SURVEY OF FOUR TOWNSHIPS IN SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 



11 



cultural methods and better cows would also increase the profits in 

 dairy farming. Table V shows that the grain bill averages 49 per 

 cent of the total expenses of the farms in the four townships. Raising 

 the grain would probably cost much less than buying it, but on the 

 other hand enough hay can be grown on the same land to more than 

 buy the ecjuivalent of the grain that could be raised there. It is in 

 this direction that the chief difficulty lies, as the farms are so small 

 that there is not enough land on which to raise either grain or hay. 

 It must be understood, however, that there are many farms of each 

 type that are very successful and that are yielding their owners a 

 good profit. 



Another phase of farming which has not been mentioned, but 

 which is very important in many respects, is the farm wood lot. 

 There are large areas of nonagricultural land throughout New Hamp- 

 shire which should be kept in woodland. Many such areas have 

 been cleared in the past and are now being rapidly reforested. This 

 nonagricultural land, which should grow timber, must not be con- 

 fused Avith tillable or pasture land which has been partly depleted of 

 its crop-producing power, and which in many cases is being left to 

 grow up to bushes. A good- system of forest management should 

 be given special attention in many parts of the State. 



Table Y 11. — Comparison of average areas, capital, receipts, expenses, and profits for the 



better and the poorer dairy farms. 



Items covered by survey. 



Area acres 



Tillable area do . . 



Capital invested 



Receipts 



Expenses 



Unpaid family labor 



Labor income 



Average. 



134 



38 



S6. 134 



1,633 



1,024 



47 



256 



By com])aring various factors on the better and poorer farms of 

 each type, it is possible to learn where one succeeded and the other 

 failed. The dairy farms are divided into two classes according 

 to the labor incomes. All those receiving a labor income of $200 or 

 more are placed in the better class, while those having a labor income 

 of less than $200 are included in the poorer class. The most striking 

 difference between the two, as shown by Table VII, is in the gross 

 receipts, the better farmers taking in more than twice as much as the 

 poorer ones. Furthermore, the expenses of the better dairymen, 

 although larger than those of the poorer, were not at all in the same 

 proportion as the receipts. The better dairymen earneil, on the 

 average, $608 for their year's work after all their expenses, interest, 

 and family labor were paid, while the poorer dairymen lacked $121 



[Cir. 75] 



