eet ee ee ee 
26 BULLETIN 1214, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
per cost-consumption unit is complicated, making it highly desirable 
to determine whether or not some other figures, indicative of the 
standard of living may prove to be satisfactory for general use. 
With this object in view test comparisons were made with success 
of the farm business, measured by size of farm, capital invested, 
and amount of work accomplished on the farm; with the values of 
the house and of its furnishings; and with several more personal 
or social factors, such as education and the support given to religious 
organizations. The success of the farm business has been measured 
in many areas during the last 15 years; the other items are ob- 
jectively simple and easy to measure. The results of the test com- 
parisons for barnatine County are given in Tables 11 te 22, inclusive. | 
These results are variable, but nevertheless show something of the 
relation between the standard of living and the specified factors of 
farm life. 
SUCCESS OF FARM BUSINESS. 
In considering the standard of living among farm families, one of 
the first questions is the relation of that standard to the success of 
farm business. Obviously the business must be successful enough 
to provide for more than the absolute necessities of life if the general 
standard of living is to be raised; but it does not necessarily follow 
that the more successful the business the more nearly the standard 
of living approaches the ideal. Nearly every community contains 
examples of families who with less money to spend manage to obtain 
more comfort and personal satisfaction and who are considered more 
valuable members of society than some of their neighbors with 
larger means. It would be of interest if the figures from the present 
study could be used to show what relation success in the farm busi- 
ness bears to the value of the living enjoyed by the family and also 
to the importance placed on the less essential and tangible goods, such 
as are included under advancement. Figures showing this relation 
are given in Tables 11, 12, and 13. 
TABLE 11.—Relation of number of acres operated during the year ended March 1, 1919, 
to average total household expenditures and the proportion thereof devoted to advancement, 
among 402 farm families, Livingston County, N. Y., for the year ended September 1, 
1921. 
Total household expenditures per 
cost-consumption unit. 
Average number 
Number of farms. of acres oper- 
ated per farm. 
Devoted to ad- 
; vancement. 
Number of acres operated. % 8 
' ‘ . 1 U . a a e 1 ‘ & 
ny na n 
glg2 als(2 e124 lela 
2 45 = n 4” i Set ae ; ies . 
se\e2/ 8 [sglee)8 13) 8 18) 88|4! és 
ea ke es | Behe fees oe ut Semi 
o Je 216018 4990S OG) Boob isg 6) OOo et a 
Dolls.|Dolls.| Dolls.| P.ct.| P.ct.| P.ct. 
ToOSS PUA OO Is eo ews 30 2 32 28 43 448 473 449 | 14.5 | 14.3 14.5 
3) 1) 0) a-Si 80 13 93 69 76 70 | ~ 623 483 518 | 15.6 | 11.4 15.0 
TOO TOW49 tious culture oes 91 37 128 121 128 123 Bb2 {ve 628i rh 6451) 18.7) pd b28 17.9 
PHOTO ON hose tas Laci varis 51 19 70 166 173 168 637 666 645 | 18.8 | 21.7 19.6 
PaO TO mee wes Gt Sts. SES tad 33 24 57 239 247 242 | 699 656 | 681 | 20.7 | 17.3 19.3 
B00 andover:. is tec.ce-eecte 10 12 22 388 | 422 406 762 | 823 795 | 18.9 | 27.6 VA Fe 
Totelecsel jLesticks 295 107 403 \ieneisisen Leah Sztableorare [23 oc ulcer | eet (eee 
