A large number of small producers in New Hampshire will delay the 

 introduction of farm-tank assembly so that a 100 percent conversion cannot 

 ,be expected in the near future. Its adoption is symptomatic of the economies 

 of scale, however, and strengthens the pressure for more efficient milk pro- 

 duction and marketing from larger operating units at lower costs. 



J. R. BOWRING 



The Population of New Hampshire — 

 Basic Trends and Characteristics 



This is the forerunner of further studies on population with particular 

 emphasis on the rural-urban migration and the meaning of such migration 

 to rural institutions and communities. Characteristic of most rural areas 

 in the United States, technological progress in agricultural production is 

 reducing the number of people required on farms to provide the nation's 

 food supplies. Industrial employment opportunities have provided the ve- 

 hicle for movement out of agriculture, especially since 1940. Such shifts 

 create sociological problems in rural areas and in the urban areas to which 

 people have moved. It is opportune, therefore, that such problems be studied 

 and analyzed to enable individuals and government better to appreciate the 

 adjustments and to aid in the transition. 



There has been a steady increase in the population of New Hampshire 

 since the turn of the century. The rate of increase has been relatively low 

 compared wdth some of the western states and even with the southern New 

 England states. However, the increase continues at a rate similar to the 

 neighboring State of Maine. 



The northern counties of New Hampshire have not increased at as great 

 a rate as such southern counties as Strafford and Rockingham. There has 

 evidently been a larger emmigration from the northern counties. In com- 

 mon with the United States, the rural-farm population of New Hampshire 

 continues to decline. In contrast the rural-nonfarm population is increasing. 



Canada is still the major national origin of the foreign born residents 

 of the state, but the relative number of foreign born to native born has de- 

 clined steadily for the past four decades. 



The birth rate of New Hampshire residents is increasing and the num- 

 ber of children born to females between the ages of 20 and 34 compares 

 more than favorably with the United States average. Marriage rates were 

 greatly accelerated during the 1940's. 



The education of New Hampshire people, or at least the number of 

 years they have attended school, has increased so that the current propor- 

 tion of urban and rural dwellers who have attended high school compares 

 very favorably with other states. There is a noticeable increase in the 

 schooling of younger age groups. 



Age-sex data indicate males and females are more evenly distributed 

 in the urban population than in the farm population, where there is some 

 preponderance of males. The exodus of both males and females from farms 

 to urban centers occurs at the highest rate around the age of 20. There is a 

 growing proportion of older people in this state, but otherwise the age dis- 

 tribution is not dififerent from the rest of the country. 



A net cash income from $2,000 to $4,000 is the most common per 

 family in New Hampshire. This includes all earnings of members of each 



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