Geographical Distribution of Insanity 369 



until we get south of these states. Sim- 

 ilarly, if we follow the Ohio Valley we 

 find the ratio of insane continues large 

 in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. (See 

 outline map No. IV.) 



We still have, however, some high 

 ratios unaccounted for, viz., Missouri 

 and Iowa west, Michigan, Wisconsin, 

 and Minnesota north. All these states 

 are in the North Central Division. Let 

 us compare the different divisions of the 

 United States on the basis of their re- 

 spective increases in population during 

 the decade from 1880 to 1890. The fig- 

 ures are as follows: 



North Central Division 4,878,928 



North Atlantic Division 2,984,480 



South Central Division 1,985,657 



South Atlantic Division 1,204,999 



Western Division 1,129,641 



Thus we see that the increase in popu- 

 lation has been by far the most rapid 

 in the North Central Division. This 

 territory has increased approximately 

 2,000,000 inhabitants more than any 

 other. Let us now turn to the individ- 

 ual states and see what the figures show. 

 The states in the North Central Division 

 which have increased in population the 

 most are in the order of their increase: 



Illinois 747,629 



Nebraska 603,399 



Minnesota 519,069 



Missouri 510,262 



ohi ° 473,356 



Michigan 451,170 



Kansas 430,167 



Wisconsin 367,420 



Iowa 287,156 



The only other states in the Union 

 that have increased at any such rate as 

 this are: 



New York 911,173 



New Jersey 313,103 



Pennsylvania 972,962 



Massachusetts 454,432 



Texas 642,357 



Arkansas 3 2 5,344 



Georgia 294,992 



Washington 266,999 



Oregon 258,300 



The significance of these figures seems 

 to me quite evident. They show that 

 the stream of population has continued 

 west of the Mississippi, and the high 

 ratio of insanity in Iowa and Missouri is 

 therefore accounted for, as these states 

 both adjoin Illinois, the western limit 

 of the Ohio Valley lying merely on the 

 other side-of the Mississippi River. You 

 will see also that we have incidentally 

 thrown light on the high ratios north. 

 In the three states in this region — Michi- 

 gan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota — there 

 has been an increase in population in the 

 ten years from 1880 to 1890 of one and 

 one-third millions. 



Of all these states Nebraska alone 

 seems to be somewhat exceptional. Al- 

 though its population has increased rap- 

 idly its ratio of insanity is rather lower 

 than we would expect from comparing 

 it with those states where the increase 

 has been correspondingly marked. Of 

 these states Kansas is the only one as far 

 west as Nebraska, and Kansas has a 

 ratio of 125.7 P er 100,000, while Ne- 

 braska has but 88. It is significant in 

 this connection that Kansas is more di- 

 rectly in the line of traffic from east to 

 west, and a glance at any recent map of 

 the United States will show that many 

 more railroads course through it than 

 do through Nebraska. As both of these 

 states are in the main agricultural, the 

 higher ratio of insanity in Kansas would 

 seem to me to be the result of the de- 

 generate dribble from the great railroad 

 lines as they pass west from the con- 

 gested centers of population in the East. 



The only reports of the railway mile- 

 age in these two states I have been able 

 to obtain are one under date of 1893, 

 which shows Kansas to have 8,900 

 miles of railroads, thus making it the 

 second state in the Union in this re- 

 spect, and one a year later in 1894, 

 shows Nebraska to have but 5,529.22 

 miles of railroads. 



It would seem, therefore, that my 

 contention that insanity increases in 



