Kansas, the SUNFLOWER STATE, is located in the geographical center of the Union and is bounded on the n. by Nebraska, on the e. by the Missouri, on the s. by Oklahoma and on the w. by Colorado. With the exception of the northeast corner, where the boundary is formed by the Missouri River, the state is a rectangle. Its length from east to west is 400 miles, its width from north to south is 208 miles and its area is 82,144 square miles. Population in 1910, 1,690,949. SURFACE AND DRAINAGE. The state occupies a portion of the great plain lying between the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi River. As a whole it is an undulating prairie, rising at the rate of about 7 1/2 feet per mile from the eastern to the western boundary. The average altitude of the eastern boundary is about 800 feet, and that of the western boundary is about 3500 feet. The highest point is in Sherman County, on the extreme Western boundary, and is over 4400 feet in altitude. In general the surface of the state is characterized by low swells, separated by shallow valleys. Here and there are hills rising above this plain to the height of 400 or 500 feet and giving some variety to the scenery. The banks of streams in the eastern portion of the state are frequently characterized by bluffs on one side or the other, varying in altitude from 100 to 200 feet; but the streams in the western part of the state flow through shallow valleys and have low banks. The Missouri drains the northeastern portion of the state. The Kansas and its tributaries flowing eastward drain all of the northern half of the state; the Arkansas, flowing eastward through a little more than half of the state and then bending southward; the Neosho and Verdigris flowing east of south, and the Mirais des Cygnes (Osage) flowing east, drain the remainder. Among the important tributaries of the Kansas River are the Republican, the Smoky Hill and the Solomon. The Verdigris flows into the Arkansas. The Missouri is navigable, but in general the streams are shallow and have but little fall, though a few have sufficient fall to afford some water power. CLIMATE. Kansas has a temperate climate, mild, without tropic heat or arctic cold, and everywhere healthful. The atmosphere is clear and dry, and throughout the year there is a predominance of sunny days. The winters are short and mild, and but little snow falls. The mean annual temperature in the northern part of the state is about 50deg and in the south about 55deg. The mean rainfall for the entire state is about 27 inches, but it is much heavier in the eastern third than elsewhere. Here it exceeds 40 to 44 inches. In the central third of the state it is about 25 inches, and in the western third it is from 10 to 15 inches. MINERAL RESOURCES. The southern counties contain extensive deposits of bituminous coal, which are worked in many places and yield a sufficient quantity of coal for all local purposes and for large shipments to other localities. There are also in this vicinity heavy deposits of lead ore and of zinc, the latter being extensively mined. To the northwest of the zinc and lead deposits is an extensive field of natural gas, and a little to the north and west of this are great deposits of petroleum, yielding about 1,000,000 barrels per year. Gypsum, limestone, chalk and large deposits of salt, clay and other minerals are scattered through the state and in many localities appear in unlimited workable quantities. The output of salt amounts to about 2,000,000 barrels a year. AGRICULTURE. Agriculture is the chief industry of the state. The soil is fertile, and the climate is well suited to growing all products that can be raised in a temperate climate. The only drawback to agriculture is the lack of rainfall in the western third of the state; however, the annual rainfall of this district is noticeably increasing. In the eastern third the chief crops are corn, oats, rye, potatoes, sorghum, broom corn, hay, hemp, flax and fruit. The central portion of the state is devoted to raising winter wheat, and in the production of this variety of wheat Kansas leads the other state of the Union. In this region are also found many thriving fruit orchards. Alfalfa is quite generally raised throughout the state, its total area being about 1,000,000 acres. The western third of the state is very generally devoted to the raising of live stock, for which it is abundantly suited, since there is sufficient moisture for grazing purposes and the mild winters allow stock to remain without shelter. The upper Arkansas valley, in the western part of the state has considerable sugar-beet culture, principally in Finney and Kearny counties. Large numbers of cattle, horses and sheep are marketed from the state every year, and the wool clip exceeds 2,000,000 pounds. MANUFACTURES. Compared with agriculture, manufacturing is of minor importance. The leading industries, in the order of their value, are slaughtering and meat-packing, with their chief center in Kansas City, Kansas; the manufacture of soap, butter, cheese and condensed milk; building and repairing cars and other rolling stock for large railroads; the manufacture of flour and other grist mill products, beet sugar, foundry and machine shop products. Other major industries include glass factories, brickyards and carriage factories. TRANSPORTATION AND COMMERCE. The eastern and central portions of the state are well supplied with railway lines, and a number of trunk lines extend through the state from east to west, but in the western third there are few cross-lines connecting these, so that some portions of this part of the state (five counties) are without direct railway communication. Kansas City, Fort Scott, Wichita, Parsons, Coffeyville, Hutchinson and Topeka are important railway centers. The commerce of the state is extensive and is constantly growing. It consists of the export of livestock and packed meats, wool, zinc, lead, coal, salt, oil, fruit, wheat, flour, corn and other agricultural products, and the importation of manufactured goods and prepared foods. GOVERNMENT. The legislature is composed of a senate, restricted to 40 members, and a house of representatives, restricted to 125 members. The senators are elected for four year, and the representatives for two