1J8 STATE BOARD UF AGRICULTURE. 



which should be iiil i(»(liice(l, Init ;is llic course U(»\\ sluuds it is inipos- 

 sibh'. Auricullurul iuslrucliou is in a t runsit ionul slujic and we should 

 jdan not only to keep pace, but also to set the pace of rapid advancenieut 

 and j;i-owth alonji' these lines. 



We are striving to make the best possible use of the time allotted to 

 this departnuMil. It would be desiiable if our ap;ricultu]'al students 

 could enter the regular course belter prepared, so that more time during 

 the four years could be devoted to technical agriculture and less time to 

 mathenuttics and English. 



As a uuMuber of the State Tloard of Agi-iculliire, you are already 

 acquainted with the fad that the board authorized the sale of the grade 

 dairy herd, and appropriated the money from such sale for the purchase 

 of specimen sheep. 



Considei'able time has been S])ent in the ])lanning of our new dairy 

 barn and our new dairy building, which are now both well under way. 

 These two buildings will add materially to the equipment of this depart- 

 ment. 



Throflgh the courtesy of the library committee we have been able to 

 jilace several new agricultural l)ooks in the general library, and add 

 some valuable agricultural journals to our periodical list. 



To our equipment for the teaching of soil ])hysics we have added the 

 following valuable pieces of apparatus: ^\'hitney's Electrical Bridge, 

 for determining soluble salts in soils; three sets of soil tubes for the 

 study of moisture losses in soil, with dift'erent mulchings and cultiva- 

 tions; a complete outfit for determining soil moisture; Tortion balance 

 and Jackson grade level. 



We have also prepared an exhibit of soils of various sizes, and typical 

 soils of districts famous for producing special crops. 



It is our aim to make the farm, the barns, the stock, and in fact all of 

 the equii)ment of the Department of Practical Agriculture an object les- 

 son for students and farmers of Michigan, as w^ell as furnishing nature's 

 laboratory for the study of practical agriculture. 



Respectfully submitted, 

 HERBERT W. MUMFORD 

 I^rofessor of Af/r/'ci/Ift/rf avd Superintendent of (JoUeeje Farm. 



AcmiCULTURAL COLLEGE, MiCH., 



Jt<ne SO, 1900. 



