GEOGRAPHY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA 237

 RURAL AND URBAN POPULATION
 The percentage of the total population living in incorporated places with over 2,500 inhabitants (the arbitrary limit for urban population used by the U. S. Census Bureau) was 11.2 in 1890, 19.4 in 1895, 13.7 in 1900, 23-9 in 1905, 33.6 in 1910, 37-1 in 1915, and 40-5 in 1920. These figures are rather high, being above the average for the whole State (and in recent years for the whole' South). In 1915, by the State census, 51% of the inhabitants of central Florida, and 44.2% of those in the whole State, were living in incorporated places (some of which had much fewer than 2,500 people). The percentage of urban population is a rough measure of civilization, for where there is a low state of civilization there are few or no cities; but of course it does not necessarily follow that a city is a better place to live than the country.
 Some interest'ing comparisons between our urban and rural population in 1910 are given in Table 22. In this there are separate columns for Tampa (including West Tampa, which is incorporated separately, but for geographical purposes is as much a part of Tampa as is Ybor City on the east side), for the eight cities next in rank (listed farther on), and for the remainder of the population, which is classed as rural by the census; also for the rural and urban population of the whole State.
 One who studies this table carefully can gather from it many significant facts, especially about the amount and kind of immigration to this part of the State, but it would take several pages to discuss it in detail. It will be observed however that in many respects the smaller cities resemble the rural districts more than they do Tampa, that central Florida has a larger proportion of men than the rest of the State, and that the foreigners in the smaller cities and rural districts are of a superior type to those in Tampa, where they partly take the place of negroes.
 Although the foreigners constitute less than a third of the total population of Tampa proper (which includes Ybor City), they outnumber native whites and negroes combined in West Tampa (which would hardly be possible in an isolated city, but West Tampa is a mere suburb). Worse still, among the adult males the foreigners outnumber the native whites in Tampa proper, and in West Tampa.they are over three times as numerous as all native