SHALL I BE A FARMER? 23 



other regions is usually a little cheaper in large cities than 

 in the small town where the farmer makes his purchases. 



One of the chief reasons why living may be cheaper on 

 the farm is because the farmer can live his own life. If he 

 has money to spend, he can find ways of disposing of it. 

 If he needs to economize, he can do so. In the city the 

 standard of living is not so flexible. One of the chief 

 reasons for the high cost of living in cities is the effort 

 to live as other people do. The custom of using all the 

 salary as fast as it comes is so general that it is hard to 

 resist the pressure. The farmer sees fewer cases of ex- 

 pensive living. He is much freer to economize. 



18. Products furnished by the farm. Table 1 gives 

 the average quantity of products furnished by the farm 

 on 106 farms in northern Livingston County, New York, 

 as found by H. N. Kutschbach. This is one of the most 

 diversified farming sections in the United States as well 

 as one of the most prosperous. The diversity of farm 

 products as well as the prosperity makes the quantity 

 used in the house very large, probably at least twice as 

 large as the average for the country. 



The average number of members of the family living 

 at home was 4.2. The average number per family, 

 including hired help boarded, was 5. These families are 

 considerably larger than the average, again indicating 

 a prosperous region. The total value of food furnished by 

 the farm averaged $249 per farm. In the same year it 

 is probable that this same food would have cost $350 in 

 nearby cities if bought in quantities, and it might have 

 cost $500 in small lots. It must be remembered, however, 

 that in few farming sections is so much furnished by the 

 farm, and that about one- fifth of this was used for boarding 

 hired help. 



