DEPARTMENT REPORTS. 45 



oxtendiug diagonally across the lot in a northeast and southeast direc- 

 tion, doing considerable damage to trees near the path. It is kept well 

 littered with newspapers and other nusightly rubbish. Not satisfied 

 to keep a path of reasonable Avidth, it has grown wider and. wider, in 

 places sixteen feet, on the margins of which small trees are cut and 

 broken. 



At the time the planting was begun there were no patterns to fol- 

 low; hence, many mistakes were made, such as placing blackwalnuts 

 on the highest sandy land and chestnuts on damp soil. The late Prof. 

 Bogue believed the failures to plant properly were as instructive as 

 correct planting. I mention at random a few of the things that im- 

 press me as interesting. A striped maple about five inches in diameter 

 and eighteen feet high, now thrifty, in fruit, unique and uncommon; 

 a dozen seedlings of the old French pear trees such as are found in 

 ]\Ionroe, two of Avhich have fruited; two rows of swamp white oak, 

 the largest of which has a trunk barely four inches in diameter; sugar 

 maples, most of which are much smaller than the largest Avhich is five 

 inches through a foot from the ground; tlie rows of European larch 

 Avhich were healthy and grew rapidly for fifteen years, when they 

 began to decay and tip over; two canoe birches eight inches through, 

 which have been peeled and otherwise disfigured ; butternuts thirteen 

 inches in diameter; white oaks seven to eleven inches; white ash seven 

 to eleven inches ; basswoods ten to eighteen inches ; common locusts 

 eighteen to twenty inches ; chestnuts fifteen to eighteen inches ; beeches 

 ten inches; Avhite oaks eight inches. 



There are white pines perfect in shape, straight, thrifty, tall, some- 

 times with growth of three feet in a year. Last year some saw-flies 

 devoured most of the leaves on the remaining trees of European larch. 

 The locusts show scarcely a trace of any borers anywhere, although 

 their sprouts have come up some rods from the first planting. 



MORE ROOM FOR CL.VSSES IMPERATIVELY NEEDED. 



This topic is mentioned as a matter of reference, not to inform you, 

 Mr. President, for you have been familiar with the facts for ten years 

 past. 



The present building for Botany was never large enough. Three of 

 the class rooms were planned for certain special and small classes in 

 using compound microscopes and they are too small and inconvenient 

 for other classes, that Ave are now obliged to meet in them. It is of 

 first importance that Ave have rooms for classes in plant physiology 

 Avhich the professors of agriculture and horticulture and forestiw have 

 urged for four years or more. 



All the botany taught is expressly j)lanned to aid agriculture, horti- 

 culture and forestry. For six years or more I have had to refuse 

 students admission to our small class in physiology for lack of room 

 and convenience to accommodate them, a thing that no other department 

 of this college has been obliged to do. 



No horticulturist Avithout a thorough knowledge of the i)rinciples of 

 several departments of botany is capable of planning and conducting 

 and interpreting experiments. 



Morton's Cyclopedia of Agriculture contains these words: "To no 



