CHANGES IN NEW ENGLAND POPULATION. 441 



The marriage-rate is much higher in this class than with the American. 

 It is possible that, in the process of time, changes in the style of living, 

 and by adopting modern fashions, the birth-rate of this class may be 

 somewhat reduced, but certainly not at present. 



Religious influences have a powerful hold upon this class of people, 

 so that they will be restrained from violating the laws of the physical 

 system. In process of time, there may be such a change in the organ- 

 ization of this people as to reduce the birth-rate. The "Catholic 

 World " stated six years ago that " nearly 70 per cent of the births in 

 New England were those in Catholic families." This estimate we 

 thought at the time was too large, but with the increase of births 

 since belonging to this class, and the addition of the births of large 

 numbers of the foreign-born and foreign descent who are not Catho- 

 lic, it will increase this percentage. 



In most of the cities more than half of the births for years have 

 been connected with the foreign element, but it was not expected that 

 the same proportion could be found to exist in rural districts and 

 country towns. 



It does not seem possible that three fourths of all the births in New 

 England at the present time can be classed under a foreign head, but 

 the indications are pretty certain that such will be the case before 

 many years, and then we shall be compelled to believe the fact. The 

 inquiry is frequently made if the two classes do not intermarry, and 

 what is the prospect in this direction ? There are occasional inter- 

 marriages between the American, the English, the Scotch, and the emi- 

 grants from the Provinces, but not often between the Americans and 

 the Irish. Still, cases of this kind do occur occasionally between the 

 laboring classes, and we think they are increasing. The registration 

 reports divide certain married parties into two classes the foreign- 

 born father and native mother, and vice versa. 



The term native here might apply to the strictly American, but a 

 careful examination shows that each party called native was of foreign 

 element, so that there was no mixing of the two races. This class of 

 marriages has been constantly increasing. In Massachusetts, accord- 

 ing to the registration report of 1881, there were 7,380 births of this 

 class, nearly one eighth of the whole number. 



Change in Physical Organization. The most serious evil re- 

 sulting from the introduction of this foreign element is in causing a 

 change in the physical organization of New-Englanders. In the case 

 of men that part of farming requiring hard work those kinds of 

 the mechanical pursuits demanding physical strength, and, in fact, 

 nearly all manual labor out-of-doors, have already passed mainly into 

 the hands of foreign help. This change, commencing thirty or forty 

 years ago, has everywhere been taking place, but more rapidly of late 

 years. 



This exchange of regular physical exercise for lighter employment 



