LAND VALUATION 223 



to use land which is too rough for tillage. But the fundamental 

 difficulty is that unless land is tilled at least occasionally it 

 ceases to afiford good grazing. It is only level land which has 

 been comparatively recently turned over that will keep a cow 

 per acre during the simimer months. There must be no bare 

 spots, stony patches, weed growth, or brush. But such land 

 yields better under tillage so that the pasture lands are com- 

 monly those which are too rough, stony or inaccessible to plow 

 economically. Such fields require from 5 to 40 acres per cow 

 per season depending upon the climatic conditions. Hence at 

 $2 per cow per month the gross return wiU be from $2 per acre 

 per annum to 25 cents. As a matter of fact the Government is 

 getting less than 10 cents per acre, gross, for its western range 

 lands. Perhaps it is not fair to bring these arid lands into the 

 argument because forest land has invariably a moister climate. 

 But it must be remembered that where trees grow well they 

 crowd out grass so that even in the moist parts of the United 

 States no pasture takes care of itself but becomes less and less 

 remunerative every year unless time and money are spent keep- 

 ing it up. In other words pasturing is an extensive use of land 

 which seldom gives a net return of more than $1 per acre per 

 annum. 



On every tract there are small areas which have special value 

 for store, residence or water power purposes. Ideally, of course, 

 these should be developed but it often happens that their fullest 

 expansion calls for divided ownership or authority in a way that 

 is sometimes difficult to manage. For example, a mountain lake 

 may offer an ideal location for a summer hotel and be also valuable 

 for hydroelectric water storage and log driving. Unless there is 

 cordial cooperation among the interests concerned clashes of 

 authority may arise. An unusually wise manager would be 

 required to secure the necessary technical knowledge and yet 

 coordinate the various activities. 



The various points which need consideration with reference to 

 the use of land for store, residence, hotel or hydroelectric purposes 

 are itemized in " The Outline for the Examination of a Timber 

 * Forest Valuation. F. Roth. 1916. 



