DEPARTMENT REPORTS. 



REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT. 



To the Honorable the State Board of Agriculture: 



I herewith tender mj report, as President of the College under your 

 control, for the year ending June 30, 1897. 



As I assumed the duties of my present position in March, 1896, my 

 report for last year was necessarily very brief. 



Soon after taking charge of the College three very important and some- 

 what radical changes were made in the policy of the institution, namely: 

 the long winter vacation was changed from the winter to the summer 

 months. A course for young women was outlined and adopted and Abbot 

 Hall set apart for their exclusive use; it was decided to offer four special 

 six-week courses during the winter. These changes had been under con- 

 sideration for several years and seemed to meet the approval of the 

 faculty, as well as many influential citizens of the State. 



During the early history of the College students taught school during 

 the winter vacation and thereby earned almost enough money to carry 

 them through the school year. It was believed also that practical agri- 

 culture could be studied to better advantage during the summer months 

 than during the winter. This plan seems to have been well suited to the 

 conditions prevailing at that time, but at the present time very few schools 

 have short winter terms and in recent years only comparatively few of 

 the students have found it convenient or profitable to teach during the 

 winter vacation. It is believed, also, that students returning to the farm 

 during the long vacation will be kept in closer touch with agriculture 

 and will be more likely to return to industrial pursuits after graduating. 

 The experience of the first year testifies to the wisdom of this change. 

 It has not resulted in students dropping out to teach or leaving college for 

 the lack of funds. Only one student during the last year got leave of ab- 

 sence to teach during the winter. It is believed that this change will 

 result in great good to the College. 



It has been urged for a number of years that the College should offer 

 to young women the same advantages that it has offered in the past to 

 young men. It has been believed by many that what science has done 

 for the farm and shop it can do for the home. With this in mind, a course 

 of study for young women, covering four years of work, has been outlined 

 and adopted. It affords an opportunity to acquire a thorough knowledge 



