A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 101 



large, because of the expense of providing the necessary schools, 

 roads, and other services. 



Steps should be taken to prevent further expansion of farming on 

 such land. Definite assignment of the land to forest growing, either 

 through its acquisition by the public, or by private owners with the 

 cooperation of the public, will tend to remove the incentive to put it 

 to uneconomic agricultural use. This is a very important reason, 

 which is generally overlooked, for the development of productive 

 forests on the large areas of land which is submarginal for agriculture 

 but physically capable of cultivation. 



FORESTRY HELPS TO MAINTAIN POPULATION IN SUBMARGINAL 



REGIONS 



We hear much, nowadays, about agricultural overproduction and 

 the need for getting submarginal land out of agricultural use. It is 

 sometimes suggested that the rural inhabitants of the more or less 

 marginal regions should migrate to better agricultural land elsewhere 

 or to industrial centers where they can engage in other kinds of work. 

 This would not materially affect agricultural overproduction 

 probably not at all, so far as the general market is concerned. A few 

 of the persons thus migrating might better their condition, but many 

 of them would be even worse off than before. Whether migration 

 were allowed to take its natural course or were stimulated, it would 

 seldom result in complete depopulation. The process would probably 

 be selective, leaving behind those individuals with the least initiative 

 or economically the weakest, and thus would give rise to rural slums 

 which might be even more difficult to deal with than those in the 

 cities. 



Instead of getting the people of such regions to seek employment 

 elsewhere, it would be far better to bring employment to them. By 

 establishing industries which will supplement agriculture, an even 

 larger population than exists now can be supported on a much higher 

 level than at present. Agriculture may be submarginal so far as the 

 general market is concerned, but may still be supermarginal if its 

 products can be utilized in the same locality where grown. This is 

 particularly true in localities where farming can be conducted on a 

 part-time basis, and where a portion of the farmers' income can be 

 derived from other industries. 



Just as in the case of nations, the people of a given region can 

 purchase the products of other regions only if they produce com- 

 modities or services which can be sold in outside markets. As a 

 general rule, submarginal agricultural regions cannot economically, 

 nor should they attempt to raise farm products for the general 

 market. The forest products of such regions, however, in many 

 instances are eminently suitable for trade with the outside. The 

 cost of living will generally be lower in decentralized, forest-farm 

 communities than in the larger industrial centers, and long hauls and 

 various intermediate costs between the forest and the factory can be 

 eliminated. For these reasons, wood products industries in such 

 communities can compete on a favorable footing with similar in- 

 dustries in the larger centers. The more completely the timber can 

 be manufactured into finished commodities within the region of 

 origin, so much the better will the forest resource serve to support 



