EDUCATION. Education in Florida is in an unsatisfactory state. The average length of the school year generally falls under 100 days, which is true of but few other States. The average expenditure per capita of population is only one half that for the United States as a whole, and less than one-third the average for the States, exeluding those formerly holding slaves. There is a recent decrease in illiteracy attributable to the dying off of adults rather than to improve ments in educational methods. In 1900 the il literates tell years of age and over were about 22 per cent. of the total number of that age. a larger per cent. of illiteracy being shown in but eleven other States and Territories. The educational status is attributable to the presence of a large negro population, thought the burden of negro edneation in itself is not so prominent a factor in the situation as is, usually supposed. A process of transportation of student, and eon Eolidal ion of schools has resulted in a deerease in the actual number of schools, but the per cent.
(•I attendance is slowly in/ rea.ing for both whitea and blacks. There arc :Mont thirty public and private secondary schools in the State, and too ptthlie and three private normal schools. (niter higher ;state institutions of learning are as fol lows: Agricultural College at Lake City, East Florida Seminary and Alilitary Institute at Gainesville, West Florida Seminary at Tallahas see, and Smith Florida lilitary and Educational Institute at, Bartow. 'Flier(' are also the follow ing private and denominational colleges: John B. Stetson University at De Land, one of the in stitutions affiliated with the University of Chi cago; Florida Conference College, at Leesburg; Bolin's College, at Winterpark; and Saint Leo _Military College, in Paseo County.