DEPARTMENT OF RURAL ART. 



During the past College year, 1909-10, new evidences have accumulated 

 that the Rural Art courses are essential. Up to within the last two 

 years it was necessary to create interest in our work and, in fact, to 

 encourage the student to see its worth. The public, too, did not appreciate 

 the need for such education. Now, however, our questions are not "Will 

 we have students to teach," or " Does the public appreciate out-of-door 

 art sufficiently to allow us to have a place in a college curriculum," but 

 rather " To whom shall we offer instruction and how shall we further 

 still more the public understanding of our work?" Rural or landscape 

 art has been so little taught or even heard of in this country that we 

 have had no precedent to follow, and naturally have had to feel our way 

 carefully. It is, also, an indefinite subject, largely dependent on the 

 personal equation, which cannot be handled as can science or history. 

 Its interpretation is difficult and it has taken some experimentation to 

 determine how the student may best be given his work. 



TEACHING. 



During the first year of our existence, 1904-05, but three regular 

 courses were offered : one in Theory and Aesthetics of Landscape De- 

 sign, one in Plan Making, and a third in Freehand Drawing. The follow- 

 ing year, 1905-06, in addition to the three original subjects taught, we 

 offered a course in History of Gardening, one in Plant Materials, and one 

 in Advanced Plan Making and Design, thus increasing our course of 

 study from three to six courses. 



In 1906-07, no new courses were offered, inasmuch as the ones of the 

 previous year were meeting our needs. In 1907-08, we considered it 

 advisable to offer a course in Landscape Engineering and also felt the 

 need of a seminar, where the work of the several students together with 

 the public problems of the day in Landscape Architecture could be dis- 

 cussed, thus increasing our number of courses to eight. In 1908-09, a 

 new course in Advanced Plant Materials was added, making our total 

 number of courses nine. 



In 1909-10, it seemed advisable, especially as we were changing our 

 entrance requirements, to introduce our subject to the sophomore class, 



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