308 REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



The i^aper on University Extension in State Universities was pre- 

 sented by L. E. Keber, director of extension work in the University 

 of Wisconsin. This dealt hir<2;ely with the extension work conducted 

 by that university, which is planned to reach ultimately all classes 

 of people in the State. There will be a central <)r<!;anization reach- 

 ing out to all parts of the State through lectures, j)ublications, 

 demonstrations, correspondence, various traveling equipments, the 

 services of si:)ecialists and traveling teachers, study outlines, and 

 reading and correspondence courses. The State will also be divided 

 into districts in each of which there will be a university repre- 

 sentative with assistants. The plan is a very elaborate one and seems 

 to be well designed to extend greatly the influence of the university. 

 Some of its features as applied to agricultural extension work were 

 described in Progress in Agricultural P^ducation, 11)08. 



HORTICULTURE AT SMITH COLLEGE, NORTHAMPTON, MASS. 



In 1900 horticulture was first offered at Smith College as an elective 

 in the department of botany, with Dr. W. F. Ganong, head of the 

 botanical department, and Edward J. Canning, head gardener of the 

 botanic garden, as teachers. At this time the only equipment for the 

 work in horticulture was one small room and a portion of a small 

 greenhouse. However, the course soon became so popular that in 

 1904 the college built a laboratory to accommodate 28 students and 

 turned over the whole of one greenhouse to the work in horticulture. 

 Each year since that time more students have elected horticulture 

 than could be accommodated, and on this account the 28 students 

 admitted to the course have been selected largely from the junior 

 and senior classes. 



The course extends over one year, the first two terms of which are 

 devoted to plant manipulation, propagation, and improvement, and 

 the third term to landscape gardening, trees, and shrubs. 



The course in plant manipulation includes the study of soils, mix- 

 ing soils for different purposes, every method of potting, staking, 

 and tying plants, together with the study of insect pests and fungus 

 diseases and materials and methods for controlling the same. 



In the course in plant propagation, attention is given to propa- 

 gating by green cuttings, hardwood cuttings, seeds, layering, budding, 

 and grafting, and to the study of propagating houses and greenhouse 

 construction generally. 



In plant improvement, the students take up crossing, pollinating, 

 hybridizing, and plant breeding generally, together with the effects 

 of stimulants upon plants. Under this heading the subject of water- 

 ing and the effects of different temperatures in their relation to plant 

 growth is also taken up. Attention is also given to the study of the 



