18 SURVEY OF FOUR TOWNSHIPS IN SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 



extent in a few localities. Many orchards are not carefully man- 

 aged. If spraying were universally practiced, it would mean greatly 

 increased returns to many farmers. 



Fruit growing when properly carried on promises to be one of the 

 best types of farming for this region. Many instances were found 

 where a combination of fruit and poultry has proved very successful. 



PASTURES. 



To the dairymen and live-stock farmers of New Hampshire one 

 of the greatest problems is that of pasture. The topography of a 

 large proportion of eastern dairy farms is such that pasture land 

 can not be used for any other crop, and for this reason good, per- 

 manent grazing land is a necessity. The once fertile grazing lands 

 of all the southern part of the State are fast disappearing. No 

 attention has been given them and their loss is being sharply felt 

 by the dairymen. The usual excuse for their present condition is 

 that it pays better to let them grow up to pine, yet the common 

 value of land which is allowed to grow up to timber is not more 

 than $4 to S6 an acre. In this case the land suited to pasture should 

 not be confused with the areas that are adapted to nothing but 

 forest. Any crop which furnishes from 35 to 40 per cent of the 

 yearly maintenance of the cattle should receive attention. A good, 

 rich pasture not only furnishes a supply of roughage and concen- 

 trates for five months in the year but also provides this supply 

 at a very reasonable cost as compared with other crops. 



With the present prices of all feeding stuffs, the next few years 



will show more than ever the striking need of improvement of these 



hillside grazing lands, and until they are restored to somewhere 



near their former condition all live-stock farmers will seriously feel 



their loss. 



SUMMARY. 



(1) The area of improved land in New Hampshire has decreased 

 rapidly within the last 40 years, the decrease from 1880 to 1900 

 being 54 per cent. 



(2) The average farmer in the region surveyed received $337 for 

 his year's work, or at the rate of SI. 07 a day for 313 days. 



(3) Dairying and general farming, even though they represent 

 81 per cent of the total number of farms, are not so profitable in 

 this region as either fruit or poultry, owing partly to the fact that 

 dairying and general farming require comparatively large areas for 

 their profitable operation, while in this section the farms are in the 

 main too small to yield satisfactory profits. Thus it would seem that 

 many of these farms should either be combined into larger ones or 

 changed to some type which is better adapted to a small area. 



[Cir. 75] 



