New Hampshire

one of the New England States. It is the most northerly of the original thirteen states. It lies between Vermont and Maine and between Massachusetts and the province of Quebec. The Connecticut River forms the entire western boundary. Massachusetts pushed its northeastern boundary so far beyond the Merrimac river that but eighteen miles of seacoast are left for New Hampshire. The area is 9,336 square miles. The surface is rugged and mountainous. It rises from sea level in billows. The highest elevation, Mount Washington, reaches an altitude of 6,272 feet above sea level.

PRODUCTS. New Hampshire is popularly known as the "Old Granite State." Excellent building stone, especially granites and marbles, are present in inexhaustible quantities. Portions of the state are still covered with dense forests. The lumber output is valued at $9,000,000 a year. Agriculture was formerly the chief dependence of the inhabitants. The total value of farms shows an increase from decade to decade, but the raising of standard field crops, especially wheat, has been discontinued largely by reason of cheaper production in the West. The state now buys most of its flour. Attention has been turned toward small farming, fruit growing, gardening, dairying, and poultry raising. The dairies of the state have a high reputation. Manufacturing is the chief industry. The making of boots and shoes, of cottons, and of woolens ranks in the order named. Other important manufactures are wood pulp, hosiery, engines, and machine shop productions. The state has over $100,000,000 invested in manufactures. The annual output of wares, as reported by the last census, was $188,985,902; 70,786 workmen were earning annual wages to the amount of $27,654,404.

EDUCATION. New Hampshire is a characteristic New England state. Public libraries were founded as early as 1792. In fact the state led the Union in authorizing town libraries at public expense. Common schools were established at an early date. A normal school was founded at Plymouth in 1870. Free high schools are maintained by the larger towns, and there are over thirty academies. Phillips Exeter has a national reputation for scholarship. The leading institution of learning is Dartmouth College, founded at Hanover in 1769. There is a college of agriculture and mechanic arts at Durham.

REPRESENTATIVE MEN. The typical citizen of New Hampshire delights to call the roll of the state's distinguished sons. The names of Webster, Pierce, Greeley, Dix, Butler, and Chase are seldom omitted. General Stark, who led the Green Mountain Boys at Bennington, was a New Hampshire man.

POPULATION. The population in 1900 was reported at 411,588, of whom 88,107 were foreign born. The foreign element is chiefly Canadian French. Concord is the capital. There are eleven cities having a population of 6,000 or over. Named in order of size, they are Manchester, Nashua, Concord, Dover, Portsmouth, Berlin, Keene, Rochester, Laconia, Somersworth, and Franklin.

STATISTICS. The following are the latest to be had from trustworthy sources:

See Merrimac River; White Mountains; Dartmouth