New Hampshire Senate Page For Kids

Origin of State Name:
New Hampshire was named for the English county of Hampshire.

Nickname:
Because of its granite bedrock, New Hampshire has been nicknamed the "Granite State."

Emblem and Motto:
The state emblem is an elliptical panel with a picture of the Old Man of the Mountains. Surrounding the Old Man are Gen. John Stark's famous words, "Live Free or Die," adopted as the state motto in 1945.

Purple Finches prefer to live in open woods and swamps where firs and cedars are numerous. Often, however, they choose to establish their homes in the vicinity of our homes, especially if ornamental junipers or other conifers are nearby. Their summer range extends from the eastern provinces of Canada, southward through the eastern United States to northern New Jersey, Pennsylvania and westward to North Dakota. They spend their winter months from southern New England southward to the Gulf Coast.

As do all members of the finch family, purple finches have cone-shaped bills, adapted particularly to eating seeds. Insects and the buds of fruit trees are also eaten. The adult males are attractively colored, while immature males resemble the drabber-appearing females. These finches are from 5.5 inches to 6.5 inches in length.

The four to six dull greenish-blue eggs spotted with shades of brown, black and lilac are laid in a frail ope-type nest of grass, rootlets and bark strips. These nests are generally lined with hair, and are often found in conifers.

Flower:
The Purple Lilac, Syringa vulgaris, was made the state flower in 1919.

The Purple Lilac is an old English flower which bloomed over cottages and in the meadows of Runnymeade. It was loved by Shakespeare and other poets, and when the stern patriots sought a new home they brought with them this friendly bush and planted it at their first homes in southern New England. One hundred and fifty years later, the pioneers took it north and once more planted it in the wilderness by their homes and in clearings. It has seen many changes in New Hampshire. The pioneers are gone and the early homes they surrounded are gone, but the lilac remains in thousands of backyards and fields where it greets the spring year after year.

Tree:
The White Birch, Betula papyrifera, was made the state tree in 1947.

The White Birch is a large, handsome tree growing from 50 feet to 70 feet in height. The leaves are deep green, pointed ovals and sharply toothed. The flowers appear in April or May in the form of drooping catkins about an inch long. The wood is hard, pale brown, very close grained and is used for spools, wood pulp, fuel and the making of small items such as mop handles.

The delicate beauty of its white bark is striking against the green forest. The bark separates freely into many paper-thin layers from the white on the outside to orange on the inner layers. It is tough, resinous, durable and waterproof.

The Birch was widely used in colonial times by the Indians and early settlers. The inner bark was ground into a meal and its sap made into syrup. The white bark was used for roofing wilderness huts, making writing paper, pots and pans, spoons, baskets and boxes. The Indians also used the material in making their canoes.