40 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



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One settler would locate a square mile of territory in a most advan- 

 tageous section. Another, to be nearer human neighbors, would 

 select an adjoining tract which, upon development, proved rela- 

 tively worthless. And so the constant change is continued, from 

 one side of the continent to the other. 



In New England, fortunately, these relatively poor areas, if 

 left to themselves, will soon become reclothed with Nature's own 

 covering, the forest. For this reason, every owner of New Eng- 

 land's farms should be an earnest sympathizer with the principles 

 of rational forest management. The "bushy pasture" of our 

 day may be the most valuable part of the farm in our children's 

 day. 



A third very important factor in the accumulation of abandoned 

 farms, is that of injudicious management. The old notion that 

 "anybody could be a farmer," has been the cause of the undoing 

 of a vast number of farms, as well as of a much larger number of 

 farmers. Injudicious cropping, slovenly tillage, continued removal 

 of plant foods without returning an equivalent, failure to remove 

 excessive amounts of water, have all combined to bring about 

 the condition often referred to as "worn-out land." 



The Problem of Worn-out Lands. 



Admitting, as we must, the fact of a large number of depleted 

 farms in New England, some of which are abandoned, and others 

 which should be, as human habitations, the question naturally 

 arises, AVhat are we going to do about it? 



So-called "worn-out" lands may be the result of several dis- 

 tinct conditions, viz.: (1) They may lack humus, either from 

 too much or from too little cultivation. (2) They may lack plant 

 food. (3) They may have become acid. (4) They may need drain- 

 ing. (5) They may need tilling. 



Lack of Humus. 



In its native condition, the land is covered with forests and 

 other forms of vegetation. As the leaves fall, or the plants die, 

 they decay and become incorporated with the soil as organic 



