1916] EXPERIMENT STATION EECOKD. 591 



AGRICULTTJRAL EDUCATION. 



Report of committee on graduate work in horticulture, M. J. Dobset ( Froc. 

 Soc. Uort. Sci., 12 {1015), pp. V-M?).— This survey of the present status of 

 gi-aduate work in horticulture is divided into three main heads, viz, (1) the 

 teaching and research staff, (2) the material equipment, such as laboratory, 

 library, orchard, etc., and (3) the product, or type of training given. 



The staff is discussed from the standpoint of training, freedom of time, and 

 specialization. A table comparing the formal degrees of the horticultural 

 workers of 1915 with those of 1905 shows that there is a noticeable increase in 

 the group of associates in the 10-year period, a relatively large decrease in 

 the number of horticultural workers holding no degree, and in 1915 a relatively 

 larger number of workers with only a bachelor's degree. Another table, com- 

 paring the formal degrees of the horticultural staff in 16 of the larger institu- 

 tions giving graduate work in horticulture with those of the staff in the de- 

 partment of chemistry, calls attention to the larger number of workers in the 

 chemistry group of the rank of instructor and assistant holding advanced de- 

 grees, and the larger number of heads of departments with the doctorate de- 

 .i^ee, suggesting the probable influence of this advanced training upon the stand- 

 ards of undergraduate as well as graduate instruction and departmental leader- 

 ship. The committee considers specialization as one of the most effective means 

 of increasing efficiency in the staff as well as giving a larger freedom of time. 

 The exchange arrangement between Cornell and Wisconsin universities and the 

 cooperative arrangement between the horticultural department of the West 

 Virginia University and the department of plant physiology of the University 

 of Chicago are mentioned as among significant recent movements toward giv- 

 ing instructors a broader experience and viewpoint. 



The investigation of the product, or type of training given, reveals the facts 

 that there are 9 institutions offering work in horticulture leading to the doctor's 

 degree and approximately 20 scheduling work for the master's degree. The time 

 required is uniformly one year's residence or the equivalent for the master's 

 degi'ee. The departments of horticulture offering work for the doctor's degree 

 come under the control, in every case, of well-organized graduate schools, and 

 the standardization of requirements for advancetl degrees is well taken care 

 of by other agencies, the uniform requirements for this degree being three 

 years' residence in advanced work, as a minimum while research in one minor 

 in some related field is generally required. At the present time there are reg- 

 istered 10 students for the doctor's degree in horticulture and 77 for the mas- 

 ter's degree, exclusive of those at the Pennsylvania, Virginia, Massachusetts, or 

 New Jersey colleges. Graduate courses in pomology are scheduled in 13 insti- 

 tutions, in olericulture in 9, in landscape gardening in 5, in floriculture in 6, and 

 in plant breeding in 8, while 5 list their graduate work under thesis research. 

 In the last five years there have been 84 theses in horticulture submitted, 19 

 States only being represented. An analysis of the subjects, practically all of 

 wliich are for the master's degree, shows that 51 could be classified under 

 pomology, 10 under plant breeding, 4 under olericulture, and 1 under landscape 

 gardening. Nearly all of the institutions offering graduate work have assistant- 

 ships or fellowships, varying in amounts from $100 to $1,000 a year, available 

 in the department of horticulture. Extracts from letters are included setting 

 forth the principles involved in residence credit for graduate assistants. 



Report of committee on floriculture, E. A. White (Proc. Soc. Hort. Sci., 

 12 (1915), pp. 111-113). — The committee reports as to (1) the provision of 

 better facilities for teaching floriculture, including new ranges at the Ohio 

 and Indiana universities and the lovi'a College, and extensive additions to 



