DEPARTMENT REPORTS. 83 



Fall 622; winter 948; spring 900. 



By subjects. The number of recitation hours during the year 

 equalled in History 1,272; in Economics 828; in Education 60; in Politi- 

 cal Science 240 and in Sociology 60. 



A new teacher, Mr. Hector MacPherson, was added to our teaching 

 staff during the year and another, Mr. Shepherd Leffler, was appointed 

 to take the place of Mr. McAlvey, who resigned at the beginning of the 

 year — otherwise the personnel of the department has remained un- 

 changed. 



The subject of Sociology, under the care of Mr, MacPherson, was 

 taught for the first time at this college during the spring term. An agita- 

 tion has been under way for some time among the various agricultural 

 colleges toward encouraging the study of the social surroundings of the 

 farmer. None of these institutions have wholly neglected the business 

 aspect of the farmer's life and courses in Economics have been given in 

 these schools from the very beginning. Indeed in recent years the suitabil- 

 ity of such courses to these schools has become so apparent that they have 

 became highly technical and courses in agricultural economics may 

 now be found in the curricula of many colleges and universities. On 

 the other hand other institutions while presenting no formal courses 

 entitled"Agricultura] Economics" use illustrative material drawn from 

 farming in presenting elementary economics and emphasize the aspects 

 of the subject which deal with the interests of the farmer. 



But rural sociology is of more recent origin and is presented at 

 present in only a few schools. It aims to acquaint the country 

 dweller with his proper relations to the church, the school, the com- 

 munity and the community organizations. The questions of pauperism, 

 vagrancy and of crime are of no less significance to the farmer than to 

 the city dweller though it is a remarkable fact that the investigations 

 of most sociologists have hitherto been confined largely to the study of 

 these questions from the city standpoint. The study of Sociology is 

 commenced therefore at this place under the conviction that it offers 

 something very useful to the future agriculturalist. 



President Eoosevelt urged the especial attention of the Rural Life 

 Commission, which he recently appointed, to the phases of farm life 

 which had to do with the social or community side and the whole sub- 

 ject has been much advanced by the treatises recently published by two 

 members of, this commission. The treatises are entitled Chapters in 

 Eural Progress, and the State and the Farmer and are written by 

 President Butterfield and Director Bailey respectively. 



No departmental problem has been so pressing for solution during 

 the past year as has that of the proper distribution of teaching hours 

 to members of the department. The problem is all the more difficult 

 too, because of the laws of established rule at this place which govern 

 such matters, and a rule of the sort needed has been of slow development 

 through the extreme variations among the various departments as to 

 laboratory or class work, lecturing or text-book teaching and as to the 

 amount of general or departmental work for which members of the de- 

 partment are responsible. The nature of the subject presented too, 

 causes important variations. Mathematics an "exact science" for 

 example, and grammar do not change appreciably in subject matter 

 from year to year while many of the other sciences are so unceasingly 



