82 



DEPARTMENT REPORTS. 



iS. 1). Feper : 



Jaw of bill fish, Florida beau. 

 A. L. Marhoff: 



Peduncled wasp's nest. 

 Student : 



AVasp nest. Vei<j)a vulgaris. 



Ivcspectfully submitted, 



A. J. COOK. 



REPORT OF THE PROFESSOR OF BOTANY AND FORESTRY. 



To the President : 



The following in brief is my report for the year closing September »^0, 

 1885. 



Having at last been relieved from the teaching of horticulture, — something 

 which I long desired, I have been able to give more attention to botany. So 

 far as is ap])arcnt to me, the students are very attentive and exhibit a good 

 degree of interest in the subject, though manual labor and military drill make 

 it quite diificult for those who desire it, to spend much time "botanizing" at 

 the college and in the vicinity. In the autumn term the Sophomores were 

 instructed in systematic botany and in the afternoon of the same term, fifteen 

 Seniors and specials spent two hours a day for four days in the week at labora- 

 tory AYork with the compound microscope. During one day iu each week they 

 received a lecture on the subjects investigated. 



During the spring term, the Sophomores, in two sections, took a course much 

 like that of the Seniors just referred to. 



In the summer term, the Freshmen began tlie subject, and in two sections 

 had -daily exercises in structural botany. 



Besides these, eight others, resident graduates or other students, took special 

 work in botany. These were not in the regular classes, but received much 

 attention and had free use of microscopes and other apparatus. They usually 

 nuide some exi)eiiment, and all made observations, drawings and notes 



It is very certain that if others knew of our excellent ecpiipments for a great 

 variety of work in botany, a mucli larger number would avail themselves of the 

 opportunity. 



As my work is now mainly confined to teaching botany, it is likely to 

 be little understood or appreciated by those who have a limited knowledge of 

 the subject. 



Only eighteen years ago, our best colleges and universities, including Har- 

 vard, required but six Aveeks of botany, with a chance to elect a few weeks more 

 in learning to find out the names of plants. 



It is only a Itttle over twelve j-ears since the foremost colleges of our land 

 begun to introduce laboratory work with the aid of compound microscropes 

 and other apparatus. 



Now, and for some years past, all of our students have been required to spend 

 Gve-sixths of an academic year with daily exercises in botany, and then they 

 have an apportunity to elect still more. Half of this time is devoted to 1 .bor- 

 atory work in the study of plant-physiology, by which students learn how 

 plants arc put together, and how they grow, including numy things pertaining 



