“ Like most Southern States, Mississippi has no compulsory attendance law, and there is a complete separation of the races. The census of 1900 gives Mississippi a total school population (five to twenty years of age) of 633,026, including 379,873 colored. The illiterate population amounted to 351,461, or 32 per cent. of the total population of the State ten years of age and over, the native whites numbering 36,038, or 8 per cent. of the total native white population, and the colored 314,617, or 49.1 per cent. of the entire colored population. ”

“ If two-thirds of the members of each House vote each day for three several days in favor of a proposed amendment, the same will be submitted to the people of the State, and it becomes a part of the Constitution if approved by a majority of the qualified electors voting. Voters must have resided in the State two years, in the election district one year (six months for ministers of the Gospel) , and have paid taxes legally required. Registration is necessary, and the would-be voter, in order to register, must be “able to read any section of the Constitution of the State ”

“ In March, 1817, Congress passed an enabling act for the admission of Mississippi to the Union, and the State was formally admitted December 10, 1817. The most notable features of the first Constitution of Mississippi were the high property qualifications for holding office, the short tenures of offices, and the large appointing power of the Governor and Legislature. The first Governor was David Holmes, and during his administration the capital was permanently located at Jackson, near the headwaters of the Pearl River. ”

“ The following table gives the number of domestic animals on farms for the years indicated:
Manufactures. The manufacturing industry is probably less developed in Mississippi than in any other of the older States of the Union. On the other hand, the rate of the recent increase has been greater than that of most of the other States. Prior to 1837 some prominence had been attained in the manufacture of cotton, leather, liquor, and flour; but the financial panic of that year left these industries in a bad condition. There was a decided revival in the decade following 1850 ”

“ In each county an assessor, surveyor, coroner, sheriff, and treasurer are elected for four years, the two latter not being eligible to succeed themselves or each other. Each county is divided into five districts, in each of which a resident freeholder is selected as a member of the board of supervision of the county. This board has jurisdiction over roads, ferries, and bridges. Justices of the peace and constables are elected in each district for terms of four years.
Militia. According to the census of 1900 the population of militia age in the State amounted to 289,599. ”

“ Compared with its sister State across the Mississippi River, remarkably little attention is paid to the growing of sugar cane, and the crop of late years is almost wholly converted into syrup and molasses. Small fruits and orchard fruits are not extensively raised. In the decade 1890-1900, however, the number of trees almost doubled. In the latter year the peach trees numbered 1,856,748, which was 53 per cent. ”

“ There are two State hospitals for the insane, one at Jackson and the other at Meridian. The State aids in the support of hospitals at Vicksburg and Natchez. The penitentiary is located at Jackson. Most of the prisoners are employed in farm labor, or in the production of articles of necessity in the prison administration. Some of the prison farms are owned by the State, others are rented. The farm labor system is considered very satisfactory and does not incur any financial loss. Prisoners committed to the county jails are also put to labor upon farms. ”

“ Only 10 places in the State exceed 4000 in population, and together constitute but 5.3 per cent. of the total number of inhabitants, being the smallest per cent. of urban population found in any State. ”

“ There is a variety of soil, including the brown loam of the central tableland, the rich, black, calcareous soil of the prairie region, the extremely fertile alluvium of the bottom lands, the sandy loam with a clayey or sandy subsoil, south of the central ridge, and the yellow loam of the northeast. ”

“ The heaviest rains occur in late winter or early spring, when the warm Gulf winds meet the cold north winds, but on the whole the precipitation is quite evenly distributed through the year. There is a slight snowfall as far south as Natchez. The atmosphere is humid at all seasons, the average annual relative humidity being not far from 70 per cent. in the northern half of the State and from 70 per cent. to 75 per cent. in the southern half. The average wind velocity for the whole year is seven miles per hour. ”

“ They are all, except the last two, unusually rich. The most desirable region is included between the Yazoo and the Mississippi rivers. Very extensive areas are still covered with forests, but it is nearly all susceptible of cultivation. In 1900 there were 18,240,736 acres, or 61.5 per cent. of the total area, included in farms. ”