FOREST TAXATION IN THE UNITED STATES 303 
Tue Hitt Towns or VERMONT 
The land utilization problem which has arisen as a result of wide- 
spread farm abandonment is well illustrated in the hill towns of Ver- 
mont. The Vermont Experiment Station in cooperation with the 
United States Bureau of Agricultural Economics and the Vermont 
Forest Service has made a study in 13 selected towns (115; 163, pp. 142- 
148): Granville, Roxbury, Fayston, Warren, Ripton, Goshen, Stock- 
bridge, Pittsfield, Sherburne, Plymouth, Mount Holly, Shrewsbury, and 
Wardsboro. These towns were considered representative of 74 other 
towns in which this type of utilization problem exists (115, pp. 6, 15). 
The total population of these 13 towns increased from 1810 to 1850. 
There was a slight decrease from 1850 to 1860 and a greater decrease, 
slightly over 3.7 percent, from 1860 to 1880. Since 1880, the decline 
in population has been rapid; the population in 1810 actually exceeded 
the population in 1930 by 1,300. The decline from 1920 to 1930 
amounted to 18.6 percent (115, p. 15). Most of the decrease in popu- 
lation in these towns has been due to abandonment of farms and 
decline in the woodworking industry. 
The total area of the 13 towns is 343,370 acres, classified in 1929 as 
follows (115, pp. 28-80): 
In farms: Acres 
(OTRO OY MEAN USN Sa RET rae ETS 2S Ca a er NP 0 oe 40, 332 
1 DSN TO ESI G(SLENO FEN BC ENG IEYE SS SS ge tp al SAP a yg Ae A Ng ee 2,114 
Opengpast une sea pees md LN Te la NN ees ne 39, 656 
NOOO YC Sy ih Ss UU a I ve ee 127, 287 
AR Uren leas a ik emery Cee UNL eh Ue Lue Ae ky Gey NER Ca Uk 209, 389 
WOO lain clin G iia shea reir ter een oi SRY Di INET ae a 130, 524 
Ve Cre alos) wlan Glan un sale aya ei LGM Ra es ee are dale lt 
Residentialkipowers and’ business 22 = 22h bak Lee) ee ae 2, 884 
GIRCOHUG EN Lh ee UI I US Ae ka ae ea 343, 370 
The total woodland area is 257,811 acres, or 75 percent of the entire 
area. Of the 209,389 acres in farms, only 114,576 acres are in operated 
farms, and 54,761 acres are inpartially operatedfarms. Ofthe40,332 
acres In crop land, 26,479 are operated, 10,188 are partially operated, 
and 3,665 are abandoned. The operated (cultivated) crop land thus 
represents only 7.7 percent of the total area of the 13 towns, and, with 
the partially operated crop land included, it is only 10.7 percent. 
According to figures obtained by the survey, the number of operated 
farms in the 13 towns decreased from 962 in 1919 to 721 in 19380. 
The number of partially operated farms increased during the same 
period from 262 to 377 and abandoned farms increased from 156 to 
282. The rate and degree of abandonment may be indicated by com- 
paring ratios of the operated and abandoned areas to the total areas 
in farms in 1919 and 1929, as given in table 117 (115, pp. 27-35). 
TaBLe 117.—FPercentage of land in farms operated, partially operated, and aban- 
doned in 13 Vermont towns, 1919 and 1929 } 
Status 1919 1929 
Percent Percent 
Operated seein SE a es eae Oh ek Bee SI Se es 70. 6 54.7 
PAR UIA ZODET ALC eee tte eg ss ak ek pee ee See ee 18.7 26. 1 
AMOR HOYO OV OV SOL A 5S ey ore! ers Rae EEN iS pn ey SLR IER COMANCHE NT SERS tr IWant elena eee 10. 7 19. 2 
ANOS i GAGE SM IR EN aa RS cet es Nees ean ETS a an Se pe ae 100. 0 100. 0 
