Florida, the southernmost state of the American Union, and the 14th admitted under the federal constitution, situated between lat. 24° 30' and 31° N., and Ion. 80° and 87° 45' W.; bounded N. by Alabama and Georgia, E. by the Atlantic ocean, S. and W. by the gulf of Mexico and the Perdido river, the latter dividing W. Florida from the gulf section of Alabama; area, 59,268 sq. m., or 37,931,520 acres. The state is divided into 39 counties, viz.: Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Brevard, Calhoun, Clay, Columbia, Dade, Duval, Escambia, Franklin, Gadsden, Hamilton, Hernando, Hillsborough, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Manatee, Marion, Monroe, Nassau, Orange, Polk, Putnam, St. John's, Santa Rosa, Sumter, Suwa-nee, Taylor, Volusia, Wakulla, Walton, and Washington. The cities of the state are: Jacksonville, which had 6,912 inhabitants in 1870; Pensacola, 3,343; Tallahassee, the capital, 2,023; and St, Augustine, 1,717. Key West (called by the Spaniards Cayo Hueso or Bone Key) is a place of great commercial and military importance.

Pensacola, Appalachicola (1,129 inhabitants), and St. Mark's are ports of W. Florida. Cedar Keys, Tampa, and Charlotte Harbor are the principal outlets on the W. side of peninsular Florida. St. Augustine, on the Atlantic coast, is the oldest town in the United States, and is much resorted to by invalids on account of its equable climate. Jacksonville is a thriving commercial city on St. John's river, and likewise a resort of invalids. Fernandina (1,722 inhabitants) is a town at the N. end of Amelia island, and is the Atlantic terminus of the railroad which has its gulf terminus at Cedar Keys. It has one of the best harbors on the southern coast. The population of Florida has been as follows:

State Seal of Florida.

In 1870 the state ranked 33d in point of population. Of the total population, 94,548 were males and 93,200 females; 182,781 were of native birth, of whom 109,554 were born in the state, and 4,967 were foreign born, including 1,155 born in Cuba and 1,101 in other parts of the West Indies. The density of population was 3.17 to a square mile. There were 39,394 families with an average of 4.77 persons to each, and 41,047 dwellings with an average of 4.57 persons to each. Between 1860 and 1870 there was an increase of 33.7 per cent. in the total population: 23.55 per cent. in the white, and 46.29 per cent. in the colored. The number of male citizens 21 years old and upward in 1870 was 38,854. There were in the state 63,897 persons between the ages of 5 and 18 years, including 30,990 colored; the total number attending school was 12,778, of whom 4,524 were colored; 66,238 persons 10 years old and upward were unable to read, and 71,-803 could not write. Of the latter, 34,666 were males and 37,132 females; 18,904 were white, and 52,894 colored; 12,786 were from 10 to 15 years of age, 14,678 from 15 to 21, and 44,-334 were 21 or over, of whom 3,876 were white males, 5,600 white females, 16,806 colored males, and 18,052 colored females.

The number of paupers supported during the year ending June 30, 1870, was 147, at a cost of 89,830. Of the total number (142) receiving support June 1, 1870, 80' were white and 62 colored. The number of persons convicted of crime during the year was 335. Of the total number (179) in prison June 1, 1870, 23 were white and 156 colored. The state contained 88 blind, 48 deaf and dumb, 29 insane, and 100 idiotic. Of the total population 10 years of age and over (131,119), there were engaged in all occupations 60,703 persons, of whom 50,877 were males and 9,826 females; in agriculture, 42,492, including 31,033 agricultural laborers, and 11,165 farmers and planters; in professional and personal services, 10,897, of whom 197 were clergymen, 4.003 domestic servants, 4,065 laborers not specified, 149 lawyers, 248 physicians and surgeons, and 250 teachers not specified; in trade and transportation, 3,023; in manufactures and mechanical and mining industries, 4.291. The total number of deaths during the year was 2,264. Of these, 730 were from general diseases, including 107 from enteric fever, 45 from yellow fever, 130 from intermittent fever, 84 from remittent fever, 26 from typho-malarial fever, 131 from consumption, and 71 from dropsy; 333 from diseases of the nervous system, of which 82 were from encephalitis and 138 from meningitis; 129 from diseases of the circulatory system; 385 from diseases of the respiratory system, including 268 from pneumonia; and 393 from diseases of the digestive organs.-Florida, exclusive of islands, consists of a long narrow strip of territory extending S. from Georgia and Alabama from 30 to 90 m., and from the Atlantic ocean to the Perdido river about 300 m.; and of a peninsula extending from the mainland S. through five degrees of latitude between the Atlantic and the gulf of Mexico. Its coast line is of much greater extent than that of any other state, having a length of 472 m. on the Atlantic and 074 m. on the gulf; but this immense stretch of sea front is almost inaccessible on account of shallow soundings, and has few good harbors.

S. from the mainland a chain of small rocky islands, called cays or keys, extends S. W., ending in a cluster of rocks and sand banks called the Tor-tugas. S. of the bank upon which these keys rise, and separated from them by a navigable channel, is a long narrow coral reef known as the Florida reef, which here constitutes the left bank of the Gulf stream. The most important of the keys is Key West. For a long period the haunt of smugglers and pirates, it is now a naval station of great importance, and the seat of a band of wreckers whose business it is to assist vessels in distress. This key is about 0 m. long and 2 broad, with a large, well sheltered harbor. The extensive ponds there yield annually a large amount of salt. The Tortugas derive their name from the vast number of turtles found in the neighboring waters. The most important harbors are: on the gulf coast, Pensacola, Appalachicola, St. Mark's, Cedar Keys, Tampa, Charlotte, and Key West; and on the Atlantic coast, St. Augustine and Fernandina. Jacksonville on St. John's river has also a good harbor.-The rivers of Florida are numerous, and many of them afford great facilities for internal navigation.