Dec. 1939] Marketing of Farm Woodland Products 



View in northern imrt of area. 



Topography varies from level areas in the Ossipee plains to the rugged 

 Sandwich and Ossipee Ranges. Lakes, ponds, and streams are plentiful. 



Three cover types were recognized: pine, hardwood, and softwood 

 other than pine. Hardwoods predominate with stands of spruce and fir 

 at the higher elevations and pine in the valleys, particularly on aban- 

 doned farm and pasture land. 



The quality of the site^ is, in general, good. There are, however, ex- 

 ceptions, the most notable of which are the higher ridges and the plains 

 in the towns of Ossipee and Madison. On the higher ridges the soil 

 is too thin to support merchantable growth, the cover at present con- 

 sisting of spruce, fir, and white birch. Repeated fires following cutting 

 have materially reduced the productivity of the plains until now the 

 cover consists mainly of pitch and red pine of inferior quality, scrub oak, 

 and grey birch. 



Agriculture 



Agriculture in the area does not revolve around any one commodity. 

 Farms tend to be small and production diversified. Because of the im- 

 portance of both summer and winter recreational activities, with conse- 

 quent increase of population at certain seasons of the year, a local de- 

 mand for many fann products has developed. Summer dairying and 

 production of fresh fruits and vegetables, employment supplied by sum- 

 mer residents, and work in the woods in the winter have been largely 

 responsible for the survival of agriculture in this section of the state. 



The area falls into the division termed "highland farming. "^ Concern- 

 ing this general classification the following statements are made: "A 

 large majority of the farms are of a general and subsistence nature. The 

 lands are predominantly non-agricultural, the crop lands being thin, 

 stony, and hilly, and generally cannot be made productive except at pro- 

 liibitive costs." This description applies to the whole area, with the 

 exception of a relatively small number of productive farms located for 

 Ihe most part in the valleys. 



^The term "site" is used in forestry to mean the inherent crop-producing power of forest land. 

 ^Grinnell, H. C, Type-of-Farming Areas in New Hampshire, New Hampshire Agricultural Ex- 

 periment Station Circular S3, 1937. 



