CHESHIRE.    393

Shirley, from State line to Greenville; Monadnock, from Jaffrey,
to Peterborough; Contoocook Valley, from Henniker line to Hills-
borough Bridge.

Miscellaneous. Population of the county, 64,238—males, 30,021,
females, 34,217; foreign, 11,472; colored, 124; criminals convict-
ed—natives, 124, foreign, 201; paupers—natives, 171, foreign, 95 ;
pauper expenses for the year, $ 47,735. Whole number of deaths
for the year, 918—males, 458, females, 460; number died over
eighty years, 82, or 10 per cent.; number died with lung disease,
262, or over 28 per cent.

CHESHIRE.

This is becoming one of the most enterprising counties in the
State in its variety of manufactories. The surface in many parts
of the county is uneven, but much of the soil is productive, yield-
ing fine crops, especially in those towns bordering on the Connecti-
cut river.

Rivers. The Connecticut washes its western border, the Ashue-
lot flows through the county in a south-westerly direction, and to-
gether with its tributaries, furnishes the larger portion of the water
power in the county. Cold River passes through its north-west
corner, and branches of the Contoocook water three or four towns
on its eastern border, affording some fine water power. The im-
proved horse water power of the county is 6,310.

Mountains. Monadnock Mountain, in the eastern part of the
county, is the highest elevation in the middle and southern sec-
tion of the State. West River Mountain in the south-west part,
is quite an elevation.

Boundaries. It contains twenty-three towns, of which eight
were incorporated in the reign of George II., ten, in the reign of
George III., and five under the government of New-Hampshire.
Bounded north by Sullivan County, east by Hillsborough County,
south by Massachusetts, and west by Vermont. Its greatest length
is thirty-one miles, greatest breadth, twenty-six miles. It was incor-
porated March 19,1771, and was named after a county in England.
Keene is the Shire town.

Agriculture. Some of the best farming towns in the State are in
this county. Much attention is given to the raising of tohaeco, on
the Connecticut and the lower part of the Ashuelot rivers. Near-
ly two hundred thousand pounds are annually produced. The