1092 A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 



FEDERAL AID TO STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES 

 AND EXPERIMENT STATIONS 



The first form of Federal aid to the colleges was in land. In 1862 

 the Morrill Act offered units of 30,000 acres to each State, according 

 to its numerical representation in both houses of Congress. The 

 offer was conditioned on the establishment of a college of agriculture 

 within a stated time. Scrip was awarded to States in which there 

 was no Federal land. No limitations were imposed as to the price for 

 which the land was to be sold. Eventually every State availed itself 

 of the benefits of this act. 



In 1890 the second Morrill Act provided an annual appropriation 

 for the support of each State agricultural college, which appropriation 

 was gradually to rise to the present $50,000 annual maximum. All 

 the States and three Territories receive this aid. 



The total Federal appropriation to land-grant colleges for the fiscal 

 year 1933 was $2,550,000. The total of endowments built up from 

 the land grants made to the colleges under the act of 1862 is about 

 $22,000,000, which under ordinary conditions brings a total revenue 

 of about $1,000,000 per year. The Federal funds provide only for 

 instruction in agriculture, mechanical arts, English, and science. No 

 part of these funds, principal or interest, is to be used for buildings. 

 Here a degree of supervision is indicated which is characteristic of 

 later Federal aid legislation. 



In many State colleges of agriculture provision is made for forestry 

 schools or forestry courses along with other lines of education. Thus, 

 forestry has participated indirectly in the support which Federal funds 

 have given to the mother institutions. Forestry courses are now 

 being given in the colleges of agriculture of the States listed below. 

 To designate the nature of the forestry teaching, one or more numbers 

 follow the name of each State. (1) is used to designate instruction 

 leading to a degree in forestry, (2) ranger courses, (3) short courses 

 in forestry, and (4) courses in range management. The list of 

 States is : 



Alabama (3); Arkansas (3); Arizona (4); California (1), (3), (4); 

 Colorado (1), (3), (4); Connecticut (1), (3); Delaware (3); Georgia 

 (1), (3), (4); Idaho (1), (3), (4); Illinois (4); Indiana (1); Iowa (1), 

 (3), (4); Kansas (3), (4); Louisiana (1), (3); Maine (1); Massachu- 

 setts (3); Maryland (3); Michigan (1), (4); Minnesota (1), (3), (4); 

 Montana (1), (4); Mississippi (3); Nebraska (4); Nevada (4); New 

 Hampshire (1), (3); New York (1), (3), (4); North Carolina (1), (3); 

 North Dakota (3); Oklahoma (3); Oregon (1), (4); Pennsylvania (1), 

 (2), (3), (4) ; Rhode Island (3) ; South Carolina (3) ; South Dakota (3) ; 

 Utah (1), (3), (4); Vermont (3); Virginia (3); Washington (1), (2), 

 (3); Wisconsin (3). 



Just what this Federal aid to agricultural colleges means in dollars 

 and cents to forestry cannot readily be ascertained and will not be 

 here attempted. 



By the Hatch Act of 1887, strengthened by the Adams Act of 1906 

 and the Purnell Act of 1925, there was established a plan to aid in the 

 establishment of experiment stations in connection with the agri- 

 cultural colleges. The Federal appropriation for State agricultural 

 experiment stations for the fiscal year 1933 was $4,374,000 a com- 

 paratively small part of which is devoted to forestry. 



