B r. I. -582. 



AGRICULTURAL CONDITIONS IN SOUTHERN 



NEW YORK. 



NONPRODUCTIVE AGRICULTURAL LAND IN NEW YORK. 



The nonproductive afi;riciiltural land of New York State has aroused 

 much interest and considerabk; discussion during the past two or 

 three years. Not everyone who has entered into this (hscussion has 

 had a clear idea either of the meaning of the situation or of the extent 

 to which this condition prevails. The term "abandoned farm" fre- 



FiG. 1.— An abandoned srt of farm buildings in southern New York. 



quently heard in connection with these lands is purely a relative one, 

 and in but few cases should it be taken literally. There is no agri- 

 cultural land in New York State which is not claimed, and it seldom 

 even happens that land is sold for taxes. The term must obviously 

 be qualified. In certain sections of the State, buildings are partially 

 or wholly abandoned (see fig. 1 ) ; in others, the houses are abandoned 

 as homes. In some, the barns serve merely as storage for hay and a 

 few implements. Again, many fields and, in a few cases, entire farms 



[Cir. 64] 



3 



