48 



N. H. Agri. Experiment Station 



[Bulletin 298 



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PHIBAeU MAXIMUM OPEN LAND 



DOR^CHEJTEP N.H. 

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EXimNC OPEN LAND 



DORCHEJTER N.F. 

 1931 



Fig. 7. The forest, has reclaimed most of the former cleared land in Dor- 

 chester. The open places not now serviced by roads are mostly the center 

 portions of old fields or pastures not yet taken over by the timber growth. 



and has taken over the land to a large extent. The old cellar holes, the 

 lilacs and rose bushes, the stone walls, the old mill sites, the small ceme- 

 teries are mute evidences of the former habitation. This recession of 

 agriculture is illustrated in the data taken from town inventories : for 

 Dorchester from 1801 to 1936, and for Groton from 1834 to 1936. These 

 two towns were chosen for this purpose because the records were avail- 

 able and because both towns lie very largely within the area studied. 



Sheep do not appear on the town inventories in 1801, 1810, and in 

 1820, and probably none were present. In 1830 the inventories reveal 

 only one flock of sheep— 90 head, but by 1840 the sheep industry had 

 developed amazingly. (Fig. 8) In that year the inventories indicate 

 2,917 in Dorchester and 2,887 in Groton. This is one instance in which 

 the New England farmer forgot his conservatism and followed a 

 ''boom" due to the high wool prices and the general sheep enthusiasm. 

 One might easily conclude that all the farmers had taken up the sheep 

 industry, but the inventories indicate that some men held on to cattle 

 only. 



These early inventories reveal something of the organization of the 

 farms. For instance, in Dorchester in 1801 while the majority of farms 

 had small herds, six had developed beyond the self-sufficing stage and 

 had over ten animals of the cattle kind. In the inventory of 1840, 

 when sheep competed with cattle, the organization of the farms varied 

 greatly; 57 farms had less than ten animal units and might be con- 

 sidered self-sufficing. Twenty-nine farms had more than this and 

 could be classed as having commercial aspects. (Fig. 9) 



