A HISTORY OF GLOUCESTERSHIRE 



the necessary funds were raised and the college was opened for the reception 

 of students in 1845. At the present time from fifty to sixty in-students are 

 received in the college, and there are about twenty to twenty-five out- 

 students who reside in the town of Cirencester. The curriculum is divided 

 into three courses. The full-diploma course has two branches, namely, what 

 is called the estate branch for landowners, estate agents, and surveyors, and 

 the farming and colonial branch for intending farmers and colonists. The 

 full course occupies a period of two years, but there is also a special one-year 

 course for out-students only. The subjects are Practical Agriculture and 

 Dairy Farming, Agricultural Chemistry (theoretical and practical), Bacteri- 

 ology, Physics and Mechanics, Geology, Botany, Entomology, Book-keeping, 

 and Mensuration, Land Surveying and Levelling, and Veterinary Surgery. 

 The special subjects for the Estate Branch Diploma are Estate Management, 

 Forestry, Agricultural Law, Building Construction and Materials, and 

 Architectural Drawing. 



Besides the daily lectures and practical classes on the farm, instruction 

 is given in butter and cheese making at a model dairy where Cheddar, 

 Cheshire, Stilton, Wensleydale and cream cheeses are made. 



At the present time the Earl of Ducie is the president of the council, 

 which includes several other landowners, and the principal is the Rev. J. B. 

 McClellan, M.A., who is assisted by a staff of resident professors. There are also 

 several honorary professors of eminence, who act as external examiners. The 

 value of the instruction given at the Royal Agricultural College is recognized 

 by the Indian Government, which sends several native students over for the 

 Diploma Course, granting them a financial allowance for the purpose, in 

 order that they may qualify for appointments in the Indian Agricultural 

 Service, in which there are now many who have received their agricultural 

 education at Cirencester. 



About 30 acres of land immediately adjoining the college buildings are 

 reserved for the dairy and for experimental purposes, but the farm itself is not 

 now managed by the college, but is in the occupation of Mr. Russell Swanwick, 

 an old diploma student, who is well known, not only in Great Britain and 

 the Colonies, but on the Continent and in the United States, as an eminent 

 breeder of Cotswold sheep, Berkshire pigs, and thoroughbred horses. The 

 farm consists of 465 acres, of which 204 are at present in permanent 

 pasture, including some laid down in recent years. By arrangement with 

 Mr. Swanwick the students have full access to the farm, the various 

 operations being daily explained by the professor of agriculture. 



The museum contains samples of seeds, models of cultivated roots, 

 collections of wool, cereals, and grasses, and a dentition collection, &c. The 

 laboratory is well equipped aud there is a large botanical garden. At a 

 short distance is the veterinary hospital, fitted up for the reception of 

 diseased or injured animals, with farrier's shed, and the necesssary accommo- 

 dation and appliances for performing operations and conducting post-mortem 

 examinations. The examinations for the diploma and other honours are 

 largely conducted by the external examiners, who are recognized authorities 

 in their respective subjects. 



Since the opening of the college many practical experiments have been 

 carried out on the various soils of the district in order to ascertain the 



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