98 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTUKE. 



GOLDEX-ROD HONEY. 



Our autumn expavietica proves that golden-rod honey, though rather dark, is 

 of very superior flavor. Several good Judges have pronounced it superior even 

 to linn or white clover. 



A. J. COOK. 

 State Ageicultur.vl College, ) 

 Lansing, Sept. 30, 1876. ( 



REPORT OF THE PROFESSOR OF BOTANY AND HORTICULTURE. 



Agricultural College, Sept. 30, 1876. 



To the I'resiiJent of the State Agricultural College : 

 I pre-ent the following report of my department for the year 187G : 



horticulture. 



Instruction in this department began on the opening of the first term, the 

 24th of February. The Sophomores and a few others, 49 in all, devoted eight 

 weeks to the subject of horticulture. 



Tlie course pursued and the topics considered were much like those of the 

 previous year, with some additions. Most of the instruction was given by lec- 

 tures, though considerable use was made of "The American Fruit Culturist," 

 the excellent work of J. J. Thomas. 



students' labor. 



As heretofore, the work has nearly all been done by students. This brings 

 out a large number of hands for only three hours a day, and requires considera- 

 ble planning to use them all to best advantage. The difficulty is much increased 

 by our small amount of team work. The cart-horse, "Old Prof.," now about 

 twenty-five years old, has been nearly "worthless for most of the past year. For 

 lack of team work students have too often been obliged to work at great disad- 

 vantage, using wheel-barrows instead of a cart to remove rubbish and some other 

 materials, to use hand-hoes instead of cultivating Avith a horse. 



The enlargement of the garden has made it necessary for our single team to 

 keep busy drawing manure from town and muck from the marsh, to mow the 

 lawns, plow and cultivate the gardens and ajiple orchard. We have even been 

 obliged to hire some team work to accomplish this. 



According to custom for some years, the juniors have all worked in the horti- 

 cultural department for the whole year. Instead of having a third of the sen- 

 iors for four weeks and then change them for another third, and so keep chang- 

 ing them every four weeks, we have had one-half of them for the entire year. 

 By this means we have been able to give each of them some special kind of work 

 to look after during the whole year. As far as possible each senior had his 

 choice in the work of which he had charge. This not only made it easier for 

 the foreman and myself, but the students were much more interested because 



