176 



THE LEVEL AND COST OF LIVING 



Table 68. — Household furnishings and supplies, and tools- 

 Continued 



6. CONSUMPTION 



1 As calculated from the sample and corrected to take account of other 

 Information. 



' A .simple digit indicates the number reported purchased in a year. Where 

 there is a fraction, the numerator Indicates the number possessed, the de- 

 nominator, the number of years each one lasts. From the table it is not 

 possible to tell how many of an item a family possesses if that item lasts 

 less than a year; thus, a family buying 30 cooking pots in a year might (as 

 far as the table shows) have from 1 to 30 at any one time, 



' This is the only item of the table not purchased outside the community. 



Firewood has already been discussed; it is now 

 assumed that the 15 or 16 families buying most of 

 their firewood spend about $55 a year for it, and 



another $5 is paid for trees by other Indians. 

 Pitch pine is used to kindle the fire, but it is used 

 also to light the house and, more rarely, the way- 

 farer's path; almost all homes also use tin kerosene 

 lamps both in the kitchen and on the road. It 

 may be noticed that families 58 and 37 reported 

 using kerosene (for illumination) almost exclu- 

 sively, and only family 49 lights the kitchen with 

 pitch pine (but uses kerosene for night traveling). 

 The use of kerosene raises the cost of living, and in 

 the case of family 58 is probably an extravagance 

 that accompanies its more citylike ways. As far 

 as I know, candles are never used for lighting. 

 Together with incense, they are used ritually. 

 The matches included in table 68, 6 were used to 

 light cigarettes and cigars, and candles and incense, 

 as well as the kitchen fire; but the consumption 

 of matches for these other purposes is minimal, for 

 embers of the fire are used more frequently than 

 are matches. 



The total community expenditure, including 

 that for firewood, for kitchen and laundry supplies, 

 is seen to be $1,417.32. In comparison, the cost of 

 furnishings and utensils comes to $352.61; that of 

 tools connected chiefly with agriculture and mar- 

 keting, $216.77; weaving and sewing equipment 

 cost $28.40 (which might well be added to the cost 

 of clothing). According to the table, only $7.60 

 was spent on writing equipment. Family 58 

 has three literate members who like to vrrite 

 letters. There are few others in the community, 

 but letters are occasionally written for illiterates 

 by literate friends, and paper is furnished by the 

 letter writer. I have no specific information on 

 the school expenses of pupils, but I doubt that 

 any exist. The few supplies and books are, I 

 believe, furnished by the central Government. 



Diff"erences among the three sample families are 

 not very great, if one leaves out of account No. 

 37 's prorated expenses for technical equipment. 

 Most of the expenses listed do not increase pro- 

 portionally with the increase in the size of the 

 family. Soap, firewood, blankets, and dishes are 

 the most striking exceptions, and they account in 

 large part for differences in the expenditures of 

 the three families. Family 37's higher expenses, 

 if his reporting is correct, probably reflect in part 

 a higher standard of living with greater per capita 

 wealth, and in part his progressiveness and vari- 

 ety of business interests. 



