HARDWARE

Tables 10 and 11 show the-percentages of housewives in different regions who tried to buy and who bought tin kettles and other sorts of kettles at different times. The average percentage trying to buy and buying per four weeks period is shown on the last line but one of each table. ++ The results are graphed on the following pages.

It will be seen that the demand for kettles made of materials other than tin is much higher in the northern than in the southern regions. The demand in Scotland is more than five times as great as the demand in London, and the demand in the North and the Midlands is about three times as great as in London.

it is likely that this difference reflects differences in the types of stove used for cooking. * Coal ranges are more common in the North than in the South, and heavier types of kettle are more suitable for use on a coal range as tin kettles burn through very quickly. It is also likely to be associated when the water is hard kettles become furred inside and this helps to prevent rusting. In London and in the greater part of the southern region the very hard water would be likely to make tin kettles last longer. Only the eastern area of the Midlands and in the extreme east of the northern region is the water at all hard, and so in the greater part of these regions and in Scotland, where the water is relatively soft, tin kettles would be likely to wear out sooner.

37

KETTLES

38

TIN KETTLES

Percentages of Houses

39 40

OTHER KETTLES

to Buy and who Bought

There is however, little difference in the percentages who bought kettles made of other materials in different regions. A slightly higher proportion were successful in the Midlands than elsewhere. Very few kettles made of other metals than tin were available and the results suggest that these were distributed fairly evenly over the country as a whole.

Tin kettles were far more plentiful in the South and in London, and were evidently very scarce in Scotland and rather scarce in the North. The percentage of housewives trying to buy tin kettles is highest in the southern regions, but the other regions also show substantial proportions trying to buy.

It will be remembered (see Table 1) that the percentage of all housewives trying to buy tin kettles appeared to decline slightly over the whole period but that the significance of this decline was doubtful. In the regional analysis the decrease is most noticeable in the Midlands. The regression coefficient of the line fitted is .50 and the downward trend is significant. This decrease is possible related to the fact that other sorts of kettles were obtained by slightly higher proportions of housewives in the Midlands than elsewhere. as there was rather more hope of getting a heavier kettle or an aluminium one, fewer houswives might try to buy tin kettles as this became known. This is, of course, conjectural.

In spite of the scarcity of other kettles in Scotland there appears to be a slight increase over the whole period in the proportions trying to buy. The fluctuations are rather great. The number of interviews made in Scotland in each inquiry was around 270, and considerable fluctuations might be expected to occur by chance. The apparent increase is of doubtful significance, the probability that it is due to chance being somewhat greater than .05 but less than .1.

There is a significant drop in the proportions trying to buy both sorts of kettles in Scotland about July 1944, and in both cases the percentage rose again in September.

In London the proportions trying to buy and buying tin kettles are relatively high from September 1943 to March 1944, and low from May to November 1944.

There is a significant peak in the percentage buying tin kettles in the North in May 1944. This is counter-balanced in the average for the whole country by low percentages able to buy in the South and the Midlands at about that time. Between May and July 1944 there is an increase in the proportions buying in the Midlands and the South and a decrease in the North.

It was shown in section III that the percentage of housewives able to buy tin kettles in the whole country did not vary very much from time to time during the period studied. The results of the regional analysis suggest that though supplies remained at about the same level for the country as a whole, there were quite marked variations in the supplies reaching different regions. The distribution of supplies of other sorts of kettles among different regions seem to have been more stable.

Among other types of hardware the results for scrubbing brushes is of interest. (See Table 12 and the following diagram).

As in the case of kettles the demand was much greater in the northern than in the southern regions. In Scotland, the North and the Midlands, the proportions of housewives who tried to buy scrubbing brushes each month are on the average, twice as high as the proportion trying in London and the South. Rather more housewives in the south, however than in Scotland and the North succeeded in getting scrubbing brushes. The proportion able to buy is also higher than average in the Midlands.

The difference between regions possibly finds its source in differences of custom and conditions. Northern and Midland industrial towns are perhaps dirtier than towns in the South, and in many northern towns it is a very common sight in the morning to see housewives scrubbing their stone doorsteps and even the pavement outside their houses. Moreover the types of terraced house that has its front door opening directly on to the street is less common in the South and in London than in the Midlands and the North, and it may be supposed that the difficulty of keeping the dirt out is greater in houses of this sort, and that more scrubbing is necessary. In Scotland, where a large proportion of people live in tenement flats, there are tenement stairs to be kept clean. These are often made of stone or other hard materials which would wear out scrubbing brushes quickly.

In Scotland there is a marked increase in the proportion of housewives trying to buy scrubbing brushes between May and September 1943, after which this proportion remains high. In the Midlands the proportion increases significantly between May and July 1943. This suggests that the shortage of scrubbing brushes began to be seriously felt in these regions at about that time.

In the North there is at the beginning of the period studied already a large discrepancy between the percentage buying and the percentage trying to buy. Between November 1943 and May 1944 both percentages appear to increase, and it is possible that this is due to some increase in supplies in this region.

In the South and in London, more of the housewives who tried to buy scrubbing brushes were successful throughout the whole period.

One other item of hardware, which was studied only for a short period, shows interesting differences between regions. Mixing bowls were in greater demand in Scotland than elsewhere, and the demand is somewhat higher in London and the South than in the North and the Midlands.

