852 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXII. No. 833 



animal nutrition, the substances involved 

 in these processes and their products — use- 

 ful and waste. The time spent along the 

 lines mentioned first and second is included 

 in this paper under the heads of general 

 chemistry and quantitative analysis, which 

 have already been discussed. The time 

 spent upon what is generally called agri- 

 cultural chemistry averages 1.6 hours a 

 week for a year in the north Atlantic states, 

 1.7 in the south Atlantic states, 1.6 in the 

 north central, 0.8 in the south central and 

 2.0 in the far western states, with an aver- 

 age of 1.5 for the whole United States. 

 This average includes those institutions in 

 which it is not required of agricultural 

 students. The subject is not given at all, 

 or is not required, in five north Atlantic 

 states, in one south Atlantic state, in four 

 north central, three south central, and four 

 far western states, making a total of seven- 

 teen states in which it is either not taught 

 at all or not required. This is probably 

 due to the fact that the matter which was 

 formerly included under the term agricul- 

 tural chemistry and taught by the chemis- 

 try department is now, in many cases, 

 taught by other departments under the 

 names soils, fertilizers, plant nutrition, 

 animal feeding, etc. The lines, represent- 

 ing the division of this work between the 

 husbandry departments, do not seem to be 

 very clearly drawn. For example, we find 

 that a certain well-known text-book is 

 used in some institutions in the chemistry 

 department for agricultural chemistry and 

 in others by the agronomy department for 

 soils. This condition of things will in 

 time probably adjust itself in the best way. 



A summary of these findings is included 

 in the following table: 



In 1897 the Committee on Methods of 

 Teaching Agriculture reported to the Asso- 

 ciation of American Agricultural Colleges 

 suggestions regarding a four-year course in 



NTJMBEE or INSTITUTIONS EEQUIBINO CHEMISTBT 

 IN THEIB AQEICULTUEAl, COTJBBES 



CHEMICAl BEQBIEEMENTS IN AGBICUITUBAL 



COUBSES EXPEESSED IN HOUES A WEEK 



FOB A TEAS 



agriculture. The matter relating to chem- 

 istry is as follows: 



Hours 



Chemistry (class-room work) 75 



Chemistry (laboratory work) 75 



Agricultural chemistry, in addition 

 to general requirement 180 



Taking, as we have done, two hours of 

 laboratory work as the equivalent of one 

 hour of class-room work, and 36 weeks as 

 the length of the college year, the recom- 

 mendations of the committee of the college 

 association would amount to the equivalent 

 of 8.1 hours a week for a year, while the 

 figures compiled by us show that an aver- 

 age of 8.7 hours is actually given. 



The estimates by the committee of agri- 

 culturists as to what should be done and 

 the average of what is actually done agree 

 very closely indeed, and the truth must be 

 somewhere near these two figures. The 

 close agreement is all the more remarkable 

 when we consider the great variation which 

 we have in the different colleges. As time 

 goes by we shall probably find the different 



