MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 294 



THOUSANDS 



1880 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 



Chart 2. — Number of Farms in Massachusetts, 1880-19.J1. 



Non-Resident Ownership 



The immediate result of the withdrawal of this large acreage from farming is the 

 ownership by non-residents of a considerable portion of land in many agricultural 

 communities. To determine the amount of land so owned has been possible through 

 the assessors' records, as Massachusetts towns are required bylaw to furnish to the 

 commissioner of taxation every three years a complete record of landholdings with 

 their valuation and taxes. F"rom the information supplied by the assessors in 

 1928 a record was taken of the area, valuation and taxes on the land owned by 

 non-residents in every fourth town, arranged alphabetically, with a population 

 below 10,000. On this basis the data on resident and non-resident ownership were 

 obtained for 71 towns, which, closely checked, proved to be a representative sample 

 for all the towns in this group. 



In a number of towns the general state of the utilization of land owned by non- 

 residents and the significance of this land area for local agriculture was ascertained 

 through personal interviews with town clerks, assessors, and other town people 

 familiar with local conditions. In 5 towns situated in different sections of the 

 State detailed information was obtained through the same means as to the utiliza 

 tion of every piece of land owned by non-residents. 



In addition, with the cooperation of a real estate agency operating in Berkshire 

 County, it was possible to obtain a record of changes in valuation and land utiliza- 

 tion of 50 farms which have been sold since 1925. The analysis of the data on 

 valuation of recreational property secured by the State Industrial Commission also 

 proved to be helpful in ascertaining the significance of recreational development in 

 the utilization of land resources. 



