SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 115 



properly, these colleges have from the beginning in accordance 

 therewith expended their energies mainly in these two industrial 

 fields. 



My duty at this time is to set forth what has been accom- 

 plished by the land-grant colleges in the sphere of mechanic arts. 

 In this discussion I shall broadly include all of those institutions 

 receiving state or federal support, in which engineering is taught, 

 since with few exceptions the state universities and colleges en- 

 gaged in engineering instruction are also beneficiaries of the 

 Morrill Act. 



It is worthy of note that, in nearly every instance, the de- 

 mands upon these colleges for instruction in "mechanic arts," 

 especially in the earlier days, have greatly exceeded those for 

 "agriculture." The aggregate enrolment of students of colle- 

 giate grade in engineering courses in these institutions has been 

 many times greater than in courses in agriculture. Frequently 

 the representatives of agriculture have shown impatience at 

 these conditions, ascribing the inequality of attendance in these 

 departments to unfair discrimination on the part of the college 

 management. The real causes, however, seem to lie elsewhere. 

 Instruction in engineering was earlier and better organized as 

 regards pedagogical form; the industries included under me- 

 chanic arts have had a better appreciation of the value of tech- 

 nical training; there has been and is a tendency among young 

 people to regard agriculture unfavorably as compared with other 

 pursuits; and, finally, the recent extraordinary developments 

 in manufacturing, mining, and transportation have created a 

 great demand for men trained in the mechanic arts, which no 

 inducements in the field of agriculture could match. The rapid 

 development of engineering education, therefore, has obeyed 

 the influence of distinct public needs and demands to meet which 

 has given college authorities no end of difficulty and which, 

 under these conditions, they certainly have had neither power 

 nor desire to stimulate. 



