FOREST TAXATION IN THE UNITED STATES 305: 
lands suited only to forestry, (2) encouragement of lumber companies 
to acquire large holdings of timberland, (3) the restoration of forests 
to a sustained-yield basis, and (4) revision of the town organization to 
reduce the tax burden. 
APPALACHIAN AND OZARK MOUNTAIN REGIONS 
According to the Bureau of Agricultural Economics (120, p. 22), a 
decrease in crop acreage is rather general in the Appalachian and 
Ozark Mountain regions— 
where there are large numbers of farms too severely handicapped by rough land 
surface, or poor soil, or small size to maintain a reasonable standard of living for 
their operators. Many of these farms were originally settled by pioneer farmers 
partly dependent on hunting, grazing, and lumbering. The passing of game and 
merchantable timber, the competition of more favored districts, and opportunities 
to earn higher wages elsewhere have caused thousands of these small farms to 
become incapable of maintaining for their operators an adequate standard of living 
or one comparable with the standards prevailing in areas where the physical 
environment is more favorable. 
In a hilly district of southeastern Ohio, in which a special survey was made, the 
average net cash income from farming was only $224, and in a Kentucky foothill 
district only $147. The figures for these farms, which are representative of large 
sections, may be compared with net cash incomes averaging about $850 for farms 
in the East North Central area as a whole, and from $950 to $1,000 for farmers of 
the North Atlantic area. Necessarily food produced on the farm for family 
consumption was an important element in the economy of the hill farmers, 
increasing the value of their available net income to the neighborhood of $500, as 
compared with $1,150 to $1,250 for those of the North Atlantic and East North 
Central areas. 
In the Appalachian highlands, as in other regions, social and eco- 
nomic forces are operating to bring about new equilibriums. For 
instance, the penetration of the mountains with improved highways 
sets In motion many changes. The roads break down the isolation of 
the mountaineers; they bring in new people and new ideas; they arouse 
new interests and create new demands. The purchase of an auto- 
mobile is usually the death knell of a self-sufficing economy. A small 
farm that produced enough to meet the simple needs of a stay-at-home 
family proves inadequate to support an automobile and meet the 
new demands for cash. It is true that to some extent the penetration 
of the mountains has created or expanded the market for fruits and 
vegetables, and a more intensive agriculture has resulted. Where this 
has happened, the added cash income has been provided with no 
expansion in the size of the farm. The tourists who travel over the 
roads have also provided a market for the products of the mountaineer 
handicrafts. The construction and maintenance of the roads them- 
selves provide employment for native labor and cause a flow of money 
into the region. A number of people find employment in garages and 
filling stations. Thus, to some extent, the penetration of the mountains 
with good roads cures the problems which it creates. However, the 
region is never the same again. Its quiet, self-satisfied, and self-suf- 
ficing life is destroyed. Its economy is disturbed, and usually a 
problem in land utilization is created. Favored regions near the larger 
cities may meet the problem by giving more attention to fruit and 
truck crops. A few regions witness resort developments, and a few 
others profit through the exploitation of mineral and power resources. 
But the transition from a self-sufficing to a money economy inevitably 
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