12 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 294 



forests, there are in addition good opportunities for part-time farming and summer 

 homes. 



The towns of Topsfield and Princeton, with about one-third of their assessed 

 area owned by non-residents, represent a more balanced picture of land utilization. 

 In the first place, the proportion of non-resident land ownership is smaller than 

 in the first two towns, and in the second place, this area is being utilized more fully. 

 The waste or idle land covered largely by brush and inferior woods occupies a 

 comparatively small portion of the total non-resident owned area in these towns, 

 being only about 10 per cent in Topsfield. One of the reasons is that the latter 

 town is situated in a more thickly populated section of the State, and its land utili- 

 zation is affected by both residential and recreational factors. In addition al- 

 most half of its non-resident owned land is taken up by country estates, while a 

 considerable portion is devoted to summer homes, and to commercial and indus- 

 trial uses. Under these conditions, in towns of this type there is no acute problem 

 of utilizing the idle acres. There has undoubtedly been an encroachment of other 

 uses of land on agriculture in this town as in many eastern towns of the State 

 situated near the coast. This is well substantiated by the fact that the average 

 value of farm land has increased in this town in the five-year period prior to 1930 

 from $128 to $218 per acre. 



In the town of Princeton the utilization of the non-resident owned area is in a 

 less developed condition. Although almost one-half of it is already taken up by 

 summer homes and country estates, the proportion of idle land is still rather high. 

 In the town of Paxton a partial solution of its idle area has been effected through 

 utilization of a considerable portion of the town land for water-sheds, largely for 

 the city of Worcester. In addition, much land has been taken up for sum- 

 mer homes and country estates. 



Proportion of Non-Resident Owned Land in Agriculture 



The major portion of the non-resident owned land is either idle or is devoted to 

 uses other than agriculture. Very little of it is used for farming. The town of 

 Paxton with 15 per cent of this land in agriculture represents the highest figure for 

 the five towns, while at the other extreme is the town of New Ashford with only 

 3.3 per cent in agriculture. In addition, allowance should be made for land be- 

 longing to residents of adjoining towns. In practically all cases this land is a part 

 of border-line farms whose dwellings are across the town line. In only one of the 

 five towns the proportion of this land runs to 1 1 per cent of the total in non-resident 

 ownership, and the five-town average is only about 6 per cent. The country 

 estates owned by non-residents and occupying in some towns a considerable area 

 were found to be little utilized for agricultural purposes. There may be a few 

 saddle horses kept in addition to a cow or two and a small flock of poultry; 

 perhaps a few vegetables are grown, largely for the needs of the hired man. On 

 the basis of these figures it is evident that consideration of non-resident owned land 

 involves uses other thar. agricultural. 



Shifting to Recreational Uses of Land as Demonstrated by the Berkshire 



Farms 



From the analysis of land utilization of non-resident property in the individual 

 towns it appears that much of this land is already dedicated to recreational uses. 

 The latter include not only the land in summer homes and various playgrounds, 

 but also the country estates where little or no farming is practiced. In towns like 



