LAND AS A BASIS OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION 87 



United States in 1909. (See Fig. 5.) The variation in value of 

 crops is due, of course, not only to differences in topography, soil, 

 and climate, but to differences in the character of the people cultivat- 

 ing the land and to differences in the distances from the market. 



While only 25.1 per cent of the total land area of the United 

 States is improved farm land, 46.2 per cent of the total area is 

 in farms. Thus 21. 1 per cent represents unimproved land in 

 farms. This is not to be ignored when considering the land 

 basis of agriculture. Much of this unimproved land provides 

 valuable pasture. It is never plowed or mowed, because it is 

 too wet, too hilly, or contains too many obstructions such as 

 stones and stumps. In five counties in southern Wisconsin 

 for which pasture statistics are available, 78.5 per cent of the 

 unimproved land in farms is reported as used for pasture, about 

 § of which was designated woodland pasture. A large share of 

 the woodland on farms yields considerable pasture. This same 

 area yields wood for fuel, fencing and buildings, also wood prod- 

 ucts for the market, such as posts, lumber, and cord wood, 

 which supplement the farmer's income. On one farm in 

 central Wisconsin, which is more than half woodland and on 

 which the tillage area is gradually encroaching on the timbered 

 area, about one-fifth of the total farm receipts comes from the 

 sale of wood in various forms. 



The vast areas of land not in farms in the United States is 

 mainly occupied by mountains, deserts, forests, cities, railways, 

 etc. A part of it is used as range pasture, but much of it serves 

 no agricultural purpose. Some of it can be converted into farms, 

 but the greater part of it is at present far below the margin of 

 profitable utilization. 



Irrigation is proving an important means of extending agri- 

 culture in the arid regions. To quote Professor Elwood Mead : 

 " The uninhabited and mismanaged areas of the arid region are 

 full of opportunities. A realization of the possibilities of this 

 region and of what man can accomplish by a right use of its 

 resources has been of slow growth. To the early fur traders 

 and explorers the arid region was a dreary, worthless waste. 

 To neither Bonneville, Fremont, nor any of the multitude who 



