62 



4,235 calories of energy, would certainly seem to be ample. The 

 famil}^ in study No. 22a also kept a store, but it Avas looked after by 

 the woman during the day, while the man was away at work. In 

 this case also the diet with 147 grams of protein and 4,493 calories of 

 energy would seem to be more than sufficient, unless the man was 

 eno-aoed in hard work. In the notes concerning the family in study 

 No. 18a it was stated that one room of the house was used as a tailor 

 shop. If tailoring was the occupation in this case, the diet, which fur- 

 nished 115 grams of protein and 3,615 calories of energy, was certainly 

 sufficient. One of the two women who comprised the family in study 

 No. 11a was a washerwoman. If steadily employed she would doubt- 

 less require considerably more food than the average woman; but it 

 would hardly be expected that the diet for the two women would need 

 to average 1ST grams of protein and 4,716 calories of energy per man 

 per day as found in this study. 



Two faults, then, are quite generally evident in these studies. There 

 was a tendency to buv too much where there was sufficient money, 

 and the prices paid for nourishment were considerably higher than Avas 

 necessary. 



One reason for the expensiveness of the diet was found in the way 

 the families lived. Since they had no regular incomes they could not 

 purchase their food materials in quantities, but bought their provisions 

 only on the day they w^ere used and only as much as was needed at the 

 time. Such method of purchasing materials in small quantities is 

 always more expensive than buying in larger amounts. 



Furthermore, almost every one of the families in the Philadelphia 

 studies bought groceries and provisions at the small corner stores so 

 common in that city, rather than at the larger markets where the 

 goods could be obtained much cheaper. For instance, the small corner 

 g-rocery in the vicinity of the settlement charged 5 cents a pound for 

 flour, while the best flour could be had at a larger store a little farther 

 away for 3^ cents, even in small quantities. The only butter for sale 

 at the small store cost 40 cents a pound, while good butter could l)e 

 purchased at a market two blocks away for 28 or 30 cents. At the 

 same market cuts of meat like neck and shm could be obtained for 

 3i and 4 cents a pound which at the smaller store cost 6 cents. ^Nlilk 

 in small quantities cost not less than 8 cents a quart. 



Not only were the food materials sold at the small store generally 

 higher in price than could be obtained elsewhere, but the majority of 

 them in the poorer quarters of the city were of inferior quality. 



One article which had considerable efi'ect upon the cost of the diet- 

 aries, because it was used so generally and in such large quantities, was 

 bread. Bakers' bread was used by about half of the families. The 

 so-called pound loaf sold by the bakers weighed usually more than 

 that— on an average about 1^ pounds. The loaves were about a third 



