West Virginia

Climate.—Like most mountain States West Virginia has a healthful climate. It does not suffer from great extremes of heat or cold. Winter temperatures range from a mean of 26° in the north eastern mountains to in the south-west along the Ohio river; the summer temperatures are 67° and 74°, respectively. Between the last killing frost in the spring and the first killing frost in the fall there is an ample growing season which in the Ohio valley is about a month longer than in the more exposed plateau and moun tain districts. Precipitation is greatest in the mountains (over 50 in. annually) ; and it is smallest over the Ohio valley, the eastern Panhandle, and the extreme south-east (35 to 4o in. annually). Snows are frequent during the winter and sometimes deep in the higher plateau and mountain regions.

Population.

The population of West Virginia at the various censuses since its organization as a State has been as follows: 442,014 in 1870; 618,457 in 188o; in 1890; in i 1900; 1,221,119 in 1910; 1,463,701 1920; 1,729,205 in 1930.

The 19.9% increase in population between 1910-20 was less in rate than the increase of the four preceding decades (39.9%,

23.3%, 25.7% and 27-4%). The increase from 1920 to 1930 was 18.1. The density of population increased from 18.4 per square mile in 1870 to 50.8 in 1910, to 60.9 in 1920 and to 72 in 1930.

The original settlers of West Virginia were generally English, Scotch-Irish or Pennsylvania German. To these were added a large number of Irish between 1830 and 185o and a considerable number of Germans after 1848. The next wave of settlement came after the Civil War, when the exploitation of the coal, petroleum and natural gas resources attracted increasing numbers of Ameri cans from neighbouring States, principally Virginia, Ohio, Penn sylvania, Kentucky, Maryland and North Carolina. Later there came an increasing number of foreigners. In 1930 foreigners num bered 51,52o, or 3.2% of the white population, and were chiefly Italians, Hungarians, Poles, Austrians and Russians employed in the coal mines. Whites born of native parentage composed 87.8% # of the white population. In addition, there were 114,893 ne groes and 378 of all other races.

, 23.4%