THE FARRIER'S STANDARD OF LIVING 43 
The average value of all goods used is distributed somewhat as 
might be expected among the principal groups of goods. Except for 
clothing and advancement the percentages that the average values of 
the principal kinds of goods form of the value of all goods used, re- 
main practically constant or vary only slightly with advanced age of 
the home maker. The percentage for clothing tends to increase 
slightly up to 45 to 49 years of age and again to decrease slightly 
with the higher age groups. Similarly the percentage for advance- 
ment goods shows a more pronounced although a less regular trend 
throughout the different age groups. 
As with the tabulation by number and ages of children per family 
the higher percentage for clothing is indicative of a tendency of the 
expenditures for clothing during the periods of increasing numbers 
and ages of children to cut into the expenditures for other goods, 
some of the less essential goods especially. The higher percentage 
for advancement appears to be an exception to the other nonessential 
goods. This is to be expected since the demands of the children for 
clothing and advancement are usually coordinate. 
The average value of goods purchased shows a more pronounced 
increase than does the average value of goods furnished by the farm, 
with advanced ages of the home maker to 40 to 44 years. The aver- 
age value of goods purchased also shows more pronounced decrease 
from 40 to 44 years to 65 years and over for the home maker. The 
percentage that the value of goods purchased forms of the value of 
all goods used remains almost constant or varies without regard to 
increased ages of the home makers. In comparison with the results 
of the tabulations by numbers and ages of children per family it 
should be recalled that goods furnished by the farm are primarily the 
more essential goods — food, house rent, and fuel — which, of course, 
are demanded by additional children of advanced ages, to within 
certain limits somewhere beyond the ages of 45 years of the home 
makers. 
Some allowance must be made for the inclusion in Table 13 of 
families supporting no children. With these families the trends of 
the percentages that the values of the different groups of goods form 
of the value of all goods would correspond in general with trends 
noted in the figures for the different level of living groups shown in 
Table 7. A limited summary of the data for the 249 families with no 
children (Table 12) gave indication of practically no difference in 
the average level of living for the 130 families with operators 50 
years of age and over and the 119 families with operators less than 
50 vears of age. Slight additional allowance should be made for the 
inclusion of a few families with home makers who are mothers, 
sisters, or daughters of the farm operators. 
The results of a tabulation by ages of all farm operators were 
practically the same as the results shown in Table 13 by ages of the 
home makers. There was evidence of a slightly less significant 
relation between ages of the operator and the average size of f amity. 
This was expected since the number of children per family and the 
ages of these children are usually coordinate with the child-bearing 
a^es of Tiome makers. 
