300 MISC. PUBLICATION 218, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 
from ventures doomed to certain failure. The fact that the work is 
being continued year after year with increasing care as to detail 
indicates that Michigan is satisfied as to its usefulness. 
MINNESOTA 
Minnesota also has a vast cut-over region which, because of its 
sparse population and deficiency in income, is a liability to the rest 
of the State. With the exception of St. Louis County, all of the 
counties in this northeastern cut-over region receive more State aid 
than they contribute in taxes (66, p. 116). However a policy of con- 
trolling land settlement in this region has been recently adopted. 
A classification of State lands to determine their use for forestry or 
agricultural purposes was started in 1928. In 19380 the classification 
was extended to private lands under the Minnesota Land Economic 
Survey, but in 1932 this work was temporarily halted for lack of 
funds. The legislature of 1933 created a State land use committee 
to cooperate with land classification committees of each county, which 
were also provided for by the law. These committees were charged 
with making a temporary land classification of all public and private 
lands in the State to determine their best uses. The State committee 
is to report the results of the classification to the legislature, and 
presumably a more detailed survey will eventually be made. 
Another policy of the State which is aimed at restricting settlement in 
the cut-over region is that of setting aside its own lands into State for- 
ests, thus withdrawing them from settlement. <A total of over 1,000,000 
acres of State-owned land has already been included in State forests, 
and the ultimate area of such State forests is to be about 4,000,000 
acres (73d Cong., Ist sess., S. Doc. 12, p. 825). In order to facilitate 
this policy of reservation the 1933 legislature passed a law providing 
for the payment of 50 percent of the gross receipts from State forests 
to the counties within which such forests are situated.” 
Several other measures were enacted in 1933, which set up the 
machinery for a broad program of reduction in the costs of govern- 
ment whenever the tax-delinquent lands are allowed to revert to the 
State. One of the most important of these is the authorization of the 
establishment by the counties of ‘‘conservation zones” and ‘‘agricul- 
tural zones” and the provision for the exchange of State lands within 
the agricultural zones for private lands in the conservation zones. 
The purpose of this act is to consolidate the holdings of State lands in 
the conservation zones and at the same time to reduce the costs of 
local government by moving settlers from these zones to the agricul- 
tural zones.” Other laws passed in 1933 aiming at a decrease in 
costs of government are those authorizing disorganization of town- 
ships and school districts and the consolidation of two or more 
counties.” 
WISCONSIN 
Zoning ordinances, limiting and regulating the use to which urban 
land may be put, are very common, but, so far as is known, the coun- 
ties of Wisconsin are the first to attempt to restrict the use of rural 
land through zoning. The counties in that State have had to face 
% Minnesota, Session Laws, 1933, ch. 436. 
% Minnesota, Session Laws, 1933, ch. 313. 
82 Minnesota, Session Laws, 1933, ch. 418. 
93 Minnesota, Session Laws, 1933, chs. 240, 313, 377. 
