RURAL DEPLETION 37 



Russia, whose people, moreover, live in hamlets rather 

 than on farmsteads, has 16. Yet in Nova Scotia, Anna- 

 polis, including the towns has only 14.04; Shelburne 

 and Queen's, 11.97; and Guysborough, 10.29; and Xew 

 Brunswick as a Province, including her cities, has but 

 12.61 to the square mile. 



How serious, therefore, is our situation when we find 

 that under the first count in the social strain the aban- 

 doned home in Ontario, Lennox and Addington, have 

 366 fewer dwelling houses than ten years ago, a loss of 

 6.9 per cent. ; East Huron 310 less, a loss of 7.5 per 

 cent. ; North Lanark had 265 of its dwellings, or 7.7 

 per cent., go out of use in the decade; and Lambton 

 East 491, or 8.3 per cent. ; while in Grenville 352, or 

 9.17 per cent, became unoccupied the largest loss, for 

 a county, in the Province. But here again the county 

 does not present the real facts ; in towns the dwellings 

 are increasing in number. The townships form the 

 real test. Here are some of the outstanding instances. 

 The historic township of East Zorra in Oxford County 

 closed 13.6 per cent, of its homes; in Hastings, Madoc 

 lost 13.7; Ashfield, in Huron, allowed 15 per cent, to 

 fall into desuetude; in Grey, Egremont has 15.1 aban- 

 doned homes, and Glenelg, 16.2 ; Edwardsburg has 17 

 per cent. ; Darling, in Lanark, 17.3 ; Cavan, in Dur- 

 ham, 18.8 ; Glenelg, also in Grey, 19.8 per cent. Were 

 there space we might specify as well Arran, Culros. 

 Huron, Wawanosh, Camden, Rochester, Greenock, Au- 

 gusta, Brant, Tuscarora, Kinloss, Bruce, Haldimand, 

 and Abinger, with empty farmhouses ranging from 10 

 to 20 per cent. But all of these are quite outclassed by 

 Barrie, in Frontenac, with 25.4 of its dwellings aban- 

 doned in the decade; Morris, in Huron, with 25.5; 



