;>i(iiitisiuiiit»s>iiii'. llitiHiUktiiiiMXHKHiUtlll V^iLcX: :l 5 \ - m OK '-\^^. ^/i" 'i\-u Jt^FjL^to - •* 41^ F>> Yin. \^pt, " "^ik o< - RB-^ f^>M(1. F^ V . - »'\3l. *^^7»- EXPERIMENT STATION LIBRARY Bulletin 264 May, 1932 Survey of Land Holdings in Towns of Fremont and Boscawen, N. H, By C. E. WALKER and P. M. HODGKINS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE DURHAM, N. H. SUMMARY In order to clear iij) the property' i)roblems in certain sections 6l the town, avdid the accumulation of disputable areas, and record the finding's in a way which would be convenient and practical, the town of Fremont voted to have a i^roperty map made. It was de- cided that this" would be based' on a' paced survey since this would o-ive fair accuracy at a low cost. The work was undertaken in co- operation with the Experiment Station of the University of New Hamnsl-.ire with the understandin.of that land utilization data would be taken at the same time especiall}- for the Station. [Mapping- in the field Avas given precedence over tracing out deeds as these were incomplete and hard to find. The resulting ma]) showed the features which would help identify the boundaries of each lot (fences, monuments, etc.) as well as the location. The owner and acreage of each lot was printed on the map. Fremont was found to be 64>^% woodland, 217c pasture, 11% hay- land and improved land, and the remaining; 3^% swamp. The ownerships are typicall}' either large or small, with compara- tively few between 25 and 75 acres. About 15% of the holdings exclusive of corporations are in the 100-acre-or-over class, with an avjrage of 240 acres, and cover five-eighths of the total area of the town. The Boscawen map was made under the direction of the State Tax Commission to find out how much a township map of this sort would cost. The two surveys differed in some important particulars. The records of property holdings in Boscawen were available through the assistance of local surveyors. They were fairly com- plete and accurate. For this reason, these records were used in preference to work in the field. The chief difference between the finished maps was that the Boscawen one showed the position ot the lines without indicating identification marks. A feature devel- oped in connection with this survey was the card index system, throug-h which the permanent record of the lots could be kept with- out changing the master map except when a lot was subdivided. The results obtained from the surveys have been satisfactory in that they have recorded the facts with a fair degree of accuracy and at a low cost. It is estimated that this cost should rang-e between 5 and 10 cents an acre, depending on the special aims of each town and the local conditions affecting the survey, especially as respects the tyi)c of ov.nership, the condition of the lines and records (deeds, previous maps, etc.). In cases where such a survey is contemplated but only a small fund is available at the time.,, much can be accomplished by securing a base map, and plotting or sketching in the ownerships. Such a map would cost about $25 to $50, which would be offset by the saving in time when the complete survey was made. Such a map would be particularly valuable if note was made of the exact reference in the countv records of each deed. SURVEY OF LAND HOLDINGS IN TOWNS OF FREMONT AND BOSCAWEN, NEW HAMPSHIRE* It is increasing-ly difficult for the administrators of towns to keep on hand the information the}- need concernino- the lands within their boundaries. Chiefl}^ this depends on a knowledg^e of the property lines and bounds ; for, with these, the periodic work on the lots can be done with comparative ease. The decrease in the acreage of land actively farmed results in deca3"ed fences, lower values and less interest on the part of the owner in the bounds and the land itself. This makes the information harder to g^et. The comparatively low value of the land does not justif}- spending- much time on the prob- lem, especiall}- as other branches of the town business are requiring more time. The result is that areas where ownerships are vague have ac- cumulated in most towns and some lots have been forgotten com- pletely. This condition grows steadily worse. In addition to the need for information on property lines, land utilization data are valuable. For the most part this requires a compilation of the uses of land, as hayland, pasture, etc., together with a rough estimate of the amount of material produced. Usually no attempt to evaluate