FOREST commissioner's REPORT. 



59 



Acres. 

 Not incorporated or settled. 

 Counties. In towns and Owned by pn- Owned by Totals, 



pi. not incorp'd. vate persons. Stata. 



York 472,563 472,563 



Oxford 604,230 859,273 1,127.000 2,660,533 



Cumberland 47I-705 47i,705 



Lincoln 643,782 643,782 



Kennebec 647,179 36.000 683,179 



Somerset 561,023 920,965 3,198,800 4,680,498 



Hancock 570,49° 115,200 685,700 



Penobscot 487.040 . 1,281,860 6,233,400 8.003.100 



Washington 392,314 i,039,ooo 1,220,500 2,651.814 



Total 1st class. .. 4,850,356 4,850.356 



Total 2d class.... 4,252,298 11,779,700 



16,031.998 



"There is yet in Maine unsettled land enough for about 650 

 good townships, the largest part of which belongs to the State." 



At that time ]\Ir. Greenleaf estimated the 16,000,000 acres of 

 wild lands in the district to be worth 17 1-2 cents an acre. 

 Writing from Williamsburg on March 31, 1825, five years after 

 the separation of Maine from Massachusetts, Mr. Greenleaf 

 said in relation to the value of lands in that part of the state: 

 "Twenty years ago land in this vicinity was worth or would sell 

 for, one dollar per acre by the township, and everybody thought 

 it would be rising. For fifteen years it has been constantly on 

 the decline, however, and can now be bought in abundance for 

 from 15 to 30 cents per acre. We may look for the cause of 

 this in something beside the intrinsic value of the land, for 

 that is the same now as ever, and to inquire whether the same 

 or any other reason will operate to keep it down longer." 



SENTIMENT OE THE PEOPEE. 



In order to show the sentiment of the people of that time in 

 relation to the manner of conducting the business of the public 

 lands the following from this communication of Mr. Greenleaf 

 is of interest: 



"During the high excitement of political parties, the subject 

 of the management of the ])ublic lands, and the selling of them 



