RIVERS IN NEW-HAMPSHIRE.    587

provements, the River was made navigable for boats to Fifteen Mile
Falls, in the town of Monroe, N. H., being nearly 350 miles from
its mouth. The locks and canals are all going to decay, as rail-
roads have supplanted their usefulness. The most considerable
rapids iu the river, in New-Hampshire, are Bellows’ Falls, at Wal-
pole, Queechy, at Plainfield,White River, below Hanover, and Fif-
teen Mile Falls.

Its principal tributaries, in this State, are Hall’s stream at Stew-
artstown, Upper Ammonoosuc at Northumberland, Israel’s, at Lan-
caster, John’s, at Dalton, Lower Ammonoosuc, at Bath, Mascomy,
at Lebanon, Sugar and Little Sugar, at Claremont, Cold, at Wal-
pole, and Ashuelot, at Hinsdale.

The basin of the Connecticut, in New-Hampshire, is narrow,
extending back from one to four towns, and it drains part or the
whole of about ninety towns, in the State, having an area of
nearly 2,300,000 acres or 3,600 square miles. The water power of
the tributaries of the Connecticut is valuable, and the improved
horse water power is 19,800. For the agricultural facilities of the
Connecticut valley please see page 403.

The total area of the basin of the Connecticut is estimated at

12,000 square miles.

Contoocook River, a stream of considerable length and impor-
tance, waters most of the towns in the west part of Hillsborough
County. It has its rise from severel ponds iu Rindge and Jaffrey—
its extreme southern source being near Massachusetts line. It re
ceives, in its course north, numerous streams flowing from Sharon,
Dublin, Peterborough, Greenfield, Hancock, Deering, Bennington,
Antrim, Washington, Stoddard, Windsor, and Hillsborough. In
Hillsborough it takes a northeasterly and easterly direction, and
passes through Henniker to Hopkinton, where it receives “ War-
ner” and “Blackwater” rivers. From Hopkinton it pursues a
meandering course through Concord, and unites with the Merrimack
between Concord and BoscawCn, nearly sixty miles north of the
line between New-Hampshire and Massachusetts. The whole
length of the Contoocook, in its meandering course, is about eighty
miles. Its most important tributary is Nubauusit river, having its
rise from ponds in Nelson, Harrisville and Dublin, and discharging
itself at Peterborough. Its water power is valuable. “ Branch
river” has its source from ponds in Stoddard, and passes through
the northern section* of Antrim into Hillsborough, and empties intts