RURAL HOUSING 333 



distance from the house. On some farms running water is piped 

 to the house, but these are exceptions. Bathrooms are yet rare 

 in general farming regions. In western New York, along the 

 lake shore, a considerable number of farmers are installing water- 

 supply and bathrooms, but outside of this section probably not 

 more than one in several hundred of the farms has a bathroom. 

 In one county less than one in 500 was found to be thus sup- 

 plied. The heat is nearly always provided by a kitchen stove, 

 and in colder weather often one additional stove is used. The 

 chief fuel is wood, but a considerable amount of coal is used in 

 winter, particularly for the second stove. The almost universal 

 system of lighting is with kerosene lamps, although acetylene 

 is used by a small number of farmers. Perhaps more persons 

 have acetylene for lighting than have bathrooms. The privy is 

 located largely by chance, so that it is often near the wells, but 

 in the great majority of cases it is not close enough to be a 

 serious menace to the water-supply. The fact that it is often 

 left open so as to provide a feeding-place and gathering-place 

 for flies is perhaps the greatest source of danger. 



All of the above discussion refers to the main house on the 

 farm. The houses occupied by hired help are usually smaller 

 and not in so good repair as are the farmhouses discussed above. 

 Probably tenant houses do not average more than five or six 

 rooms. The difference between them and the other house is 

 likely to be more striking in questions of repair than in actual 

 size. 



The change from old housing conditions to new is very grad- 

 ual. Perhaps it ought to be accelerated by having more atten- 

 tion given to the subject in public lecture and teaching work. 

 It is customary not to discuss personal questions so much as 

 crops and live-stock and commercial situations. If the farmer 

 lacks in some of the mechanical conveniences of city dwellers, he 

 gains in space to each person, light, outlook, storage place, room 

 to move, and ability to control his premises. If he were to add 

 more freely of mechanical conveniences and contrivances, his 

 conditions of housing would be enviable. We need now to have 

 as much ingenuity applied to housing conditions as has been 

 applied to farming practices. 



