9 
 
 555 
 VJ43 
 
ALBERT R. MANN 
 LIBRARY 
 
 New York State Colleges 
 
 OF 
 
 Agriculture and Home Economics 
 
 Cornell University 
 
Cornell University Library 
 
 S 535.E9W43 
 
 Report on the organization and managemen 
 
 3 1924 003 510 934 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of tiiis book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924003510934 
 
REPORT 
 
 ON TH^ 
 
 -ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT 
 
 aF 
 
 SEVEN AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS 
 
 GEEMANY, BELGIUM, AND ENGLAND, 
 
 HON. GEORGE B. LORING, 
 
 U. S. COMMISSIONEE OF AGRICULTURE, 
 
 A. S. WELCH, LL. D. 
 
 WASHINGTON: ' 
 
 GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 
 1885. 
 
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. 
 
 To Hon. Geoege B. Loeing, 
 
 Commissioner of Agriculture : 
 
 SiE: The following report comprises the results of a personal inspeo, 
 tion of foreign agricultural schools and stations, made, in compliance 
 with your request, during my late visit to Europe. In fulfilling the com- 
 mission with which I was intrusted I have sought to present an inside 
 view of typical institutions in Germany, Belgium, and England, with a 
 hope of furnishing valuable information to the friends and promoters 
 of industrial education in America. For this purpose I have described, 
 mainly as I witnessed them, the organization, officers, methods of in- 
 struction, the spirit, equipments, and the experimentation of seven dif- 
 ferent institutions in the countries I have mentioned. 
 
 I heartily acknowledge my indebtedness to my secretary, Charles A. 
 Keffer, for very efficient help in preparing my report for the press. 
 
 Hoping that these sketches may serve, in some degree, to improve 
 the ideal of industrial education in the United States, I am, dear sir, 
 yours, very truly, 
 
 A. S. WELCH. 
 Ames, Iowa, June 16, 1884. 
 
 3 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Paget 
 I. — The Royal Agricultural Academy at Poppelsdorf, near Bonn, Prussia ; its 
 
 organization, management, experimentation, collections, &o 7 
 
 IT. — The Koyal Instjtute for Fruit and Vine Culture, at Geisenheim-on-the- 
 Ehine, Prussia ; its methods of instruction, experiments in fruit and 
 
 grape culture, &c , 32 
 
 III. — The Royal P'orest School of Bavaria, at Aschaffenburg 50 
 
 IV.^The Agricultural Station at Ghent, Belgium; its chemical operations and 
 
 experiments 53 
 
 V. — The Horticultural School at Ghent, Belgium 56 
 
 VI. — ^The College of Agriculture at Do wnton, England 64 
 
 VII. — The Royal Agricultural College at Cirencester, England ; its purpose, 
 
 equipment, experimental work, && 70 
 
REPORT 
 
 AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
 
 THE BOYAL AGSICULTUBAL ACADEMY AT FOPPELSDORF, NEAB 
 
 BONN, PBUSSIA. 
 
 The Eoyal Agricultural Academy established at Poppelsdorf, in con- 
 nection with the Bonn University, belongs to the first class of agricult- 
 ural schools in the Prussian system. Though nominally attached to 
 the University, which is located in Bonn, a mile distant, it is entirely dis- 
 tinct from that institution in its organization, funds, management, and 
 purpose. 
 
 The objects it seeks to accomplish are^- 
 
 1. To give complete instruction to students in the sciences on which 
 the various arts and handicrafts of agriculture are based. 
 
 2. To give to students such a knowledge of the facilities, processes, 
 and products of agriculture as may be learned by observation of the 
 best methods. 
 
 3. To carry on extensive experiments in every department of agricult- 
 ure for the purpose of improving its processes and enhancing the value 
 of its products. 
 
 4. To make original investigation in the sciences which underlie agri- 
 culture, especially in their relation to its processes. 
 
 For the flrst of these objects the Academy has a faculty of learned 
 men whose lectures are comprehensive and minute ; fpr the second, a 
 well-managed farm, gardens, domestic animals, and collections for de- 
 monstration ; for the third, extensive experimental grounds and stables • 
 and for the fourth, the numerous laboratories under the direction of 
 scientific experts. 
 
