89 



panyingr course, in the .iunior year a general foundation in applied agricultural 

 subjects is retiuired of all students, the number of hours given being only 

 enough to (•onii)rehen(l and understand the respective subjects sufficiently to 

 give them their due recognition in the training of an agricultural graduate. It 

 is an advantage for the agricultural graduate to know something about land- 

 scape gardening, bow to grow trees, and the adornment of grounds from an 

 educational standpoint. Besides we have allowed 10(» hours as elective in the 

 junior year. A great many say that we do not give sufficient work in culture. 

 Now. 100 hours will balance tiiat up. letting each man select according to his 



tQStCS 



Passing on to the senior year, mechanics and rural economics, each 60 

 hours, are reiiuired*. the same as in the other course, because it seems desirable 

 for all students taking the four-ye:\r course to have these courses. Landscape 

 gardening is given 30 hours, because it seems that every man graduating in 

 agriculture ought to have just a taste of the esthetics of agriculture. A m.an 

 ought not to know simi)ly cows and farm croi)s. He ought to know something 

 about home embellishment .-uid about making and caring for the home. He 

 ought to be a citizen th:it will lead the connnunity in making country parks and 

 in the (piestion of beautifying the grounds around the schoolhouse. and have 

 some taste in such directions »Ahich a great many of our boys will never get 

 unless it is made a requirement. Plant breeding is given 80 hours, history and 

 political science the same as required in the other course (100 hours) ; ethics, 

 40 hours, the same as required in the otlier course. We have left, after requir- 

 ing all these subjects, in the senior year 870 hours to bring the schedule up to 

 the full number of hours. This givt>s the student, as I have already intimated, 

 an opi)ortnnity to continue to take any of the various subjects that he has 

 studied or select anything new he cares for. If he wants to get more chemistry, 

 zoology, or any of the sciences, he can do it. He can go into any of the various 

 subjects of applied science deeper or he can go back and take modern languages 

 or more i)hilosophy or ethics, if he cares to. or any of the various lines in 

 English ; but. no matter what he does, he will have had a broad foundation 

 in agriculture. Now, when be goes out to teach, be it in the conunon school or 

 the high school, and no matter where he goes he knows the whole subject of 

 agriculture as a foundation, and he can talk on dairying, he can talk on land- 

 scape gardening, he can talk on the (piestion of veterinary medicine even ; he 

 can take up any line of horticulture : he has had modern languages ; he has 

 had. in short, the fundamentals of a good college training, and he has had an 

 opportunity to specialize also. This i)lan gives the veterinarian a chance at 

 the four-year man as well as the professor of agriculture, the horticulturist, the 

 dairy instructor, and the instructor in forestry. They have the chance of 

 interesting the student in their special lines as far as the 370 hours will allow. 

 In many respects it is as valuable as a post-graduate course would be to some 

 of our graduates. 



It seems to me that if you give 150 hours in chemistry in the freshman year 

 and 180 hours in the sophomore year, as allowed in the course outlined by the 

 standing connnittee. by the time the students get ready to take up agricultui-e 

 they have had an undue amount of chemistry and are not likely to care to 

 pursue the subject of agriculture. It seems necessary to place ail science on an 

 equal footing. I think it is true w^e have stronger chemists to-day than we have 

 men in other lines and that is the reason why chemistry is made so large a 

 feature in these agricultural courses. Chemistry is one of the elementary 

 sciences, however, the same as physics, zoology, botany, geology, etc.. and should 

 receive equal recognition at the outset. 



Evening Session, Tuesday, November 14, 1905. 



The section held a brief evening session to decide upon time of election of 

 officers. 



Afternoon Session, Wednesday, November 15, 1905. 



The section was called to order by the chairman at 2 p. m. 



Election of Members of Executive Committee and Officers op the Section. 



Nominations for the executive committee being in order there were nominated 

 W. O. Thompson, of Ohio ; C. C. Thach. of Alabama : H. (\ White, of Georgia ; 

 E. R. Nichols, of Kansas; L. II. Baik'v. of New York, and ,T. L. Snyder, of Michi- 



