EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



Vol. IX. No. 8. 



A compilation of statistics relative to the land -grant colleges and 

 the agricultural experiment stations in this country has just been com- 

 pleted by this Office. These statistics illustrate the magnitude of the 

 enterprises for education in agriculture and the mechanic arts and for 

 experimentation and research in agriculture which are fostered by the 

 Federal and State Governments. The statistics for the colleges are 

 much more complete than any which have hitherto been collected. 

 Owing to the complex organization of many of the institutions, it has 

 been found impracticable to give exactly comparable statistics in all 

 cases, and in some instances it was impossible to obtain complete data. 



There are at present 64 institutions receiving the benefits of the acts 

 of Congress of July 2, 1862, and August 30, 1800. Sixty-one of these 

 institutions maintain courses of instruction in agriculture. The aggre- 

 gate value of the permanent funds and equipment of the land-grant 

 colleges and universities in 1897 is estimated to be $51,274,540.00, 

 classified as follows: Land-grant fund of 1862, $10,243,132.82; other 

 land-grant funds, $1,319,133.41; other permanent funds, $8,567,619.27; 

 land grant of 1862 still unsold, $2,399,383.70; farms and grounds owned 

 by the institutions, $5,564,488.91 ; buildings, $13,994,205.64; apparatus, 

 $1,533,282.38; machinery, $1,048,503.31; libraries, $1,425,004.88, and 

 miscellaneous equipment, $1,935,290.51. The total number of acres of 

 land granted to the States under the act of 1862 was 8,978,960, of which 

 1,066,519 acres are still unsold. 



The income of these institutions in 1897, exclusive of the funds 

 received from the United States for agricultural experiment stations, 

 was as follows : Interest on laud grant of 1862, $609,992.04 ; interest on 

 other funds, $574,120.08; United States appropriation under act of 

 1890, $1,009,097.07; State appropriation (annual or regular), $1,477,- 

 170.94; State appropriation (occasional), $318,901.07; tuition fees, 

 $480,375.45; incidental fees, $50,555.98; miscellaneous, $708,971.47; 

 total, $5,178,580.82. The value of the additions made in 1897 to the 

 permanent endowment and equipment of these institutions is estimated 

 at $1,370,518.71. 



In 1897 the faculties of the colleges of agriculture and mechanic arts 

 numbered 1,520 persons, of whom 240 were for preparatory classes and 

 1,372 for collegiate and special classes. In other departments of the 



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