48 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 388 



1. The classification of land on the basis of soil and topography indicates 

 that 50.2 percent of the total area of the State is suitable for agricultural utiliza- 

 tion. 



2. The percentage of agricultural suitability varies from 31 percent in Barn- 

 stable County to 62.7 percent in Worcester County. 



3. In 1880, before the decline in agricultural land use set in, 41.4 percent of the 

 State area was represented by inaproved farm land. In 1940 this proportion had 

 declined to 15.4 percent. 



4. The major local land-use factors responsible for the decline of improved 

 farm land relate in varying degrees to changing types and systems of farming; 

 soil erosion and deterioration; non-resident land ownership; the disappearance of 

 town industries; and the growth of residential, recreational, commercial, and 

 other more intensive uses of land. 



5. Non-resident ownership of about one-third of all land in rural towns has 

 contributed to the increasing amount of land under wooded cover. 



6. Of the total State area, 64.3 percent is under wooded cover. The highest 

 proportion is in Barnstable and Berkshire counties, 73.1 and 71.8 percent, re- 

 spectively; the lowest in Essex and Middlesex counties, 52.0 and 57.8 percent, 

 respectively. 



7. In the towns below 10,000 population there are 89 with no existing local 

 industries. In each of 87 of the remaining 184 towns, local industries provide 

 employment for less than 100 persons. 



8. The demand for more intensive uses of land has affected farming through 

 higher land values and taxes. 



9. The average value per acre of farm land and buildings is $37.38 in the 

 lowest third of the towns below 10,000 population. In the highest third the 

 average value is $284.57 per acre. 



10. From the standpoint of land-use pattern and land-use adjustments 

 needed, five types of rural towns are indicated in Massachusetts: 



A. Towns characterized by predominantly poor land, declining population, 



limited amount of agricultural land utilization, and extensive areas 

 under wooded cover. 

 Major adjustments needed: Extension of public ownership of forest land, 

 elimination of isolated settlement, development of recreational facilities, 

 possible discontinuation of the town as an independent political unit. 



B. Towns with a fair agricultural background, experiencing recent disloca- 



tion in local industries. 

 Major adjustments needed: Realignment of town expenditures, fuller utiliza- 

 tion of land resources for agriculture and other uses, rehabilitation of 

 industrial opportunities. 



C. Towns with favorable physical background for well-rounded agricultural 



land utilization. 

 Major adjustments needed: Conservation of soil, better adaptation of crops, 

 and better care of woodlots. 



D. Towns with receding agricultural land utilization as a result of expansion 



in more intensive uses of land. 

 Major adjustments needed: Prevention of increase of idle land held for 

 speculative purposes, primarily by moie equitable taxation of land used 

 in agriculture. 



E. Towns with a balanced system of agricultural and other land uses. 

 Major adjustments needed: Maintenance and improvement of local condi- 

 tions through farsighted policies of local people and their planning 

 agencies. 