individual lots is made, but the general aver- ages found are useful in many problems. For instance, they give a concise cross-section of how readjustments in valuation would affect the town as a whole, and would have been very valuable in estimat- ing the effect of the recent timber-yield tax bill. Several agencies which are studjang the economic situation in order to suggest ways of utilizing the abandoned and unproductive lands need such data as a basis for their work. A survey of the town can assemble and record the facts needed to help prevent the accumulation of wild lands, and can clear up a large part, if not all, of the areas already doubtful. At the same time, and at little additional cost, the data necessary for the utiliza- tion problem can be secured. While these surveys do not attempt to settle disputes as to prop- erty, they do furnish the basis for further work. ,.; Growing interest in these problems justifies a report of the work done in the towns of Fremont and Boscawen, New Hampshire. A statement of a similar, survey of Durham has already been pub- . lished.f > ■ ♦Prof. K. W. Woodward of the .University of New Hampshire directed the Fremont survey, and" Mr. E. C. Hifst, secretary o^ the New Hampshire Tax Commission, the one. of Boscawen. , . ^ . ■ ^a . The work in Fremont was done by Mr^C. E. Walker, assisted for a time by ^^, ... Mr, G. R. Hyde. Mr. P. M. Hod^kiiis was ^ ^he '• agent of the Tax Commission in Boscawen. -^' The writers wish to express their appreciation of the cooperation of th9 townspeople, and of the Boston and Maine Railroad, which furnished blad-"'--" prints of their right of way through Fremont. tUniversity of New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Statioii' Bulletin 255, 1931; , . ■ ^ . .1 ; 4 NEW HAMPSHIRE EXPERIMENT STATION (Bulletin 264 PURPOSES OF THE SURVEYS The Town of Fremont, believing^ that it would do well to clear up the ownership situation in those parts where the lines were indis- tinct and owners doubtful, voted an appropriation to start a map of the town. The aim was, without too much expense, to straighten out the boundaries with the aid of the owners and others who knew the country, as well as by deeds and other records. A map was to be made showing the lines themselves, the name of the owner of each lot and any markers which would help in locating the lines and corners on the ground. They also wanted obscure lines surveyed out and established. This last object the present survey did not at- tempt. The Experiment Station at the University of New Hampshire had just completed a survey of Durham for basic data on the land utili- zation problem, and offered to cooperate with the town and secure additional land utilization data from the Fremont survey. The Station also wanted to test the adaptability of the methods used in the Durham survey to this new problem. The Tax Commission of the State undertook to make the map of Boscawen without direct action or financial aid from the town. The Commission had believed for some time that towns should have maps indicating the location of all properties within their bounds for as- sessment purposes, and in the spring of 1930 selected the town of Boscawen as one to be mapped. The particular reason for the selec- tion of this town was because the southern part of it, especially the area in and around Penacook, had been surveyed and mapped by local surveyors who were willing to cooperate with the Tax Com- mission in making the map. The map was to be drawn by these men, who had invaluable information and records of the town prop- erties, w^orking with the agent of the Commission, who was to do the field work. The objects of the Boscawen survey were somewhat the same as those of the town of Fremont. As it was to be the first one to be attempted in the State, it was meant to be a test of the adap- tability of the method to the making of reliable maps at a low cost. Approximate costs, the best methods of procedure to be followed in field and office, the details to be shown on the map, a suitable card- index system and other information gained through experience would then be made available to any interested towns. LOCAL CONDITIONS AFFECTING THE SURVEY The methods to be used, the results obtained, and the costs vary with the conditions in the town as well as with the aims of the sur- vey. Fremont The Town of Fremont is situated nearly in the center of Rocking- ham County on the Nashua, Worcester and Portland branch of the May. 1932) SURVEY OF FREMONT AND BOSCAWEN 