ABSTRACT
Brewer and Boxley have plowed an old field but their furrow is straight, clean, and recent. Professional workers and scholars of many kinds have long been concerned over land area, use, productivity, and the capacity of land to provide needed food in this country. Over the decades there have been many attempts to develop and appraise data on these matters, and to estimate probable or possible future relationships or situations. I think we can be confident that such attempts will not end with the work represented in this volume. Demands upon the land and the capacity of the land to provide desired products change over time, as does our knowledge of such matters and our capacity to utilize land and other natural resources. No past and no present study, however accurate and incisive, can possibly be the final word.
