102 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTUEE. 



FACILITIES FOR THE STUDY OF BOTANY. 



You, the President of the College, requested a few paragraphs on this topic. 

 Ill my estimation, the main thing is a live, capable teacher who has not too 

 many other things to attend to. The College has a large laboratory built 

 expressly for the study of botany. Tlie second story, with a gallery all 

 around, contains a good beginning for a museum of vegetable products. The 

 laboratory and class room are amply lighted in a way that the light can be 

 much modified or controlled by numerous window curtains, wliich can be low- 

 ered from the top or raised from the bottom. The laboratory is convenient 

 and large enough, and is furnished with 28 compound microscopes, each cost- 

 ing from SO to 150 dollars. There is quite a variety of accessory apparatus 

 for preparing and mounting slides and making experiments. The arboretum 

 of 150 species, the botanic garden of about 800, the greenhouse with some 1,200 

 species and varieties, the plats of grasses and clovers, the trees and shrubs on 

 the College lawn and the wild plants left along the river, the orchards, vine- 

 yards, and vegetable garden, altogether give us about 2,000 specees of living 

 plants, many of which are labeled. Add to this the Cooley herbarium and 

 that of my own, and note the fact that our classes continue the study during 

 a large part of the summer months, .'uid one can see that the materials and 

 apparatus for the study of botany at this College are quite ample and much 

 more extensive than are usually found in colleges. 



Since moving into the laboratory I have always had some special students, 

 among them some graduates of this and other colleges. There is plenty of 

 room, material, and apparatus, and they ai-e always welcome. 



We need some means to sustain and keep the arboretum, botanic garden, 

 museum, apparatus, and herbarium all growing. 



The equipments of the botanical department have been largely increased 

 during the past few years. They should always progress to keep up with the 

 times, but will never arrive at perfection. 



Dr. J. T. Kothrock, a graduate of botany at Harvard under Dr. Gray, is 

 now Professor of Botany in the University of Pennsylvania. Last year he 

 visited the best European laboratories and gave an account of his visit in the 

 Botmiicnl Gazette for April, 1881. 



He adds that "the laboratories of Harvard, Michigan (two), and Iowa have 

 taken the initiative in introducing needed reforms, and already a most prom- 

 ising crop of fruit is the result. First of all, by indoctrinating them with the 

 idea that they will make the most substantial mental gains if they study each 

 individual plant exliaustively. It is the idea the student should be saturated 

 with through and through. It is the foundation of his foundation, and makes 

 critical investigation press upon liini with the weight of an ever-present duty." 



LIST OF SOME OF THE PAPEKS AKD EXPERIMENTS FROM 1870 TO 1880. 



As the College is now 25 years old, you request a summary of the work done 

 by me since my connection with the institution in 1870. 



The RcjJort of the State Board of Agriculture. 



This has generally been printed annually. The report for 1871 contains 

 "Grasses for the Dairy," a lecture given at Elgin, Illinois, before the State 

 Dairymen's Association. A similar lecture was soon after given at Adrian 

 before the State Dairymen's Association of Michigan. 



1873. This contains my first report as Professor of Botany and Horticult- 