5 Boston and Maine Railroad. It was originally a part of Exeter, but, with Brentwood, was set off in 1742. Later, in 1764, it was separ- ated from Brentwood and incorporated as Poplin. The name was changed to Fremont in 1854. The land is rolling-, and in some sections flat enough to form swamps of considerable extent. There are few hills of any size. The brooks seldom flow rapidly, and are frequently swampy. The town is drained chiefly by the Exeter River, which passes through the southwestern section, swings around through adjoining towns, re- enters in the northwest section, and passes diagonally through town to the southeast, where it flows into Brentwood at the Fellows Co. mill. The only brook of any importance is Red Brook, which drains Spruce Swamp and most of the central eastern section of town. It flows southward into the Exeter River. The northeastern section is drained by a series of brooks which form into the Piscassic River. Except where the river is dammed, there is only one body of water, Loon Pond, which is located in the northwest corner. The topography under these conditions does not materially hinder mapping, except for the swamps. While most of the town is wood- ed, this does not badly interfere with walking, for there are few" areas of thick brush or juniper. Here again the swamps, with thickets of blueberry bushes, offer the chief obstacle. The type of ownership has a very important influence on the map- ping. Original!}- Fremont was allotted b}- rangeways running ap- proximately N 29 degrees E half a mile apart, the area between be- ing divided into lots. While so little remains of these lots that their original size is a matter of record only, the present property lines do frequently run parallel to the original la3'out. This makes the direc- tion of lines regular, and much easier to trace. Some of the range- ways are still property divisions and form the skeleton of the survey for these sections. Individual holdings are usualh' either large, or comparatively small. There are relatively few between 27 and 75 acres. Fifteen percent of the landowners, exclusive of corporations, own 60 percent of the land. Small properties are either home sites, usually with well established bounds, or woodlots. For the most part the latter are bounded clearly by differences in growth or by monuments, and rarely by fences. The worst problems in town, however, grew out of a mass of small lots, the owners of which had cut the wood and allowed the "useless" land to die a natural death, as far as bounda- ries were concerned. Not infrequent!}" the owners have died, leaving tlie land to non-resident heirs who are interested in them only at tax time. By the time the timber or wood is ready to cut again, the lines are quite like!}- to have disappeared entirely. Often some neighbors will remember the lot, but all too frequently they say, "If old Mr. were alive, he could show you the whole thing", or, "If this had been done twenty-five years ago, there would have been nothing to it". It is difficult to say what would have been the condition twenty-fi^'e years from now if the facts now known had not been recorded. 6 XEW HAAIPSHIRE EXPERniEXT STATION (Bulletin 264 Perhaps the worst part of the problem is not that lots and lines are for.e^otten. but that the bounds are allowed to decay or be de- stroyed until they are unrecof^nizable. Pole fences, no longer kept up. have commojily disinteg^rated to a mound in the earth, or not even that. Barbed-wire fences have fallen into the duff and been covered up. Stakes have rotted, spotted trees have fallen, been cut, or grown over the spot. Differences in the growth have varied un- til they are hardly distinguishable. Fire has cleaned out all traces of lines in several sections. Stone walls, the most permanent com- mon line markers, are scarce in the woodlands. On the other hand, several owners have re-established corners while the old markers were still distinguishable. This is frequently done with iron pipe or pins, or even with stone bounds, and will save much bother and expense later on. Where there is no accurate sur- veyor's description, and where no trace can be found, it is exceeding- ly difficult to replace a corner. While the lines, for the most part, were easily discernible, in some backwoods areas it often took a week to find lines which could be mapped in a day or so. This was the expensive part of the survey, and the most valuable when successful. Boscawen Boscawen presented a rather different situation. This