Linden Cors Center MITH darville Alton JSSELL ell Banker Hill rtondale tono Frederic Geneseo ARTONI Little River STAFFORD rat Saratog RATT an City Lake City na able. The only wooded portions of any extent are in the extreme eastern part, although most of the river courses have narrow fringes of trees. The most common species of trees are oak, elm, cottonwood, hickory, honey-locust, willow, white ash, sycamore, and box-elder. Practically the whole area of the State consisted originally of grassy prairies, which in the east are well adapted for agriculture, and in the west form good grazing lands. CLIMATE AND SOIL. The climate of Kansas is in general very pleasant; the air is clear and dry, and sunny days by far predominate. The winters are as a rule mild and dry, though severe cold waves sometimes occur. In summer the temperature is often very high during the day, but the nights are invariably cool. The mean annual temperature ranges from 52° in the north to 58° in the south. The mean rainfall for the whole State is 26.42 inches, but it ranges from 40 inches in the east to 15 in the west. The line indicating a mean rainfall of 20 inches, the least precipitation with which agriculture can subsist without irrigation, crosses the State about one-third of its length from the western boundary, and in dry years is shifted as far east as the centre. This shows that in the western half, or at least in the western third of the State, agriculture cannot depend on a sufficient rainfall, and, in fact, disastrous droughts have several times occurred in this region. One favorable circumstance, however, lies in the fact that most of the rain falls in the early summer, when the crops are most in need of it. The prevailing winds are from the northwest. Barometric conditions, however, are unstable, and the State is subject to frequent tornadoes, and to hail and thunder storms of great severity. In summer great injury to crops is sometimes wrought by the hot winds which sweep across the fields, scorching everything that has life. With proper irrigation of the western lands there is very little soil in Kansas unfit for agriculture. Glacial drift covers considerable portions with a rich soil, which, however, is seldom more than two feet thick. In the northeast are extensive deposits of loess, in some places 100 feet thick, and thinning gradually westward. This is a fine brown marl mingled with clay, and is of great fertility. The rich bottom-lands of the numerous rivers occupy a large area, and beyond these the prairies are everywhere covered with a layer of humus, sand mixed with vegetable mold, from two to three and in some places even ten feet thick. This humus is extremely fertile, especially in the eastern half of the State, where it is rich and black, gradually becoming lighter and browner toward the west. For FLORA and FAUNA, see these headings in the article UNITED STATES. GEOLOGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES. The surface geology of Kansas is simple, since the strata lie undisturbed and nearly horizontal. Hence the outcroppings of the comparatively thin strata of the main systems form broad belts, over 100 miles wide; there are, roughly, only three of these belts, which cross the State from north to south, dividing it approximately into three equal parts, though the central belt is somewhat narrower than the other two. The eastern belt, consisting of the Carboniferous system, begins in the extreme east with narrow out croppings of the lower coal measures, the oldest strata in the State, but consisting for the greater part of the upper coal measures. This system is composed of numerous layers of sandstone, limestone, shales, clay, slate, etc., with interbedded seams of coal. To the west of the coal measures and overlying them appears a narrow belt of Permian sandstones, limestones, and conglomerates interlaid with red and green clays. Then follows the second or central belt, consisting in the northern half of Cretaceous rocks, largely of the Dakota and Niobrara groups, and in the southern half of the Jura-Trias system. Finally, the western third of the State is covere l by the Neocene or upper Tertiary system. With the exception of the Jura-Trias region in the south central part, the strata are fossiliferous and have yielded many interesting fossils. Though Kansas is primarily an agricultural State and devoid of mountains, yet its mineral deposits are of great value. Deposits of bituminous coal are found in at least five seams of workable thickness in the eastern portion, and probably underlie more than half of the State. The natural gas which occurs in the southeastern part is utilized largely for fuel and smelting purposes. Lead and zinc ores occur in intimate association in the limestone of the Lower Carboniferous in the southeast, where the strata have been tilted. The ores are chiefly galena and blende. In the Permian and partly in the uppermost Carboniferous strata running north and south through the centre of the State are extensive deposits of rock salt and gypsum. The latter cover a belt many miles wide and are found in massive beds fifteen feet thick, interlaid with shale and limestone. Large deposits of chalk appear in the Niobrara formation of the Cretaceous series, and clay is found in almost inexhaustible quantities in numerous localities. Equally inexhaustible are the building-stones, which are among the most important of the natural