90 ECONOMIC CONDITION OF THE FARMER 



and secure a job (or a " position") yielding him wages (or "salary"). 

 The above statement of income makes no allowance for the rent 

 of the house which the farmer occupies or for the garden truck 

 and general farm produce which he consumes at his table. This 

 fact must be borne in mind when comparing " labor income" on 

 the farm and labor income in the city. The value of the house and 

 garden is very difficult to determine with any approach to accuracy. 

 In Farmers' Bulletin, 635, the Federal Department of Agriculture 

 has attempted to find the value of the farm-grown foods consumed. 



What the Farm Contributes. The Farmers' Bulletin, 635, con- 

 sidered the interesting subject of what the farm contributes directly 

 to the farmer's living. If it were not for those products, says this 

 bulletin, contributed by the farm without any actual cash expendi- 

 ture, a great many farmers would not have a comfortable living. 

 Extensive investigations relative to the profits in farming indicate 

 that the average labor income of the farmer probably differs little 

 from ordinary farm wages, but in addition to this he has the 

 " products" contributed by the farm. Statistics were secured by 

 means of a house-to-house canvass among 483 families living in 

 ten states. An earnest effort was made to get a faithful estimate 

 of the amount which the farm itself contributed. The conclusion 

 was reached that the average annual price of food, fowl, oil and 

 shelter actually consumed by our farmers was $595.08, of which 

 $421.17 was furnished by the farm and the balance purchased. 

 The " family ration" varies not only with the season of the 

 year, but also from state to state. The consumption of cereals 

 varies with the fancies of the individual families. Approximately 

 one head of poultry per month for each person is the average for 

 all sections. Each person consumes annually 3.1 bushels of apples. 

 In the southern states more sweet potatoes than Irish potatoes 

 are used. The average consumption per person for all sections 

 is 5.7 bushels of Irish and one bushel of sweet potatoes. For those 

 sections not using sweet potatoes, the average consumption of 

 Irish potatoes is 7.3 bushels per person. The house labor is per- 

 formed chiefly by members of the family, only 4 per cent being 

 hired. The average annual value of this labor is $203 per family. 



Comparison With City Incomes. The farmer's "labor income" 

 has been found in many different States, under many varying 

 conditions, by means of the "survey" method. These surveys 

 omit certain very definite and tangible parts of the farmer's income, 

 such as his garden produce, and also omit, as imponderable, what 

 may be termed his psychic income. It must be borne in mind in 



