HOW THE COTTON FARMER LIVES 225 



was found on 40 per cent of the farms and only 14 per 

 cent had over two. These people have meager wants, but 

 their wants exceed or equal their income. The average 

 annual expenditure of each family for books, magazines, 

 recreation, amusements, education, and religion was $24 

 per year. It was almost equaled by the purchase of their 

 only luxuries, $15 per year for tobacco and snuff. Thirty- 

 four per cent of the families live in houses of only one 

 thickness of lumber. Their wants would be even more 

 scantily supplied but for the fact that 90 per cent of 

 the housewives have cheap sewing machines and make 

 part of the clothing for the family. The exodus of young 

 people from these farms is increasing. Forty-seven per 

 cent of owners' children who have grown up had left 

 the farm to go into some other occupation besides agri- 

 culture. However, only 29 per cent of the croppers' chil- 

 dren leaving home have deserted agriculture. The Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture estimates that there are perhaps 

 100,000 families along the border of the old Cotton Belt 

 who live no better than those of Gwinnett County. 32 



Even lower levels of living were found for Negro farm- 

 ers in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Texas. 33 Six hundred 

 eleven dollars and ten cents was found to represent the 

 living of an average family of 4.8 people. Of this amount 

 $239.70 was furnished by the farm and $371.40 pur- 

 chased. The following table shows how the expenditures 

 were distributed: 



82 Dept. of Agriculture Press Release, April 11, 1927. 



33 Dept. of Agriculture Preliminary Report, Press Release, Jan., 



1925. 



