DEPARTMEXT REPORTS. 129 



REPORT OF THE FARM DEPARTMEXT. 



To the President of the Michigan State Agricultural College: 



The Farm Department would respectfully submit the following report for ten 

 months, viz. : from Dec, 1, 1875, to Sept. 30, 1876, inclusive. The matter con- 

 tained in this report must of necessity be very incomplete, as it is impossible to 

 close the year at this date and make reliable and close estimates, with many of 

 the crops nnharvested, as roots, corn and potatoes still growing in the field or 

 standing in the stock, and with oats and wheat nnthreshed in the barn or stack. 

 With this preface and your consideration of these things, I proceed : 



The year in many respects has been a peculiar one in this locality. The 

 spring opened with the fall of quite a heavy body of snow, which melted rapidly, 

 and perfectly saturated the soil with water. Added to this were frequent and 

 heavy rains during the most of April and the first part of May. It was very 

 difficult to getnpon the fields with teams, and plowing most of the time was out 

 of the question. This, with other causes, delayed the putting in of oats and corn. 



The increased acreage in corn from the use of field No. 11 aided in this 

 result, there being 48 acres of corn to prej^are ground for, instead of 23 acres, 

 the nsual amount. From May loth to June 15th was a time of comparative 

 drouth. Then there were frequent rains until July Gth. These were followed 

 by a severe and protracted drouth, which has injured the corn, roots, and pota- 

 toes very much. For a closer inspection of the peculiarities of the season, I 

 refer yon to the meteorological report of Professor E. C. Kedzie. The various 

 fields were planted to crops this year according to the jilan submitted in the 

 Farm Eeport for Dec. 1, 1875, — field No. 9 being then already sown to Avheat. 



Before commencing the history of the fields, I wish to call attention to the 

 statement of farm receipts and disbursement?, as rejiorted by the Secretary. 



In this statement the farm is cliarged with student labor, an aggregate of 

 28,947 hours, costing $2,819.33. This has been disposed of as follows : 



Labor performed outside the department : 



College account, 9,445|- hours, @ .0973 + 8018 48 



Cash received and bills receivable, 841 j hours, @ 10 cts. per hour.. 84 13 



Labor performed in the department : 

 Field and other accounts, 18, 660^ hours, @ .09735 + 1,816 71 



Total, 28,947 hours— costing $2,819 32 



The labor on the farm department was disposed of as follows : 



Field No. 1 |6 74 



No. 2 3 89 



No. 3.--- 82 70 



No. 4..-. - - 12 27 



No. 5 43 84 



No. 6 - 144 15 



No. 7 - 284 41 



No. 8 37 16 



No. 9 - 47 70 



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