TIMBER PRODUCTION FROM UNREMUNERATIVE LAND. 



In Bulletin No. 153 of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, 

 entitled, "Forest Planting in the Eastern United States," the follow- 

 ing occurs on page 4 : 



"As the soil in portions of the hardwood regions deteriorates under 

 cultivation, larger and larger areas will find their best use in the pro- 

 duction of timber. In Indiana alone some 6,000,000 acres are at 

 present unproductive." 



Through an unfortunate choice of the word "unproductive" and the. 

 term "deteriorates under cultivation" this passage is both inaccurate 

 and misleading, since the area of 6,000,000 acres in Indiana referred 

 to is unproductive merely in the sense of not bringing any returns 

 from cultivated crops. Nor is deterioration in the soil making a 

 large area of farm land in Indiana unsuitable for cultivation and 

 adapted only to the production of timber, as the two sentences, 

 taken together, might seem to imply. 



Where land is low in value and has proved unremunerative, re- 

 direction of the farming methods should first be considered. If 

 reasonably satisfactory returns can not be obtained from general or 

 special farming, live-stock production, etc., the advisability of plant- 

 ing the cheaper lands with timber may well be considered. 



SOSO 15 



WASHINGTON : GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1915 



