158 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTUEE. 



The barns and large buildings, including nearly all of the College property 

 especially I'iable to be destroyed by fire, could be provided with water-works 

 for $4,000. 



MECHANICAL ^VORK-SHOP. 



There are certain mechanical processes more or less intimately connected 

 with agricultural operations. A farmer, isolated as he is from villages or cities, 

 often finds that the knowledge of some elementary mechanical process, such 

 as welding a broken rod or reconstructing a broken tongue to his wagon, 

 would save a long and costly journey at a season of a year when time is worth 

 more than money. He might, and probably would, find a knowledge of *'how 

 to do" certain things useful in a broader sense than mere repairing. His 

 ability, if time permitted, would allow him actually to construct many of the 

 machines used in agriculture ; but whether he actually do construct them or 

 not, the mechanical training will make him more independent and give him 

 an ability to recognize good mechanical work that otherwise he could never 

 have possessed. 



An education of the present day must, to be valuable, be a practical one. A 

 practical education must give a man some knowledge of the processes he must 

 have to employ after leaving college. The farmer of to-day does most of his 

 work with machines and amongst machines, and the education of the farmer, 

 if it fits him for the every-day duties of farm life, should give him some prac- 

 tical knowledge of the machines he in after life is to work. This can be done 

 successfully only by a short course in a mechanical work-shop. Such a course 

 will make him familiar with the actual processes of construction and with the 

 principles of mechanical movements. It matters little what may be the espe- 

 cial machine worked at, nor is it necessary that he stay in the shop long enough 

 to become a skilled mechanic. 



Most of the Agricultural Colleges of other States found it necessary to 

 introduce these mechanical workshops from the very first, and so far as I can 

 learn the practical results have been uniformly satisfactory. Hon. H. G. 

 lleynolds and myself were appointed by the State Board of Agriculture a 

 committee to visit the mechanical workshops of Agricultural Colleges of 

 neighboring States. Our time permitted us to visit only the shops in connec- 

 tion with the Ohio State University at Columbus and Purdue University at La 

 Fayette, Indiana. A detailed report of this visit will doubtless be presented to 

 the Board by Mr. Reynolds, and it will suffice in this place to say that in both 

 institutions the results were highly satisfactory. 



The first cost of this mechanical workshop must necessarily be large, but 

 it will not be without its financial benefits. 



The work done by students at the College is supposed to be of two kinds ; 

 that which is purely educational to the student, and that which is solely or 

 principally beneficial to the College. The educational labor is solely or prin- 

 cipally 'of benefit to the student, and for this he should no more receive 

 remuneration than for attending classes. For various reasons it has not been 

 possible to separate these two classes as unpaid and paid, but labor in both 

 has been paid for, with few exceptions, uniformly. This has made a large 

 annual outlay for which there has been no corresponding benefit. The work- 

 ships ■will only furnish educational or unpaid labor, and it is estimated that if 

 the shops are built sufficiently large to accommodate 80 or 90 students at one 



