For their help in the preparation of this thesis, I express my gratitude to the members of my Graduate Committee: Alexander H. Leighton, Chairman, Robert Polson and John P. Dean, and to Edward Suchman who served on my Committee during the first three years. 

I am especially obliged to Quebec Agricultural Research Council, the Carnegie Corporation of New York and The Milbank Memorial Fund, whose financial contributions made possible the fieldwork and the completion of this dissertation. 

To Professor Alexander H. Leighton, Coordinator of the Stirling County Studies I owe a special debt of gratitude for continuous guidance, training and professional assistance during the four years I worked under his direct supervision. 

I wish to acknowledge the contribution of my associates on the Stirling Project at Cornell, namely: Charles Hugues, Allister Macmillan, Garnet McCreary, Robert Rapoport, Seymour Parker and Richard Schwartz. I am grateful also to Professor Émile Gosselin of Laval and Father Vincent Martin O.S.B. for stimulating discussions while carrying on fieldwork. 

I express my indebtedness to Mary Collier who proofread most of this manuscript and made pertinent suggestions, and to my wife Jacqueline for her invaluable assistance in the field and her criticism at various stages of the work. 

To my Saint-Malo and Portsmouth informants, many of whom are personal friends, my sincerest thanks for their understanding. Without their cooperation, this work would not have been possible.