286 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY I3TH ANNUAL REPORT 



longer than the diagonal), to say nothing of the extra wear and 

 tear on tires and steering gear at the numerous square turns, and 

 the danger of accident. 



On Sept. 30, 19 1 8, according to the Second Biennial Report 

 of the State Road Department, there were over 1,500 miles of 

 roads classed as improved in the 15 central Florida counties, mak- 

 ing 31.9% of the State total, or about one mile to every 200 in- 

 habitants. By kinds of material used they were divided as fol- 

 lows: Marl and sand-clay 25%, asphalt 22.9%, brick 19.3%, 

 shells 16.8%, plain macadam 10.7%, surface-treated macadam 

 5.24%, concrete 0.14%. About two-thirds of the brick roads in 

 the State are in central Florida, and about two-thirds of the as- 

 phalt roads in Polk County alone. Shell roads are confined to the 

 coast counties, or nearly so. There has of course been some road- 

 building since 19 18, but later figures are not yet available. 



AUTOMOBILES 



Central Florida is naturally as well supplied with automobiles 

 as it is with good roads. On March 2, 1920, according to the 

 State comptroller, there were 24,604 cars registered in our 15 

 counties, which was about 40% of the State total and about one 

 to every 12 inhabitants. The license records as published do not 

 indicate how many of the cars belong to winter visitors who get 

 Florida licenses at the beginning of the year and use them in some 

 northern state all summer, and do not even separate the races ; but 

 probably neither tourists nor negroes constitute more than 10% 

 of the total. In the lake region there was about one automobile 

 to every nine inhabitants (and probably about i to 6 or 7 among 

 <he white population, which means that the majority of white 

 families own at least one, and compares favorably with the fig- 

 ures for Iowa and Kansas, which are often cited as extremes.) 



