44 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 387 



On the positive side, to increase local sources of revenue, attention should be 

 drawn to the possibilities of new types of land utilization, primarily in the field 

 of recreation, for which these towns possess a fairly attractive background. 

 Something can be accomplished also through the promotion of inherited skills 

 of the local population, such as the handicraft industries which were so prominent 

 in the past and which have great promise, judging by the experience of certain 

 communities in Massachusetts and other New England states. 



In some towns it is evident that even very thorough measures of economy 

 and search for new opportunities will not alleviate to any appreciable extent the 

 condition of the local farming population nor reduce the contribution from the 

 Treasury- of the Commonwealth to local needs. In such cases it may be to the 

 benefit of all concerned to discontinue the independent existence of the town 

 as a political unit, by merging or some other rearrangement. 



Inasmuch as the predominant type of land use in the entire group of towns 

 under consideration is woodland, it is essential to secure the best results from the 

 utilization of local forest areas. In the past these woodlands provided substantial 

 returns both to the farmers by supplying their home needs and to the community 

 as a whole through the maintenance of local wood-working industries. At present 

 comparatively little is obtained in either of these directions and the forests in 

 these towns are generally neglected. In the interest of the conservation of natural 

 resources a managed system of forest practices is of primary significance for these 

 areas. Through public ownership some of the wooded areas in these towns have 

 become a part of the State forests and are receiving the benefit of better manage- 

 ment and protection. This is also being realized through the establishment of 

 town or community forests. A new hope for better conservation methods in the 

 extensive forest areas remaining in private own(;rship is a forest taxation bill 

 recently passed by the Legislature. Under this bill the taxation of timber is 

 postponed until actual harvesting, thus preventing the destructive practice of 

 premature cutting. 



B. Communilies with favorable agricultural background but experiencing 

 difficulties in maintaining balanced conditions because of recent removal 

 of industrial or other enterprises. , 



The type of towns to be considered in this classification has retained a con- 

 siderable amount of its agricultural land utilization and, moreover, has been in a 

 rather prosperous condition until very recent years because of the presence of 

 industries or other supplementary enterprises. Most of the difficulties in these 

 towns have arisen within the last fifteen or twenty years and were caused largely 

 by a decline in industrial activity or by the disappearance of the industrial enter- 

 prises which were an integral part of their economy. 



Communities of this type will be found mostly in the central part of the State. 

 From the standpoint of the adopted classification, they occupy an intermediate 

 position in their land suitability and the proportion of improved land, and have 

 a high position in the tax rate division. The most important factor, however, 

 that singles them out is the decline of population that has recently occurred, 

 mostly since the early twenties. In a way this type of town is undergoing the 

 same process as the first group in the early stage of their decline. Because of this 

 early historical start in the decline of the latter some important adjustments 

 have already taken place. For one thing, because of an early realization of the 

 dwindling resources, local expenditures if not radically curtailed at least were 

 not expanded, as was the case in towns more favorably situated. 



The towns of this second group have yet to undergo the painful process of 

 readjustment unless new sources of income are found to help restore the former 



