June. 1940] Farm Management in Colebrook 5 



that with 2(X)-bushel average yields. 1700 acres were required to sup- 

 ply the starch factories. One of the older men states that he sold 

 2400 bushels of potatoes for 31 cents a bushel about 1870. This in- 

 dustry, howeyer. was destined to decline with the deyelopment of 

 cheaper sources of starch. 



Other early products, probably preceding potato whiskey, were 

 potash and pearl ash. It is stated that much of the original forest 

 was marketed at Portland by exchanging these concentrated prod- 

 ucts for supplies. Potash was made by leaching out wood ashes and 

 drying the product. For further concentration, the potash was 

 baked in large ovens at high temperatures to form pearl ash. 



Dairying gradually increased in importance on a butter and cheese 

 market and expanded even more rapidly when wholesale fluid milk 

 markets were available. 



Boston dealers finally l)uilt milk-receiving stations and opened up 

 a wholesale market. The price of milk was sufficiently high to en- 

 courage the expansion of dairy herds and to shift management from 

 summer to year-round dairying. Dairy production and cow popula- 

 tion increased in Colebrook from 1900 to 1920, a period of decline 

 in dair}- farming in many sections of the state. 



The organization of 38 farms 



The 38 farms completing the financial and labor records are typi- 

 cal farms of the area. The gross returns were probably somewhat 

 higher than for a random sample, since only commercial farms with 

 more than nine cows were included. 



In size, the farms average 20 cows and 3.5 acres of potatoes. 



Financial statement of the 38 farms for the year ending November 

 1, 1934 



Average capital investment 



The financial statement reveals an estimated average capital in- 

 stment of $7,879 of which $4,457 is real estate and $3,422 is per- 

 sonal property, livestock, machiner}-, and supplies. 



Average receipts 



The receipts for the year averaged $2,602. Sales of 87,275 pounds 

 of milk accounted for $1,501 and sales of 1,365 bushels of potatoes 

 brought only $311, for prices were very low\ Sales of meat and 

 livestock brought $294. The market for pulpwood was inactive 

 during this period and only $117 worth of wood products per farm 

 was sold, and $18 of this was from maple sirup. The miscellaneous 

 income of $301 included outside work. 



Average expenses 



Expenses, including depreciation and decrease in inventory, ave- 

 raged $2,022. The actual cash expenses were $1,765. An examina- 

 tion of the expense items indicates $589 for feed. $295 for hired 

 labor, and $200 for seed and fertilizer. 



ve 



