52 EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 344 



or a few days of work; the wages of the day laborer are not adequate to 

 repay the effort. Most efficient administration would be through a single 

 well-known and respected individual, preferably a town official. Famil- 

 iarity with the potential employers and employees in the vicinity, means 

 of contact in the absence of telephone, and fairness in making known and 

 distributing jobs are indispensable requisites for successful administration. 

 All parties would have to know of the existence and nature of the service 

 and cooperate to the extent of making known their needs as promptly and 

 specifically as possible. 



Adoption of some form of local clearing-house in one or two summer 

 resort areas on an experimental basis should precede extensive trial. The 

 increase in income to needy families and the ultimate reduction in wel- 

 fare costs might compensate the individual town for hiring an adminis- 

 trator on a part-time basis. The services as a whole would be supple- 

 mentary to, rather than competitive with, existing employment 

 agencies. 



Special training in service and domestic tasks would equip rural 

 girls and women to take greater advantage of the opportunities for em- 

 ployment in summer homes, boarding houses, restaurants, and other sum- 

 mer resort establishments. Many service and domestic employees are 

 brought from the cities because employers consider local residents to be 

 lacking in poise, training, and experience. High school, NYA, or Exten- 

 sion classes could provide much of the training needed. 



In addition to increased summer work, supplementary outlets for 

 labor during other seasons need to be developed further. Exceot for 

 occasional work in the woods or on the roads, the winter is a Deriod of 

 universal unemployment in many "summer resort" towns. Forest re- 

 sources, under sustained yield management, could contribute more to 

 the income of rural areas. Many farmers can expand sales of pulp wood, 

 saw logs, fuel wood, and maple products. Several recent studies have 

 indicated the potentialities of the farm woodlot in stabilizing seasonal 

 employment. 1 " Nonfarm timber resources also could be developed to 

 become a stabilizing influence in the economy of many rural towns. Re- 

 vised tenure patterns, implemented through the purchase or long-term 

 leasing of individually owned proximate tracts, and a sustained yield man- 

 agement plan, are two requisites of success in this direction. Neglected 

 stands would have to be restored in many areas before substantial income 

 could be realized. Legal control of destructive cutting practices should 

 be considered as a step toward preserving the economic base in many 

 rural areas. 



The making of balsam pillows, wood-carvings, wrought-iron cast- 

 ings, and other articles of handiwork was reported by a number of rural 

 residents. A large proportion of sales was to tourists and other summer 

 visitors. The New Hampshire Arts and Crafts Association offers instruc- 

 tion in many lines of handicraft and markets many of the products of its 



19 For example: Chandler, J. M., The Place of Woodland in the barm Organization in Coos 

 County, New Hampshire, N. H. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 337, June 1942. 