42

Percentages of Housewives tried

43 44

Tried to Buy and Who Bought

The Percentage able to buy mixing bowls is somewhat lower in London than in other regions, and the percentage trying to buy rises sharply after July 1944.

HOUSEHOLD LINEN

There are some differences between regions in respect of the proportions of housewives trying to buy various items of bedding.

Flannelette sheets, or cotton blankets were more in demand in the North and cotton or linen sheets in the South.

Scotland has the highest proportion (average 22%) trying to buy flannelette sheets, and London and the South the lowest (8% and 9% ). The figures for the North and the Midlands are in between these extremes.

The percentage of housewives able to buy flannelette sheets does not vary much between different regions; it is however a little higher in Scotland than elsewhere.

It will be remembered that when considering the results for the country as a whole, a significant increase was found in the percentage trying to buy flannelette sheets. Applying the same method to the regional figures, it is shown that there were significant increases in this proportion in Scotland, the North and the South, the regression coefficients of the lines fitted being 1.67, .87 and .47 respectively. The proportion appears to increase also in the Midlands and in London, but the fluctuations are considerable, and the increase is not significant.

In Scotland, the North and the Midlands, the percentage trying to buy cotton or linen sheets is high during the summer of 1944. In the South this percentage reaches its highest point in September 1944. London differs from other regions in that the percentage trying to buy is relatively low in the summer of 1944 and high in the winter 1943/4 and in the winter 1944/5.

The results suggest that flannelette sheets are used more in the northern regions but it may be that those who use flannelette sheets in the winter prefer cotton or linen ones in the summer, and this might account for the high proportions trying to buy in the summer. Less difference between seasons might be expected in the southern regions if more people use cotton or linen sheets all the year round.

46 47

SHEETS *

Rather more housewives succeeded in buying flannelette sheets in Scotland and in the Midlands than in other regions. In Scotland, however, there is a decrease in the proportion able to buy over the period as a whole. There is a similar decrease in the South. The other regions do not show significant decreases or increases, but the results suggest there may have been some increase in the North.

Cotton and linen sheets were slightly more plentiful in London, the South and the Midlands where there was more demand for them, than in Scotland and the North.

The proportion trying to buy woollen blankets is highest in Scotland, and the North and the Midlands show higher proportions than London and the South.

In all regions except Scotland there is a significant increase over the period as a whole in the percentage trying to buy. There appears also to be an increase in Scotland, but there are marked fluctuations and the apparent increase is of doubtful significance, There is no significant difference in the relative increase in different regions.

Only about 1% succeeded in buying woollen blankets in any region. There is a significant increase in the percentage able to buy in the North but not in any other region. The line is not shown on the graph as the scale is too small for the increase to be apparent.

In considering the results for bedding, and also those for clothing, it should, be noted that differences in the average size of family in different regions might have some effect. Inquiries made by the Wartime Social Survey, 1943-4 showed that the average number of persons per household was somewhat higher in Scotland than elsewhere. There are only small differences in this respect between the other four regions, of which the Midlands has the highest average and London the lowest. Housewives in Scotland had to provide bedding for about 3.80 people on the average, Housewives in the Midlands for about 3.52, and housewives in London for about 3.35. The average for the country as a whole was about 3.49.

52 53

CLOTHING

Housewives were asked about their own and their families’ attempts to buy articles of clothing. There is some indication that the demand for clothing per family was higher in Scotland than elsewhere, as might be expected from the difference noted above in family size. But in the case of most items of clothing, difference between different regions are small. Of the items studied only shoes show marked differences.

The percentages trying to buy and buying women’s, men’s and children's shoes are shown in Tables 17, 18 and 19. It will be seen that there are no very marked differences between regions in England and Wales but that differences between Scotland and the rest of Great Britain are marked. In graphing these results, regions in England and Wales have been grouped together and are compared with Scotland.

There was a greater demand for men’s, women’s and children's shoes in Scotland than elsewhere, and the difference is greater than could be accounted for by the difference in family size.

The demand for women's shoes increases over the period as a whole in Scotland. It appears to increase also in England and Wales but the increase is of doubtful significance.

There is no significant increase over the whole period in the percentages trying to buy men’s or children’s shoes, either in Scotland or in England and Wales, but in Scotland, there is a sharp rise at the beginning of the period studied, i.e. about summer 1943. It is interesting that at the beginning of the period about the same proportions tried to buy and bought shoes in England and Wales as in Scotland.

It will be seen that fluctuations are more marked in the figures for Scotland, and this is accounted for by the fact that the samples are smaller.

The percentages able to buy all three sorts of shoes are higher in Scotland than in England and Wales, and the proportion of those trying who were successful are about the same in both cases

In view of this it is difficult to see why the demand should be so much higher in Scotland, unless the quality of the shoes supplied here was such as to make more frequent replacements necessary.

The only other item of clothing showing a considerable difference in regional analyses is brassieres. Here again the demand was higher in Scotland than elsewhere, an average of 13% trying to buy per month as against 6 to 8% in other regions.

MISCELLANEOUS COMMODITIES

The results for toothbrushes are of some interest when analysed by region.

The percentage trying to buy toothbrushes are significantly lower in London and the North than elsewhere. The percentages buying are also somewhat low in these regions and in the North. In the latter region only about half of these trying to buy tooth brushes were successful.