Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 2.djvu/695

 LE PLAY METHOD OF SOCIAL OBSERVATION 679

(3) clothing; (4) moral needs, recreations, and the care of health; (5) industries, debts, taxes, and insurance. Here also expenses in money and in kind must be distinguished. It fur- nishes thus a means of checking the budget of receipts. The mechanism of this budget is simple, and the headings under each section may be increased if found necessary. Under the heading Cereals, e.g., should be placed bread, rice, oatmeal, mac- aroni, pastries, etc.; under Fats, butter, lard, suet, fat pork, oils, etc.; under Milk foods and eggs, milk, cream, cheese, eggs, etc.; under Meats and fish, beef, mutton, bacon, veal, fish, etc.; under Vegetables and fruits, potatoes, farinaceous vegetables, green vegetables, roots, spicy vegetables, fruits of all sorts; under Condiments and stimulants come salt, pepper, vinegar, sugar, tea, coffee, chocolate, etc.; under Fermented drinks all alcoholic beverages. The amount of the above commodities consumed should also be indicated when possible. There ought to be an exact balance between the general total of the budget of expenses and the general total of the budget of receipts, unless there is an annual saving. Where such annual saving is indicated, it ought to be carefully verified.

5. Accounts annexed to the budgets. These simply contain the complicated calculations which could not figure in the budgets without introducing into them more or less confusion. The calculations come in chiefly in connection with industries under- taken by the family and subventions. The divers accounts include all other accounts connected with the household.

6. Notes annexed to the monograph. These last paragraphs should complete the picture of the life of the family, introducing facts relating to social organization, race, and environment thus far omitted. They should also contain the conclusions reached by the writer of the monograph through his personal study.

It will be seen from the above explanations that the Le Play family monograph is, in brief, nothing more than the careful and scientific historical and descriptive study of some single fam- ily, made by an observer who has entered into relations of closest intimacy with that family.