Report of Missouri Farmers' Week. 251 



This we must determine. This finishes, I believe, the purpose or 

 object of the farm home management work. 



As to the methods which we follow in carrying on this work, 

 it is briefly as follows : We get the farmer's wife to co-operate 

 with us in keeping these records. We supply her with the necessary 

 blanks, issue directions as to how to proceed, and work up the rec- 

 ords for her. We are thus able to compare the results obtained in 

 different farm homes. We have as our help in this work several 

 of the farmers' wives in our State. They have been helping us in 

 this work for some time, and through their suggestions we are 

 getting a great many things of value which will help us in making 

 this work easier and more efficient. The work was begun in 1911 by 

 Miss Bailey, who was then an assistant in this department. It was 

 started on a small scale, only three farm homes co-operating with 

 us at that time. In an effort to make this work more valuable, we 

 have at the same time been keeping some records of the conditions 

 in city homes. These two sides of the work will, it seems, give us 

 a good comparison of the different conditions, and will doubtless 

 give some very valuable information with regard to the importance 

 of the conveniences which the city wife has. The work is being 

 carried on again this year and we expect to continue it for some 

 time. We are not yet in position to give any results of this work, 

 as our information is somewhat too limited at the present time; 

 but with the co-operation of the farmer's wife in an effort to better 

 these conditions, both from an economical and from a social stand- 

 point, we believe that much value can be derived from this line of 

 work. If we can be of material aid in making the day for the farm- 

 er's wife shorter, in making it contain a little more recreation in 

 addition to the work which falls to her lot, in helping her to get 

 more conveniences in her farm home, in giving her the credit which 

 she deserves for her part in making of the farm profits, we will 

 consider that the work has been worth while and that we are fully 

 repaid for the efforts put forth in this direction. 



