Physical Features.— The State lies on the Atlantic slope of the continent, forming part of the elevated belt bordering upon the ocean which culminates in three mountain districts, viz., Newfoundland, the White Mountains, and the Black Mountains in North Carolina. It is also situated east of the Blue Ridge and its northerly continuation in the New York highlands and the Green Mountain range, both of which are distinct from the true Appalachians—the latter being west of the great Appalachian limestone valley, and well-shown in the Catskill, Alleghany, and Cumber land ridges and plateaus. The Atlantic and White Mountain ranges are comparatively short, consisting of obtusely-pointed summits of gneissic or granitic rocks, either arranged en échelon or scattered in irregular groups. The White Mountains group first becomes noticeable in northern Maine, reaching the height of a mile at Mount Katahdin, and continues at less elevation south-westerly to the New Hampshire line, where it rapidly rises to its culmination in Mount Washington (6293 feet). The part of this mountainous area that lies within New Hampshire extends to about 1400 square miles. It is continued south-westerly, much reduced in elevation, beyond Mount Moosilauke,. along the highlands separating the tributaries of the Merrimack and Connecticut rivers, through New Hampshire and Massachusetts into Connecticut. The distinctive Montalban elevation is limited on the west and on the south by the Connecticut.

The geological reports published in 1878 show four important topographical features :—(1) the mountainous ridge following the eastern rim of the Connecticut river basin along the longest straight line that could be drawn within the State; (2) the elevated White Mountain tract, just north of the middle of the territory; (3) the comparatively low country between the two elevated districts just noted and the sea—three-fourths of which, away from the foothills, scarcely exceeds 500 feet above the sea-level; (4) a mountainous district north of the White Mountains, occupying Coos county in New Hampshire, Essex county in Vermont, and an indefinite region in Maine near the Quebec line. The average elevation of the land in New Hampshire is estimated to be 1200 feet above the sea. Of this more than one-half is situated below 1000 feet, and about one-sixth exceeds 2000 feet, and is comprised in the third area mentioned above. The average height of the Coos and Essex district will be found to exceed 1500 feet. Mount Washington is the only mountain peak exceeding 6000 feet; and eight others are above 5000 feet (Adams, Jefferson, Clay, two Monroes, Madison, Lafayette, and Lincoln).

Climate, Fauna, Flora.— These elevations have produced a marked effect upon the climate and natural products. The greatest annual precipitation is along the Merrimack river, 44 inches near Manchester and 46 above Franklin. It is only 35 inches near the sea-coast, and 40 inches on the upper Connecticut. The greatest precipitation is therefore on the seaward side of the long mountainous ridge constituting the backbone of the State. The annual isothermal lines vary from 48° Fahr, at Manchester to 40* in Coos county and 25° upon the summit of Mount Washington.

No less than four faunal areas are recognized, known as the Alleghanian, Canadian, Hudsonian, and Labrador. The first enters New Hampshire from the south, and is limited on the north by the line of 600 feet altitude, which is not far from the isothermal line of 45° Fahr., or the winter average of 20° Fahr, and the summer average of 65° Fahr. A few distinctive animals are the red-headed woodpecker, humming bird, bobolink, Baltimore oriole, blue jay, the box and painted turtles, and the rattlesnake. Among plants which are employed to determine the northern limit of this district are the hickory or shell bark, chestnut, mountain laurel or Kalmia, grape, and cranberry. A few characteristic animals of the Canadian district are the rose-breasted grosbeak, Canada jay, spruce partridge, crossbill, snowbird, caribou, and Canada lynx; the absence of reptiles is marked. A few of the trees are spruces, balsam fir, canoe birch, and bush maples. This district, comprising the northernmost county, reaches the height of 40Q0 feet, or the upper limit of trees. The Hudson district is a region of dwarfed spruces extending above the Canadian upper limit to the 5000 feet line, and limited to the White Mountains. None of the larger animals which flourish about Hudson’s Bay could be expected in such limited and mountainous peaks, so that the proof of the presence of this fauna is afforded by the plentiful distribution of the butterfly known as Brenthis montinus and the grasshopper Pezotettix glacialis. Owing to the small areas occupied by the Hudson and Labrador floras in the White Mountains, botanists have not yet succeeded in separating the plants peculiar to each. Fifty-three species are referred to them, called the sub-alpine and alpine districts, embracing such genera as Arenaria, Geum, Solidago, Potentilla, Ndbalus, Cassiope, Rhododendron, Salix, Saxifraga, I)iapensia, Carex, Poa, &c. The Labrador fauna is specially characterized by the abundant presence above the 5000 feet line of the butterfly Oeneis semidea. The presence of these faunal islands in the midst of the Canadian district is accounted for by the greater coldness of the climate in the glacial period. The whole country was then overspread by the peculiar animals and plants of the Arctic regions. As the climate moderated these organisms migrated both northwards and upwards into the higher districts, where they found the conditions favourable to their existence. Those which ascended the mountainous regions soon became separated from their congeners by the warmer temperature of the lowlands, and are now securely imprisoned in these mountain fastnesses.

