Two forms of illiteracy are recognized by the immigration authorities, inability to either read or write, and inability to write coupled with ability to read. The latter class is a very small one, and for all practical purposes those who are spoken of as illiterates are those who can neither read nor write. For the period of 1899–1909 the average illiteracy of all European immigrants fourteen years of age or over was 26.6 per cent. There is a marked difference between the old and new immigrants in this respect. Of the former class, during the period mentioned, only 2.7 per cent of the immigrants fourteen years of age or over was illiterate; of the latter class, 35.6 per cent. The same difference is brought out by the following table, showing the illiteracy of certain specified races: PERCENTAGE OF ILLITERACY[161] OF IMMIGRANTS OF THE SPECIFIED RACES, 14 YEARS OF AGE OR OVER, FOR THE YEARS 1899 TO 1909[162] RACE OR PEOPLE PER CENT Scandinavian 0.4 English 1.1 Irish 2.7 German 5.1 Italian, north 11.8 Magyar 11.4 Hebrew 25.7 Greek 27.0 Roumanian 34.7 Polish 35.4 Croatian and Slovenian 36.4 Italian, south 54.2 Portuguese 68.2 Footnote 161: Those who can neither read nor write. Footnote 162: Rept. Imm. Com., Emig. Cond. in Eur., Abs., p. 17.