3o6 ROBERT HEYYvGCD FERNALD 



information was received from about 85 per cent of the insti- 

 tutions giving technical instruction, and of the 15 per cent 

 from which no replies were received a few only could furnish 

 information of material value in these deductions. 



Many of the statistics for the civil, mechanical, and 

 mining departments prior to 1890 were taken from articles 

 published in the Engineering News for 1892, thus saving much 

 annoyance to the institutions that kindly filled the remaining 

 blanks. 



No attempt has been made to supply the desired data 

 from the catalogues of the colleges from which no replies 

 have been received. While in some cases this might be done 

 to advantage, yet in general the results would be far too inac- 

 curate to add value to these records. 



Considering the courses offered, the returns show that 

 at the close of the nineteenth century about 70 per cent of 

 the institutions considered offer a course in civil engineering, 

 64 per cent offer mechanical engineering, while electrical 

 engineering follows closely, being offered by nearly 60 per 

 cent. Mining engineering is the only other course given by 

 any large number of institutions, some 34 per cent reporting 

 such a course. 



Architectural departments are listed from about 17 per 

 cent of the institutions, and it is interesting to note that fully 

 half of the architectural courses were established within the last 

 ten years of the century. Naval architecture has but re- 

 cently entered the field, but three institutions reporting 

 courses, Cornell university having established a course in 

 1890, the Massachusetts institute of technology in 1895 and 

 the University of Michigan in 1900. Courses in chemical 

 and sanitary engineering seem also to be limited in number, 

 but six institutions reporting courses in the former and four 

 only in the latter. 



It is of interest to note the increase in the total number 

 of graduates of the eighty colleges represented for the last 

 twenty years of the century. The total for 1880 is lower 

 than for some years previous and the increase from 1880 

 to 1885 should perhaps be modified. The eighty colleges 

 considered graduated from engineering courses. 



