost total dependence upon improved transportation facilities, with its consequent problems and expense.” ”

“ Since most people at that time were practicing fishing and oystering, no one believed that truck gardening could be successful. When my success became known, one after the other began to take it up until to-day Gloucester County has become a great trucking center.
What success I have had in land buying, soil improvement, home making, and education of my children may be credited to the extension service through its agents who have rendered me most valuable service for which I am deeply grateful. ”

“ A single swallow does not make a summer, but the trend is no doubt toward much longer truck trips. And as the roads and vehicles become stabilized and standardized this will be even more evident. For example, milk collected at stations 50 and 60 miles from the large cities can be hauled in to market in large tank cars which are built somewhat on the thermos or vacuum bottle principle, the milk arriving at its destination cooler and in every way better than if hauled in small containers. The truck has a large field open for its especial qualities. ”

“ In order to carry on the business of farming, 'implements of husbandry, plows, threshing machines, hay presser, etc.,' must be moved from one place to another. The same is true of machinery for water well drilling and highway construction. The uses of the highways for this sort of transportation are temporary only and essential to the public welfare.
The average distance traveled by trucks carrying property from points of origin to common carrier receiving points, or from common carrier unloading points to destination, is from four to eight miles; these hauls are universally short. ”

“ This method of logging in a small way will continue to be carried on by small operators who will haul only during three seasons of the year or even less. However, the big future for the motor truck for logging is in the larger tracts of timber where it would not pay to put in a railroad but where a good type of motor truck road can be built cheaply and loads as large as the truck can handle be carried with no road restrictions as to the weight. ”