The Population of New Hampshire 



3. Effects of Migration on the Smal! New Hampshire Town 



By Owen B. Durgin* 



MOST of the studies of migration in the United States have been of the 

 net movement of people from region to region within the country 

 largely because only data of this type have been available. Most of the 

 emphasis has been on the westward and urban trend. 



Recognized by most students of population, but not stressed in research 

 because of paucity of data, is the "milling" of people within a local area. 

 It is quite possible that areas showing little net migration may have quite 

 mobile population. Estimates of within-county movement of people in New 

 Hampshire based on the 1950 census indicate that from 8 to 11 percent 

 of the residents of a county move within that county during a 12-month 

 period. Net migration for the period 1940-1950 in New Hampshire was 

 less than 1 percent. 



This indicated possibly that the level of resources with respect to cur- 

 rent technology was such that population mobility was near some minimum. 

 Under these conditions a substantial amount of the population movement 

 might resemble "musical chairs". As some individuals in the local areas 

 cease performing their normal functions they are replaced by others per- 

 forming the same or similar duties. These are in turn replaced by others 

 ad infinitum, maintaining a constant, although limited, state of mobility. 

 The low net migration of the State of New Hampshire appears to qualify 

 it as an area wherein a hypothesis of this nature might be investigated. To 

 keep available resources at a low level, small towns were selected as the 

 local unit with which to work. 



\i a number of towns having a population of about 500, some of which 

 had increased in population over some period of time and some of which 

 had decreased, could be compared as to population characteristics and 

 economic adjustment, some insight into the validity of this hypothesis 

 might be gained. 



There has been an assumption by ecologists particularly and other social 

 scientists generally that there must be some sort of balance between popu- 

 lation and resources in a given area. The resources must include not only 

 the primary physical resources, such as topography, climate, rainfall, soil 

 types, and the like, but also the effect of these on power sources, trans- 

 portation routes, type of agriculture, and other direct effects. 



Migration is considered as one of the devices by which population and 

 resources are brought into balance. \i there were resources to be exploited 

 at a given level of technology, population was attracted; if they had been 

 exploited or technology changed, population was driven out. In con- 

 sidering all causes of migration, such a simple version is untenable, but 

 this general concept of migration adjusting population to resources may be 

 correct. 



*Sociologist, Agricultural Experiment Station. 



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