A NATIONAL PLAN FOB AMERICAN FORESTRY 99 



In many instances forest work or the sale of forest products pro- 

 vides a major portion of the farm income. This has been particu- 

 larly true during the early stages of settlement, while the farms were 

 being cleared. In the northern portion of the Lake States, for 

 example, more than 50 percent of the settlers' income during the first 

 four years has come from sale of timber products and work off the 

 farm; even after 20 years, more than one fourth of the total income 

 was derived from these sources. 1 Dependence upon income from the 

 forest or other sources than the farm itself is not confined to newly 

 settled regions, however. It is found also in long-settled portions of 

 the Appalachian Mountains, the Ozarks, and the Northeast. Out 

 of 2,222 operated farms in two counties of central West Virginia in 

 1928, only 768 gave exclusive employment to the operators. The 

 operators of the remaining 1,454 farms engaged in other work, much 

 of it in the woods or forest industries, for a considerable portion of 

 the year. 2 In the Kentucky mountains, as in similar regions where 

 the population is relatively dense and all of the land suitable for the 

 purpose has long been utilized for crops and pasture, the mainte- 

 nance of satisfactory living standards requires a larger income than 

 can be obtained from farming alone. The large area of forest land, 

 if properly utilized and supplemented by local manufacture of the 

 forest products, offers the best prospect of furnishing supplementary 

 employment. 3 



In many European countries the forests play an exceedingly im- 

 portant role in the farm economy. Not only do millions of farmers 

 own little tracts of woodland, as in France, Germany, Austria, 

 Finland, and the Scandinavian countries, but large numbers of them 

 find part-time employment in the public forests or those belonging 

 to other large owners. 



An excellent example of the way in which forestry and farming can 

 be coordinated is the small holdings project that is being developed 

 by the Forestry Commission of Great Britain. Under this scheme, 

 the better quality land on the tracts acquired for State forests is 

 reserved for agricultural use. This land is then divided into small 

 holdings, averaging about 10 acres, which are equipped with buildings 

 and leased to settlers. Each of these small holders is guaranteed 150 

 days of forest work a year ; the rest of the time he works on his holding, 

 raising food for his own use and for sale. In this way the Forestry 

 Commission obtains a dependable supply of resident workers for 

 reforestation, development and eventual utilization of the State 

 forests. At the same time hundreds of workers and their families are 

 settling on farms and thus gradually repopulating the countryside in 

 the neighborhood of the forests. 



FOREST INDUSTRIES AFFORD LOCAL MARKETS FOR FARM CROPS 



Permanent forests also help agriculture through the markets for 

 farm products which are afforded by the nonfarm population that is 

 dependent upon forest work or work in wood-using industries. The 

 logging camps and the industrial villages require large quantities of 

 vegetables, fruits, meats, and dairy and poultry products, as well as 



1 Hartman, William A., and John D. Black. Economic Aspects of Land Settlement in the Cut-Over 

 Region of the Great Lakes States. U.S. Dept. Agric. Circular 160. 86 p., illus. 1931. 



2 Peck, Millard, Bernard Frank, and Paul A. Eke. Economic Utilization of Marginal Lands in 

 Nicholas and Webster Counties, W.Va. U.S. Dept. Agric.Tech. Bull. 303. 64 p., illus. 1932. 



3 Clayton, C. F., and W. D. Nicholls. Land Utilization in Laurel County, Ky. U.S.Dept.Agric. 

 Tech. Bull. 289. 100 p., illus. 1932. 



