8 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 387 



Table 2. — Percentage of Total Area Suitable for Agriculture, in 

 Farms, and in Improved Land 



Percent of Percent of Total Percent of Total 



Land Suit- Area in Farms Area Improved 



able for 



County Agriculture 1880 1940 18S0 1940 



Barnstable 31.0 29.5 13.9 12.7 5.0 



Berkshire 50.0 79.2 38.2 51.9 16.2 



Bristol 46.0 50.6 41.5 26.4 19.0 



Essex 49.1 56.9 35.6 39.9 17.2 



Franklin 55.0 79.2 49.2 52.0 16.5 



Hampden 48.4 74.1 43.7 45.4 14.6 



Hampshire 50.7 80.5 51.4 54.8 22.3 



Middlesex . 54.9 72.3 34.2 49.1 16.1 



Norfolk 43.1 45.6 20.8 27.0 8.6 



Plymouth 31.8 44.1 38.0 19.4 12.0 



Worcester 62.7 70.9 42.1 47.1 17.7 



The greatest decline in the proportion of improved land occurred in Berkshire 



County, the percentages for 1880 and 1940 being 51.9 percent and 16.2 percent 

 respectively. At present the highest percentage of improved land, 22.3, is found 

 in Hampshire County; the lowest, 5.0, in Barnstable County. 



Land Suitability 



The decline in the amount of total and improved land in farming raised the 

 question whether the land withdrawn from agriculture was of a type that was 

 not suitable for cultivation, because of the nature of the soil or topography. ^By 

 analyzing the tj'pes of soil and the character of the topography from the general 

 data presented in the United States Soil and Topographical Surveys, it was pos- 

 sible to work out a general classification of suitability of land for agricultural 

 purposes for every community of the State and map these areas in considerable 

 detail. In this way the percentages of land areas suitable for agriculture were 

 obtained for each county. By examining Table 2 it will be observed that these 

 percentages are in most cases in close correspondence with the amount of land 

 actually used for agricultural purposes in 1880. This confirmation may serve as 

 substantial evidence that the method of land classification employed is fairly 

 accurate and may be used as a starting point for the analysis with a fair degree 

 of reliability. 



Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, and Middlesex counties had reached 

 the point of utilizing practically all the land suitable for agricultural development. 

 As a matter of fact, in Berkshire and Hampshire counties the percentage of 

 improved land was slightly higher than that indicated as suitable for agriculture. 

 This may be partly accounted for by the fact that some of the good land areas 

 have been utilized for residential or industrial purposes since that time. In 

 contrast with other counties, a rather low degree of land utilization for agricul- 

 tural purposes existed in 1880 in Norfolk, Bristol, Plymouth, and Barnstable 

 counties. Evidently residential and recreational influences due to their location 

 and proximity to the Boston settled areas were already exerting their power. It 

 must be stated also that land classification in these counties does not come up to 

 the same level of reliability as in the other counties. These were the first areas 

 where the United States Soil Survey was made in Massachusetts and the types of 

 soils were not always correctly designated. 



