LAND USES 15 



Both erosion and general soil exhaustion have been responsible for the with- 

 drawal of land from agricultural cultivation primarily when combined with 

 certain economic and social influences. In some areas, like the Connecticut 

 Valley and a few market garden sections, cultivation has continued in spite of a 

 high degree of erosion and considerable exhaustion of the natural fertility of the 

 soil. In these areas high expenditures for fertilizers and other protective meas- 

 ures have been justified by the level terrain and the possibilities of an intensive 

 type of farming. 



ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL FACTORS 

 Non-Resident Land Ownership 



An important factor which has contributed directly to the withdrawal of land 

 from agricultural cultivation is connected with the social process which has been 

 going on in Massachusetts and in other parts of New England ever since the 

 end of the Civil War. The children of many old New England farmers either 

 emigrated to the West or settled in the cities. On the death of the parents the 

 farm was often retained but without active cultivation. It requires only a short 

 period of time under Massachusetts climatic conditions for land remaining 'un- 

 attended to grow into brush and woods. Left to itself, even the best quality of 

 land is ordinarily lost to farming. This process has been further accelerated in 

 some localities by the purchase of farms by city people for recreational or other 

 non-agricultural purposes. Such farming land is allowed to grow into woods, 

 which becomes the predominant cover. That all these conditions have had a 

 great effect on the trend of land utilization in Massachusetts is attested by the 

 great extent of non-resident ownership. In a study made in 1932 of 71 towns, 

 representing a fair cross section of the State, it was found that a little more than 

 one-third of the total area was owned by non-residents. Almost one-half of the 

 land owned by these non-residents had no buildings at all. Very little of this 

 land was being used for farming and practically the entire area is now under 

 some kind of forest cover. 



Disappearance of Local Industries 



Traditionally, agriculture in Massachusetts has been associated in most towns 

 with some type of local industry. With the gradual disappearance of these 

 industries in many towns, a considerable setback has been given to farming. 

 According to a recent study the number of industrial employees in towns of less 

 than 10,000 population has declined since 1895 more than 75 percent.'* 



Local industries provided both the opportunity for employment for the surplus 

 labor of the' farms and a good market for the farm products purchased by the 

 employees. In many cases, with the disappearance of local industries, a portion 

 of the employees emigrated to urban centers, and the farmers, not finding a con- 

 venient outlet for their products, were compelled to curtail their operations. 

 When new market outlets were not found in a reasonably short time, much of 

 the land went out of cultivation. Evidences of that condition are found through- 

 out the State, but especially in some sections of Worcester County. 



In some towns, however, in the vicinity of industrial communities or urban 

 centers, the disappearance of local industries has not necessarily involved the 

 loss of subsidiary employment for the local population. Better means of trans- 

 portation have made it possible for a good many people to be employed at some 



*Rozman, David, and Sherburne, Ruth E. Historical Trend in Massachusetts Industries, 

 1837-1933. Mas:,. Agr. Expt. Sta. Bui. 340, 1938. ' 



