134. 



MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 266 



Table 35. — Distribution of part-time farming enterprises by farm income. 

 Lowell Area Taunton Area 



Farm income Number Per cent Number Per cent 



Under $100 5 lt.3 '4 U 



sSlOO— 199 4.3 374 23 274 



200—299 23 20.0 10 11.9 



300— .399 22 19.1 13 15 5 



400— 499 11 9.6 S 9.5 



500or over.. . . 11 9.6 26 31.0 



Total 115 100.0 84 100.0 



been somebody at boine to take care of tbeni in tlie absence of the head 

 of the family. 



On the basis of information obtained in the investigation, an estimate 

 was made of the total time spent in farming operations, and the pro- 

 portion contributed by each member of the family.' (Table 36.) The 

 contribution of working time I)y children was less in Lowell area than 

 in Taunton area, due partly to the fact tiiat in seasonal part-time farming 

 enterprises, which were more prevalent in the latter area, the work of 

 school children could be utilized more fully in the summer time. In 

 Lowell area, with the enterprises specialized in keeping poultry and live 

 stock, and demanding a more or less uniform amount of working time 

 throughout the year, the wives contributed a larger percentage of the 

 total labor. Barring a few exceptional cases, tlie work in part-time farm- 

 ing enterprises was not burdensome to the wives and children, and was 

 generally performed by them witii considerable interest and willingness. 



Tahle 36. — NI^•MBER of iiouks devoted to part-ti.-me fakming by ^ie.-mbers of 



THE family- -A\ERAGE I'KR ENTERPRISE. 



Operators 



Wives 



Children 16 years old and over. 



Children under 16 



Others 



Total 



*Expressetl in adult (•qui\-ak'nt iniit; 



Average Return per Hour of Labor 



As shown in Tal)le 37, the average return ])cr liour of labor for all 

 jiart-time farming enterprises was liiiiher in Taunton area than in Lowell 

 area, due partly to the difference in the tyi)cs of farming. The opera- 

 tors in Taunton area specialized in the growing of vegetables and straw- 



' The work of women and children was expressed in adult male eciuivalent units on 

 the basis of a table published by L. F. Garby in the University of ^Minnesota Farm 

 Management Manual, 1925. 



