22 BOARD OP AGRICULTURE. [Jan., 



bestowed on the anatomy and physiology of domestic animals. The 

 school possesses several mounted skeletons, viz., an ox, a sheep, a 

 dog, and a chicken, the work of Professor Koons, and also the un- 

 mounted skeletons of two horses. The students assisted at the 

 dissection of these animals and have made particularly careful 

 study of their skeletons. 



But I shall only weary your patience by recounting in detail all 

 lie studies pursued. In addition to these mentioned, Botany takes 

 a prominent place, especially in the spring months, and in connec- 

 tion with that study the methods of testing the vitality of seeds 

 are taught. 



Geology and Mineralogy are also studied sufBciently to enable 

 students to understand the ways in which rock and soils have been 

 formed and are now being formed, and to identify common rocks 

 and minerals. 



It will not have escaped your notice that the studies thus far 

 enumerated, while they obviously may be very useful to the farmer, 

 are not strictly agricultural studies. They furnish the student of 

 them with a knowledge of natural laws which is very important 

 to his future success, but they do not teach him how to apply them 

 to farming. This latter is one of the objects of the studies of the 

 senior year. Having, in the first year, laid a good foundation of 

 general scientific knowledge, the student goes on in the second year 

 to build upon that foundation the superstructure of special train- 

 ing for his future work. And just as the superstructure of a build- 

 ing attracts more attention from the passer-by than the foundation, 

 so you may at first be inclined to consider the studies of the senior 

 year of more practical value than those which precede them, but a 

 moment's reflection will convince you that neither link in the chain 

 can be omitted. 



While unusable science is a worthless commodity, it is equally 

 true that to study the applications of science to farming (or to any- 

 thing else), we must first have some science to apply. 



During the past term, the senior class has been studying the 

 scientific side of Cattle Feeding. This study they began by a gen- 

 eral review of the subject of animal physiology, which they had 

 studied the year before, giving special attention to those portions 

 of it which bear more directly on the subject of feeding and pass- 

 ing hastily over other points of less value for this particular pur- 

 pose, and studying all with direct reference to the uses that can 



