The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1941-01-09
Consumer Notes
Issued Weekly by Consumers
Counsel Division, A. A. A.
Washington, D. c.
The Consumer Helps The Farmer

"How much consumers contribute
to farm welfare rests on their ability
to buy farm products" declares Don
aid E. Montgomery, Consumers Coun
sci of the U. S. Department of Agri-
culture, in his annual report just made
public.
"Great differences exist between
per capita consumption of upper
and lower-income families. Undercon-
sumption of foods by the latter is per-
haps the most serious of farm prob
lens. If all families could enjoy free
ly chosen diets of kind that could
be rated good nutritionally, con-
sumers would need Is to 20 per cent
more dairy products, 35 per cent more
eggs, and 70 to 100 per cent more of
citrus fruits and certain vegetables.
The ability of the majority of con-
sumers to buy the farm products they
need hinges not only upon their IN
comes, but upon their ability to pur-
chase these products at lowest pos
sible cost. Food expenditures are the
most necessitous in their cost of llv-
ing. In 1856, the lowest third of
American consumers spent so per cent
of their income for food, but even
with that outlay they contributed only
IS per cent to the Nations total of
food purchases. Forty-tive million
consumers, it is estimated, were get
ting diets that were below the safety
line for good nutrition and protection
of health.
Farmers have another stake in con-
sumer welfare, their own consumer
interest. They are food consumers,
too. Not only does the average farm
family's expenditures for living pur-
poses account for more than half of
it's total outlay for living and pro-
ductive operations, but, as with the
city family, its expenditure for pur-
chased foods is the largest single item
in the budget. Sixteen per cent of
the total outlay of the average farm
is estimated to have been spent for
purchased food in 1885, Second to
food was purchased clothing which ac-
counted for 9 per cent, followed by
feed, seed, and fertilizer purchases ac-
counting for 8 per cent Like city
families again, farm consumption of
many kinds Of foods would be much
greater if all farm families were able
to enjoy a diet above the safety line
About 25 per cent of the non-relief
farm families do not enjoy that diet
If they did, they would consume each
year, among other things, half bill
lion gallons more Of milk, nearly a
billion pounds more Of tomatoes and
citrus fruits, and 212 billion pounds
more of various vegetables.
Check Up On Furniture Joints
Framework of all furniture has
Joints where legs, arms, body, and re
inforcements are fastened together. Ii
the very lowest grades Of furniture
these joints will be merely nailed to
gether, with perhaps a dab of glue
put on to keep the piece in place
That sort of construction is worth
less.
Then you will find pieces secured
only with screws. This construction
is a distinct improvement over nails
but still represents a definite risk
no matter at what price you buy it.
There are kinds Of joints Whlcl
really meet most standards of goo'
furniture construction. The first klnt
is the mortise and t"non.
To get the simplest picture of
mortise and tenon joint, place th
knuckle of the middle finger Of you
right hand between the knuclieS o
the third and fourth fingers of you
left hand and when this type of join
fits perfectly, and proper glue i
used, the chances of the joint glVlnl
way are slim.
The second kind of wcll-constructc'
Joint is called the dowel. The dove
is nothing more than wooden pes
used to join pieces Of wood togethe
which have previously been drillcC
with openirg SIS the exact size of th
peg. Both the holes and dowcIs ar
swabbed with glue, and the doWcl in
serted. The best kind Of dowcl ha
spiral and longitudinal grooves Gu
into it to reinforce It's hold. A stce
dowel-whch is "A kind of ovcr-slze'
nail-should be avoided.
There are schools Of thought OF
this feature of piece Of furniture
one favoring the dowel construction
the other the mortiSc and tcnon. BOtl
types, properly used, mean goot
workmanship in furniture, and in ;
well-made piece you often find then
, in combination. Sometimes screws ART
used to reinforce them, in which cast
the screws do not mean chcapenct
construction.
On The Air
You will learn all about potatoes
how to Judge them, what varieties Il
buy, what their food value is, if yol
tune in to CONSUMER TIME, wcckl,
radio broadcast for consumers, OF
Saturday morning, January II, a
1l:l5 A. NJ, Eastern Standard Time
Consumer reporters ON the pro
gram, telling Of results Of research b!
experts in the Department Of Agrl
culture, will, in addition, bring listen