LAND USES 45 



balance. Failure to take decisive measures before the situation becomes critical 

 has a most distressing effect on local agriculture. With the decline of other 

 sources of taxable income and a dwindling population, local agriculture is called 

 upon to carry a heavier burden of taxation. As a result some farming is driven 

 out, thus placing the remaining farmers in a still less advantageous position. To 

 relieve the situation and restore the r.ecessary balance, careful and active planning 

 by all local interests is of vital importance. If new industries can be brought in 

 Vb use the existing facilities, the solution may be near at hand. These industries, 

 however, must be stable in character and blend well with local resources and 

 conditions. The situation will only be aggravated by attracting a type of business 

 which after a short period of activity' folds up and leaves in its wake greater 

 maladjustments than existed prior to its appearance. In addition to industrial 

 opportunities, attention should be turned to possible new land uses which will 

 supplement and fit into the local pattern of land utilization. These may include 

 part-time farming, residential, and recreational projects in conformity with the 

 local natural background. 



C. Communities predominantly agricultural in character with favorable physical 

 background and fairly high utilization of agricultural resources. 



In a number of towns with good soil and generally favorable physical conditions 

 agriculture has alwaj's been a primary activity, and even in the period of transi- 

 tion there has been no important diminution in the use of land for agricultural 

 enterprises. The only vital change that has occurred from time to time has 

 been in the character and type of farming adjusted to newly developed conditions. 

 On the maps presenting the classification of towns on the basis of several factors, 

 the communities under consideration will be found in the groups having a high 

 proportion of improved land and of land suitable for agriculture, while land 

 values will be found primarily in the intermediate group. 



Industrial activity, if present at all in these towns, has never acquired a dom- 

 inant position in the local economy and whatever fluctuations have occurred 

 have not been potent enough to disturb seriously the predominantly agricultural 

 character of the communities. There has not been much increase in the local 

 population for a long time, nor has there been any appreciable decline. The 

 whole trend is characterized b}^ comparative constancy and stability. 



With the main reliance on agricultural land utilization as a source of income, 

 local institutions have been generally maintained on a steady basis in conformity 

 with the productive capacity of the towns. Inasmuch as farming remains the 

 primary type of land utilization in these comm.unities, the kind of problem that 

 arises is in connection with the successful conduct of the farming business. This 

 involves efiiicient organization and operation of farming enterprises and con- 

 servation practices intended to preserve the productive capacity of the soil. 

 W hile the first has been given considerable attention over a period of years through 

 the educational activities of the agricultural extension service, soil conservation 

 as a systematic practice has come into prominence only recently. With wider 

 application of soil conservation practices these towns will have better assurance 

 of the continued existence and stability of their farming to the extent that it 

 depends on healthy conditions of local natural resources. 



