47 
advisable to consider briefly the relation of the distance of the loca- 
tion of the farm family from the local trading* center, the church 
and the high school to the average value of goods used annually. 
With regard to each of these three institutions or agencies the 
records were classified on the basis of miles distant, into 10 groups. 
These groups started with less than 0.5 mile and continued with 1 
mile each to 8.5 miles and over. Average values of all goods and of 
the principal groups of goods were determined in each instance and 
the percentage distribution of the average value of all goods was 
ascertained. 
There was no apparent indication of relationship between the dis- 
tance from local trading center, the church, or the high school to the 
standard of living, as measured in terms of the value of goods used. 
Similarly there was no suggestion of relationship between distance 
from local trading center, church, or high school to the number of 
persons per family. 
It is probable that some minor relationships are obscured by the 
many other factors involved. The distances from trading center, 
church, and high school, as well as the distances from other institu- 
tions and agencies, may be worthy of further study, especially if a 
more satisfactory index of distance than miles can be found. 
FACTORS INVOLVING USE OF TIME AS AN ASPECT OF STANDARD OF LIVING 
Attention has already been called to the use of time as an aspect 
of the standard of living. In some respects the use of time, the hours 
of labor, and obversely the hours of leisure activities, per day, may be 
regarded as a better measure of the farmer's standard of living than 
the money value of goods used. The farm family is able to provide 
many of the essential goods of family living and to control many 
of its living conditions through a well-regulated use of time. 
Whether the farmer has only long days of constant labor, whether 
the home maker has a certain amount of leisure, and whether the 
farm boys and girls have an occasional half holiday on Saturday, are 
phases of the standard of living measured more easily in terms of 
hours than in terms of money. 
The value of family living furnished by the farm may depend 
largely upon the hours of labor spent by different members of the 
family on the farm garden, orchard, and lawn. The final decision 
of the question of whether the farm home is to have running water 
in the kitchen may involve a valuation of the home maker's time, as 
well as the money necessary to provide the machinery to force the 
water to the kitchen. Thus, the need for further consideration of 
the use of time in relation to the value of family living is clearly 
evident. Because of the lack of additional information, this con- 
sideration is limited to length of work day, hours of rest daily, and 
days of vacation annually by the farm operator and the home maker. 
LENGTH OF WORK DAY 
The average length of work day (excluding Sundays) for the 
operator and the home maker is determined from estimates of the 
time reported for beginning and for completing the day's work in 
summer and in winter. The hours from which this average was 
obtained start with the time of beginning work in the morning and 
end with the completion of chores or of household or other tasks in 
