The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1915-01-02

1F II.
anu ifuit oniy 90. rracricaily all OF
the groceries were bought on the
other hand the quantity of fruits and
vegetables used was in direct produc-
ton to the quantity raised on the
farm and where this quantity was
great the grocery bill was correspond
ingly low. This was also found to be
true of animal products, including, OF
course, not only butchers meat, but
poultry, eggs, milk, cheese, etc. Where
these were abundant on the farm few.
er groceries were purchased. Since
the grocery bill was found to be ordi
nariy twothirds of the entire amount
expended in cash for food one very
obvious and effective way of econo-
MIXING appears to be to raise more
vegetables, more fruit, more milk and
eggs. In many cases, experts say,
this can be done with no appreciable
increase In trouble or expense.
Next to food, shelter is probably the
most important necessity Of life. In
considering the farmers income, how
ever, a common error in the past has
been to ignore the question of house
rent. The value of the house has
usually been included in the value of
the land and the whole considered as
capital invested on which interest
must be paid before the farmer can
, be regarded as receiving any pay at
all. This method, however, assumes
that the farm family is to have shell
ter for NOTTINGHAM assumption which
the city worker with whom it is not
unusual to pay out from one-third to
one-fourth of his entire wages for
rent alone would regard as most as
tonishing.
According to the recent investiga.
tons, il the average farmer had to
pay rent, his home would cost him
Sl25 a year This figure represents
ten per cent of the value of the aver.
age house. Including interest, depre,
citation and repairs, this is regarded
as a fair rental charge for the class of
houses usually found on the farm
With the information at their COM
mand, the investigators were also in a
position to compute the average cost
of board and lodging on the farm In
this they included an item very easily
forgotten-the value of the house
work performed by members of the
family. This was reckoned on the
basis of the wages that would have
had to be paid for hired assistance
Including this with the more obvious
charges for food, fuel, light and rent,
it was found that board and lodging
for each individual averaged $14.62
a month But of this sum, it is inter
esting to note, the farmer paid out
in cash only % per cent. Exclusive
of lodging the board of the average
hired man cost $40 a month, but here
again the farmer had only to pay So
The remaining 81 was furnished by
the farm as a result presumably OF
the hired mans own efforts.
The averages obtained as the re
suit of this investigation are not OF
course to be taken as mathematically
exact for the entire country. In the
opinion of agricultural experts, how
ever, they point with convincing EN-
phasls to the possibilities Of comfort
and prosperity that may be realized
by a fuller utilization of all the farms
. resources. Cash crops are not thu
sole, and on the average they are no
even the chief source of real income
. It is really what the farm furnishes
, directly to the farmer that enable
him to support his family. To in
crease the quantity and quality of thii
direct supply is one great object o
farm management studies.