Proceedings of Seventeenth Normal Institute 209 



York, according to the statistics of the nation and the state, shows 

 an area greater than the size of Massachusetts, Connecticut and 

 Rhode Island as idle land. I say idle, because it is not productive. 

 The people of the state have just decided at the polls that New 

 York can aiford the luxury of nearly two millions of acres of un- 

 productive land in the Adirondacks and Catskills. I am very 

 sure that those who are opposed to the right use of the forest 

 lands of the Adirondacks and Catskills have not connected up their 

 use with our state debt of $47.00 per acre, and our direct tax. 

 There is a direct connection, and two things, must be considered 

 together in any economic discussion of the problem of New York 

 State woodlands. I speak with knowledge when I say that our 

 woodlots are as a rule idle, because the returns from most of them, 

 according to investigations which the State College of Forestry 

 has been carrying on during the past four years, do not cover 

 interest on capital invested, taxes, etc. That is, in many instances 

 the farmer with unproductive woodland is boarding a part of his 

 land just as much as he boards an unproductive cow. 



As a matter of public policy, there is absolutely no question as 

 to the economic advisability and necessity of using our forest soils. 

 I am using the terms " agricultural soils " and '' forest soils " in 

 reference to conditions in the state, but unfortunately we have not 

 as yet definite data as to just how much agricultural soil and how 

 much forest soil we have. Every square foot of land that can 

 produce an agricultural crop must be classed as agricultural soil, 

 and the forester is the last man to want to see any soil capable of 

 producing agricultural crops put into forest trees as a crop. 

 The necessity for a thorough stock-taking of the natural resources 

 of the state has constantly been borne in upon the college. 

 Such a knowledge of our natural resources is absolutely necessary 

 before we shall have the accurate knowledge necessary to plan 

 with saneness for the future. 



With the changed economic conditions which will result from 

 increased population, there will, of course, come some change in 

 the extent to which we will occupy the soils of the state for agri- 

 cultural purposes. However, I feel that it is fairly safe to say 

 that if, after 300 years of human activity in New York State, 

 we still have 10,000,000 of idle acres, there is not going to 