town, in Merri.mack County, lies just north of Concord, and is bounded on the north by Franklin and Salisbury, on the east by Northfield and Can- terbury (the boundary line being the Merrimack River), and on the west by Webster. The village of Boscawen, commonh' called Boscawen Plains, ex- tends about two miles along the Daniel W^ebster Highwa}^ close to the Merrimack River. The southeastern portion of the town lies in Penacook, a separate village which includes parts of both Boscawen and Concord. The topography is quite hilly and rough except in the eastern por- tions along the river. All but the southwestern section of the town is accessible b}- roads. This area is an extensive woodland, largely cut over, accessible only by logging roads. The land is well drained with few swamps. The original grant nf Boscawen was made to about eighty of the first settlers, known as the proprietors, by the government of Massa- chusetts Bay in 1733. The land was surveyed and divided among these proprietors, each allotment being called a "Proprietor's Right". The lots were very irregular in size and shape, although some attempt was made to divide the town by lots and ranges. Man}' of these lots were walled in, and it is surprising to see how many of the lands today still follow the original boundaries. A record of the measurements of these proprietors' rights was available in the office, and proved to be very valuable in checking with deed descriptions. The farms and timber lots along the river and in the northern por- tion are fairly large, averaging from 75 to 100 acres. Little subdiv- ision has taken place in these sections, many of the farms having been handed down from generation to generation with few changes. Alav. 1932) SURVEY OF FREMONT AND BOSCAWEN 7 The smaller ownerships are naturally found nearer the villages. The boundary lines consist of stone walls fences, brooks and roacR n most-cases boundary lines are ^yell ^efined^the exceptions beino- where lots ^yere subdivided and portions sold oE without being marked Generally, the boundaries between timber lots are recog- ni7al)le by the variation in timber growth even though there are no walls or fences. The large number of stone walls helped greatly in making this map. Probably the most important factor in the low cost of the survey - was the fact that property records were collected in the offices ql local surveyors who themselves knew the town very well and were willing to help in every way to build the map. METHODS Fremont , . , The first step in each survey Avas to make a base map which showed the position of the roads, railroad, main streams, houses, etc. Then the distribution of ownerships had to be determined, and later entered on the map by plotting or field work. After that was com- pleted, a final map had to be drawn. For the base map of Fremont, on which the final paced map was built the Pawtuckaway sheet of the U. S. G. S. topographical sheet, enlarged to the scale of eight inches to the mile, was used for the northern third of the town. The Haverhill sheet, covering the southern two-thirds, was not accurate enough m detail, so a traverse-board map of the roads and railroad had to be run out as a base for this area. This took about a week, but was mdispensible. Since then, work has been completed for a more accurate map to re- place the old Haverhill sheet. „wri- The special problem of the Fremont survey was to hunt out the property lines. Even in the areas where the lines were well known, it was necessary to trace them out in some way with someone acquainted with the country before any mapping ^ould be done^ Where thev were not definite it was necessary to search for all the evidence available, in the form of records as well as on the land it- self, before mapping. c^^nrino- the Several sources of information were offered for securing the necessary fac s. The most dependable and satisfactory was to go ZtoTXnn. By crossing the line in several places several points on it are established, and the rest can be drawn in from them. This allows the map to be drawn u]) in the field, where any obvious errors can be checked and corrected immediately. ivlay, 1932) SURVEY OF FREMONT AND BOSCAWEN 9 FiiTure 1 illustrates the method, indicating by arrows the path to be followed in mapping. -The line shown starts as a barbed w^^^ fence heading southwesterly, oninig: onto a stone wall which heads nc rtLv^s e b-. At the end of the wall, the Ime continues as a chlng^^ in the growth due to recent cutting to the ed^e of a swamp, FIG. 1. Example of method used in Fremont mapping. where there is a stone monument. The line continues into the swamp, but is somewhat doubtful, and obscure. A more complete description of the field methods is given in the Durham bulletin.