336 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OP AGRICULTURE. 



when the college buildings are erected upon it. The land is valued at 

 $40,000. 



Professors, 6 ; students, 209, of whom 115 were pursuing agricultural 

 or mechanical studies. 



MAINE. 



Maine State College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts^ at Orono; 

 Charles F. Allen, D. D., president. — The terms of the college-year have 

 been changed from three to two and the courses of study revised. The 

 course for students not intending to pursue agriculture is called " the 

 course in science and literature." A building, called Society Hall, has 

 been erected by the students for society meetings. A vertical circle, 

 made by Messrs. Eepsold and Sons, of Hamburg, Germany, has been 

 added to the astronomical apparatus, and 271 volumes and 167 pam- 

 l)hlets given to the library. 



In the laboratory, determinations of the percentage of sugar in various 

 kinds of sugar-beets raised on the farm have been made, and also num- 

 erous analyses of common grasses, clover, and cereals at different stages 

 of their growth, including both roots and foliage. 



Experiments have been conducted on the farm in testing the efficacy 

 of Professor Stockbridge's fertilizers, the value of different manures in 

 top-dressing grass-land, the effect of subsoiling on the wheat-crop, the 

 different methods of sowing wheat and planting potatoes, the compara- 

 tive merits of different breeds of cows for the production of milk and 

 butter, and the value of cooked and raw meal and skimmed milk in 

 feeding swine. The farm contains 370 acres, and is valued at $10,000. 

 The annual interest from the proceeds of the congressional land-scrip 

 is $7,804. 



Professors, 6 ; assistants, 2 ; students, 115. All the students pursue 

 agricultural or mechanical studies. 



MARYLAND. 



Maryland Agricultural College, at College Station; William H. ParJcer, 

 president. — The financial condition of the college has been greatly im. 

 proved during the last two years. The total amount received from the 

 State since September, 1875, is $15,700.50. During the same period 

 there have been paid on the old college debt $10,501.40 ; for necessary 

 repairs, $3,910.80; and on the farm, $1,138.25. The amount remaining 

 unpaid on the debt is $2,215.42; due for tuition, $1,430.80; leaving the 

 present indebtedness of the college only $778,56. 



Experiments have been made on the farm with wheat, rye, barley, 

 garden-seeds, fertilizers, Cotswold sheep, and Berkshire and Chester 

 hogs. Twenty-one acres have been sown with wheat and grass, and fer- 

 tilized with Missouri bone, British mixture, and Taylor superphosphate, 

 at the rate of 200 pounds per acre. The boundaries of each kind of fer- 

 tilizer used were marked, so that its effects could be easily ascertained. 

 There have been raised on the farm 800 bushels of shelled corn, 200 of 

 oats, 600 of turnips, large quantities of both summer and winter vege- 

 tables, and 30 tons of hay. Five Cotswold sheep sheared 55 pounds of 

 wool, 8 calves were sold, and 2,000 pounds of pork will be packed. 

 The farm contains 285 acres, and is valued at $14,250. The annual 

 interest on the proceeds of the congressional land-scrip is $6,900. 



Professors, 6 ; students, 77, 40 of whom pursued agricultural or mechan- 

 ical studies. 



