80 Kansas Academy of Science. 



eled. It must be as nearly as possible pure iron, and must be 



especially low in carbon and sulfur, as these ingredients give off 



gases upon heating. The following is the analysis of a steel which 



gave very good satisfaction: 



Sulfur . 045 per cent. 



Phosphorus . 032 



Silicon 0.010 



Manganese 080 



Carbon 0.105 



The grain must be as open as possible, and this fact bars the 

 use of steel which has been cold rolled. 



The necessity of having a perfectly clean surface to enamel makes 

 the process of cleaning or "pickling" the ware before enameling 

 very important. In the first place, a lubricant must be used in 

 stamping that is easily removed. For this a sort of soap is used. 

 Then the ware is "pickled"; first in an alkali solution to remove 

 the grease, and then in an acid solution to remove the rust. It is 

 washed between and after these processes in hot water, and after a 

 thorough drying is ready to be enameled. 



The foregoing is a brief description of the process of enameling, 

 and the question now comes up, "Is Kansas peculiarly adapted as a 

 place to locate an enameling works?" Our location is geographic- 

 ally the center of the United States and our railroad facilities are 

 excellent. We have near at hand the principal raw materials 

 needed, viz.: Flint, quartz, sand, feldspar and clay; salt and lime- 

 stone for the manufacture of soda-ash; magnesium sulfate, zinc 

 oxid, and bone-ash, and borax nearer to us than any other enamel- 

 ing plant I know of. The materials for pickling — hydrochloric 

 and sulfuric acids and sodium carbonate — are already being manu- 

 factured in the state. However, leaving these all aside, our natural 

 gas and crude pretroleum are so abundant and so ideally adapted 

 both for the production of power and for the melting of the enamel 

 and the burning of the ware that they alone would make it profit- 

 able to manufacture enameled ware in Kansas. 