* The problem of present land use required assembling: data for a map to show the uses of land, independent of property lines 1 o do this, all changes in the kind of land use (hay to pasture, tc.) n^t ced in miDDino- the property lines were recorded m the field book, wnere hrio\T were s7lar'ge tLt they could not be -aPP^^^/^^-P f ^^.^ X this data, special strips had to be run across ^^e center to map the interior These strips also acted as checks on the accuracy oi ine The woodland areas were divided roughly as to age and aens y white pine. The classification used in the Durham f"-^^ ^^ J°J^°,^,t ^""P' for the division of open pasture into first and second classes. ^University of New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin 255. March. ioSl. PROPERTY FREMONT Ne:w H^MPShiF>£^ Lelcend CO. Sfon,^ Wall Olron Bound -*■ Barbed Wire •StoneBound -^ Smool-hWire a3fa/ie r^Pole Fence €. Stahe S: ■Stones •— Ditch * Tree, ■Stump etc r ^ > ^ 'li i-r-^ — '^' — Kingston 12 NEW HAMrSHIRE EXPERIMEXT STATION (Bulletin 261 Eoscawen The gfeneral methods of tht- Boscawcn survey differed from those used in l-'rcmont chiefly in the manner of obtaininj^: property data. In this town the records - deeds, plans and niajis - for a larg-e ])art of the town were available and were used as the chief l)asis for the mai> instead of working;- the lines out on the jjround. A copy of the orij^i- nal proprietor's record map was secured, and an enlargement of the U. S, G. S. topographic map was made to the same scale. This j^ov- ernment map is the most accurate obtainable, and was used as the base map on which to plot the properties. Several Aveeks were spent at the County Court House lookinjr ui> and copyins" deeds of all known properties. Then all tracts which were described in the deeds well enouj;h to be located accurately were n;a])ped as well as those of which old maps were obtainable. The ^proprietor's record map was used as a check, as many of the deed descriptions referred to it. Where present deed descriptions w^ere vaji^ue and unintelligible, the deeds were traced back for a per- iod of years ; and. in many cases, j^ood survey descriptions or refer- ences to the orig-inal allotment were found. When the supply of records was exhausted, the areas still unaccounted for were mapped with a hand compass and pacin.q;. Land-owners and all others who were able to o;We helpful informa- tion were interviewed. Where lines or corners were not known it was often possible to locate them by a process of elimination where- by the adjoining- owners' lands were mapped, leaving- the land in question as the remainder. No attempts were made to indicate by symbols the different types of fences or corners, as it was consid- ered an added expense and would necessitate checking lines on the ground which would not otherwise have to be examined, particularly where recent accurate survevs had been made. RESULTS Maps The most important result of each survey was a property map. The roads, rivers, important brooks. i)onds. swamps, buildings, rail- roads, etc. formed the base, with the network of projierty lines superimposed. On the Fremont mai), any identifying markers, such as fences, walls, changes in the growth or ditches were indicated by symbols. Established corner bounds - stone, stakes, iron pins, pil)es, trees, etc. - were similarly represented. Woodroads, or ])aths. brooks, or other features, or any description which seemed necessary to identify and help locate bounds were also included. It was felt that such a map would be the most convenient method of dealing: with any property problem which might come up, either by avoiding the need of actually going; onto the lot, or, when this was necessary, by helping in finding the lot and its boundaries. In form, the Fremont map was drawn up in sheets each represent- ing one s(|uare mile (eight inches square, the scale being- 1 inch to 1-8 mile, 10 chains, 40 rods or 660 feet). These sheets were then mounted on cloth so that the map could be hung: on a wall or folded up for convenience in storing. c o £ U. c o I- U) CI c o £ c ni 3 4} N X! N rn ,a r/) CI OJ o o a; O 03 .9i S3 o M (0 re O -I m < p 05 P-l in O) o CIS to t- 05 ITS 00 C<3 a 3 cS o o iri o o o o > O c3 O O 01 03 CO o oo N w a 3 -i-> ;5 >. a ; — i O n^ S