THlv CONDITIONS OF RURAL LIFE 



73 



Table III. —Families of agricultural labourers not fed by employers. 

 Proportional distribution of elements of incomes. 



Number 



of 

 members 

 oJ a family 



2 



3 

 4 

 5 

 6 



7 



8 and 

 more 



Number 



of families 



visited 



Proportion per loo francs of total income 



Father's 

 earnings 



Motlier's 

 earnings 



Children's 

 earnings 



Other 

 income 



Relief 



Total 



1 00.0 

 1 00.0 

 lOO.O 



1 00.0 

 1 00.0 

 1 00.0 



lOO.O 



1 00.0 



These proportions do not differ from those established by the enquiry 

 in the case of industrial workers. 



§ 3. Methods of emploving income. 



As regards the employment of incomes it would have been impossible 

 to make out for each household an annual complete and detailed budget 

 of expenses. It was necessary to limit enquiry to expenses of certain ca- 

 tegories as to wliich it was possible, simply by questioning those interested, 

 to obtain sufficiently approximate numerical data admitting of verifica- 

 tion. Costs of rent, taxes, insurance and the various subscriptions paid to 

 syndicates, to mutual societies or as provision for retirement are easily 

 determined. To calculate the cost of food is more difficult : indications as 

 to a week's consumption have been collected and thus it has been possible 

 not indeed to draw precise conclusions as to the exact importance of the 

 cost of food in the annual budget, but to deduce general data as to the 

 variation of expenses when conditions of households are modified. A spe- 

 cial place in the question form was reserved for spirits consumed away from 

 home 



As in studying incomes we will leave out entirely landowning agri- 

 culturists who are largely supported by food they grow themselves. 



i) Cost of food. — The reasons which make it difl&cult to determine 

 conditions of ife among agricultural labourers much diminish the value 

 of the data as to cost of food collected by the enquiry. However by in- 

 cluding only households which apparently produce for themselves only 

 the vegetables grown in their gardens, it has been possible to draw up Table 



