212 



CONNECTICUT. 



year as shown by the census, which was 4.62, and 

 applying it to the enumeration for 1897, shows a 

 population of about 851,000, which is a gain of 106,- 

 000 since 1890. Following is a summary by coun- 

 ties of the school enumeration of 1897: Hartford, 

 36 590 ; New Haven, 56,405 ; New London, 17,028 ; 

 Fairfield, 38,620; Windham, 9,798; Litchfield, 12,- 

 581; Middlesex, 8,187; Tolland, 5,146 : total, 184,355, 

 an increase of 5,092 over the previous year. The re- 

 port of the Board of Education shows that in 1897 

 the increase of school population was 2.6 per cent. 

 The number of pupils on the registers had increased 

 1.7 per cent., and there was a rise of 4.2 per cent, 

 in the average attendance an increase made in 

 spite of withdrawals to private schools. The num- 

 ber of different pupils on the registers had increased 

 by the number of 2,436 to 143,921 ; the average at- 

 tendance had risen to 104,064. For every 100 chil- 

 dren on the registers the average attendance was 

 70.22, or 4.2 per cent, greater than in the former 

 year. 



There are 71 high schools in the State, with a 

 registration of 6,672 pupils. The expense of these 

 schools amounts to $275,000.31, including $241,- 

 514.84 for teachers' salaries. There are 158 private 

 schools, in which are registered 27,352 pupils, the 

 teachers numbering 828. 



The securities constituting the capital of the 

 school fund was reported to amount to $2,007,- 

 080 97, as follows : Bonds and mortgages in Con- 

 necticut, $783,392.63 ; in Ohio, $850,578.60 ; in In- 

 diana, $17,100 ; real-estate mortgages, $163,868.04 ; 

 bank stock in eleven banks, $167,147.61 ; cash in 

 treasury. $17,077.09. 



Labor and Industries. The report of the La- 

 bor Bureau shows that a canvass was made of the 

 manufacturing establishments, and reports from 

 768 of these were received, by which it appears that 

 the number of persons on the pay rolls in 1897 was 

 87,907, a decrease from the previous year, when the 

 number was 88,934. Fifty-six hours a week was 

 reported as being the average time of labor for all 

 establishments. Wages paid in 1896, $40,404,002 ; 

 for the corresponding period in 1897, $36,271,729, 

 showing a decrease of 10.2 per cent. The propor- 

 tion of business done of full capacity, as estimated 

 by all the manufacturers reporting, shows the aver- 

 age to have been 74 per cent. 



The earnings of 107 employees of American birth 

 reporting to the bureau averaged $13.82 per week 

 per family ; the annual cost of living (exclusive of 

 interest, taxes, water rents, and repairs or house 

 rent) was 67.8 per cent. ; the expense for interest, 

 taxes, rent, etc., 14.6 per cent., and the possible sav- 

 ings 17.6 per cent, of total annual earnings. Of the 

 93 employees of foreign birth reporting, the aver- 

 age weekly earnings per family was $10.71 ; the 

 annual cost of living of the whole number (exclu- 

 sive of interest, taxes, water rents, etc.) was 69.6 per 

 cent. ; amount paid for interest, taxes, etc., 14.5 per 

 cent. ; and the possible savings 1 5.9 per cent, of earn- 

 ings. Thus while the average weekly earnings per 

 family were 22.5 per cent, less than that shown by 

 reports from those of American birth, the possible 

 savings of the family were 30 per cent, lower. 



The si Ik-machine "works in Stonington ran dur- 

 ing the year on full time, with an increased force 

 of employees, and, with the exception of one small 

 order from Switzerland, all the machines made 

 were for American manufacturers. A large plant 

 was established in New Haven for the manufacture 

 of "colophyte," a material resembling cellulose, 

 used in electrical work for insulating. 



The capital invested in the dairy business was 

 reported to exceed, in round numbers, $10,000,000, 

 and the yearly product was estimated at more than 

 $5,000,000. 



Shad Culture. The Fish and Game Commis- 

 sioner advocates the planting of fish adults, or 

 " fingerlings," instead of fry, as the latter are too 

 readily devoured by their natural enemies. He 

 says that under ordinary conditions the commis- 

 sioners can meet any reasonable demand for shad, 

 and that the problem of how best to stock the 

 rivers with these fish is solved. " They can turn 

 into the Connecticut river 6,000,000 to 8,000,000 

 shad, from 3 to 5 inches long, in October of each 

 year. That these have a better chance for life than 

 the infinitesimal shad fry, with a part of the egg-sac 

 still unabsorbed, is a self-evident fact and with 

 this number of such fish annually released, the fear 

 that shad may be exterminated is groundless." 



Horticulture. The Fruit Committee of the 

 American Pomological Society gave out a list of 

 the fruits best adapted to the soil of the State, 

 namely : plums, pears, apples, peaches, gooseberries, 

 grapes, cherries, blackberries, and currants ; though 

 many other fruits can be grown. Several instances 

 of second-crop strawberries ripening in September 

 or later were reported. 



Vital Statistics. The total number of births 

 reported for 1897 was 20,509, giving a birth rate of 

 23.2 to 1,000 population ; total marriages reported, 

 6,358, a rate of 7.2 to 1,000 ; total deaths, 13,923, a 

 rate of 15.6 to 1,000. 



State Prison. The Board of Charities reported 

 that the marked increase in the number of inmates 

 in the penal institutions of the State presented a 

 strong argument for the establishment of a State 

 reformatory. The directors and warden of the 

 State Prison reported that the average prison pop- 

 ulation, far surpassing that of any previous year 

 and exceeding that of 1896 by 27.5," was 432.5, add- 

 ing : " But even this fat figure fails fully to repre- 

 sent the penal census of the State, for, owing to the 

 limited cell room at the prison, convicts were de- 

 tained at the ordinary jails. The growth of the 

 institution during the past five years, following a 

 long period during which the population was sub- 

 stantially stationary, has been constant and at 

 times rapid. Such an increase, which has now 

 developed a condition of congestion, involves new 

 problems in prison finance and administration, and 

 begets additional responsibilities of management." 

 The report alludes to the 32 additional steel cells 

 which have been built, and to a commodious insane 

 ward, nearly completed. The grading system. 

 under which convicts are divided into three classes, 

 in accordance with their antecedents, disposition, 

 and prison conduct, is said to mark an important 

 departure in penal administration. After a year's 

 test, the directors feel justified in affirming the 

 unqualified success of the system. The parole 

 legislation enacted by the General Assembly supple- 

 ments the grading system. The law authorizes tin 

 Board of Pardons to release upon parole first-term 

 convicts who have served at least half their full 

 sentence, whose prison record suggests probables 

 reformation, and for whom suitable employment 

 has been obtained. Reference is made to the liter- 

 ary and debating society which has been organized 

 among the first-grade convicts, to the establish men; 

 of a monthly prison paper, and to the increased 

 number of sessions of the evening school in which 

 the elementary branches are taught to a limited 

 number of convicts. During the year (1897) 221 

 prisoners, of whom 9 were women, were admitted ; 

 discharged, 160; total confined in the course of tho 

 year, 606. The prison is lighted with electricity, 

 each cell having an incandescent lamp. 



Crime. The homicides in 1897 were fewer by 

 1 than in the previous year 24. The report say- : 

 "Assuming that the population of the State last 

 year was 850,000, the ratio of homicides per 100,000 



