131 



more energj' for forest clearing, and by subdividing the forests into 

 wood-lots and distributing it among numerous owners, insured the rapid 

 diminution of area which has occurred. 



The interplay of the three tendencies to decrease our cultivated land, 

 increase other unimproved land than forest on farms, and reduce de- 

 cidedly our farm woodland area during the decade of 1910 to 1920 is 

 forcibly shown in the following tables easily deduced from the agricul- 

 tural statistics for Illinois from the U. S. Bureau of Census. 



o. Decrease in area oj land under cultivation: 



Per cent of 

 total land area 

 Year Acres of Improved land of the state In other classes 



1910 28,048,323 78.20 21.8 



1920 27,294,533 76.098 23.092 



Decrease 45,300 acres 



or 1.4% ; rate of clearing, 4530 acres per year. 



Out of a total land area in Illinois of 35,867,520 acres, about 31,- 

 974,775 acres, or 89.1 per cent, is in farms. The ownership of the 

 8,572,987 acres of untilled land in the state may be shown as follows: 



Classificalion of land not tilled 



Per cent of total 

 Acres area of state 



Included in farms 4,680,242 13.04% 



Not so Included 3,892,745 10.05%, 



Total 8,572,987 23.09% 



A study of these figures shows that the area of improved land in 

 farms in the state reached its highest point of 28,048,323 acres in 1910 



