U. OF N. H. AGRI. EXP. STATION [Bulletin 249 



information as to the size of business possible at the roadside market 

 that this study was undertaken. Does the wayside stand serve merely 

 as a supplement to the waning success of the poorly fa\-ored farm? Or 

 can a roadside market absorb the mental and physical ability of the 

 personnel on even the best farais and become the major objective of 

 its activity? 



EXTENT OF THE SURVEY 



Through the cooperation of the county agents an attempt was made 

 in the summer of 1927 to locate all the farms in the state which were 

 selling any appreciable amount of produce at the door. From two to 

 six of these were immediately found in each county, some thirty-five 

 places in all. This group was visited and asked to keep a few simple 

 records. 



The first conception of the study was to confine it entirely to such 

 people as were attempting to sell agricultural products. The paucity 

 of such undertakings in the state, coupled with the inexperience and 

 lack of volume often incident to a new undertaking, led to the early 

 conclusion that an adequate study could hardly terminate with these 

 few. There seemed to be quite as many rural people interested in mer- 

 chandising soft drinks and gasoline as in marketing products from 

 their own gardens. In fact, judging from numbers found on the high- 

 ways as indicated in Figure 2, this latter undertaking would seem the 

 more popular in the ratio of about five to one. So the attempt was 



za 



IS 



I 



fo 



|5 



7a% 



D/STfilBUTION OF /03 ROAD&IDE 

 5rAf^OS /Af R£LATION TO T/M£ 5 TARTU) 



/2 /3 '/4 '/5 '/6 '/7 '/a 19 BO 21 ZZ 23 24- '25 26 27 



Fig. 1. Of the 103 businesses for which detailed information ivas obtained in this 

 survey, 78 per cent had been organized since 1921 



made to learn something about the status of several kinds of roadside 

 establishments. The only limiting factor imposed has been that they 

 must be on farms, or m localities with such a semblance of farm con- 

 ditions that they might be similarly operated by farmers. We have 

 carefully avoided including any business which is near, or otherwise 

 over-dependent on, a city or village environment. 



On about 1,000 miles of the main highways were found 791 sellmg 