CD a C) ^ •rH Oh U( 0) < i^ 0 to 1) TS 0 0 3 03 0 0 cS ITS 10 tH 0 0 10 ffq m 0 0 10 CO U3 iH Eh o S o o o O Q O O) E-i O P < Pi u 14 NEW HA^^IPSHIRE EXPEROIEXT STATION (Bulletin 264 The reproduction of this map included in this report is on so small a scale that it is impossible to include details shown on the original, Init it does illustrate the o-eneral features of the town and its prop- erty divisions as represented on the larger map. In connection with this map a list of owners was made, giving the acreage of each lot owned b}^ each man. As a basis for the study of present uses of land, a separate map Avas made showing the distribution of cover classes. This was drawn on the same base, and with the same scale, as the property map, but did not show any property lines. It was in looseleaf form, each leaf representing a square mile. While this could not be used as a wall map, it is convenient for general reference and easily filed. It Avas from this type map that the tabulations were made on which the utilization stud}^ was based. The property map completed in the BoscaAven survey shows the ownership divisions as dot and dash lines. Each tract has been num- bered, and a card with the corresponding number placed in the card index file. Because of the large number of house lots and village homes, it was found impracticable to show^ them on the town map wath any accuracy, so separate maps of the villages of Boscawen and Penacook were made, using a scale over three times as large as that of the_ main map. This enables the lots to be shown in detail which is to be desired as they have a greater value per acre than the outlying farm and timber lands. Card Index A card index system has been completed, using a card for each tract of land. A number is placed in the upper right hand corner of each card to correspond to a number on the map. On the left hand side is a column for the names of owners, the present owner being the last entry. The center of the card is arranged to show how the land changed hands. If by deed, the date, and volume and page number of its registry in the county records is indicated. If the land came to the present owner by inheritance, this is shown. If title is now held by inheritance, the previous transfer by deed should be shown so that a reference to a deed is always available. The acre- age is entered in a column on the right hand side of the card. Figure 2 represents the system used. By this hypothetical illus- tration it will be seen that on April 7, 1871, John Smith bought from George Jones, a one-third undivided interest in a tract of land con- taining 85 acres and shown as Lot No. 123 on the town map. The deed was recorded in Volume 352, on page 61 of the county registry. On the following day Smith bought the other two-thirds interest to this lot from Alma Carlson, and the transfer was recorded on the next page of the same valume. At John Smith's death, the lot was left to his married daughter, Mary Wilkins. On May 24. 1900, she sold the lot to Frank Brown, and the deed was recorded on Page 5 of Volume 402. Carl Butler, administrator of the estate of Frank Brown, sold the lot to Roy Grimes in settling the estate, and Grimes sold it to Alcide Dubois. Since Dubois' death, while the estate is yet unsettled, the lot has belonged to his heirs. May, 1932) SURVEY OF FREMONT AND BOSCAWEN 15 ''r,t -/;?.T O {^v n p rs /i/rt Dni-^ r-rn^i^d Rpn 1 ■: t r- y Anr-(=-nqf=^ L-n 7 Pa OB Jnt,n Smith ^ G e O r q e: lJ O nes Aaril ^ 1.-=.'/ dS^ ( ' . '^ as fy^d.-nr ^ B r o ,y n f ^ t Ale 1 de O ,, ho 1 s >2/^ fi o u (Crimes Noi/ IS. I92S 4-00 260 86 Alcic/eD,jh-ois heirs Somp le /n de^ Cord F~r o n t Back FIG. 2. Sample card used in Boscawen study. 16 NEW HAMPSHIRE EXPERIMENT STATION (Bulletin 264 PRESENT USES OF LAND Uses of land in the town of Fremont were studied to g'ive basic data for land utilization problems. Fremont has never been primarily a farming- town. It has a few larg^e farms, but the backbone of the town is in its wood-using indus- try. Sixty-four percent of the town is wooded, and has furnished material not only for Spaulding and Frost's cooperage mill, but for other industries in the neighboring towns. Fellows (lo.'s wood heel and box factory and the brickyards of Epping are examples. TABLE 2. Summary of types of land in Town of Fremont. Classes Acres Percent Hayland and improved land 1255 Vz 11.3% Pastui-e, 1st class 2nd class Wooded 367 260% 1697% 2325y2 16% 11% 73% 20.9% Meadow, swamp and wa ter 366 3.3% Woodlands Pine (Merchantable) Hardwoods (Merchantable) Cutover 11081/4 (774) 5261 (2786) 787% 7157 15y2% 73 ¥2% 11% 64.5% TOTAL 11,104 There are several commercial poultry plants in town, but as these take up comparative!