16 UNIV. OF N. H. AGR. EXPERIMENT STATION [Bulletin 217 



1909. 1919. 



Cereals, acres 4,025 3,634 



Hays, " 42,830 35,426 



Horses, number 4,131 3,103 



Cattle, " 14,769 12,939 



Sheep, " 3,775 2,574 



Swine, " 3,938 4,098 



Poultry, " 71,336 85,116 



The average acreage of improved land per farm, however, shows an 

 increase from 80.4 acres in 1909 to 33.0 in 1920, while the total acreage 

 per farm decreased from 138.9 to 136.2 acres. Such an increase of 10 

 per cent in improved acreage per farm illustrates the tendency of the 

 younger farmers to combine the tillable land of two or more farms. As 

 the tendency towards planting of pine increases and speculative interest 

 in this industry expands, there will be increasing opportunity for farmers 

 to acquire and combine such tillable land without the necessity of pur- 

 chasing a large acreage of slash land suited only to timber production. 

 This tendency to increase the improved acreage per farm should be givt^n 

 every encouragement, as it means a better balanced farm business and a 

 wider use of machinery and labor-saving methods of production. 



Tenancy. 



The percentage of tenancy in Cheshire County is small. In 1919 only 

 8.5 per cent of the farms were operated by tenants, while in Iowa the per 

 cent was 41.7, which indicates that very few farmers in this county are 

 endeavoring to obtain ownership by the tenant and mortgage route. In 

 other words, the younger men do not consider the opportunities in farm- 

 ing as good as in other industries. The lack of a tenant farm population 

 is also making it more difficult for those who fall heir to the present farms 

 to have them operated. 



Abandoned Farms. 



The question confronting the owners of many farms in Cheshire County 

 is whether or not to operate them. The term " abandoned farms " is only a 

 way of speaking of old farmsteads where no one is living at present and 

 no crops are raised except, perhaps, some hay. Yet someone owns and 

 pays taxes on most of these abandoned places, and the owners want to 

 know what to do with the land in order to receive the greatest income 

 from it. The so-called abandoned farm is an important problem not 

 only in Cheshire County, but also throughout most of New England. 



Under present conditions the owners consider the operation of these 

 farms in the production of farm crops unprofitable. They are wondering 

 if the increase in population in the United States, with its increasing 

 demand for food products, will make the cultivation of these lands profit- 

 able through the mediinn of increasing prices of farm products. If these 

 farms were planted to white pine or some other timber crop, they would 

 not be availal)le for cultivation for thirty or forty years. Which is the 

 best method of procedure, which the wisest course to follow? That 

 is the first big problem confronting many farmers in this county. 



