DEPARTMENT REPORTS. 89 



term, many of thorn were so overloaded with work that they were over- 

 worked almost to the breaking point. I feel it is only due to them that 

 their courage and faithfulness be recognized and that another year, con- 

 ditions should be changed so that it may not be necessary to overwork 

 them quite so severely. 



Respectfully submitted, 



ERNST A. BESSEY, 



Professor of Botany. 

 East Lansing, Mich., June 30, 1913. 



REPORT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY. 



President J. L. Snyder: 



Dear Sir — In Julv, 1912, our first Graduate School furnished me with 

 an opportunity to give some advanced instruction to a small class of 

 young ladies in Domestic Science Chemistry. As near as possible in 

 our work, which was entirely of a "laboratory and discussion" char- 

 acter, we took up work which assisted the students in understanding 

 more clearly some of the lectures delivered during the course of the 

 Graduate School by Dr. Sherman of Columbia and Professor Mendel 

 of l^ale on "Food and Nutrition." Nine young ladies registered in 

 this course. Their names and institutions with which they were con- 

 nected being as follows : 



Myrtle B. Craig, Lincoln Institute, Jefferson City, Mo. 

 Grace J. Ferguson, Kansas City, Mo. (High School). 

 Abigail M. Hess, Montana State College, Bozeman, Mont. 

 Mabel C. Mosher, Michigan Agricultural College, East Lansing. 

 Lena M. Pope, Manistee High School, Manistee, Mich. 

 Anna Rutherford, Traverse City, Michigan. (State Hospital). 

 Elizabeth S. Slaght (Mrs.), Grand Rapids High School, Grand Rapids, 

 Michigan. 

 Anna Elizabeth Smith, State Normal School, St. Cloud, Minn. 

 Frances E. Stewart, Chicago, Illinois. (Wendell Phillips High School). 



The work with the freshmen students in the fall term in Chemistry 

 (1) was carried out in a manner similar to that pursued in previous 

 years, but I desire to call your attention to the following compilation : 



Of the total number of students registered in the class in the various 

 courses 55.25% had previously studied chemistry in a high school. 



Of the total number who took the final examination 95.7% passed the 

 subject, 4.3% failing. 



During the term, of the total number who registered 3.9% withdrew. 



Of the failures previous referred to 20% were students who had studied 

 chemistry in a high school. 



I feel that so far as possible during the coming year it will be best 

 for us to differentiate the student who has studied chemistry in a good 

 high school in his laboratory work with us from one who has had no 

 chemistr}^, and therefore will ask for an additional assistant in the 

 laboratory to carry out this idea. 



The schedule of class work carried on throughout the year is as fol- 

 lows: 



