Iviii DEPARTMENT REPORTS, 



plies about the same grade of discipline and of scholarship as from our course 

 in Mechanic Arts. 



The -workshops connected with this institution, endowed by Ichabod Wash- 

 burn in 1866, and having since received other bequests, are among the best 

 equipped in the country. 



The iloor area of the shops is about 23,000 square feet, and the building 

 contains an engine and boiler room, blacksmith's shop, tool room, draughting 

 room, painting and finishing room, wood-working and metal-working rooms, 

 and other auxiliary rooms. Drawing is taught during the entire three years' 

 course. The wood-working consists of bench work with carpenters" and cabi- 

 net-makers' tools, wood-turning, machine sawing and planing. The course in 

 metals covers bench work to a limited extent, work with the speed and with 

 the engine lathe, drilling, milling, planing, screw-cutting, forging, tempering, 

 tool-making, management of steam, as well as designing and constructing. 

 The course seems to lay far greater stress upon metal-work than upon wood- 

 work, and on machine than on hand-work. 



A distinguishing feature of this institution is the effort to carry on the work 

 in the shops as nearly as possible as work in real shops is carried on. For this 

 purpose the students are so divided into sections that each works two full half 

 days of five hours each week. One section, for instance, will work from one 

 o'clock to six Monday afternoon, and from seven o'clock Tuesday forenoon till 

 twelve. Another section works Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning, 

 and so on during the week. The academic work of the institution is made to 

 conform itself to this arrangement. 



To the same end — the making of the shop practice as nearly like shop work 

 as possible — there are given few or no exercises as such, every student being 

 required to put all his work upon articles which, when completed, shall he 

 salable in the markets. To this end, too, the shop management has a special 

 Ime of articles to be manufactured for the trade, besides competing with other 

 shops for general work. In order to do this it is necessary to supplement the 

 student labor with the labor of a dozen or more regularly employed mechanics. 

 In 1884 there were sixteen mechanics thus employed, while there were that 

 year one hundred students at work. During that year there were manufactured 

 and sold goods to the amount of $19,500. 



Another peculiarity of the shop work is that comparatively little attention 

 is given to Jmtid work, machine work being employed by preference as much as 

 possible. 



The charge for tuition is $150 per annum, except for residents of Worcester 

 county, who receive gratuitous tuition. 



The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, located in Boston, was next vis- 

 ited. This institution receives one-third of the income of the Agricultural Col- 

 lege land grant of 1863 for the State of Massachusetts. The work of the In- 

 stitute is divided between two leading schools, the School of Industrial Science 

 and the School of 2Iechanic Arts. 



The conditions of admission to the School of Industrial Science are high, 

 the courses of study are full and strong four-year courses, and are intended to 

 fit for civil, topographical, mechanical, mining, and electrical engineering. 

 The school of mechanic arts has a more elementary two-years' course of study, 

 including daily shop practice for the entire time. The shops are extensive and 

 richly equipped. The wood shop is provided with 40 carpenter's benches and 

 sets of tools, two circular saws, a swing saw, two jig saws, a buzz planer, a 



