CHAPTER 11 
SIGNIFICANT FEATURES OF MIGRATION 
Purpose of Chapter. 
For readers who have not given special attention to the immigra- 
tion problem, it may be helpful to review briefly the characteristic 
phases of the flow of population to our shores, and particularly to 
stress those features which have a significant bearing on the par- 
ticular inquiry to which we have set ourselves. In the first place, 
let us take note of the chief sources of information and the term- 
inology to be used in the following pages. 
SOURCES, TERMINOLOGY, AND COMPREHENSIVENESS 
OF MIGRATION STATISTICS: 
Sources. 
Except where otherwise specified, all tables and other statistics 
in this monograph refer to immigration into, or emigration from, 
the United States. Official annual statistics of immigration are 
first available with the year ending September 30, 1820; quarterly 
figures, with the year ending June 30, 1858; and monthly figures, 
with the year ending June 30, 1889. However, as noted below, the 
meaning and comprehensiveness of these statistics have varied 
from time to time. 
From 1820 to 1874 immigration statistics were gathered by the 
Department of State; for the period 1867 to June, 1895, by the 
U. S. Bureau of Statistics; and from July, 1892, to date, by the 
U. S. Bureau of Immigration. In the four years in which the data 
of the Bureau of Statistics and of the Bureau of Immigration overlap, 
there is a considerable discrepancy in the numbers reported (see 
footnote to Table 1). The smaller figures, which are those now 
published as official, were compiled by the Bureau of Immigration. 
The reason for this discrepancy is not stated in the official publica- 
tions of the departments concerned nor is it apparent upon examina- 
tion of the data. It may be that the larger figures published by the 
1See, also, the footnotes to Table 1 and to Tables I and II in the Appendix. 
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