LAND USES 29 



development of wooded areas under a better system of management and con- 

 servation. One of the measures adopted by the Legislature gave the owner of 

 woodland an opportunity to register his holding with the idea of deferring the 

 time of tax payments until the timber is actually cut. This was expected to 

 prevent indiscriminate cutting and to provide an incentive for better conservation 

 practices. Experience with this law over a period of years, however, has not been 

 very fortunate, inasmuch as very few woodland owners registered their land for 

 forest development. A new law was passed this year which automatically pro- 

 vides for deferred payment of taxes on the timber on all woodland which is 

 assessed for less than $25 per acre. It is possible that this will prove a turning 

 point in the progress of land utilization under wooded cover in extensive sections 

 of the State. 



The Industrial Factor 



The presence of industries in rural communities has a definite effect on local 

 agriculture and land utilization. Under favorable conditions it provides an 

 opportunity for local employment of the farming population and a certain amount 

 of land utilization for residential and part-time farming purposes. The results 

 are of a sustaining nature for local farmii.g if it presents a proper supplement to 

 local land utilization and brings about a desirable balance. The disadvantages 

 that may accrue arise largely from the fact that a number of recent industrial 

 plants in small towns have been operating on an unstable basis, frequently leav- 

 ing a large number of local people without definite employment. This condition 

 often places a heavy burden on the rest of the population, and especially on those 

 engaged in farming, by the necessity of providing relief and other assistance. 

 The pressure on the going farming business may be exceedingly high, especially 

 when, because of higher taxes, some farms are being abandoned and withdrawn 

 from agriculture. 



Historically, it is important, however, to note that traditionally rural communi- 

 ties of Massachusetts have been associated with local industries which in the 

 early period of development fitted into the fundamental conditions of the in- 

 dividual community. A certain balance in the utilization of human and natural 

 resources was created thereby in the interchange of activities between agri- 

 cultural and industrial pursuits. Over a period of years, the gradual disappear- 

 ance of local industries in a number of communities has disturbed this balance, 

 with a resulting decline also in farming activities and agricultural land utilization. 



Inasmuch as the presence of local industries in Massachusetts towns has played 

 such an important part in agricultural land utilization in the past, it is of imme- 

 diate consequence to consider what is the situation in the number of local indus- 

 tries at the present time. By combining and analyzing the data obtained from 

 the State Industrial Census of 1938 and from the special survey of local in- 

 dustries made in 1935, and the information supplied by industrial directories, 

 it has been possible to determine the number of industrial employees for all 

 rural towns in Massachusetts. 



From the map indicating the number of industrial employees in towns below 

 10,000 population it appears that, out of a total of 273 towns, 89 or about one- 

 third have no industries at all. In 87 towns, or roughly another third, the number 

 of employees is below 100 in any one town. In the next group of 58 towns, the 

 number of industrial employees ranges from 100 to 500. The remaining 39 towns 

 have more than 500 industrial employees each. The full significance of these 

 data will appear later when they are discussed in connection with agricultural 

 land utilization and other important factors in rural communities. 



