VALUE OF FOOD, FUEL, AND USE OF HOUSE. 3 



A study of this kind is merely indicative in nature; no two families 

 are alike in their tastes or financial ability to purchase what is most 

 desired. Weather and other conditions limit the quantity and 

 quahty of products furnished by the farm for family use. The 

 average of a large number of f amUies is thus the best measure of the 

 consumption per person or per family of food and fuel and the pro- 

 portion of these furnished by the farm. 



The data were obtained by the survey method, the enumerators 

 being experienced men trained in that particular line of work. Few 

 families keep an account of expenditures for household purposes or a 

 record of products taken from the farm for house use; but careful 

 questioning enables the enumerator to secure fairly accurate data. 



REGIONS STUDIED. 



Data were collected in 10 different are as in the year 1913. The three 

 cotton-growing areas visited were in Gaston County, N. C; Troup 

 and Meriwether Counties, Ga.; and McLennan County, Tex. The 

 types of agriculture in the North Carolina and Georgia areas were 

 fairly similar, cotton and corn being the main crops. In the Texas 

 area, however, a definite rotation of com, oats, and cotton is fol- 

 lowed. Farming is here done more extensively. The annual rain- 

 fall is considerably less than in the other two cotton-growing areas 

 visited. Cloud County and Montgomery County, both important 

 corn-growing districts, were selected for the work in the States of 

 Kansas and Iowa, respectively. The chief crops grown in the 

 Kansas area are corn, wheat, and alfalfa, though some farmers raise 

 only corn and aKalfa. A series of dry years has discouraged the 

 growing of all but a few vegetables. In the Iowa area the agriculture 

 is more divei'sifi.ed, considerable oats and wheat being grown. Hog 

 raising is an important industry in both these sections. The Jefferson 

 County, Wis., area is wholly a dairy section. The money crops 

 raised are oats and barley. Considerable pure-bred Holstein and 

 Guernsey five stock is raised here. General farming is the prevailing 

 type in Champaign County, Ohio, and in Bucks County, Pa. Corn, 

 oats, wheat, and hay are the principal crops, with small dairies on 

 many of the farms. In Otsego County, N. Y., and LamoUle County, 

 Vt., dairying is the chief enterprise. The growing seasons here are 

 appreciably shorter than in any of the other areas. 



In 1914 more specialized sections in New Jersey, Maine, North 

 Dakota, and California were visited. The New Jersey area ui 

 Gloucester County was distinctly market gardening or trucking. 

 Much of the produce was hauled by the fanner to Philadelphia, a 

 distance of about 10 miles, affording a good opportunity to buy house- 

 hold supplies. Vegetables and fruits were raised in great variety. 



