26 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTUEE. 



The regular instruction in Chemistry embraces a course of daily lectures for 

 a term, and two weeks in Elementary Cliemistry ; a term's daily instruction in 

 Organic Chemistry, and in IJlow-pipe and Volumetric Analysis; a term in 

 Laboratory practice in Analytical Chemistry, three hours each day ; a term's 

 lectures in Analytical Cliemistry; a term's recitation in Chemical Physics; 

 and a term's lectures in Meteorology. The illustrative experiments are 

 numerous. Each student is required to make an analysis of at least one 

 hundred substances, embracing commercial and natural productions, manures, 

 ashes of i)lants, technical minerals, and soils. 



Omitting the synopsis of the other lectures, which is given in the catalogue, 

 I will here transcribe the synopsis of the course in Agricultural Chemistry : 



AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY. 



Eormation and composition of soils; the relations of air and moisture to 

 vegetable growth ; connection of heat, light, and electricity -with growth of 

 plants; nature and source of food of plants; chemical changes attending veg- 

 etable growth ; chemistry of the various processes of the farm, as plowing, 

 fallowing, draining, etc. ; preparation, preserving, and composting of manure; 

 artificial manure; methods of improving soils by chemical means, by mineral 

 manures, by vegetable manures, by animal manures, by indirect methods; 

 rotation of crops ; chemical composition of the various crops ; chemistry of 

 the dairy. The instruction in agricultural chemistry is imparted by lectures. 



Dr. Kedzie has always been active in all investigations that promised to be 

 useful to farmers, both as chemist in the College, or as a member of medical 

 associations, or of the State Board of Health, of ^vhicll he has been an active 

 member from the first, and of which he is now president. 



In Ajjril, 18G3, he commenced taking meteorological observations, three times 

 a day, of the state of the thermometer and barometer, and of the clouds, winds, 

 relative humidity, pressure of vapor and rain fall, and these have been contin- 

 ued and published annually to this time, — fifteen years. Ozone observations 

 were added in January, 1871 ; and it is reported that when Mr. Law, the pro- 

 fessor of veterinary in Cornell University, desired records of ozone, our own 

 were found to be the most comjilete and long continued in the country. These 

 observations are not only printed in our reports, but have been regularly for- 

 warded to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, and they have served 

 materially to the understanding of the climate of Central Michigan. 



In 18G3, Dr. Kedzie investigated the properties of swamp muck, made exper- 

 iments, and lectured on the subject. He returned to the subject in 1876, 

 Keport, p. 2:^4. Experiments in top dressing were made by him in 1864, 1866, 

 and 1868. In 1866, Dr. Kedzie made to the Legislature a lvej)ort on the de- 

 struction of Forest Trees, and the report was quoted with marked approval 

 throughout the land. Then followed investigation of poisonous arsenical wall 

 papers commonly sold in the shops, to the great destruction of health. The 

 full discussion of the subject appears in the report of the State Board of 

 Health, but a sketch of the importance of the investigation is given in the 

 1874 re[)ort, ]). 9"-2. Then followed investigations in ventilation of houses and 

 in the dangers arising from poor kerosene. A plain talk to the farmers about 

 lightning rods, for the purpose of putting them on guard against paying enor- 

 mous prices for rods wortli no more than common bars of iron, led to discus- 

 sions which resulted in ingeniously contrived and convincing experiments on 

 the i)assage of frictional electricity through rods. The article of Dr. Kedzie' s 

 was reprinted entire in scientific journals in New York and England. 