New Hampshire was originally nearly covered by a dense forest. In 1876 it was estimated that more than one-fourth of the territory was still covered by trees, not of the original growth, but occupying land that had not been cleared. The trees valued for lumber, growing naturally in the forest, are the white, red, and pitch pines, spruces, hemlock, larch, red and sugar maple, beech, birch, red and white oak, chestnut, elm, hickory, poplar, cherry, &c. The pines have been described by the early settlers as commonly exceeding the height of 200 feet. One that was cut upon the Dartmouth College grounds measured 270 feet in length.

Geology.— The topography has a less intimate connexion with the geology. The rocks are nearly all crystalline, and show very few peculiarities of sculpturing except the eruptive massive granites. These are more or less conical, like volcanic accumulations of modern times. Examples may be seen in Mount Chocorua, Mount Pequawket, and Mount Moat. At the base is a coarse porphyritic gneiss, not less than 5000 feet thick. This shows itself principally along the Connecticut-Merrimack watershed south of the White Mountains. Next comes a protogene gneiss, saccharoidal and easily crumbling, having the same thickness, and developed most extensively in Cheshire county. A third gneissic group, 18,000 feet thick, was first separated from the other series in the Lake Winnipiseogee basin, and it is the principal component of the several ridges supposed to be repetitions of the Green Mountains. These three groups may be referred to the Laurentian system. Fourth there succeeds an imperfect gneiss, deficient in felspar, 10,000 feet thick, but developed in the highest of the White Mountains, and hence receiving the name of “Montalban.” Fifth comes the first of the schistose aggregates, occupying the synclinal positions between the gneisses. As it corresponds closely in stratigraphical and lithological features with that large series first separated from the Laurentian by Sir W. E. Logan upon Lake Huron, the name of Huronian is adopted for its development in New England. The largest terrane borders the Green Mountains through Vermont and Massachusetts. A second commences in the Connecticut basin near Bellows Falls, enlarging very much in the extreme· northern part of New Hampshire. These rocks are 12,000 feet thick. Other terranes of related rocks are to be found in Merrimack, Hillsborough, and Rockingham counties. Veins of copper and gold are wrought in the Huronian. Sixth there follows a succession of schists and slates 11,000 feet thick, whose relations are not well established. Seventh is a series of clay slates, auriferous, and 3000 feet thick, referred to the Cambrian. Eighth follows a group of mica schists and limestones, known as the Coos group, and the calciferous mica schist, perhaps 7000 or 8000 feet thick. These are claimed as Silurian by some. Ninth, and last, are fossiliferous beds of undetermined thickness, as much as 1000 feet, in which occur well-defined Pentamerus and Balysites. These show the rock to belong to the Niagara group of the Upper Silurian. The principal localities are at Littleton and Lisbon, at the west base of the White Mountains. The most natural association of these groups is (1) Laurentian, (2) the Montalban, and (3) Huronian,—all of which are Eozoic, with an aggregate thickness of 40,000 feet. Next would follow the Huronian and indeterminate groups, reaching 23,000 feet, all believed to antedate Palaeozoic time. Thirdly there remains the supposed Palaeozoic series, 12,000 feet.

Few parts of the country display better evidences of the existence of an ice age than New Hampshire. No extensive rock exposures can be found that do not exhibit marks of scarification. Even Mount Washington has been striated, and boulders weighing 90 ft> occur there, which have been brought at least a dozen miles and left 3000 feet higher than their source. The prevailing direction of the striae and transportation of fragments was.to the south-east. Local glaciers existed in the decline of the period, leaving well-marked moraines. It was in New Hampshire that the nature of the eskers or kames was first understood in America. A very noted one follows the course of the Connecticut river, from Lyme, N.H., to Windsor, Vt., a distance of 30 miles. The terraces along the Connecticut, the Merrimack, and other rivers are well shown. Careful measurements indicate that they all slope equally with the descent of the river, and resulted from accumulations of detritus pushed forward when the streams were fed by the waters of the melting ice sheet and stood 200 feet or more higher than at present.

Minerals occurring in sufficiently large quantities to be the object of mining are gold, silver, copper, zinc, lead, arsenic, tin, iron, bismuth, manganese, and molybdenum. Articles used for building purposes occurring largely are granite, coloured porphyries for ornamentation, slate, clays for brick, limestone, and soapstone or steatite. Other useful minerals either obtained directly from the rock or capable of special manufacture are quartz and felspar for glass, mica, plumbago, precious stones, whetstones, copperas, alum, pyrites, titanium, polishing powder, moulding sand, and ochres for paints. There are forty extensive quarries of granite in the State. The stone is very fine grained, of a light grey colour, and is used largely for obelisks in cemetries. The mineral beryl is very abundant. Crystals weighing 2900 lb have been described as occurring 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 :— [table]

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 gaining 9094. Canada supplied the largest number of immigrants (14,979), and Ireland the next (6544). Since 1850 the native population has decreased 2866. The number of families in 1880 was 80,286, and the number of births 6141, one to 56'5 of the inhabitants, 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, 4'72 in 1860, and 5Ί5 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-

Manufacl·wres.— 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 $73,978,028. 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 products, 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 maintained 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 ana 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 cogdriver 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 7⅜ 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 ⅜ pet cent, on its actual capital, and the amount thus paid constitutes a ‘ ‘ literary fund” for the support of schools. All are under the supervision 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. The 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 constitution, 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 according 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 education 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...