General Conditions. 457 



most favorably with reference to trade by virtue of a 

 coast line of over 20,000 miles, and diversified in climate 

 so as to permit the widest range of production. 



While a simple mathematical relation would make 

 the population at present about 31 to the square 

 mile, such a statement would give an erroneous con- 

 ception of economic conditions, for the distribution 

 of the population is most uneven, a condition which 

 must eventually diversify the application of forestry 

 methods in different parts of the country. In Massa- 

 chusetts and Rhode Island combined, for instance, the 

 density of population is 428 to the square mile, ex- 

 ceeding that of the similar -sized State of Wiirtem- 

 berg in Germany, while in the neighboring State of 

 Maine it is not 25; the Atlantic Coast States south of 

 South Carolina, a territory slightly larger than Ger- 

 many, show about half, and the Central agricultural 

 States about one-third the density of that densely 

 populated country; on the other hand, some of the 

 Western States, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, Ari- 

 zona, and New Mexico have less than three to the 

 square mile. 



Similar unevenness is found in the distribution of 

 resources, especially of timber wealth, and, to some 

 extent at least, the present populational distribution 

 is explained by the uneven distribution of farm soils 

 and timber. 



Outside of the unorganized territory of Alaska and 

 the disfranchised District of Columbia, the country 

 is divided into 46 States and two Territories which 

 will eventually acquire statehood. In addition, there 

 are a number of insular possessions under the direct 



