“ For local supervision a superintendent for each county is chosen by the County Court biennially; and in each district there are three directors, elected by the people for three years, one going out each year. The law requires State and county superintendents to be persons of literary and scientific attainments and of skill and experience in the art of teaching. The county courts may elect boards of education in their respective counties, and these boards have authority to establish one or more high schools in their county. The text books used are uniform throughout the State. ”

“ There is no system of bank examinations and no governmental control, and the liability of stockholders is strictly limited. The Constitution prohibits the State forming a bank or even holding stock in one. ”

“ Wheat is also an important cereal and much more than regained in the decade 1890-1900 what it had lost in the preceding decade. The cultivation of oats, the only other important cereal, has decreased. Cotton is one of the leading crops in the southwest corner of the State, and it is of much importance also in some of the northern counties. The area in hay and forage has increased more than threefold since 1880. Dry peas and sorghum cane are noteworthy products, as are also Irish and sweet potatoes. Peanuts are grown in large quantities in the Tennessee Valley. ”

“ Tennessee is beginning to acquire considerable importance as a mining State. Coal is excavated in the mountain counties west of the Upper Tennessee River. For several years prior to 1899 the annual value of the coal output was about $2,300,000; subsequently it rose until in 1901 it was valued at $4,067,381, the amount being 3,633,290 short tons. Over 9000 men are employed. ”

“ The Legislature cannot propose amendments oftener than once in six years. The Legislature can at any time submit to the people the question of a new constitutional convention, a majority of the votes cast being decisive. Voters must be United States citizens who have resided in the State twelve months, in the county six months, and have paid poll taxes. ”

“ The river valleys are generally fertile. The region known as the Central Basin contains a limestone soil of great fertility. In 1900 20,342,058 acres were included in farms, a little over half of this area being improved. While the farm area was but little greater in 1850 than in 1900, the improved area had almost doubled. The average size of farms decreased meanwhile from 261 acres to 90.6 acres. In 1900 12.6 per cent. of the farms were rented for cash, and 27.9 per cent. share rent, the latter having made a large gain during the decade ending with that year. ”

“ The number of settlers increased rapidly and nearly 500 men under John Sevier (q.v.) and Isaac Shelby (q.v.) went across the mountains and took part in the attack on the British under Ferguson, at King's Mountain (q.v.) , in 1780. All this time the settlers were harassed by severe Indian wars. In 1784 North Carolina ceded to the General Government all the territory of the present State on condition that the cession be accepted within two years, but retained until that time full sovereignty. ”

“ Thomas Walker with a party of Virginians had named the Cumberland River and Mountains, and Daniel Boone (q.v.) and others had entered the wilderness, which was regarded as a common hunting ground by the Cherokees, Creeks, Miamis, Choctaws, and Chickasaws. In 1768 the Iroquois, who claimed sovereignty by conquest, ceded their claim to the English, and in 1769 William Bean's cabin on the Watauga marked the beginning of real settlement. ”

“ The climate is favorable to fruit culture, and in 1900 there were over 11,700,000 fruit trees, of which 7,700,000 were apple trees. There was a large increase in the number of all varieties of fruit trees in the decade ending with 1900. ”

“ The maximum may reach 104°, but the minimum is seldom lower than 10°, though it occasionally falls below zero in the mountains. The rainfall is also nearly equally distributed both as to seasons and localities, being somewhat heavier in the spring than in the autumn and heavier in the middle section than in the east and west. ”

“ Over one-seventh of the farms are operated by negroes, but only 22.4 per cent. of the negro farmers own their farms.
By far the largest and most valuable crop is corn, the acreage of which increased very considerably in the decade 1890-1900. ”

“ The State also maintains a Confederate soldiers' home near Nashville. The main prison at Nashville had on December 1, 1902, 923 convicts, and the branch prison at Petros had 762 convicts on the same date. Over two-thirds of the total number are negroes. The prisoners at the branch prison are worked in coal mines, but are not leased to contractors. The revenue from convict labor is greater than the cost of maintaining the convicts.
History. Probably De Soto (q.v.) reached the Mississippi at the present site of Memphis in 1541. ”

“ A final settlement was reached in 1883, when the State debt proper was sealed down 20-24 per cent., and the railroad guarantee bonds 50 per cent. The total debt was reduced bv this operation from $28,000,000 to about $15,000,000. The con- version was completed in 1890. In 1900 the public debt was $17,023,600. The general tax is at present the main source of income (about 50 per cent.) . Licenses give 25 per cent. and a ta.x on railroad and other corporations about 15 per cent. ”