44 Kansas Academy of Science. 



The Progress of Chemistry in Kansas During the Last 



Fifty Years. 



E. H. S. Bailey. 



Looking at the immense advance made in the field of chemistry, it is 

 interesting to notice some of the contributions to this science in Kansas, 

 and especially what has been done in the fifty years of the life of the 

 Academy. 



Kansas was and is preeminently an agricultural state, and for years 

 little was done in applied chemistry. To the colleges, such as the Uni- 

 versity of Kansas, the State Agricultural College, Emporia Normal, 

 Washburn, Baker, Southwestern, Ottawa, McPherson and others, and 

 to the larger high schools, was left most of the work of instructing in 

 chemistry. All these institutions at a very early period in their history 

 offered elementary courses in chemistry, which were soon extended to 

 include qualitative and quantitative analysis. In the more recent years 

 organic chemistry and physical chemistry, as well as many special 

 courses, have been added to the curriculum in these schools. 



The instruction given in the various schools led to sending out a 

 large number of scientific men and women, who have made their mark 

 in chemistry and allied subjects. Many well-equipped men have been 

 sent to the various departments of the national government and to state 

 experiment stations. 



In addition to the work of instructing in chemistry, these institutions 

 have found time to carry on research work. As an illustration, note the 

 extent to which the Transactions of the Academy of Science has been used 

 as a means of publication of papers on chemistry. The first chemistry 

 paper was by W. H. Saunders, the first professor of chemistry in the 

 University, on the "Comparison of Kansas Coals with Other Western 

 Coals." Up to the year 1900 chemical papers were published as follows: 

 By E. H. S. Bailey, twenty-five; L. E. Sayre, sixteen; J. T. Willard, 

 eleven; G. H. Failyer, eleven; George E. Patrick, eight. That is, a total 

 of about eighty papers of an essentially chemical nature were contributed 

 during this period by the above men and others associated with them. 

 That these papers had a very practical bearing on the economic de- 

 velopment of the state is apparent from a glance at some of the titles, 

 such as "Kansas Chalk," "The lola Gas Well," "The Waconda Meteor- 

 ite," "Ozone in Kansas Atmosphere," "Ammonia and Nitric Acid in 

 Rain Waters Collected at Agricultural College," "Some Kansas Mineral 

 Waters," "Chemical Composition of Kansas Coals," "The Newly Dis- 

 covered Salt Beds in Ellsworth County," "Chemical Composition of 

 Cement Plaster," "Effect of Continuous Cropping of Wheat on the Com- 

 position of the Soil," "The Sugars of Watermelons," "Variations in the 

 Nitrogen Content of Maize and Possibilities for its Improvement." 



There is no necessity for going into details regarding advancement in 

 chemistry during the last few years, since most of those present are 

 familiar in a general way with the progress that has been made. How- 

 ever, it would not do to let the opportunity pass without calling atten- 