resources of Kansas. In the east central region are wide belts of limestone of various shades somewhat loosely textured and easily wrought, while excellent sandstones are yielded by the Dakota group of the Cretaceous formation and by a large portion of the Tertiary series in the west. MINING. The mining industry of Kansas is centred mainly in the southeast corner of the State. For many years lead has been mined at Galena. In 1900 the output of the Galena field was estimated at 5059 tons, a smaller amount than that of former years. Zinc, also mined in that part of the State, is largely smelted; much ore coming also to the smelting-works from the Joplin District of Missouri. The yield of zinc in 1900 amounted to 57,276 short tons. Of late years the most valuable mineral produced in this section of the State has been coal. Kansas ranks third among the States west of the Mississippi River in the annual value of its coal output. With the exception of the three years 1893-95, the yield increased steadily from 55.000 tons in 1880 to 4,467,870 in 1900. Over half the product is obtained in Crawford County, and the greater part of the remainder in Cherokee County. In a number of counties a little farther west and north. especially Allen County, natural gas is obtained, the output having fluctuated in value from about $200,000 to over $500.000, the latter value being attained in 1889. In 1900 the value was estimated at $363,367. Some petroleum is also obtained in this region. Salt is mined in the central portion of the State, the yield in 1900 being 2,233,000 barrels, and giving the State third rank. Stone quarried in 1900, principally limestone, was valued at $424,639. The production of cement and gypsum is also worthy of note. corn (34,383 acres), and is important in the production of castor-beans. It has over half the total acreage of Kafir corn grown in the United States, the acreage in 1900 being 154,706 acres. Kafir corn is proving a very valuable crop, since it can endure a much greater drought than can Indian corn. Broom-corn is grown most extensively in the central part of the State, and castor-beans are raised in the southwest corner. The following table includes the most important farm crops in acres, according to the cen suses of 1890 and 1900: AGRICULTURE AND STOCK-RAISING. Kansas is preeminently an agricultural State. The greatest obstacle to the industry is in the western part of the State, and is attributable to the lack of rainfall. Several elaborate irrigation schemescanals have been tried in this section; but they have been ill-conceived, since the surface supply of water, and the flow in the streams are erratic. The results therefore have been generally disappointing. A greater degree of success seems to be promised through the utilization of ground Barley. waters by the use of windmills and the building Rye.. Frax. of small storage reservoirs. Hay. In the middle and eastern sections the rainfall is sufficient, and almost the entire area is included in farms. The total farm land in the State is 79.7 per cent. of its surface, of which 60.1 per cent. is improved (1900). The greatest absolute increase of farm land was made in the decade 1870-80, and of improved land in the following decade. During the last two decades of the nineteenth century the average size of farms increased from 154.6 acres to 240.7 acres. The most prominent cause of this increase was probably the desertion of numerous farms in the western part of the State, groups of which became united as single holdings in the hands of the former mortgagees. From 1880 to 1900 there was a very remarkable increase in the number of rented farms, the percentage of which increased from 16.3 per cent. in 1880 to 35.2 per cent. in 1900, the tenants on shares being more than twice as numerous as the cash tenants. Kansas has risen with great rapidity to the front ranks of the agricultural States. In 1900 only one State-Iowa-had a larger acreage in crops. In the census decade 1880-90 the acreage increased 83.1 per cent., and in that following Corn.... Potatoes.... STOCK-RAISING. The raising of such enormous crops of corn and other stock feed has resulted in the development of a large stock-raising industry. In general the greatest development was that between 1880 and 1890, although the following decade witnessed a very remarkable gain in the number of neat cattle other than dairy cows. The value of this variety of farm stock is half that of all domestic animals. Extensive areas of prairie land in the western part of the State are used for grazing. The decrease in the number of dairy cows shown in the table below was only apparent, being attributable to the stricter construction placed upon the term 'dairy cows' in the latter years. The sum of $5,936,662 was realized in 1900 from the sale of dairy products, and products of equal value were consumed on the farms. There was an actual decline during the last decade of the century in the number both of sheep and swine. The following comparative table includes the most important varieties of farm animals returned by the censuses of 1890 and 1900: 24.6 per cent. In the last census year the rank in acreage of corn was third, wheat fourth, and hay third. There were in that year 5.6 acres of corn to each inhabitant. The figures given in the table for 1900 are not representative of a normal year, since the late spring of 1899 resulted in less land being devoted to wheat and