NEW HORTICULTURAL BUILDING AT THE MASSACHUSETTS 

 AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE 



Wilder Hall, the new building for the department of horticulture 

 and landscape gardening at the Massachusetts Agricultural College, 

 was erected with an appropriation of $39,950 made by the State 

 legislature a year ago. The proposition to provide such a building' at 

 the college had been pending for nearly three years at the time the 

 appropriation became available, and during that time all the questions 

 connected with the building had been thoroughly studied from various 

 points of view, and the plans had been more than usuall} T well matured. 

 This long period of preparation, therefore, resulted in securing a build- 

 ing more perfect in its appointments than could otherwise have been 

 devised. It was built by local contractors, who began work upon it 

 June 21, 1905. 



The building is located on a gravelly slope to the east of the college 

 campus and adjoining the grounds of the department of horticulture. 

 The natural incline of the land is such as to allow a basement almost 

 entirely above ground on the west, making the building on that side 

 apparently one story higher than on the east. Advantage has been 

 taken of this in the arrangement of the rooms of the building, as will 

 be seen by the accompanying plate. (Plate I.) 



The building is constructed of red brick with terra-cotta trimmings, 

 and modern fireproof methods and materials have been used through- 

 out. The nonhealing partitions are of fireproof tile, the bearing par- 

 titions of brick, and the floors of hollow fireproof tile. The staircases 

 are of Portland cement on hollow fireproof tile, and man} T of the floors 

 are finished in Portland cement. The roof is of green tile on wooden 

 trusses, the latter being the only exception to the fireproof con- 

 struction. The building is thoroughly constructed, and is very sub- 

 stantial in all respects. It is devoted entirely to the department of 

 horticulture and landscape gardening, and has a total floor space of 

 nearly 10,000 square feet, a A T ery large proportion of which is avail- 

 able for use. 



The basement floor (fig. 2) contains two class rooms, a storage room, 

 and two laboratories, besides hallways and toilet rooms, a coat room, 



630 



