176 THE BOOK OF FORESTRY 



community continuously since the middle of the ninth 

 century. From the 10,000 acres it contains an annual 

 revenue of $70,000 is obtained, which materially lightens 

 the amount to be raised by taxes. Countless towns in 

 the Eastern States could acquire nearby tracts of waste 

 land, plant them and use them as combination parks and 

 forests and from this investment the coming gener- 

 ations would derive a great deal of pleasure and profit. 

 In addition to beautifying areas now waste and idle such 

 forests would stimulate better forestry among nearby 

 private owners. Massachusetts with its fifty-six com- 

 munal forests has made a splendid start and other 

 States could well follow the example set by the Bay 

 State. 



This close utilization of non-agricultural land is only 

 a part of the programme that must be carried out during 

 the coming years, for with the population increasing 

 by leaps and bounds the tillable lands must be econom- 

 ically handled in order to feed the future inhabitants. 

 At the present rate of increase, by 1950 the agricultural 

 portion of this country will be enlarged by 1,000,000 

 acres and then would include nearly eighty per cent 

 of the total land surface of this country. In the same 

 way the land which is too steep, too stony or too dry 

 for field crops must if possible be kept producing 

 timber harvests in order that books, fuel, and cheap 

 shelter be provided for the citizens of the future. The 

 Federal Forest Service has blazed the way by showing 

 that large areas of forest land can be effectively man- 

 aged and well protected. The fact that the National 

 Forests are not yet self-sustaining is partially due to 

 the fact that the Government-owned timber land is so 

 remote from the markets the far-seeing lumberman 

 obtained the best and most accessible timber, and Uncle 



