6 GAZETTEER OF DELAWARE. [bull. 230. 
The density of population in 1900 was 94.3 inhabitants to a square 
mile. The chief city is Wilmington, with a population of 76,508 in 
1900; the capital is Dover, with a population of 3,329 in 1900. The 
urban population in 1900 amounted to about 54 per cent. As to sexes, 
the population is divided in the proportion of 51 males to 49 females. 
The State contains 30,697 negroes, five- sixths of the population being 
white, while one-sixth is colored. The proportion of foreign born is 
small, only 7.5 per cent of the inhabitants being foreign born, to 92.5 
per cent native born. 
Of the total population 10 years of age and over, 12 per cent were 
unable to read and write. This illiteracy was, however, found mainly 
among negroes. The illiterate element of the whites consisted of only 7 
per cent of the whole number, while that of the negroes constituted 38 
per cent. Of the total population over 15 years of age, 36 per cent 
were single, 55 per cent married, 8 per cent widowed, and 0.2 per cent 
divorced. 
Of the entire number of inhabitants over 10 years of age, almost 
exactly one-half were engaged in gainful occupations. Of the males 
not less than 81 per cent were wage-earners, and of the females 18 per 
cent. The wage-earners were distributed in the following proportions 
among the five grand divisions of occupations: 
Proportions of wage-earners in Delaware in 1900. 
Per cent. 
Agriculture 26 
Professions 4 
Domestic and personal service 23 
Trade and trans] »< >rtati< >n 16 
Manufacturing 31 
In 1900 there were 9,687 farms in the State, of which more than 
nine-tenths were operated by white farmers. Of the entire number 
of farms, just one-half were ope rated by their owners and the other 
half by tenants. The area of land in farms was 1,066,228 acres, of 
which 751,010 acres were improved. The average size of the farms 
was 110 acres, which is considerably less than the average of the 
country. The improved area amounted to 71 per cent of the total 
farm area and 60 per cent of the total area of the State. The value 
of all the farm property was 140,697,651, of which 134,436,040 con- 
sisted of land and buildings, $2,150,560 of farm implements and 
machinery, and $4,111,054 of live stock. The farm products were 
valued at $9,290,777. The average value per farm of all farm prop- 
erty was $4,201, and the value of products per farm was $959. The 
following table gives the number of animals upon farms: 
