40 BULLETIN" 1466, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
The proportion of the total value of all goods devoted to rent 
decreases rather regularly with an increase in the number of children 
from one to six or more. The proportions of the total value of all 
goods devoted to other purposes remain about the same or vary with 
little or no regard to the number of children per family. 
The number of rooms per house remains almost constant regard- 
less of the number of children per family. Similarly, the average 
rental value charged for use of the farm house remains about the 
same or decreases only slightly with the increased number of persons 
per family. This accounts for the decrease in the percentage that 
rent is of the value of all goods used, whereas the total value of 
all goods used is higher with the larger families. 
The percentages that the value of all goods and of food and opera- 
tion goods furnished by the farm and purchased form of the value 
of all goods and of all food and all operation goods remain almost 
constant or vary without regard to an increase in the number of 
children per family. This is not in accord with the results of aver- 
ages by the ten $300 groups of all family living shown in Table 7, 
except food. With an increase in the average value of all goods 
used, from less than $600 to $3,000 and over, the percentage that the 
value of family living furnished by the farm is of all family living 
decreases from 55.6 to 31.7. At the same time the percentage that the 
value of food furnished by the farm is of the value of all food 
remains about the same or varies only slightly with little regard 
to the value of all goods. Consequently the increase in the per- 
centage for all goods furnished is due primarily to the decrease 
in the percentage of operation goods furnished, from 42 per cent 
of the total for families using less than $600 worth of goods to 11.3 
per cent of the total for families using $3,000 and more worth of 
goods. 
Apparently then, the tendency of the percentage for operation 
goods and thus the percentage of all goods furnished by the farm 
to remain constant with an increase in the number of children per 
family is due to certain limitations on the value of food, as effected 
by quantities and varieties in contrast with fewer limitations on 
the value of foods and other goods which were obtained by pur- 
chase. As with the percentage that the value of all food is of all 
goods used, food seems to cut into the less essential goods to a greater 
degree with the larger families than with the families using the 
higher average values of goods regardless of the number of children 
supported per family. 
AGES OF CHILDREN 
The average value of goods used and the distribution of this value 
among the principal groups of goods for several age periods of the 
children for families supporting different numbers of children are 
shown in Table 12. Age periods for the 347 families supporting one 
child and the 332 families supporting two children are taken arbi- 
trarily as to 5 years, 6 to 11 years, 12 to 18 years, and 19 or more 
years. Age periods for the families of 3, 4, 5, and 6 or more children 
were placed arbitrarily at to 11 years and 12 or more years. The 