}' little land they are not important in a land survey. There is a distinct tendency for the cutover lands to come in to hardwoods rather than to regenerate to pine. At present nearly three quarters of the woodlands are hardwood, and 11 ])ercent recent cutover. Onl)' 16 percent is pine. Forty percent of the pine lands are merchantable, and 70 percent would produce some boxboards. The pine is allowed to grow older before cutting than is the case in a g-ood many towns, which means that the cut is of better average quality. There is quite evidently a deficiency in young and growing pine. The uplands are excellent pine lands, but hardwoods, topping the seedlings at the start, crowd them out. While pine has been over- emphasized, Fremont is placed in an unusually favorable position by the dependable market offered by local industries. May, 1932) SURVEY OF FREMONT AND BOSCAWEN 17 Of the pasture land about three quarters has enougfh tree growth usually pine, to hinder the growth of grass. About 16 percent is well grassed, and the rest is partly choked by juniper and other shrubs. The capacity of these pastures is probably in excess of the needs of the 185 cattle in the town. About 500 of the 1100 odd acres of hayland, excluding the area used for mills and residences, is producing fairly well. Here, too, the estimated total acreage is more than adequate for the needs of the present amount of stock. Unlike other towns, and probably because of its tendency to use only the best lands for farming, Fremont has few "abandoned" farms. Ownerships which pass out of active use by one family are usually bought into neighboring farms. TABLE 3. Estimate of merchantable standing timber in Town of Fremont. WHITE PINE bd. ft. HARDWOOD Cords PINE 40 yr. 2,887,000 91 50 yr. 6,742^000 211 60 yr. 1,435,000 104 Uneven-aged 575,000 73 479 11,639,000 HARDWOOD 30 yr. class 79,700 4,150 40 yr. 211,500 825 50 yr. 12,200 818 Uneven-aged 672,400 3,444 9,231 976,000 PASTURE 40 yr. 1,076,700 218 50 yr. 1,327,500 Uneven-aged 194,700 62 2,598,000 280 TOTAL 15,213,000 bd. ft. 9,990 cds. DISCUSSION Is this type of surveying practicable? It accomplished the work it set out to do, i. e., to record the own- erships in a way that was satisfactory to the town.. There was,, however, one of the purposes for which the appropriation was made which the survey did not attempt to fulfill - that of establishing ob- scure lines on the ground. That requires more accurate instru- ments. The survey did record information from which those lines could be run out. These instances were comparatively few, and it was decided that it would be more economical to make up the map 18 NEW HAMPSHIRE EXPERIMENT STATION (Bulletin 264 as a \vhole, and to enter on it any descriptions of lines Avhich were run out or re-established later, since this would minimize the more expensive surveyinsj. Now that the information for the whole town has been recorded, there is much less chance that the unsurveyed lines will be forgotten completely, even if they are not actually established until needed for cutting off the wood, sale, or other reason. ]\Iany of the lines and bounds which are not well established caii he repaired b}' the owners before they become completely obscure, and save or lower the cost of a future surve}'. Wliile the methods used in surveying other towns would vary with the conditions in each town, as well as with the detailed aims in view, the general method seems to have proven successful. A U. S. Geological Survey topographic sheet, enlarged, seems the best usual!}' available base map. The scale should vary with the town, in order to make the final map of a convenient size for reference. For the average sized town, 8" to the mile is convenient. This scale ogives sufficient detail, and will not be too large except in towns of 20,000 acres or so. It is convenient in that a square inch represents exactly 10 acres, and a tenth of an inch equals one chain, (66 feet) the unit usually used in pacing. When this scale is not applicable, a multiple is recommended. Inserts or special maps showing the congested l)arts of the towns on a larger scale may be desirable. The conditions in each town will determine which sources of in- formation concerning property lines will be the best to use. It seems advisable to go over the roads, at least, mapping