FLORIDA. 



233 



property, $10,695,883. Total value of real estate, 

 $59,177,137; personal property, $15,338,355; rail- 

 roads and rolling stock, $18,759,125.64; telegraph 

 lines, $252,736.15; aggregate value of all property 

 returned for taxation in 1899, $93,527,353.79. 



Agriculture. The Commissioner of Agricul- 

 ture gives the following estimates for 1900: Num- 



WILLIAM S. JENNINGS, GOVERNOR OF FLORIDA. 



ber of acres under cultivation, 1,058,897. Value 

 in sea island and upland cotton, $2,319,689; value 

 of field crops, $5,955,018; value of vegetables, 

 $648,364; value of citrus fruits, $794,869; value 

 of melons, $207,944; value of all fruits but citrus, 

 $628,352; value of stock and farm cattle, $6,075,- 

 409; value of poultry, $322,045; value of eggs, 

 $383,783; value of dairy products, $811,671; value 

 of honey produced, $28,883. Total value of agri- 

 cultural animals and products, $18,175,227. 



Lands. The Commissioner of Agriculture re- 



rts that on Dec. 31, 1900, the State held swamp 

 .nds to the extent of 404,667 acres. In 1899 and 

 1900, 21,714 acres of swamp lands were disposed of. 

 On Dec. 31, 1900, 73,706 acres of internal improve- 

 ment lands were held, 23,122 acres having been 

 sold in 1899 and 1900. The State school lands, on 

 Dec. 31, approximated 295,646 acres, 46,977 acres 

 having been sold in 1899 and 1900. The State 

 seminary lands on hand Dec. 31 were 28,383 acres; 

 there was sold in 1899 and 1900, 2,034 acres. 



The commissioner of the United States Land 

 Office reported on July 1, 1900, that there were 

 1,596,411 acres of United States land unoccupied 

 in the State. 



Banks. According to the statement of the 

 Comptroller on June 30, 1900, 23 incorporated 

 banks were doing business under the laws of the 

 State. At the close of business, June 30. their 

 assets amounted to $4,643,618.35, an increase over 

 the assets on Jan. 1, 1900, reported as $3,862,541.21, 

 of $781,077.14. Five of the State banks are savings 

 banks or have savings departments. On Jan. 1, 

 1900, these reported assets of $1,738,555.71. 



Insurance. The last statement of the State 

 Treasurer gives 87 insurance companies authorized 

 to do business in the State in 1899. Of these, 

 58 were fire insurance companies, 11 life insurance, 

 18 miscellaneous (surety, accident, plate glass, 

 marine, etc.). The aggregate risks carried by the 

 companies during 1899 were $57,203,124, on which 

 the premiums received were $1,511,645.87. The 

 losses aggregated $764,202.78. The 58 fire insur- 

 ance companies wrote risks aggregating $36,406,- 

 652, for which $710,271.83 in premiums was paid. 

 The losses aggregated $312,834.39. The 11 life 



insurance companies carried risks for $6,482,133, 

 for which $739,818.50 was paid in premiums. The 

 total losses sustained were $432,457.68. The 18 

 miscellaneous companies wrote risks aggregating 

 $14,314,339, for which $61,555.54 was paid in pre- 

 miums. The losses in this class were $18,910.71. 



Railroads and Telegraphs. The railroad 

 mileage in Florida in 1900, as assessed by the 

 Comptroller, was 3,109.70 miles of main track, with 

 341.32 miles of branch, side, and switch track. 

 The assessed valuation of the railroads in the State 

 was $19,190,301.81. In 1899 the mileage of main 

 track was 3,054.17, with 316.56 miles of branch, 

 side, and switch track. The total assessed valua- 

 tion in 1899 was $18,759,125.64. The valuation 

 of rolling stock was $2,475,228.61. 



There were 3,148.40 miles of telegraph lines as- 

 sessed in 1900, ranging from 1 to 55 wires to each 

 pole. The total assessed valuation for the tele- 

 graph lines of the State was $259,317.40. In 1899 

 there were assessed 3,002.60 miles of telegraph 

 lines, at a valuation of $248,734.55. 



Corporations. The following figures are be- 

 lieved to be accurate: Between Dec. 31, 1899, and 

 Dec. 15, 1900, 56 charters of incorporation were 

 issued. These included 11 to manufacturing en- 

 terprises, 2 to building and loan associations, 6 to 

 transportation and drainage companies, 4 to mu- 

 tual profit associations, and 3 to agricultural enter- 

 prises. The year was marked by a large increase 

 in naval stores operations, and by the establish- 

 ment of the first factory to transform cassava and 

 sweet potatoes into starch. 



Education. The following statistics are from 

 the latest report of the Superintendent of Public 

 Insti-uction for the two years ending June 30, 

 1898: Children of school age in State (census of 

 1896), 152,598; white, 86,196; negro, 66,402. Chil- 

 dren enrolled in public schools during the school 

 year 1897-'98 numbered 108,455, divided as fol- 

 lows: White males, 35,116; white females, 32,541; 

 negro males, 19,632; negro females, 21,116. The 

 percentage of school population enrolled in public 

 schools was 71 per cent, for both races; whites, 

 78 per cent. ; negroes, 61 per cent. Average length 

 of school term, both races, 104 days; white, 106 

 days; negroes, 99 days. Illiterates between six 

 and twenty-one years (school census of 1896), 

 6,752; white, 2,033; negro, 4,719. Per capita ex- 

 penditure in 1897-'98, both races, $6.78. Average 

 monthly wages paid : White male teachers, $38.66 ; 

 white female teachers, $33.96 ; negro male teachers, 

 $28.85; negro female teachers, $26.73. 



The severe shrinkage in land values of the State, 

 caused by the temporary destruction of the orange 

 industry in the freeze of 1895, decreased the school 

 revenues beyond the point of necessary expendi- 

 ture. The Legislature of 1899 therefore passed 

 an act permitting counties to divide themselves 

 into subdistricts, which subdistricts might decide 

 by vote whether they would tax themselves (not 

 exceeding 3 mills) in addition to the maximum 

 county tax of 5 mills, authorized by law for 

 schools. Several subdistricts had so taxed them- 

 selves when an injunction was served on the school 

 board o'f Duval County, making a test case as to 

 the constitutionality of the act. The Supreme 

 Court decided in April, 1900, that the act was 

 constitutional. 



The State appropriates annually an average of 

 $35,500 in partial support of normal, military, and 

 industrial schools. 



The school census for the school year 1899-1900, 

 as compiled by the State Superintendent of Public 

 Instruction, is as follows: White males, 48,023; 

 white females, 45,328; total white, 93,351. Negro 

 males, 33,689; negro females, 34,388; total negro, 



