740 



SCIENCE. 



[N.S. Vol. XXII. No.57L 



near the truth. All of the departments, 

 with the exception of medicine, divinity 

 and forestry show an increase. The en- 

 rolment in the Sheffield Scientific School 

 has increased from 774 to 1,028, although 

 it should be pointed out that graduate stu- 

 dents in science were not included in the 

 Sheffield figures last year, whereas they 

 have been included in this year's table. 

 The final registration is likely to carry the 

 number of freshmen in the scientific school 

 beyond that of the academic freshman class, 

 which is an epoch in the history of the de- 

 partments. The scientific freshman class is 

 so large that it has had to be divided into 

 twelve divisions instead of ten, as last year. 

 In six years the size of the entering class 

 in the scientific school has risen from 199 

 to about 400, an increase of over 100 per 

 cent. 



The general development of higher edu- 

 cation in the United States as reflected in 

 the accompanying tabulation is one that 

 may well give rise to gratification, and it is 

 hoped that the prominent exponents of 

 higher education in this country will vie 

 with one another in constantly increasing 

 the quality of their work and the value of 

 their equipment, instead of laying undue 

 stress on any figures that do not reflect a 

 corresponding development in academic 

 standards and ideals. 



Rudolf Tombo, Jr., 



Registrar. 



CoLtTMBTA University. 



TBE ANNUAL REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 

 OF AGRICULTURE, 1905. 



The secretary says that it is in the high- 

 est degree gratifying to present evidence 

 of the unprecedented prosperity which has 

 in recent years rewarded the diligence of 

 the farmer and the efforts of his depart- 

 ment. A year of unequaled prosperity has 

 been added to the most remarkable series of 

 similar years that has come to the farmers 



of this country. Farm crops have never 

 before been harvested at such a high gen- 

 eral level of production and value. Corn 

 has reached its highest production, over 

 2,700,000,000 bushels, of a total estimated 

 value of $1,216,000,000. Hay comes sec- 

 ond, with a value of $605,000,000. Cotton 

 is expected to yield $575,000,000. The 

 short wheat crop of last year is followed 

 by one of 684,000,000 bushels, and its 

 value, $525,000,000, overtops the highest 

 value ever before reached. While only one 

 crop, corn, reached its highest production 

 this year, four crops — corn, hay, wheat and 

 rice — reached their highest value. 



No crop but corn produces the income 

 that the dairy cow does. The estimate of 

 the value of dairy products for 1905 

 reaches $665,000,000. The farmer's hen 

 competes for precedence with wheat, poul- 

 try products aggregating half a billion dol- 

 lars in value. 



The wealth production on farms in 1905 

 has reached the highest amount ever at- 

 tained by the farmer of this or any other 

 country, 'a stupendous aggregate of results 

 of brain and muscle and machine, ' amount- 

 ing in value to $6,415,000,000, an excess 

 over last year of $256,000,000. The wealth 

 produced on farms in 1905 exceeds that of 

 1904 by 4 per cent., that of 1903 by 8 per 

 cent., and that shown by the census figures 

 for 1899 by 36 per cent. Should there be 

 no relapse from his present position as a 

 wealth producer, three years hence the 

 farmer will find that the farming element, 

 about 35 per cent, of the population, has 

 produced an amount of wealth within ten 

 years equal to one-half of the entire na- 

 tional wealth produced in three centuries. 

 The value of horses and mules on farms 

 exceeded last winter $1,452,000,000. Milch 

 cows are advancing in numbers and are 

 worth $482,000,000. The value of all 

 other cattle is estimated at $662,000,000. 

 Sheep are declining in number and total 



