76 Kansas Academy of Science. 



present our drug laboratory is amply equipped for chemical inves- 

 tigation, but the very necessary equipment for physiological assay 

 is still wanting. Until we do have this installed we are helpless to 

 give conclusire information in regard to the relative values of the 

 drugs I have mentioned, and many others. 



THE MANUFACTURE OF ENAMELED WARE. 



By R. D. Landrum, University of Kansas. Lawrence. 



n[^HE manufacture of enameled-steel cooking utensils is an in- 

 -^ dustry which could and should be carried on in Kansas. Her 

 natural resources (especiallj' her minerals and abundant supply of 

 fuel), her industries allied to enamel making, and her central loca- 

 tion, are all points in favor of Kansas as compared with other states 

 for the location of enameling works. 



An enamel is a vitreous silicate resembling glass or porcelain, 

 but which forms an intimate coating on the surface of a metal. On 

 a vessel which is to be used for cooking the enamel must not be 

 brittle and must have a coefficient of expansion near that of the 

 metal. It must resist both acids and alkalies and must contain no 

 lead or other poisonous materials. 



The following materials are used in the making of enamel for 

 cooking utensils: Flint, quartz and glass-sand supply the silica, 

 feldspar and clay the alumina. Fluorspar and cryolite are added 

 on account of their fluorin content and assist in making the enamel 

 opaque, thus giving it "body." Soda-ash and pearl-ash are fluxes, 

 *and borax, which acts as a flux also, keeps the enamel from being 

 brittle and brings out the color from the metallic oxids used as pig- 

 ments. Saltpeter and Chili saltpeter act as decolorizers, as well as 

 being fluxes; and magnesium sulfate and ammonium carbonate,, 

 which are added to thicken the wet enamel, are among the raw ma- 

 terials, as well as carbon, chromium oxid, cobalt oxid, copper oxid, 

 uranium oxid, selenium and gold oxid, and especially tin oxid, an- 

 timony oxid and zinc oxid, which are pigments giving color to the 

 enamel. 



Enameling is still held as a secret art, and the formulas are care- 

 fully guarded. In the company with which I was chemist for 

 three years very few visitors are allowed to go through the works, 

 and none of these are taken through the laboratory or the room in 

 which the enamels are mixed. Each of the raw materials used has 

 a number, and they are always designated as such. They are 

 shipped so that the bill of lading contains only the number. All 



