Kansas

in order of admission, the twenty-first state of the Union. The name is Indian, meaning "Swift Wind." Geographically Kansas is the central state of the Union. It lies between Missouri and Colorado, Nebraska and Oklahoma. Save the northeastern corner, which is cut off by the Missouri river, the state is an oblong, lying between the thirty-seventh and fortieth parallels of north latitude, and between 94 deg. 40' and 102 deg. of west longitude. The state is seemingly level. The lowest point is found at the mouth of the Kansas River, 750 feet above the sea. The surface rises imperceptibly but regularly toward the west. The Colorado border has an altitude of about 4,000 feet. Rivers have carved the eastern portion of the state into bold bluffs. Otherwise the surface is at most undulating. There are no mountains.

SOIL AND PRODUCTION. As to soil and production, the state may be divided roughly into three regions--the eastern, the western, and the middle. The eastern section has the greatest rainfall and is the most productive. It is a country of grain fields and orchards. The central portion is the great grain-producing section of the state. The western section, occupying rather more than one-third of the state, is lacking in rainfall. There are extensive tracts of light soil, but, if a supply of water were at hand for purposes of irrigation, there is scarce an acre of land in the state that might not be made highly productive. Much progress has been made in this dry area in adapting field culture to requirements of the climate. The so-called dust blanket method of cultivation prevents evaporation. Kafir corn has been found capable of supplying immense quantities of forage. The most important industries of the state are agriculture and stock raising. About two-fifths of the entire area is under the plow. All the cereals do well. Corn is the chief crop. Wheat and oats follow in the order named. About half of the forage, that is to say, winter feed for stock, is supplied by wild grasses cut for hay. The annual production of beef, poultry, wool, cheese, butter, milk, and vegetables is large. The total farm productions are estimated at $220,000,000 a year. The northeastern part of the state rivals Missouri in the production of apples. Peach, cherry, plum, and pear orchards do well in favored localities. Strawberries thrive in almost any part of the state.

INDUSTRIES. Kansas has little timber and no iron. Coal, natural gas, and petroleum are found in large quantities. There are mines of zinc and lead, as well as beds of cement and gypsum. Naturally enough, the manufacturing industries of the state are concerned chiefly in converting the productions of the farm into food. There are large grist mills and canning factories. There are immense slaughtering and packing plants at Kansas City, the metropolis of the state. Meat productions of this city are valued at about $80,000,000 a year.

TRANSPORTATION. No less than five trunk lines of railway traverse the state from east to west. The eastern half of the state is intersected by branch lines running in every direction. There are not to exceed five counties in the extreme south-western part of the state without railway facilities.

SETTLEMENT. With the exception of the southwestern corner, which was acquired from Texas, Kansas forms a part of the Louisiana Purchase. It was visited first by the Spaniards as early as 1541. The Lewis and Clark Expedition passed up the Missouri in 1804. The famous Santa Fe trail was established from Independence, Missouri, to Santa Fe in 1824. The Union Pacific was chartered in 1864. Kansas was organized as a territory in 1854 by the Kansas-Nebraska Act. It was admitted to the Union in 1861. Topeka is the capital. There are 105 countries. The last United States census reported the population at 1,470,495. There are eleven cities having a population of 10,000 or more. Kansas City, the largest, has a population, according to a federal estimate (1909) of 81,000.

EDUCATION. Kansas is noted for its educational system. Over one-third of a million pupils are enrolled annually. The state was settled originally by a very intelligent class of citizens. The rate of illiteracy is low, comparing favorably with Iowa and Massachusetts in this respect. There are high schools in all the considerable towns. There is a state agricultural school at Manhattan, and a normal school at Emporia. The state university is at Lawrence. There are also numerous endowed or denominational colleges.

STATISTICS. The following statistics are the latest to be had from trustworthy sources:

See Kansas-Nebraska Bill; John Brown