338 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan. 



ments of the family are few, a population of European stock 

 may increase, decade after decade, at the rate of even thirty 

 per cent in ten years ; and it is even possible that, in 

 circumstances exceptionally favorable, an increase of thirty- 

 three or thii-ty-five per cent, wholly irrespective of immigra- 

 tion, might take place in ten years. 



The entire immigration to the United States for thirty 

 years, between 1790 and 1820, was estimated by Dr. Sybert 

 at only about eight thousand annually ; while the entire 

 population had increased from four millions to nine and one- 

 half millions. 



Governor Winthrop, speaking of the increase of population 

 to 1640, says, with the rate of increase going on for thirty-five 

 years, the people would have multiplied more than fifteen 

 fold before the beginning of King Philip's war, a doubling in 

 about nine years, which ratio could not last long. The great 

 increase which did come, and by comparison what it would 

 have been, is made more comprehensible by the fact that, 

 prior to King Philip's war, in 1646, forty-four towns had 

 been settled and incorporated; and that before 1765, the 

 date of taking the first colonial census, the number of incor- 

 porated towns had increased to one hundred and seventy-five. 



This position is strengthened by the fact that, from 1701, 

 when, by the best estimates that could be made, the popula- 

 tion of Massachusetts was seventy thousand, to 1776 it had 

 increased 402 per cent. Up to this time there had been but 

 little migration either way ; but soon after the war the grow- 

 ing surplus went West. 



The redundancy of population in Massachusetts has been 

 constantly reduced by migration to other States and the vast 

 territory west, without which that immense fertile country 

 would for a long time have remained in possession of the 

 roaming bufialo and the untutored Indian. The agricultural 

 portion of our population has in more recent years been 

 somewhat relieved of its redundancy by occupations in local 

 centres, in manufacturing towns or various railways. 



The superintendent of the census of 1860 says that about 

 one'-third of those born in Massachusetts were then living in 

 other States, and that the old agricultural States may be 

 said to be filled up, so far as the resources adapted to a rural 



