28 STATE BOAIiD OF AGKICULTrRE 



gating and growing the more important plants of commercial florists, 

 as well as those more commonly grown in the window garden. The 

 handling of the leading vegetable crops under glass also received atten- 

 tion. The members of the class spent two afternoons of each week in 

 practical work in the greenhouses. Thev thus learned the methods of 

 making cuttings of different kinds, potting and repotting, filling window 

 boxes and similar work, and also became familiar with all of the com- 

 mon plants and their requirements. 



During the first five weeks of the spring term, the subject of vegetable 

 gardening was taken up by the Sophomores, the instruction covering the 

 more important points in kitchen, market, and truck gardening and in- 

 cluding the making of forcing houses, hot beds and cold frames, the se- 

 lection and preparation of the soil, the application of manures and fertil- 

 izers, drainage, irrigation and the growing of all the leading crops. 



Heretofore the Sophomores have taken up the subject of landscape 

 gardening during the last half of the spring term, but in order that they 

 might first have "Trees and Shrubs," the places of the two subjects in 

 the curriculum were transposed, and hereafter landscape gardening will 

 come during the last half of the spring term of the Junior year. 



STUDENT LABOR. 



As has heretofore been the custom the Sophomores, during the spring 

 term and the Juniors in the fall term following, have spent two and one- 

 half hours each day at manual labor, except when engaged in the lab- 

 oratory or educational work mentioned above. During the fall term it 

 consists of the regular work of the department, such as harvesting the 

 various fruit and vegetable crops, and in the ordinary work of the gar- 

 den and greenhouses. In the spring term a large amount of time was 

 spent in pruning, grafting and other work in the orchard and nurseries, 

 the transplanting of trees and small fruits, and starting various vege- 

 table crops. A large amount of work upon the grounds, and nearly all 

 of the work of the greenhouses has also been done by the students. 



Aside from the required student labor, quite a number of students 

 have put in extra time, especially upon Saturdays, and as many as forty 

 students were employed from five to ten hours each Saturday, during 

 the early part of the spring term, in cleaning up the drives, grounds, and 

 shrubbery, and in the work of the gardens and orchards. The work that 

 is purely educational and without value to the department is not paid for, 

 but an endeavor has been made to have the work as practical as possible, 

 and most of the required labor has been paid for at a maximum rate of 

 eight cents per hour, while for extra labor the maximum has been ten 

 cents an hour. In the summer a large number of the students remain 

 at the College and the greater part of the work of the department is 

 performed by them. 



COLLEGE ORCHARDS. 



During the summer and fall of 1898 good crops were obtained from the 

 bearing trees in the plum, cherry, and pear orchards, and a fair crop of 

 grapes was produced in the vineyards. The apple orchards, however, 

 gave but a small crop and much of the fruit was of an inferior nature. 



