CONSUMPTION 9 



ing, carelessness about prices faults which would ruin a mer- 

 chant prevail in our housekeeping." Can you explain why it is 

 that such a condition has come about ? Does the rural situation in 

 this regard show peculiarities of its own ? How can the situation be 

 remedied ? 



4. "Formerly the family was the unit in large measure for pur- 

 poses, both of producing and consuming goods. Production has been 

 organized on the basis of a new unit the business enterprise and the 

 new unit proved vastly more efficient than the old. But as a unit 

 for consuming goods, for spending money, the family has remained 

 substantially where it was in colonial days. We have not developed 

 a large, more efficient unit for spending money." Is the rural family 

 even more closely attached to the family system than the town 

 family? How might efficiency in buying be brought to the rural 

 family ? Does domestic-science training operate in this direction ? 

 Does co-operative organization ? 



5. "The trouble with the farmers of this country is that they 

 haven't got hold of the tremendous power of advertising. They com- 

 plain of the railroads and the middleman, but what they need to do 

 to move their product out at good prices is to get hold of the con- 

 sumer through clever advertising. You can sell anything if you adver- 

 tise it properly." Does such a statement apply without limitation? 

 Was the writer probably thinking of wheat and cotton ? Of what 

 classes of goods? Point out the precise results which advertising 

 does bring about. 



ADDITIONAL REFERENCES 



Mitchell, "The Backward Art of Spending Money," American Economic 

 Review, II, 269. 



Cherington, "The Ability of the Consumer to Defend Himself," in 

 Materials for the Study of Elementary Economics, p. 374. 



Langworthy, " Eggs and Their Value as Food," Bulletin 471, U.S. Department 

 of Agriculture. 



, "Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, and Other Starchy Roots as Food," 



Bulletin 468, U.S. Department of Agriculture. 



Holmes and Lang, "Fats and Their Economical Use in the Home," Bulletin 

 46 q, U.S. Department of Agriculture. 



Atwater, "Food Values and Uses of Poultry," Bulletin 467, U.S. Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture. 



TOPICS FOR SPECIAL PAPERS 



Independent Standards of Consumption for the Rural Community. 

 Learning How to Spend Wisely. 

 Educating the Consumer of Farm Products. 



A Criticism of Domestic Expenditures in . 



An Efficient Standard of Living for the Farmer. 



