OCR Text |
Show f In New Hampshire Hills 1 (Special Correspondence. Outsldo of tho largo cities almost all of Now Hampshlro has become a stato of rest and recreation.' Quiet resorts in tho mountain country, far removed from tho noise of tho railroad und tho trolley, arc being Bought after moro and moro. Tlmo Is nt a discount. Ten and twcnty-mllo drives aro incidents in tho dally llfo of tho people. Good roads and good horses mako them a pleasure; but tho nerve-trying auto-mobllo auto-mobllo Is tho toy ot tho oxcltemcbt-loving oxcltemcbt-loving patron of tho big summer hotel. ho-tel. Baron von Sternberg, tho German ambassador, established a homo on Governor's Island, Lnko Wlnnlplseo-gec, Wlnnlplseo-gec, and becamo so enthusiastic over it that ho declared that ho had Been no plnco oven in Scotland or tho Bavarian Ba-varian Highlands with which tho Weirs could not hold its own. Winston Churchill, after ho becamo famouB as a writer of historical novels, nov-els, traveled all over tho country In search ot a spot for tho Ideal homo. Arriving in Cornish, ho at onco mado up his mind that ho had found what bo was looking for. Ho bought an old estato, nnd by tho .expenditure of thousands of dollars transformed it Into ono ot tho most beautiful country coun-try seats, and now makes it hls-homo tho year round. Every year moro distinguished names aro being added to tho list ot Now Hampshire's summer boarders, nnd tho Increase Is riot being confined to nny particular town. Ex-Gov. Frank S. Hlnck of Now York spends his summers In Freedom, whero a few years ago ho saw what ho thought was tho most beautiful place upon which his eyes had ovqr rested and bought It. Senator J. C. Spooncr becamo enthusiastic en-thusiastic ovor tho beauties of Pittsburg, Pitts-burg, and purchased a largo farm, whero In summor lip leads tho slraplo llfo In much tho samo manner ns Mr. Cleveland. Highways Being Built. So tho list might bo extended, taking tak-ing In localities from tho coast, whero thoiiLani's enjoy sea bathing nnd tho rugged grandeur of the cliffs against and tho manner In which tho abandoned aban-doned fnrm problem was met is told by ex-Governor Batchclder, as follows. "la 1889 tho New Hampshlro Legls laturc, becoming alarmed at tho ox tont to which tho abandonment of th', farms of tho stato was being cnn.od, authorized tho appointment by the Governor and council ot a commissioner commission-er of immigration, whoso duty it should bo to bring about, within the measuro of his ability, tho rcpcopllng "Governor Dnvld II. Goodell and his counselors filled tho office thus created creat-ed by tho appointment of tho Secretary Secre-tary of the Stato Board of Agtlculturo, who has continued to hold tho position posi-tion up to the prcscn' time. Tho numbor num-bor of farms In th state for which doslrnblo owners nnd occupants havo been secured through the efforts of tho commissioner testify to tho degrco in which his success has been com-mensurnto com-mensurnto with his desire? for the wolfaro of his stato. Why Farms Are Vacant. "As early ns possible the malady was diagnosed nnd the causes for tho vacant houses upon tho farms woro summed up under theso three heads: "First Tho children left tho old homestead for other fields of labor whllo tho parents wero In physical condition to manago tho farm, and upon tho death ot tho aged parents In later years tho children had become engrossed In business upon other farms or In other occupations nnd ot tho rural districts of the Granite Stato. could not return. The farms havo passed Into the han l of heirs and nro for sale. "Second Many farmers, cither with children engaged In some othor avocations avoca-tions or without children, having secured se-cured n competency by Industry and frugal habits, "tavo retired from tho farm to tho noliihborlng city or village to spend tholr declining years In n quiet qui-et manner, and the farm Is tot sale. "Third Soui'itlmc the owners of farms, seeing nnly the bright side In other ccupatlonB nnd tho dark side In theirs, havo l'ft the farm for soma BAKSflBHdrLk lfATJmmWVMiWMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmR klBlBlBHKraCv.r jWJcV jA (IJJJJflilJJJJJJjBIJJJJilJJJi jBBBnyjHBH(SJJBBWCPfT8ffnBliWBBMWMfl "" BHS&BHlVfiBBBBBBBBB JBJBHBBBJBBBJBBJBflPBBHBwA122BJQBJJBBBBjBJ n-"-&?" tfBJJJBjjJlllllllllJ9jJllP IPPPPPPjBJSHiBHiTV tf .nl'iin Ih'i f ? -t c ' ' '.1 j , Tel BJBJSJBjIpjnHMMuH - ffi, fpj " 'if wnn 'f mjmmMMJ)J)J)Isi Plangdon House, Concord.'- which tho groat waves dash, to tho highest point In tho mountains, where tho air is clear and dry, and hundreds find tho keenest plensuro in climbing great heights, from which can be seen vast stretches of country, countless hills, whoro nature in all her majesty stands revealed. In tho Whlto mountains moro than fifty miles of permanent hlghwnys havo boon built by special acts of tho Stato Legislature In tho most grandly beautiful section ot New Hampshlro, at tho foot of tho Presidential range, opening up now and beautiful regions, nnd affording moro convenient means of communication with different points of lutorcst. Theso roads and tho ocoan boulovard In process of construction along tho sea coast strip represent the most costly stretches of tho proposod State systom. Tho invasion ot tho nutomabllo In recent years has Increased tho Interest Inter-est taken in this work. Last summor tho numbor of automobiles that went Into tho stnto wns larger by hundreds than ovor before, nnd tho prosent season sea-son has already scon a greater Invasion. Inva-sion. Attention Is also bolng paid to tho forosts, under tho direction ot tho forestry for-estry commission, whllo sontimont among tho people Is bolng stimulated by tho work of tho Society for tho Preservation of Now Hampshire Forests, For-ests, an organization which comprises in its momborshlp soma of tho best known men in tho Stato, as woll ns somo ot tho most prominent of tho summer visitors. For Boveral years It has kept a trained, forostor in tho flold as a lecturoi; and advUer, Tho most ambitious project so far advanced, nnd It is said with good prospects of success, suc-cess, is to havo tho national government govern-ment mnko tho Whlto mountain region a national forest rosorvo. Abandoned Farm Problem. But tho dovolopmcnt of Now Hampshlro Hamp-shlro as a uummor resort stato, as a land which' is proving nttractive to woalthy timatour farmers; tho improvement im-provement of Its roads nnd prosorva-tlon prosorva-tlon of itsvforests, has not como nbout by any chnue. Thoro camo, a tlmo In tho history of the BtatQSJ&n t'10 rooplo nwoko to tho fact tffih,y raU8t ,l0 Bomothlng othor buslncBs only to bo disappointed nnd having ralhcd money to engago It other business by mortgaging the farm, tho farm is for sale. "The first collection of statistics bj tho commissioner of immigration, Im mediately upon his nppolntmcnt showed n total ot 1342 abandoned farms within tho Btnto. This was low-water low-water mark, and whllo tbo causos named above contlnuo to operate and farms aro constantly bolng loft unoccupied unoc-cupied here and thero in tho stato, tho proportion of abandoned farms has been gradually but surely growing less." |