April, 1932] Agricultural Research in N. H. 7 



erage of 16 cows and 233 acres of land per farm for the whole group. 



Labor incomes for 395 of the farms averaged $393. The highest in- 

 come was over $5,000. 



In a region selling whole milk almost exclusively, average labor in- 

 comes are likely to be low because dairying tends to be overdone. This 

 condition is augmented in Grafton county because of the ease with 

 which outlying farms already provided with livable buildings can be 

 bought or hired. (Purnell Fund) 



Efficiency on Dairy Farms 



Following the dairy survey in Grafton county detailed efficiency 

 studies have been conducted on 50 of these farms in cooperation with 

 the Bureau of Agricultural Economics. Charles Harris, stationed at 

 Woodsville, is giving his entire time to the project in consultation with 

 H. C. Woodworth, Max F. Abell of the New Hampshire Station and 

 Emil Rauchenstein of the United States Department of Agriculture. 



The pastures on each farm have been roughly studied and different 

 areas classified. Of the 4,623 acres in pasture, 252 acres or 5.4% were 

 found to be old tillage land, 467 acres or 10.1% were good soil and 

 were free of brush, 773 acres or 16.7% were good soil but were not 

 plowable and had grown up to brush. All the rest of the areas were 

 of little value as pasture and could not be made into good pasture in 

 any practical way. Thus, in this area, only about 30% of the pasture 

 area has any particular potential value as pasture. 



On the individual farms, the amount of potential good pasture 

 varied greatly. One farm, for instance, had 70 acres of potential good 

 pasture; another only 7 acres. These circumstances, no doubt, have a 

 marked influence on ability of farmers to make cheap milk. (Purnell 

 Fund) 



Potato Marketing 



One hundred thousand fewer bushels of potatoes were shipped into 

 the state' last year than in 1925, according to a check-up of railroad re- 

 ceipts by E. H. Rinear. The study, which covered the period Septem- 

 ber 1, 1930 to June 1, 1931, revealed the fact that 140,723 bushels were 

 shipped into the state as table stock during that period. A similar 

 study (New Hampshire Station Bulletin 222) made in 1925 showed 

 there were 240,020 bushels shipped in during a shorter period, namely 

 from October 1 to May 1. 



It was learned in a house to house survey that much variation exists 

 between nationalities and incomes as to the size of potato preferred 

 and the definite qualities desired. The results of this investigation 

 have been published in Circular 37, "Consumer Preferences for Pota- 

 toes." Because of this information, there is a decided tendency for 

 growers to grade more carefully and to eliminate many of the objec- 

 tionable features which had been previously disregarded. 



A new problem was discovered last year about the Concord area, 

 where an over-supply of potatoes was being forced on the market so 

 that prices were greatly depressed. The growers about Concord had 



