Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 17.djvu/416

392 NEW HAMPSHIRE abundant. Ctystals weighing 2900 Ib have been described as occur ring at Grafton. (C. H. H.) Population. The population of New Hampshire in 1880 was 346,991 (170,526 males, 176,465 females) 46,294 being of foreign birth. The growth of the population is shown by the following table : Popula tion. Gain per cent. Rank in Union. Popula tion. Gain per cent. Rank in Union. 1790 141,885 10 1840 284,574 5-6 22 1800 183,858 29-5 11 1850 317,970 11-7 22 1810 214,460 16-6 16 I860 326,073 2-5 27 1820 244,042 18-7 15 1870 318,300 -2-3 31 1830 2 ;9,32S 10-3 18 1880 346,991 9 31 The decrease in the decade ending with 1870 was due to the effects of the civil war and to emigration to other States. The latter cause greatly checked the growth of the preceding decade. So constant has it been that 128,505 natives of New Hampshire are resident in other parts of the Union. The density of population is 37 17 to the square mile, but the southern part of the State is more thickly inhabited. The tendency of the population is towards the towns. Of the total increase in the last decade (28,691, of whom 58 per cent, were immigrants), nine towns received 20,649, Manchester alone ganning 9094. Canada supplied the largest number of immigrants (14,979), and Ireland the next (6544). Since 1850 the native popu lation has decreased 2866. The number of families in 1880 was 80,286, and the number of births 6141, one to 56 5 of the inhabit ants, and the deaths 5584. The average size of families was 4 32, the smallest average of any State in the Union, though larger than in a few of the new Territories. It is steadily decreasing, having been 4 41 in 1870, 472 in 1860, and 5 15 in 1850. The decrease in the size of the family has been accompanied by an increase in the number of divorces. The tendency of the State legislation for a number of years was to facilitate divorces ; between 1860 and 1870 the number increased (one county not reporting) from 90 to 147, and between 1870 and 1878, in the whole State, from 157 to 240. At the present time public sentiment is setting towards greater stringency of legislation, and has already diminished the number of divorces. The number of paupers in 1880 was 2037. The cities of largest population in 1880 were Manchester, 32,630; Concord, the State capital, 13,843; Nashua, 13,397; Dover, 11,687 ; Portsmouth, 9690; Keene, 6784; Rochester, 5784; Somersworth, 5586. Manufactures. The principal industry of New Hampshire is manufacturing. In 1880 the number of establishments was 3181, and the invested capital 51,112,263, giving employment to 45,811 operatives. The total annual product was valued at 873,978,028. The most important manufactures, mentioned in the order of the value of their products, were those of cotton and woollen goods, boots and shoes, leather, lumber, mixed textiles, and worsted goods. Other valuable manufactures are hosiery and knitted goods, paper, foundry and machine-shop products, flouring and grist-mill pro ducts, and malt liquors. There is a large annual cut of logs in the northern part of the State. The total horse-power employed in manufacturing was 87,750, of which water furnished 78 81 percent, and steam 21 19 per cent. Manchester is the chief manufacturing centre, but large mills are built at Dover, Nashua, and Great Falls. The growth of manufactures in New Hampshire has been steady and constant. The first cotton mill was built in 1804. By 1826 there were fifty different buildings for the manufacture of cotton, and about half as many for that of wool. Since 1850 the capital invested in manufacturing has increased nearly 300 per cent., the annual value of materials employed 350 per cent., and the value of products 320 per cent. Agriculture. The value of the agricultural productions of the State is about one-fifth of the manufactures. In 1879 it was 13,474,330. The large farms are growing at the expense of small ones. In the decade ending 1880, the average size decreased from 122 to 116 acres. Within that time the farm acreage increased 115,179 acres, but the improved acreage diminished by 26,375 acres. The value of farms and farming implements remained about the same, but there was a general falling off in the quantity and value of farm productions (decrease about $9,000,000, without allowance for change in currency). Fisheries. An effort is being made to stock the inland waters of the State with food and game fish. A hatching house is main tained from which thousands of fry (black bass, Schoodic salmon, carp, brook trout, and other fish) are distributed to the ponds and streams. The sea fisheries are of slight importance. Railroads. The first railroad charter was granted in 1835. Since then the growth of railroads has kept pace with the development of the State, the present mileage (1051) being greater in proportion to population and wealth than in the case of any other New England State. The number of persons employed is 2389. The Mount Washington Railway is one of the triumphs of modern engineering. Extending 2| miles from the base to the summit of Mount Washington, it makes an ascent of 3625 feet. Its maximum gradient is 1980 feet to the mile, and the sharpest curve has a radius of 497 feet. The peculiarity is a central cog-rail into which plays the cog- driver of the engine, while the weight rests upon two lateral rails. Finance. The first