FARMERS' INSTITUTES. 29 



years or thereabouts. This can be realized most vividly by inspecting a 

 map prepared by the census of 1890 upon which all counties within 

 which the rural population diminished between '80 and '90 are colored 

 yellow. Towns having less than 1,000 population are reckoned as rural, 

 and the inclusion of these probably saves many counties from showing 

 a decrease which would show one were all the villages excluded. The 

 result, however, is sufficiently striking. It is not generally known, I 

 imagine, that upon 06 per cent or two-thirds of the area of the state of 

 Illinois population actually fell off during thai decade. In Iowa the per 

 cent of surface showing a decrease was 43, in Ohio 61, in New York 83, 

 in Michigan 27. Wherever the rural population of states which were 

 thoroughly settled in 1880 did not fall off there is usally some special 

 cause at work, which can often be assigned even by a casual student of 

 the map. Thus the increase of rural population in counties adjoining 

 great cities is doubtless due largely to the increase of suburban residences 

 and of market gardening. The only reason that Michigan shows so small 

 a surface upon which rural population diminished is that only the lower 

 part of the southern peninsula was opened to agriculture previous to 

 1880. 



Up to this point I have made use only of facts which can be obtained 

 directly from the census publications; but in attempting a somewhat 

 more detailed study of the movement of rural population in Michigan 

 I have had to go behind the face of the returns and make some simple 

 calculations the results of which are not quite so well known. 



There a.re twenty-eight counties in the four southern tiers of counties 

 in this State, that is beginning with the row counting Kent. In twenty- 

 three of these, or all but five, rural population diminished between '80 

 and '90. These five were Kent, Allegan, Ottawa, Wayne and Berrien. 

 This line, running across the State from Grand Haven to Port Huron 

 seems to correspond roughly with the limit of that part of the State 

 that was well settled agriculturally previous to 1880. North of this 

 only one county — Montcalm — suffered a rural decrease during the decade 

 in question. 



The census of 1900 has not yet published exhibits showing separately 

 the movement of rural population ; but by going over the general bulletin 

 relating to the population of this State I have been able to pick out the 

 facts with sufficient accuracy. In the four southern tiers of counties 

 the decrease shown to have taken place between '80 and '90 has continued, 

 all but six of the counties considered above have fallen off in the decade 

 just ended. Of the six whose rural population increased, three, Ottawa, 

 Wayne and Berrien, were among those that showed an increase before. 

 Kent and Allegan have fallen off. The new counties showing an increase 

 are Ionia, Van Buren and Monroe. 



It would be interesting to find out if possible just why certain coun- 

 ties offer an exception to the rule, and with reference to this plausible 

 suggestions at least readily present themselves. Of the eight counties 

 which show a rural increase during one or more of the two decades — 

 Kent, Allegan, Ottawa, Wayne, Berrien, Ionia, Van Buren and Monroe — 

 Kent and Wayne coatain our two large cities, and the increase in them 

 is probably due to the growth of suburban residence and of market 

 gardening; Allegan, Ottawa, Berrien and Van Buren are counties on the 

 coast of Lake Michigan and contain large fruit districts; Ionia, I 