the ends of property lines and getting a general idea of the layout of the town. At the same time, talking with the owners, in order to get the history of the areas, copies of deeds, etc. will secure much valuable information. In this way data needed in making oiit the card index can be obtained. If copies of deeds, plans, etc.. can be collected beforehand in one place - say at the selectmen's office - much time and expense can be saved. The main problem will be to decide whether it is more feasible to do most of the work on the ground or in the Registry of Deeds. If the records are available, and someone who knows the country well enough to tell where each deed fits in on the map will help, more ac- ' curate results can be obtained by basing the work on these. If, how- ever, the records are fragmentary, or accurate surveyors' meas- urements are few, and it appears that the lines on the ground are easier to find than accurate d'eeds,';this;plan is the one to use. Ordi- narily some sections of a town will suit one system, others another. The low cost of the paced survey>j,%;^ :v,(ii .. ':'.. .-vn Ala}-, 1932) SURVEY OF FREAIONT AND BOSCAWEN 19 condition. The base map of the southern part of town, which ordinarily would be unnecessary, took another week. This town could have been done commercialh' at a rate of 10 cents an acre. The cost of the Boscawen map was between 7 and 8 cents an acre. The Tax Commission believes that this could be lowered to 5 cents in another survey under similar conditions. These seem to present the two extremes. Not onlv was the propert}- situation in Fremont much worse than that in Boscawen, but more was required. The land utilization data, and the attempt to map anything- which would identif}^ the lines on the o-round both took time. . There are so many factors which rna}' affect the cost per acre that each town is a separate problem. In some of the -northern towns Avhere ownerships usually follow the original layout, where the average owner holds a comparatively large tract, where the records are fairly complete and the topog-raphy not too rough, five cents ma}' be too high. This is especially true of towns whose lands are larg-eh' included in the National Forest.- On the other hand very bad property tangles may raise the cost over ten cents. In another survey, we would recommend changing the form of the card index system slightly. The main features would remain the same, but it is suggested that a rough plan, at least, of the lot should be drawn on the back of the card, Avhich would show features given in .the deed, the card index numiiers of adjoining lots, the acreage as closel}- as possible, and an}' other features which may be desired, such as monuments, notes as to the type of land for assess- .ment purposes, or buildings. Perhaps a copy of the map, blueprinted, .could be cut up, and each lot pasted on the back of its index card to .serve this purpose. Figure 2 illustrates a completed card. A .separate index to the file by owners would make it easier to locate individual lots. It is likely that some towns will be interested in making a map. but will not feel in position to spend much money toward it at the time. In such cases the Tax Commission recommends buying a base map on which the lots can be plotted or sketched by residents jr local surveyors. . This would preserve on paper much informa- tion which might be lost before the more accurate map could be undertaken. The cost of this map would certainly be made up in saving: of time when the survey was made. . This cost, for a rnap showing- roads, railroads, main streams, buildings and town lines raised to the scale planned for the completed map, would be between $25 and $50 for towns covered by fairly recent typographical maps of the U. S. Geological Survey.. If the registry reference to deeds to each lot were written on this sketch, and notes as to any other valuable information, such a map would be still more worth while. It is estimated that it would take somewhat over $400,000 to map the entire state of New Hampshire, with its 5,646,051 acres, accord- ing to the method used in these two surveys- about 6-100 of 1% of $625,000,000, the total valuation for the State. The more expensive 'i-nd the more valuable work would be in the southern, and especially the southeastern section where the settlements are older and the property divisions more irregular. ■iiiil illlilliliil- ^liiiill ill Sllte liife lilil^ iiiiiiiii^ Wmm iiiiiili ilS'.'dy.i'.ii'iilKK'i- ijljiii '.Wmlilm. mmmmk