bank in New Hampshire was established at Portsmouth in 1792. In 1882 there were under a State charter one bank, with a capital of 50,000, and forty -nine national banks under the National Banking Act. Their capital was 6,080,000; circulation, 5,704,691; surplus, 1,102,631; deposits, 4,859,327 loans and discounts, 8,137,442; dividends (1882), 447,525 (about 1 per cent, on capital). The first savings bank was established in 1823. They now number sixty-five, with deposits of 36,181,186, by 104,432 depositors. In thirty years the depositors have increased by nearly 90, 000, and the average deposit from 127 to 372. Every banking company pays annually to the State a tax of per cent, on its actual capital, and the amount thus paid constitutes a literary fund " for the support of schools. All are under the super vision of two bank commissioners, whose duty it is to inspect the accounts and securities of each bank at least once each year, and who have power to petition the supreme court against any bank which they think unsound. In 1880 the valuation of the State was 122,733,124 for real estate, and 42,022,057 for personal property. The taxes assessed by the State were 395,372, and the local taxes amounted to 2, 302,268 (about 7 75 per head). The net State debt was 3,561,200, and the local debt 7,162,970, or taken together about 31 per head. Religion and Education. The largest religious denomination is the Congregationalist, which has 188 churches, 179 ministers, 20,039 members, and 21,948 in its Sabbath schools. The Methodists have 119 churches, 107 pastors and 63 local preachers, 12,100 members and 1362 probationers, and 13,509 Sabbath school scholars. Tho Baptists have 80 churches, 90 ministers and 7 licentiates, and 8932 members. The Episcopalians have 28 churches, 32 ministers, and 2062 communicants. The Free-will Baptists have an organization, and there are two societies of Shakers. New Hampshire has always fostered education. In earlier colonial times, when it was united with Massachusetts, the same laws applied to both, and on becoming a distinct province it placed on its statute book the Massachusetts law requiring townships of 50 householders to provide instruction for their children, and those of 100 householders to set up a grammar school. This law, with slight changes designed to render it more effective, remained in force till after the Revolution. The State con stitution, adopted in 1784, contained a clause, still in force, making it the duty of "legislators and magistrates to cherish the interests of literature and the sciences, and all seminaries and public schools." In 1789 the school laws were revised, and towns required to raise for school purposes 4 for every 20s. of their several apportionment of the State tax. This requisition has been gradually increased, until now it is 350 for each dollar of the apportionment. In 1805 the towns were authorized to divide into districts, and each district was directed to maintain a school. This system, with modifications, is still in force. Towns are now authorized to abolish districts and form central schools, and to grade them when the attendance exceeds fifty. High schools may be established when there are not less than one hundred school children between the ages of six and sixteen. In 1829 the "literary fund" was divided among the towns accord ing to the apportionment of the State tax for the support of "common free schools, or for other purposes of education." To the tax on bank capital is added one on the savings banks deposits of non-residents. In 1881 it was 26,584. The general supervision and control of the educational interests of the State are committed to a superintendent of public instruction appointed by the governor. The immediate charge of all schools is given to local boards of educa tion or committees, which, within the requirements of the law, have complete authority to engage teachers and fix their compensation, to regulate the studies and discipline of the schools, and to direct their expenditures. Attendance upon the public school or some reputable private day school for at least twelve weeks in a year is required, except in case of sickness, of all children between the ages of eight and fourteen. Teachers, except graduates of the normal school, are engaged only after examination. The State normal school, established in 1870, and supported by an annual appropriation of 5000, confers upon its graduates the right to teach three or five years in the common schools. The number of schools in 1882 was 2644, including 481 graded and 56 high schools. The number of scholars was 64,349, and in private schools 4275. The schools are supported by the literary fund, the tax required by law, with the additional taxes voted by the towns and a few other taxes. The total amount appropriated for schools in 1882 was 584,52774. There are also, existing under special charters, 53 academies and seminaries, many of them endowed, and furnishing a preparatory training for college. They have 161 teachers and 3112 pupils. The largest of these is Phillips Academy at Exeter, founded in 1781. Dartmouth College, the only college in the State, was founded in 1769. It has nearly 7000 graduates, among whom are some of the most noted names in American history. With its academic course are connected a scientific department, a department of civil engineer ing, the New Hampshire Medical College, and the New Hampshire