286 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY-I-TH ANNUAL REPORT

longer than the diagonal), to say nothing of the extra wear and tear on tires and steering gear at the numerous square turns, and the danger of accident.
 On Sept. 30, 1918, according to the Second Biennial Report of the State Road Department, there were over 1,500 miles of roads classed as improved in the 15 central Florida counties, making 31-9% of the State total, or about one mile to every 200 inhabitants. By kinds-of material used they were divided as follows: Marl and sand-clay 25%, asphalt 22.9%, brick 19.3%, shells 16.8%, plain macadam 10.7%, surface-treated macadam 5.24%, concrete 0.14%. About two-thirds of the brick roads in the State are in central Florida, and about two-thirds of the asphalt roads in Polk County alone. Shell roads are confined to the coast counties, or nearly so. There has of course been some roadbuilding since 1918, but later figures are not yet available.

 AUTOMOBILES
 Central Florida is naturally as well supplied with automobiles as it is with good roads. On March 2, 1920, according to the State comptroller, there were 24,604 cars registered in our 15 counties, which was about 40% of the State total and about one to every 12 inhabitants. The license records as published do not indicate how many of the cars belong to winter visitors who get Florida licenses at the beginning of the year and use them in some northern state all summer, and do not even separate the races; but probably neither tourists nor negroes constitute more than io% of the total. In the lake region there was about one automobile to every nine inhabitants (and probably about I to 6 or 7 among 'he white population, which means that the majority of white families own at least one, and compares favorably with the figtires for Iowa and Kansas, which are often cited as extremes.)



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