Two of the four summer homes in this size group were likewise small 

 farms before passing into summer home ownership — one at the death of the 

 farmer, the other after it had been allowed to deteriorate as a farm. The 

 other two summer homes have houses on the mansion scale. Each of them 

 once included considerably more land and was operated as a wealthy coun- 

 try place farm. There are still several places in Walpole which are owned 

 somewhat as country estates or hobby farms and are operated by hired care- 

 takers, managers, laborers, renting operators, or some combination or vari- 

 ation of these. The country estate or hobby farm tendency is much stronger 

 in Walpole than in the towns described earlier. 



Two active poultry farms have some land used only to the extent of 

 selling standing hay. 



Of the three currently idle places, one was bought by a cattle dealer 

 for pasture, one was bought and started as a hog farm when the house burned, 

 while the third is an unsettled estate with an expensive house. 



In summary, Walpole is a town with an active agriculture including 

 many commercial dairy farms but also having strong competitive uses of 

 farm land. Most important of the competitive uses are residences for all sorts 

 of local people, summer homes for outside people, and hobby farms or coun- 

 try estates of outsiders and some local people. The hobby farms or country 

 estates do not all result in idle farm land but they are competitors of com- 

 mercial "dirt" farmers for land ownership and use. 



Summary of Chapter II 



The SIX TOWNS, including two in the seacoast area, two in the central up- 

 land, and two along the Connecticut River Valley, had from 10 to 37 idle 

 or nearly idle pieces of farm land each. In the six towns there were 23 

 idle places with land enough for a commercial dairy farm, 31 places of doubt- 

 ful commercial size, and 83 places of definitely less than commercial size. 

 In only Lancaster, the town farthest north and most remote from both New 

 Hampshire and outside urban influence and with relatively good agricultural 

 land, did the number of idle places and nature of their ownership make the 



Figure 4. Within several mi es of urban centers many of the smaller, and some of the larger, 



old farms are used only as residences of various city workers, while new residences and 



potential residential sites compete further for land use. 



28 



