304 MISC. PUBLICATION 218, U. 8. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 
Of the 721 operated farms in the 13 towns, a sample of 159 was 
selected and studied to determine the economic condition of the occu- 
pants (115, p. 91). The net income received direct from these farms 
in 1928-29 averaged $213 per farm. Income from other sources 
averaged $354 per farm. ‘The net cash income available for meeting 
family living expenses therefore averaged $567 perfarm. An average 
of $594 of the family living had to be purchased. ‘This leaves an 
average deficit of $27 per farm. 
The good land is usually in small areas which are widely scattered. 
In most cases there is not enough good crop land within easy reach to 
make a farm which will give full and profitable employment to a farm 
family. Thus, in the opinion of the Vermont Commission on Country 
Life (163) the utilization of the small areas of good land for farming 
purposes is practicable only in case there are mines, quarries, wood- 
working, or other industries in the neighborhood which give remu- 
nerative employment. Under these conditions, the land and buildings 
of what would otherwise be an abandoned farm are valuable as a 
residence and a place to do some part-time farming. These industries 
are important, not only because they provide supplementary employ- 
ment for the part-time farmer, but because they provide taxable 
property and a grouping of population which make it possible to 
maintain local government, scHoels and the voluntary social institu- 
tions. Where such centers of life do not exist, it is better that the 
small, scattered areas of good farm land in the hill towns revert to 
forests. 
The commission points out that in 1890 there were 92 manufactur- 
ing plants in the 13 hill towns and in 1929 only 30. These consist of 
20 woodworking establishments, 5 cheese factories, 2 creameries, and 
3 other small industries. In some towns, mines and quarries will 
continue to furnish employment; in others, people may find work on 
the roads or in the employ of summer residents. In the main, however, 
woodworking establishments offer the greatest possibilities for future 
employment in the hill towns. Therefore there should be compre- 
hensive plans for rehabilitating the depleted forest resources of these 
towns. 
Some of the abandoned farmhouses, as well as some of the houses 
in the little villages, are being acquired by nonresidents for summer 
homes. In 1929 there were 171 such summer homes. Of these, 63 
were on farms and 108 were in villages. The number of houses 
abandoned each year however is in excess of the number purchased 
for summer-residence purposes. For instance, in 1929 in the 13 towns 
44 houses were abandoned, and only 8 were taken for summer homes. 
In 10 years there have been over 200 farmhouses abandoned and only 
47 utilized for summer residences. 
It is the conclusion of the commission that the responsibility for the 
solution of the hill-town problem should be assumed by the State. It 
recommends that a permanent State land utilization commission be 
set up, composed of the State forester, the commissioner of agriculture, 
an agricultural economist from the agricultural college, and two other 
men chosen to represent the lumber, woodworking, and recreational 
interests. This commission should work with a local organization in 
each town. After further study there should be formulated a program 
and plan for the economic development of each. The commission’s 
more specific recommendations are: (1) State acquisition of farm 
