DEPARTMENT OF PLANT PATHOLOGY. 



I. TEACHING. 



During the past year, tive new university courses were offered 

 in Plant Pathology, which, with the two offered last year, made 

 a total of seven courses offered by the Department. Besides these, 

 the two regular winter-courses were offered as usual. 



The teaching force in the department was increased to three 

 persons by the addition of one assistant. The number of students 

 registered for courses in Plant Pathology during the year was 

 about 120, of which 60 were in the two winter-courses, leaving 

 about the same number in advanced and graduate -courses. There 

 were nearly twice as many students registered in the department 

 as in the previous year 1907-8. The increased number of graduate 

 students taking work in the department was especially gratifying. 

 Of the five men taking their major in Plant Patholog>', two were 

 for the Doctorate and three for the Master's degree. Including 

 students having minors, the Department of Plant Patholcg>^ stood 

 second among the departments, it is thought, in number of graduate 

 students in the College of Agriculture. 



The courses were so arranged that during the first term of the 

 college year the head of the department devoted all of his time 

 to teaching, while during the second term the instructor, Mr. 

 Reddick, carried the burden of the work. This arrangement gave 

 both of us a continuous period of eight months of the year for 

 our investigation and extension work. This scheme has proved 

 very satisfactory and efficient. 



There is a rapidly increasing demand in colleges of agriculture, 

 experiment stations and elsewhere for thoroughly trained men to 

 take up the work of teaching and investigation in the field of Plant 

 Pathology. The Department of Plant Pathology in the face of this 

 opportunity finds itself seriously handicapped by the want of good 

 scientific training on the part of undergraduate students who come 

 to it for advanced work. Seniors in this College of Agriculture, 

 who arc otherwise well qualified, have so little training, ])articularly 

 in the fundamentals of Botany and in laboratory technique, as to 

 find it impossible successfully to compete with graduates from cer- 



