MECHANICS AND ASTRONOMY. Iv 



ment, and provide the necessary rooms for engineering and drawing in the 



second story. - i • i • i. 



Drawing Instructor.— "YhQVQ will soon be sufficient work m drawing to 

 require the entire time of an instructor, and provision should be made for such 

 help when needed. 



We have to thank various manufacturers for donations of photographs and 

 blue prints of their machinery, as follows : i 



Knowls' Steam Pump Co., three large framed photographs. 



Worthington Steam Pamp Co., two large framed photographs. 



Russel Wheel and Foundry Co., photograph of light-house. 



Buckeye Engine Co., framed lithograph and set of blue prints. 



Betts Machine Co., set of blue prints of power drill. 



Allis Machine Co., framed lithograph of Corliss engine. 



REPORT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICS AND ASTRONOMY. 



Hon. Edwin Willits, President Mich. Agricidtural College : 



Deak Sir, — I beg leave to present you the following report of the department 

 of mechanics and astronomy for the last year : 



During the first half of the fall term of 1885 I taught the junior class me- 

 chanics. As this department was quite deficient in illustrative apparatus, the 

 Board made an appropriation of $150, which enabled me to purchase a number 

 of needed pieces. During the whole of the fall term, too, I taught the sopho- 

 more class — in two sections — the subject of higher algebra. During the latter 

 half of the fall term I taught the sophomore class and many volunteer students 

 the subject of astronomy. The work was done by lectures and the topics cov- 

 ered were the form, size and motions of the earth and its position in the solar 

 system. The methods of measuring and weighing the earth and of finding its 

 distance from the sun were explained in an elementary way. 



During the latter part of November and all of December I was busy prepar- 

 ing for the annual meeting of the State Teachers' Association, of which I was 

 president. During January I prepared a paper on Our Indebtedness to Me- 

 chanics and Inventors, for the Farmers' Institutes. In January, also, I visited 

 St. Louis, Michigan, and made the preliminary arrangements for the Farmers' 

 Institute for Gratiot county. In February I attended and assisted at that in- 

 stitute and also at the institute held in East Saginaw. 



During the winter I also, by direction of the Board, made quite an extended 

 tour of inspection among the mechanical and industrial schools of the East. 



I first attended the inaugural exercises of the opening of the Manual Train- 

 ing School of Toledo, Ohio. At these exercises ex- President Hayes presided 

 and gave an address. Addresses were also given by Professor Felix Adler, of 

 New York, Dr. Woodward of St. Louis, Mr. Harmon of Chicago, Mrs. Ewing 

 of the department of Domestic Economy of the Iowa agricultural college, and 

 others. 



The school is attached to the public high school as a department and is con- 

 trolled by the city school board, but the funds for the building and equipment 

 were realized from the sale of a tra'^t of land given a number of years ago by 

 a wealthy citizen of Toledo. The shops are admirably equipped for instruction 