years. The legislature meets biennially, and the members cannot draw pay for a session exceeding 50 days. The executive department of the government consists of the governor, the lieutenant-governor, the secretary of state, the auditor, the treasurer, the superintendent of public instruction, the attorney-general, the bureau of labor and industry, the superintendent of insurance and the secretary of horticulture, each elected for two years. There are also several administrative boards, such as the state board of agriculture, the board of railroad commissioners, the board of control of charitable institutions, the free employment bureau, the state board of health, the state tax commission and the bureau of mining industries. The governor, the secretary of state, the treasurer, the auditor, the superintendent of public instruction and the attorney-general constitute an executive council. The judiciary department is vested in a supreme court consisting of seven judges, elected for six years, and thirty-nine district judges, elected for four years, who preside over the courts in their respective districts. Each county has a probate judge and a clerk of the district court. The large cities have city courts, while townships, villages and cities have justice courts for the trying of petty cases. EDUCATION. The state maintains an extensive system of generously supported public schools. The widely scattered rural population in the western part of the state is adopting the consolidated country school idea. The school fund is derived from the sale of school lands, two sections to each township, and is supplemented by local taxation. The public shools of the state are under the supervision of the superintendent of public instruction, and those in each county are under the supervision of the county superintendent. Cities of the first and second class are each under a city superintendent employed by the board of education of the city. The people throughout the state manifest deep interest in education, and advancement is constantly being made in all grades of schools. The state university at Lawrence is at the head of the public school system, and graduates from high schools whose courses of study and work are approved by the university are admitted to that institution without examination. There is a state normal school at Emporia, with a branch school at Hays and another for industrial branches at Pittsburg. Graduates of schools of collegiate rank, accredited by the state board of education, are granted three years' state certificates. The state agricultural college and experiment station are at Manhattan, with an extensive branch of the station at Hays, to which belongs a farm of several thousand acres. The Agricultural College was established in 1863; it has 751 acres of land, and buildings and equipment worth $755,000. It has 29 departments, an enrollment of 2300, a faculty of 140 members and a library of 37,000 volumes, worth $60,000. Besides these there are numerous colleges and secondary schools maintained by religious denominations. Among those worthy of mention are Baker University at Baldwin (Methodist Episcopal), Saint John's College at Conifield (Lutheran), Fairmount College at Wichita, Friends' University at Wichita, Southwest Kansas College at Winfield (Methodist Episcopal), Ottawa University at Ottawa (Baptist), College of Emporia at Emporia and the University of Kansas City and Western University (colored) at Kansas City. INSTITUTIONS. The school for the deaf and dumb is at Olathe, and that for the blind is at Kansas City. There is a soldiers' orphans' home at Atchison and a national soldiers' home at Leavenworth. The state soldiers' home is located at Dodge City The state penitentiary is at Lansing and the industrial reformatory is at Hutchinson. A Federal prison is near Leavenworth. The state also maintains an industrial school for girls at Beloit and an industrial reform school for boys at Topeka. CITIES. The chief cities are Topeka, the capital; Kansas City, adjoining Kansas City, Mo.; Wichita, Leavenworth, Coffeyville, Atchison, Hutchinson, Pittsburg, Parsons, Lawrence, Independence, Fort Scott, Salina and Emporia. HISTORY. Kansas was first visited by Spaniards under Coronado about 1541, but it was not again explored until the eighteenth century, when Frenchmen passed through it. It came into the possession of the United States in 1803 as part of the Louisiana Purchase, was explored by Lewis and Clark in the following year and by Pike two years later, and Fort Leavenworth was established by the government in 1827. It was a part of the Territory of Missouri in 1821, but from that time until 1854 it was an unorganized territory. In that year occurred the great contest over organization, precipitated by the Kansas-Nebraska Bill. Several attempts to form constitutions and elect legislatures were made, and a lively contest ensued between immigrants from the South and from the North to gain control of the state. A pro-slavery party gained the first success in 1855, but in October of the same year a convention of free state men met at Topeka and adopted a constitution prohibiting slavery. An election was held under this instrument in January, 1856, and a free state governor was chosen, the pro-slavery party taking no part in the election. In 1856 occurred the famous raid of John Brown at Pottawatomie Creek (See BROWN, JOHN). With the aid of Federal troops the free state legislature was prevented from meeting, but a constitution adopted by the proslavery party at Lecompton, in November, 1857, was voted down. The immigration from free states thereafter became so preponderant that a constitution, adopted in 1859, prohibiting slavery, was finally ratified, and the state was admitted to the Union, Jan. 29, 1861. In the Civil War, Kansas contributed more than its quota of soldiers to the Union armies. After the war the state received a great impetus by the development of railroads. The principle of prohibition was incorporated in the Constitution after a long struggle, and the state has also taken advanced ground in opposition to railway and other trusts. Kansas has been uniformly Republican since the Civil War except in three state elections. Consult Spring's Kansas, in the American Commonwealth Series.