• PAPERS ON GEOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY 365 



the size of farms, the distribution of negro and foreign 

 born population can be made to appear in an almost start- 

 ling manner when graphically expressed. For example, 

 the massing of the negro population into Northern Indus- 

 trial centers is quite characteristic of our age, but on the 

 other hand, the relatively high percentage of negroes in 

 Massac and Pulaski Counties shows the older type of 

 negro concentration of the South. The lack of negroes in 

 the mountains is a negative expression of the same thing. 

 In the northern counties the number of male negroes 

 seems to be greater than the number of females. Per- 

 haps this is but another illustration of the industrial 

 colonization promulgated by the northern manufacturers 

 during and since the civil war. 



Towards the close of the Quarter we spent some time 

 comparing the problems of Illinois with those of some 

 of our chief competitors and nearest neighbors. The fol- 

 lowing problems of our State have distinct parallels in 

 other states but vary greatly in their seriousness. 



1. Soil Erosion in Ozarks. Compare Kentucky. 



'2. Great. Coal Production and Reserves. Compare 

 Pennsylvania. 



3. Conservation of Forests. Compare Wisconsin. 



4. Use of Cut-over Land. Compare Michigan. 



5. Influence of a very great City on a State. Com- 

 pare Xew York. 



6. Live Stock and Dairy Problems. Compare Wis- 

 consin and Iowa. 



7. Price of Land and Land Tenantry. Compare 

 Iowa. 



8. Trend of Population from Country to City. Com- 

 pare Xew England. 



9. The Negro Problem. Compare Missouri. 



10. Iron and Steel Industries. Compare Pennsylvan- 

 ia and Ohio. 



11. Outlet from Lakes to Sea. Compare Wisconsin. 



12. Revival of River Trade. Compare many States. 



13. Good Roads. Compare any State. 



An almost endless list of such problems and projects 

 could be considered and the outside comparisons help to 

 fix the local conditions in mind. Because of the ease with 



