360 RURAL ^'EW YORK 



Enough may bo said, however, to make the meanings 

 plain. 



1. In considering the land and its control, an ade- 

 quate survey of tlie surface of tlic State is the first 

 step. The State is already well advanced in this re- 

 spect through the work that has been done in coop- 

 eration with federal agencies in the topographic, the 

 hydrogra])hic and tlie soil surveys. These are under- 

 lying inventories of resources. Back of the soil and 

 reaching into otlier lines is the geological survey. 

 These should be pushed into the realms of chemical 

 as well as pliysical study. 



Tlie development of regional field plot experi- 

 ments on the more important types of soil is of 

 paramount importance. In this respect New York 

 has been very neglectful and is much behind other 

 states. 



Land utilization is here applied to the use of those 

 areas that are not suitable for management in the 

 ordinary type of farm where cultivated crops are the 

 main product. This includes two types; thin rough 

 land, perhaps remote from the railroad where some 

 kinds of plants may still be grown without much in- 

 dividual attention. ]\Iore than half of tlie area of 

 the State is in this group. It is commonly con- 

 sidered suitable for forest, not because it will grow 

 tlie best forests, but by a process of elimination of 

 other crops. Wet laiid and areas of water remain to 

 lie developed as aquatic farms where many kinds of 

 food can be produced in amounts, it is said, equal to 



