PART-TIME FARMING 

 Table 44. — Means of conveyance to school. 



The teaching staff of all elementary schooLs within the areas covered 

 by this investigation was found to be of a high standard. With few 

 exceptions they were graduates of state normal schools, and some of them 

 had had considerable experience in teaching. 



High schools were found in only two towns in each area, and the 

 children from the towns without high schools attended those in the 

 nearest town or city. The average distance to high school for those 

 who attended was 3.4 miles in Lowell area and 3.S in Taunton area. Only 

 30 children in Lowell area and 13 in Taunton area were high school stu- 

 dents at the time of the investigation. (Table 4-5.) Education of child- 

 ren of foreign-born operators, except French Canadians, ordinarily ended 

 with the passing of the compulsory school age. 



Table 45. — Children of part-time farmers. 



Children at home 



Children under 12 



Children 12 and over 



Children in grammar school. 

 Children in high school 



Effect of Part-Time Farming on Health and Morale of Operators 

 and Their Families 



Of the various influences exercised by piirt-time farming, probably 

 the most outstanding is its effect on the character, health and morale 

 of operators and their families. According to the general testimony of 

 operators, the outdoor work has proved to be of great benefit to them 

 all. Most of the operators worked during the day in closed buildings, 

 and while many of them performed only light tasks, they found themselves 

 tired at the end of the day, often from tiie mere monotony of work around 

 machinery. 



Accordingly, a limited amount of outside work provided a desirable 

 change of activity as well as some exercise in the fresh air. The housing 

 in part-time farming, free from the overcrowded and unsanitary condi- 

 tions of city tenements, proved also to be an important factor in creating 

 a more healthful environment. Likewise, by consuming fresh vegetables 



