370 The National Geographic Magazine 



about 70 square miles, which consti- 

 tutes the present District of Columbia. 



In 1730 Maryland was the sixth state 

 in the Union in population. In 1900, 

 although its inhabitants were 3.7 times 

 as numerous, it had dropped to the 

 twenty -sixth in rank. This was due to 

 the rapid growth of the newer states in 

 the Mississippi Valley. It now has five 

 cities which exceed 6,000 inhabitants. 

 Baltimore has over half a million ; Cum- 

 berland, 17,128; Hagerstown, 13,591; 

 Frederick, 9,296, and Annapolis, the 

 capital, 8,525. These five cities con- 

 tain 46.9 per cent of the population of 

 the entire state, which amounted to 

 1,188,044 in 1900. This population is 

 divided almost equally between males 

 and females. The negro population, 

 which constitutes about one- fifth of the 

 whole, is diminishing in proportion to 

 the whites. The number of foreign- 

 born inhabitants is also small, the per- 

 sons of native birth forming 92.1 per 

 cent of the entire population. 



For a state containing so large a pro- 

 portion of negroes, the illiteracy is 



slight. In 1900 persons 10 years of 

 age and over who were unable to read 

 and write constituted 1 1 . 1 per cent of 

 the population. 



Agriculture is one of the leading oc- 

 cupations. In 1900 the state contained 

 46,021 farms, of which seven-eighths 

 were occupied by white farmers and 

 one-eighth by negro farmers. The 

 average size of the farms was 112.4 

 acres, which is considerable less than 

 the average for the United States. The 

 total value of all the farms was $204,- 

 645 , 407 , and the product amounted to 2 1 

 per cent of the value of the farms, and 

 may be regarded as the farming profit. 

 In the production of tobacco Maryland 

 is the eighth state in the Union. 



In manufactures Maryland is the 

 fourteenth state in the Union. Two- 

 thirds of the manufactures are carried 

 on in the city of Baltimore. 



The principal and almost sole mineral 

 product of the state is a bituminous coal 

 of excellent quality, mined in the neigh- 

 borhood of Cumberland. In 1901 the 

 amount mined was 5,113,127 tons. 



A NOTABLE NORWEGIAN PUBLICATION 



THE people of Norway are one of 

 the most interesting and imique 

 of old Europe. Although such 

 a small nation, numbering only 2,230,- 

 000, they hold a very important place in 

 the world, thanks to their writers and 

 scholars. In proportion to its inhabit- 

 ants Norway has more men celebrated 

 for their achievements than any other 

 nation. In literature there is the poet 

 Bjornstjern Bjornson and the dramatist 

 Ibsen, whose works are admired both in 

 America and in Europe; in the sciences 

 the celebrated Nansen and such men as 

 Sars, Moln, and Brogger, whose achieve- 

 ments specialists universally recognize. 

 Not only because of its famous men 

 has this little nation won the attention 



of the world, but also because of its own 

 marked individuality. The Norwegians 

 have a wonderful spirit of initiative, re- 

 sembling Americans in this respect, and 

 they also show a very striking taste for 

 the study and observation of natural 

 phenomena. During the long northern 

 winter, shut in by snow and ice, the 

 peasants spend their time in reading, 

 and reading especially works of science ; 

 the naturalist who explores Norway is 

 struck on every side by the intelligent 

 interest shown in his researches. 



The Norwegians have just shown a 

 new proof of their love and pride in their 

 country. A group of eminent scholars 

 in Christiania conceived the idea of pub- 

 lishing a great work which should give 



