ALIEN PASSENGERS ARRIVED AT BOSTON IN 1855.

According to the report of A. G. GOODWIN, Superintendent of Alien Passengers, the number of vessels arrived at the port of Boston and boarded by him during the year ending December 31, 1855, was 910, and the number of passengers arrived in the same, 20,850. The Americans and those who have been in the States before, from whom no security commutation could be required, 8,128; bonds were taken for 238; commuted at $2 per head, 12,364; extra commuted from $5 to $25, 100.

The number of aliens who arrived was 18,313, and the places of birth are reported as follows:

Showing a total immigration of 18,313 during the year.

IMMIGRATION AT THE PORT OF NEW YORK.

The following statement of the number of passengers arrived at the port of New York during the year 1855, compared with a similar statement for 1854, is derived from the report of the Commissioners of Emigration:

PROGRESS OF POPULATION IN ILLINOIS.

The growth of the population of Illinois is unexampled. In 1850, according to the United States census, the population was 851,470; in 1855, according to the State census, it was 1,300,251-an increase of 448,781, or nearly 53 per cent in

five years. A corresponding increase during the coming five years will make the population of the State, in 1860, about two millions, and it is very probable that she will then be the fourth State in the Union, New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio alone outranking her. The population of Illinois, at several successive periods was as follows:

In 1855.

851,470.

185.17

202.44

78.81

1,300,251. Increase per cent in five years, 52.59

The ratio of increase, although less now than it was during the early years of the State, is far greater than that of any other State at a corresponding period of its existence. This is owing chiefly to the sudden construction of a vast system of railroads, which covers the whole territory, and opens up the vast and fertile prairies, rendering access to market easy, and inviting immigration. The railroads too have cost the inhabitants little, their construction in a country of level plains being easy, and the grants of lands by Congress enabling the companies to pay for most of the roads without expense to the stockholders. In this respect Illinois has been favored beyond all other States, and she is reaping the results of it in an amazing increase in her inhabitants and an immense advance in her productions and wealth.

PROGRESS OF POPULATION IN MASSACHUSETTS.

The State Census of Massachusetts for 1855 has been completed, and is, we understand, in the hands of the printer. Governor Gardner says, in his address to the two branches of the Legislature, that the statistics of the industrial pursuits are not yet so classified as to enable him to give with accuracy their aggregate results. The following is a table of the total population, as exhibited by each census since 1800, the amount of the increase in each decade, and the average gain per cent per annum :—

Increase in numbers.

Average gain per ct. per ann.

472,040

533,287

610,408

737,700

973,715

1,133,033

The population of the State by the census of 1855 is 1,133,033. The increase in 55 years has been 710,183. That is, by the census of 1800, the population was 422,845, and by the census of 1855 it is, as above stated, 1,133,033.

THE NUMERICALLY GREAT FAMILIES OF ENGLAND.

A curious and amusing article on English surnames is given in the last number of the Edinburgh Review. It shows that the great families of England, numerically speaking, are the Smiths, the Taylors, the Wrights, the Walkers, &c. The Smiths head the list, and constitute quite a formidable army. The following table gives the number of births, deaths, and marriages, in the single year in England and Wales, of some of the most extensive families:

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES IN 1855.

We are indebted to our esteemed friend, D. J. BROWN, Esq., the able and efficient Superintendent of the agricultural division of the bureau in the United States Patent Office, at Washington, for the subjoined approximate estimate of the Agricultural Productions of the United States for the year 1855. These estimates are made up from the most authentic accessible data, and it is stated that if there be any error in the estimate, it is in falling below rather than above the truth, either in the quantity or value of the products:—

THE CATTLE MARKET OF NEW YORK FOR 1855.

We have been compelled to defer our usual annual statement of the cattle market until the present month. We now give a condensed tabular statement of the receipts of beeves reported at the four principal markets in the city of New York, viz. :—at Allerton's, on Forty-fourth-street; at Browning's, on Sixth-street; at Chamberlain's, on Robinson-street; and at O'Brien's, on Sixth-street. We also add a summary of the weekly receipts of sheep and lambs at the first-named three markets.

The great bulk of sales take place at these markets. There are constant irregular sales at Bergen Hill, from the Hudson River boats, and at other places in New York, but we judge these to be about counterbalanced, as the animals that change markets are reported twice, so that the figures given may be set down as approximating somewhat near the actual receipts of live beeves, sheep, and lambs :