59 



experimentation as set fortii in experiment station bulletins and 

 reports and the publications of the United States Department of 

 Agriculture; (c) the consumption of farm crops. Practicums twice a 



week. 



Instruction in these courses is given largely by means of lectures, 

 but frequent use is made of such text-books as The Soil and the Physics 

 of Agriculture, by King; and Soils and Crops of the Farm, l)y Morrow 

 and Hunt; and of bulletins, monographs, and r(^ports issued by the 

 experiment stations and Departments of the United States (lovernment. 



Instruction in agronomy, as in other branches of agriculture, is 

 given in the university l)uilding known as Townshend Hall, which was 

 completed in 1898 at a cost of $100,000. 



Townshend ilall (PL XIII) is 260 feet long, and varies in widtli from CA to 7S feet. 

 It contains two stories and a ])asement whicli is 14 feet high, making the l)uilding 

 practically three stories high. The walls above the basement line are of gray pressed 

 brick. The basement walls and the front entrance are of Bedford, Ind., Oolotic 

 limestone, and the trimmings are of terra cotta of the same color as the brick. The 

 roof is of dark-red tile. The building is of slow-Inirning construction throughout, 

 with painted interior I'rick walls, exposed beams, maple floors, and hard pine finish. 

 The lecture rooms and laboratory for the course in agronomy are on the first floor of 

 tliis building. 



The soil physics laboratory is supplied with apparatus for studying the specific 

 gravity of soils; volume weight of soils; power of loose soil to retain uKjisture; power 

 of compact soil to retain moisture; rate of flow of air through soils; rate of percola- 

 tion of water through soils; effect of mulches on evaporation of water from soils; 

 effect of cultivation on evaporation of water from soils; power of dry soil to absorb 

 moistui-e from the air; and the capillary rise of water through soils. Mechanical 

 analyses are also made of typical soils. 



In the study of soils, the large glass house with its equipment of railroad tracks, 

 trucks, and pots affords opportunity for the student to test the adaptability of crops 

 ti) various soils; the fertilizer requirements of soils and to experiment on various 

 other prol)lenjs of crop growth. 



In the study of crops, large use is made of the collection of dried specimens of 

 grasses, grains, and seeds. The grass garden contains about 25 varieties of grasses 

 and clovers growing side by side where comparisons may be made as to the value of 

 each for pasture, meadow, and grass. The farm is visited frequently by students 

 who make observations and studies of the practical methods there employed in the 

 growing of crops. 



Exhibit No. 7. 



LABORATORY WORK IN THE ELEMENTARY COURSE IN SOILS. 



Experiments are arranged with reference to the number of labora- 

 torj^ periods in the term, and since there are ten to twelve periods, 12 

 expcriment,s have been planned which are described on the following 

 pages. The experiments are designed with special reference to the 

 practical demonstration of some of the important principles imderly- 

 ing soil physics, and to supplement class-room teaching with actual 

 work with the soil itself. 



The following soils used in the experiments are typical agricultural 



