Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1915-01-13
Iowa Farmer lives We'll.

his Is HlSHer lHdl dIay OI tue liz :
Tres obtained by similar surveys in
New York. Vermont, Pennsylvania.
Wisconsin, Kansas, Ohio, Georgia,
North Carolina and TexasA The gener-
al average for all the areas studied was
$176. If we judge by the money value
Of the things at his disposal this means
that the farmer in the Iowa area lived
better than elsewhere He ate the
most food and burned next to the most
fuel. the most work was done in his
house to add to his comfort and the
house itself was exceeded In value only
by those in New York and OHIO.
Only a small part OF what he had
was paid for in money, in the case Of
the house labor for example, no more
than 1 per cent, the rest being per-
formed by members of the family. Had
they done this work for somebody else,
however, they would have been paid
for it. and If it had been performed by
somebody else they would have had to
pay. In other words this labor has a
cash value, and since it adds to the
comfort Of the family, must be includ-
ed in the revenue from the farm.
Must Pay House Rent.
The charge for rent must be consid-
cred in much the same way. The value
OF the farm house is usually included
| in the value of the land, and the whole
regarded as the capital which the far
| mer has invested in his business II
! this is done. however, 1t is only fair
to credit the farm with having fur
nished its occupants with shelter,
which, as every city worker knows has
a high cash value. On the Iowa farms
included in the investigation, the aver
age annual value Of this shelter-in
other words. the house rent, was esti-
mated at $158 year. figure which in
Guided interest, depreciation and re-
pairs.
The great factor in the cost OF main
tanning life, however is food OF this
! the average family in the Iowa area
had $443.71 year, or $105.67 for each
person. The consumption Of food per
person was the largest of any Of the
areas but If the family be taken as the
unit. Kansas. Texas and Georgia rank
higher. Sixty-seven per cent Of the
food was home grown, the rest pur-
chased. This compares favorably with
the general average for all the areas
OF sixty-three and In this respect Iowa,
like Kansas and Ohio. stands midway
between such extremes as New York,
where the farm produced only half the
food consumed upon it and North
Carolina, where the average family
spent only SLIPS on food in the entire
year.
Farm Furnishes Large Part Of Food.
From these and other figures in
Farmers Bulletin 635. What the Farm
Contributes Directly to the Farmers
Living" 1t appears that the Iowa far
mer did so well largely because of the
animal products his farm furnished his
table with. They formed in value 81
per cent Of his diet--a greater percent
age than in any other state-and only
4.3 per cent Of them were bought. On
the other hand the vegetable garden
was badly neglected. Altho vegetables
formed II per cent of the diet-about
the usual proportion IN other areas as
well-only Al per cent were homez
grown. This Is extraordinary for the
consumption OF vegetables rs usually
determined by the extent OF the home
supply. In Georgia for example they
formed 17.2 per cent of the food supply
and 80 per cent were home grown. But
for some reason the Iowa man who
supplied his family abundantly with
animal products from his own place,
preferred to buy his vegetables.
What he did raise, however, he
raised in plenty. The average man in