2 BULLETIN 1295, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 
LOCATION AND EXTENT OF REGION 
The area studied is the portion of these three Lakes States which is 
still largely undeveloped as farming land. (Fig. 1.) It includes 
some areas of prairie or peat land, but is essentially a cut-over region. 
For purposes of analysis, this region has been arbitrarily defined 
as including all of the counties of the States with less than 50 per . 
cent of their total area classified by the 1920 census as improved land 
in farms.* 
It represents a total of over 70 million acres. Table 1 shows that 
only a third of these 70 million acres is in farms, and that less than 
half of this third is improved. 
Taste 1.—Perceniage of total land area of the undeveloped portion of the 
Lakes States in farms, in improved land, and in crops, by groups of coun- 
ties, 1920 
Improved 
Groups of counties In farms iste 
In crops 
Per cent | Percent | Per cent 
i 2 
I, Counties in which less than 25 per cent of the area is in farms________ ATE? Sao 
II. Counties in which more than 25 per cent but less than 50 per cent ofthe 
Muarea ds In farmse ss. Sees 2 2s kee as eee ee a ee ee 353° 14.5 11.4 
III. Counties in which over 50 per cent of the areaisinfarms butless than 
50 per cent isimproved land 2 ee ee eee ee ee eee 68. 6 36. 2 29.8 
WnNtire TesiONS = 5-32 rar eet ei ee ee ee 33. 6 USS) 12.6 
TABLE 2.—Percentage of all land in farms which is improved, in crops, or in 
woodland in the undeveloped part of the Lakes States, by groups of counties, 
1920 
Improved} Crop W ood- 
Groups of counties land land land 
Per cent | Per cent | Per cent 
~ I, Counties in which less than 25 per cent of the area is in farms_-_______ 29.8 IRF 45.9 
II. Countiesin which more than 25 per cent but less than 50 per cent of the 
areads infanms 26325 28S eee eet Os yee 2 eee Pe ee eee 41.0 32. 2 31.9 
III. Counties in which over 50 per cent of the areaisin farms but less than 
oo percent 1s: improved lands == 22 a ee eee Seed 43.4 28.3 
I Ntire TeCION ee ae a a eg ae eee 46.1 Svas 32.1 
When the area is divided into three parts, as in Figure 1 and 
Table 1, it appears that half of the whole area is in counties having 
less than 25 per cent of their land in farms and averaging only 11.7 
per cent of their land in farms, only 3.5 per cent improved, and only 
2.8 per cent in crops. The counties in Group II, constituting a 
little over 20 per cent of the whole area, have from 25 to 50 per cent 
of their land in farms, averaging 35.3 per cent, with 14.5 per cent 
improved. The counties in Group III, constituting about 30 per cent 
of the total area, have over 50 per cent of the land in farms, but less 
than 50 per cent of it improved. Settlement is nearly complete in 
the Group III area, but there are some odds and ends of land still 
not in farms, and settlement is so recent that only a little over a 
1 Such a determination of the boundary line results in the inclusion of several Wisconsin 
counties as cut-over regions that ordinarily are not so classified. These counties are 
located in the central sandy plain of Wisconsin and are developing very slowly. 
