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and retail trade group. Manufacturing ranks third in number of persons

employed outside agriculture.

 Based on data from the Census of Manufacturers, the number of

manufacturing establishments in Economic Areas I and III increased from 407

to 705 between 1939 and 1954. This increase of 73 percent was half as great

as that for the state as a whole. The total number of establishments in the

state increased from 1,976 to 4,792 during this period for a relative increase

of approximately 143 percent. As would be expected, the bulk of the manufac-

turing establishments in North and West Florida are located in the 12 counties

that showed an increase in population. The 13 counties in which population

declined accounted for only 29 percent of the total number of establishments

in 1954. Moreover, 80 percent of the manufacturing establishments located in

these 13 counties were in the lumber industry, which is an extractive industry

closely related to agriculture.

 Viewed from the standpoint of number of manufacturing establish-

ments, the lumber industry, with 410 establishments, led in Economic Areas I

and III in 1954. Food and kindred products was second with 123. The print-

ing industry ranked third with 43 establishments. These three industries

accounted for a little more than two-thirds of all manufacturing establishments

in the two economic areas surveyed. Other industries of considerable impor-

tance to the area include stone and glass, chemicals, paper, and furniture.

 Paralleling the decline in the farm population in the study area

has been a significant decrease in number of farms accompanied by an increase

in farm size. Farms in North and West Florida, however, continue to be

smaller on the average than those in the rest of the state. Based on data

from the 1954 Census of Agriculture, economic Areas I and III contain approxi-

mately 39 percent of the farms in the state and 22 percent of the total land