Wichita eagle., 1889-10-25
ACADEMY OF SCIENCE.
ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING
MEETINGS EVER HELD.
Reading of Interesting Papers and Con-
sideration of Same-Members go to
Kingman Tomorrow on
Special.


terday morning with about twenty-five
members present. The academy was called
to order by its president, Prof. T. H. Dins-
more, OF the State Normal school of En-
poria. The chair was instructed to APP
point committees for certain work, which
he did as follows:
Membership-Cr agin, Graham, Mead.
Carleton, Kelly and Blake.
Nominations-Snow, Hay and Graham.
Program-Sayre and Kelly.
! After some unimportant routine work of
a business character, the reading and con-
sideration of papers commenced. The first
paper of the meeting was by Prof. NJ. \.
Kellerman of Manhattan, on ''Monstrosi-
ties in Towering plants"
| His interesting paper was illustrated by
| specimens of the so-called monstrositieS
which may be defined as extreme varia-
tions in the development of certain parts
| Of plants. In one specimen shown in the foil
age; in another in the floral development.
! These were looked upon as extremely in
teresting phenomena in botany, and the
scientific point made was the tracing of
the cause of these variations which were
shown in the various degrees.
Prof. E. A Papenoe, of Manhattan, read
a paper on the ''Ovi position of tragidion-
| a beetle"
The female of Tragidion fulvipenne, a
wood boring beetle. was observed in the
act of egg laying upon the bark of seasoned
chestnut oak, the broad transverse tip of
the abdomen of the insect closely op-
pressed to the bark, and, as discovered on
| lifting the specimen. covering convex
| elliptical egg case that resembled closely
in size, color and surface the corky tuber-
cles found on the bark of that and other
trees. The egg found within this case was
oblong, smooth and dull white and rested
on the unbroken surface, and not as COM
monty the case in the eggs of the beetles
of this family in crevice or puncture in the
| bark. The writer has found no reference
in chronological works to the food habits
of this beetle, nor to the striking peculiar
ity noted in the manner of Disgusting or
protecting the egg.
Prof. Robert Hay read very interesting
paper on "Artesian Wells" He enumer-
ated twelve localities in Kansas as the
principal having artesian wells. The
main object of the paper was to show that
there are three forces that cause the flow OF
wells Diagrams were distributed through
the meeting illustrating the cause of the
greater number of wells, which is Ordi-
nary hydrostatic pressure. Then well
was described at Mound Valley, in Labette
county, in which the flow of water is due
to gas pressure. Then wells at Richfield,
in Morton county, and at two places in
Pottawatomie county were referred to as
coming from considerable depths but of
small flow, in which the speaker attrib-
uted the flow to rock pressure. The rea-
sons were given for this and pressure OF
rocks on strata 600 feet deep was shown to
be equal to fifty-two atmospheres and ca
pable of supporting much heavier col
umn Of water than that actually given
out.
The discussion that followed this paper,
which was participated in by Prof. Snow,
turned on the use of artesian wells for
irrigation, and it transpired that Prot.
Hay had paper on this part of the sub
ject being published this week by the
state board of agriculture, which Is COM
mended to the farmers of the state.
AFTERNOON SESSION.
The academy resumed work at p. m.
and the committee on membership report
to the roll by unanimous vote: w. c.
Storms of Lawrence; f. B. Knerr of Atch-
ison: F. A. Marhatt of Manhattan; J. G..
Stafee, Z. P. Ford and NJ. E. Crowell of
Wichita The academy discussed the pro-
priety of. establishing library of such
character as would be most useful to the
members and it was finally decided that in
the absence of state financial aid it would
be impossible to secure library that
would be OF much benefit. The question
of publishing of the papers read by the
members at the annual meetings was con-
sidered but no action taken. The mem
bership fee was under discussion when the
hour for papers arrived and no final action
was taken.
j. L. Willard, of the Agricultural col
lege experiment station, gave brief des-
cription of some helpful devices ofagricul-
tural products. He touched on the follow
lowing subjects: The desiccation of sub
stances in a current of hydrogen or air; the
preparation of absolute ether, and the i'm
portance of using it and the determination
of crude fiber. On the last topic he des-
cribed a most effective means Of prevent
ing the foaming which Is usually so
troublesome during the boiling with the
acid and alkali.
G.. Il. Foilyer, of the Agricultural col |
lege, read paper upon the Ammonia
and the Nitric Acid in Rain Water" The |
following is an abstract of this paper:
The compound of nitrogen are very i'm
portant fertilizers. They are the constit-
uents of plant food that are usually soon
est exhausted from the soil. The question
of the sources of nitrogen in soils has long |
occupied the attention Of agricultural
chemists. One of these sources is the am
monia and nitric acid washed from the air
by rains The quantity of these thus
brought down has been the subject of in
curry in Europe But little or nothing has
been published in this line in this country.
Since March 1886 the rain water mas been |
collected at the agricultural college in a
very large rain gauge and the quantity of
ammonia and OF nitric acid contained in |
the water determined. 1t has been found |
that the quantity OF both these substances /
varies greatly in different rains as well as |
the relation between these and the rain I
water The proportion depends to great |
extent upon the actual quantity of rain. 1
being usually greater in smaller rains; but /
not always so, some have but .o3 parts per 1
million: others as much as las parts per |
million.
About three and one-hsf pounds Of /
nitrogen are added 70 an acre Of soil each /
year While this Is not enough for crop /
were there no other supply. 1t is equivalent /
TO twenfy-one pounds Of chilli saltpeter /
This is from a fifth to tenth OF what /
would he arnlied as a fertilizer in r,rartica