BULLETIN 



Contribution from the Forest Service, Henry S. Graves, Forester. 

 January 28, 1915. 



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FOREST PLANTING IN THE EASTERN UNITED 



STATES. 



By C. R. Tillotson, Forest Examiner. 

 OPPORTUNITIES FOR FOREST PLANTING. 



Nearly every farm includes one or more pieces of land which can 

 be more profitably planted to timber than to an agricultural crop. 

 Such an area may be some small corner not easily accessible, or else 

 a piece of poor, sandy, 

 swampy, or worn-out land, 

 or it may be an old woodlot 

 in poor condition and not 

 fully stocked with growing 

 timber. 



The 1910 census shows 

 that the average farm in the 

 United States contains 138 

 acres, of which 75 are re- 

 corded as improved and 63 

 as unimproved, the latter 

 consisting of "woodland" 

 and "all other unimproved land." 1 The woodland and other unim- 

 proved land covers the enormous total area of 400,346,000 acres. 

 Of this nearly 245,000,000 acres are in the States east of Texas and 

 the Kocky Mountains, about 175,000,000 acres of which are in wood- 

 lots. There remain about 70,000,000 acres of unforested and un- 

 improved land in this eastern portion of the country, most of it best 

 suited for growing timber. This area will be reduced by draining 

 the swamp lands potentially adapted to agricultural crops, but will 

 be increased by the addition of lands becoming worn out and unfit for 

 growing field crops. 



Since 1870 in New England the proportion of improved farm land 

 has gradually declined as follows: In 1870, 61.3 per cent; in 1880, 



i "Woodland" includes all land covered with natural or planted forest trees which produce, or later may 

 produce, firewood or other forest products. " All other unimproved lands " includes brush land, rough 

 or stony land, swampy land, and any other not improved or in forest. 



Note. — This bulletin is of interest to landowners throughout the northeastern United States, as shown 

 by the shaded portion of the sketch map on this page. 

 60370°— Bull. 153—15—1 



Fig. 1. — Sketch map of the United States, the shaded area 

 showing section studied in this bulletin. 



