March, 1933J Agric. Research in New Hampshire ^ 9 



and cost; amount of sawdust and cost; time required to clean cows 

 and stable, to milk, to wash equipment, and to deliver milk; extra 

 cash expense for equipment, buildings and repairs; and extra time 

 needed in producing grade A as compared with grade B milk. 



Milk from all the farms is being shipped through the same Grade-A 

 station, and records are available from this station for a two-year per- 

 iod on bacteria, sediment, butterfat, weights and premiums for each 

 shipper. {Purnell Fund) 



Surveying Land Uses in Back Country 



A survey of land uses in back areas of southern Grafton county 

 was begun last sj^ring, with the town of Dorchester having been mapped 

 in detail by C. E. Walker, showing that less than four per cent of the 

 29,271 acres is tillage land, less than eight per cent pasture, and about 

 87 per cent woodland. H. C. Woodworth and M. F. Abell are di- 

 recting this research. 



Further mapping will show a comparison of the amount of land 

 fanned today with that of 60 years ago when farming was at its 

 height. A property map is being made as a basis for detemiining 

 ownership, extent of summer properties, size of the average farai, tim- 

 ber holdings, and other facts. 



To supply data for the formulation of a state land-utilization policy 

 is the aim of this inquiry. Consideration will be given to plans for 

 abandoning certain areas or farais which are uneconomic from the 

 standpoint of financial and social opportunities for individual families, 

 and of public expenditures for maintaining roads, schools and similar 

 community services. Procedure will be suggested to aid the develop- 

 ment of agricultural, forest, recreational and social resources. 



Regarding the Dorchester pasture area, 44 per cent of the 2,248 

 acres is overgrown with trees, and only 23 per cent is classified as in 

 excellent condition. 



Of the 25,516 acres of woodland, nearly two-thirds is northern hard- 

 woods with beech, yellow birch, and hard maple predominating. 



The increase in spruce and spruce hardwood in the 40 to 60-year 

 classes is due to abandonment of farms, which started about the end 

 of the Civil war. The 100-year class is old-growth stock. The areas 

 classified as 150 years old are decadent. 



A rough estimate of the timber by K. E. Barraclough and C. S. Herr 

 indicates a stand of 4,552,053 cubic feet of merchantable hardwood, 

 6,526,128 cubic feet of soft wood, 150,865 cords of hardwood in ad- 

 dition to that suitable for lumber, and 4,000,000 board feet of pine. 

 It was also estimated that the woodlands produce annually 325,400 

 cubic feet of logs suitable for lumber, about 200,000 of which is soft 

 wood. The total growth, including tliat not merchantable for lumber, 

 is about 675,225 cubic feet. {Purnell Fund) 



Efficiency Studies Show Tumbling Incomes 



The family labor income on 38 dairy farms in Grafton county 

 dropped from an average of nearly $1,100 in 1930 to $282 in 1932. 



