142 STATE BOARD OP AGRICULTURE. 



KEPORT OF THE DEl'AETMENT OF BOTANY. 



I'resident F. S. Kedzie, College. 



Dear Sir — I have the honor of submitting to you herewith the report 

 for the Department of Botany for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1917. 



The teaching force has been nearly the same as for the preceding year, 

 viz.: Ernst A. Bessey, Ph. D., Professor; Richard deZeeuw, Ph. D., 

 Associate Professor; Henry T. Darlington, M. S., Assistant Professor; 

 Miss Rose M. Taylor, M. A., Miss Bertha E. Thompon, M. A., Edward F. 

 Woodcock, IMi. D., Harry C. Young, M. S., Instructors; Paul C. Kitchin, 

 B. S., and Walter K. Makemson, B. S., Graduate Assistants. In addition 

 to these George H. Coons, Ph. D., Research Associate in Plant Pathology, 

 and Rufus P. Hibbard, Ph. D., Research Associate in Plant Physiology, 

 in the Experiment Station have devoted about two- fifths of their time 

 to teaching their respective subjects in this department. 



We have lost the services of the following: George R. Johnstone, In- 

 structor in Botany, who resigned at the close of last summer to go to the 

 Universit}' of Chicago to pursue his graduate studies further. He leaves 

 a very good record for efticient and willing service during the three years 

 he was with us. Mancel T. Munn, Graduate Assistant, completed his 

 graduate work last summer and returned at the beginning of September 

 to his old position as Assistant Botanist at the New York (Geneva) 

 Agricultural Experiment Station. I take ojDportunity here to express 

 my appreciation of his faithful and efficient services during the year he 

 was back with us. Mr. Johnstone was succeeded by Mr. Young and 

 Mr. Munn bv Mr. Makemson. 



Thanks to the leave of absence given her by the Board of Agriculture 

 and to competent medical attendance Miss Thompson had so completely 

 recovered her health that she was able to conduct her w^ork this past 

 year with all her old zeal and etficiency. 



The number of students taking botany showed a considerable falling 

 otf in comparison with the attendance for the preceding year. This 

 falling off occurred in the number of freshmen agricultural students 

 and was due to the smaller freshmen class this past year. Except for 

 a very slight drop in the fall term the number of students taking the 

 elective courses in advanced botany shows a considerable increase. The 

 figures for the past year are as follows : 



Summer Term, 191G 24 



Fall Term, 191G— Freshmen Botany 234 



Other undergraduate courses 151 



Postgraduate (major) . 5 



Short Course 00 



450 