oats, and more to barley than there would otherwise have been. The increased interest in wheat cultivation during the last decade of the century is the most significant recent development in the agriculture of the State. There was a noteworthy increase in the production of flax and a decrease in the production of rye in the same decade. Potatoes and other vegetables are raised in large quantities. The State also raises a great abundance of orchard fruits. The number of apple-trees almost doubled in the decade 1890-1900, amounting in the latter year to 11.848,000. or 60.6 per cent. of the total number of fruit-trees in the State, being exceeded in number in only four States. Kansas ranks second in the production of broom 3,814,622 179,907 3,594,859 401,192 4,022,933 MANUFACTURES. Compared with agriculture, manufacturing is of very minor importance. In 1900 only 35,200 people were engaged in the industries, or 2.4 per cent. of the population. This was an increase, however, in the number of people engaged of 24.1 per cent. in the decade from 1890 to 1900. The total value of the products, including custom work and repairing, amounted in 1900 to $172,129,000. The table appended covers the seven most important industries for the years 1890-1900. It will be seen that the industries are concerned with the transformation of the raw products of the farm into manufactured products. Slaughtering and meatpacking is alone nearly twice as important as the other six industries combined, estimated by the value of the products. The large slaughtering interests of Kansas City-the second largest of any city in the world, amounting to $73,205,000 in 1900-are located on the Kansas side of the State boundary line, and are therefore accredited to the State. Elsewhere in Kansas this industry is not extensive. The increase in the value of these products during the decade 1890-1900 was 73.2 per cent. The utilization of the waste products gives rise to the allied industries of soap and candle manufacturing. Flour and grist milling is next in importance. Despite the discrimination of rates in favor of long hauls, and other obstacles which hamper its development, it is acquiring large proportions. In 1900 24 per cent. of the wheat crop of the State was ground by the State mills. The production of cheese, butter, and condensed milk by the factory process is of but recent origin in Kansas, but the increase from 1890 to 1900 was very significant. The importance of car and general shop construction and repairs is also due to the State's large agricultural interests, inasmuch as the extensive railroad mileage and facilities are required to handle the farm products. The zincsmelting industry has been almost wholly the development of the last decade. This is the result of the abundance of fuel-coal, gas, and oil obtained in the same locality as the zinc ores. Island and Pacific; the Missouri, Kansas and BANKING. The wave of speculation which swept over the West from 1885 to 1891 greatly affected the banking business of Kansas. Heavy loans on overvalued real estate figured largely in the assets of the State banks, unrestricted in their activity by any control. When the panic of 1893 came, with a general foreclosure of mortgages, dozens of banks suspended. From 447 in 1892 the number of State and private banks decreased to 364 in 1898. The first comprehensive banking law was passed in 1891, and the office of Bank Commissioner was created. Due to the efforts of this official, an entirely new banking law was passed in 1897, which is in force now. This law contains stringent provisions as to the investments, overdrafts, liability of shareholders and directors, and cash reserve. Quarterly reports to the commissioners are required. The amount of loans to one firm is limited, and additions to the surplus are obligatory. These stringent regulations have put the State banks upon a solid foundation, and they share the confidence of the people equally with the national banks. The number of private banks is constantly declining, the reports showing 162 in 1892 and 41 in 1902. Incorporation of savings banks is authorized by the law, but very few exist in the State, and they are unimportant. The condition of the various banks in 1902 is shown in the following table: TRANSPORTATION. The highly favorable situation of Kansas with reference to the transcontinental traffic, in consequence of which a number of the most important lines of the country traverse its limits, has given it a large railroad mileage, being exceeded by only four other States. The period of greatest development was from 1880 to 1890, during which time the mileage increased from 3400 to 8892 miles. In 1900 the mileage in operation was reported at 8714 miles. The mileage is much the greater in the eastern half of the State, where there are a number of north and south lines as well as east and west lines. In the western half of the State there are no trans-State north and south lines. Formerly the State suffered greatly from the lack of railroad connection with the Gulf ports, but this has recently been supplied. Among the important lines are the Union Pacific; Missouri Pacific; Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fé; Chicago, Rock by the people in October, 1859, and went into National State banks Private banks Number of banks 413 41 $532,000 132,000 261,000 3,391,000 2,479,000 Cash, etc. GOVERNMENT. 129 The Constitution was ratified |