16 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 294 



In contrast with the intensive development of recreational property in the 

 coastal regions and some sections of Berkshire County, a good many inland 

 communities with attractive physical surroundings are still unutilized or not 

 sufficiently utilized in the way of recreational land development. The presence of 

 large areas of abandoned farm land in these towns and comparatively low land 

 prices offer a pcssibility of beneficial use of these resources for recreational purposes. 



Forest Land Utilization in Massachusetts 



Whatever may be the future course in the utilization of land which is already 

 abandoned or may be released from farming, the major part of the total land area 

 in Massachusetts is now covered by forest, including under that term all the land 

 covered by some growth of trees or inferior brush. According to estimates of the 

 Department of Conservation, there is in the State a forest area of about 3,000,000 

 acres or about 60 per cent of the total area. Of this total only 826,569 acres, or 

 less than one-third, is in farms. About one-half of the wooded area in farms is 

 wholly or partly utilized for pasture, the other half being largely brush and waste 

 land. Better utilization of the wooded area in farms will go a long way toward 

 improving the financial condition of many farmers. Greater attention by the 

 farmer to the possibility of developing his woodlot will make it an asset to the farm 

 enterprise instead of a burden as it frequently is. ^ It will increase the production 

 of material consumed on the farm in the form of fuel, fencing and lumber, and 

 furnish employment to farm labor in slack seasons. In addition, it will bring cash 

 revenue, obtained from periodical cuttings systematically arranged. There is also 

 the possibility of creating local markets for farm products, and of bringing other 

 advantages to the farming population through the development ot local wood- 

 working industries because of the presence of a greater supply of needed raw material. 



The activities of the Forestry Department through its extension service con- 

 tribute towards the improvement of woodlots on farms and on other tracts of 

 land owned by individuals. The Department is authorized by law to examine 

 woodlands or waste lands and to advise owners on their care or management, 

 covering such problems as improvements in cuttings, forest planting, marketing 

 forest products and control of pests. 



The major portion of the woodland, over 2,000,000 acres, is, however, outside 

 of the farms and is the main reservoir to be drawn upon to supply land for scienti- 

 fic forestry and for rapidly expanding recreational and other uses. Practically 

 the entire area owned by non-residents is represented by some kind of forest land. 

 Any future land policy dealing with the problem of utilizing this area will inevi- 

 tably take into consideration the possibility of developing a considerable portion of 

 this land into well-managed forests under public or semi-public ownership. At the 

 present time there is already an orderly utilization of small areas for the cultivation 

 of trees in state forests, town forests, various public reservations, and public parks. 



There were, at the close of 1930, 47 state-owned forestswitha total area of about 

 11 5,000 acres. These forests vary in size from 8 acres to 13,652.6 acres, represent- 

 ed by the October Mountain Forest. In addition there were twenty public 

 reservations situated in various sections of the State. 



There were also 90 town forests with a total area of 25,500 acres. The State 

 P'orestry Service furnishes trees free of charge to plant these forests, with the result 

 that about one million trees have been planted in them annually during the last 

 few years. 



'U. S. Department of Agriculture Bulletin No. 1117. "Forestry and the Farm Income." 1923. 