 THE FACULTY, 
 
 This body is composed of the director and eighteen professors, each 
 of whom has charge of a single agricultural science or art on which he 
 gives lectures, conducts experiments, makes examinations, &c. There 
 are other ofQcers, such as recorder and bis clerk, and each professor has 
 one or more assistants. The director and professors constitute a council 
 
 7 
 
8 AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
 
 which has oversight of the jjeueral iuterests of the Academy and the 
 harmonious arrangement of its various operations. 
 
 The director is the general executive officer and president of the 
 faculty. He has control of aU the funds appropriated by the Prussian 
 Government for the support of the institution, reports annually to the 
 minister of agriculture, and is held responsible for all matters not spe- 
 cial to the departments. 
 
 THE STUDENTS. 
 
 In his published statement the director declares that two classes of 
 students may avail themselves of the advantages offered by the Agri- 
 cultural Academy : 
 
 1. Those who desire to qualify themselves for the duties of landlords 
 or the management of large landed estates. 
 
 2. Those who, while pursuing a course of studies at the University, 
 wish along with this to gain a scientific preparation for any of the pro- 
 fessions connected with agriculture. 
 
 In practice, however, any young man of the middle or of the higher 
 classes who has graduated from the Eealschule (German high school) 
 or passed the studies of the first two years of a German Gymnasium, is 
 admitted to either of the two courses in the Agricultural Academy. It 
 is required that the applicant should send in his papers, showing that 
 he has passed the examinations alluded to in one of the above institu- 
 tions before his name can be enrolled as a member of the Academy. 
 
 , GOVERNMENT. 
 
 No personal control or influence is exercised over the student. His 
 name is enrolled on presentation of the required papers by each pro- 
 fessor to whom he applies as a member of the class, but no account is" 
 taken of his presence or absence thereafter, and if he leaves without 
 ceremony no notice is taken of the fact. The only restriction of which 
 I could learn is the regular term examinations and the impossibility of 
 maintaining the rank in scholarship essential to a diploma without pass- 
 ing them. There are in attendance 85 students, 45 in agriculture' 
 proper and 40 in agricultural engineering. 
 
 THE TWO OENEKAL COUESES OP INSTRUCTION. 
 
 The courses of instruction are divided into two general curricula, one 
 of which comprises the vaiious sciences and arts in agriculture proper 
 and the other the branches preparatory to agricultural engineering. 
 
 At the opening of the next academic year a separate course in land 
 surveying, constituting one year's study only, will be added to the course 
 in agricultural engineering, which thus augmented still requires an at- 
 tendance of two years for the final examinations and diploma. The en- 
 gineers will hereafter be required to have passed all but the highest 
 class of a German Gymnasium. 
 
AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 9 
 
 NEW COURSE IN FARM ENGINEERINGS. 
 
 The modified course in agricultural engineering will embrace — 
 
 First year. A course in surveying and natural sciences. 
 
 Second year. Hydranlics, mechaTiics, engineering, drainage, improve- 
 ment and cultivation of moors, regulation of rivers, road building, &c. 
 
 The two curricula already noted include the following sciences and 
 ■practical arts, which are invariably taiigbtby lectures: 
 
 I. — Introduction to agricallural studies : 
 (I ) Encyclopedia of Agriculture. 
 (•2.) Agricultural methods. 
 (3.) History aud literature of agriculture. 
 II. — Na ural sciences : 
 
 (1.) Mineralogy and geology, with practice in the minerals. 
 (3.) Economic liotany and plant diseases. 
 (3.) Zoolofjy, with anatora.v of the domestic animals. 
 (4.) Physics, with experimental practice. 
 (5.) Chemical manipulation. 
 
 (6.) Physiology, with practice on plants and animals. 
 
 (7.) Agricnltural chemistry ; analysisof plants and manures; analysis of fodder 
 and fodder mixtures. 
 111.— G codes !/ : 
 
 (1.) Pure mathematics, analytical geometry, and higheV analysis. 
 (2.) Field measurement and leveling, with practice in the use of instruments. 
 (3.) Practice in adjusting and measurement with instruments. 
 (4.) Laud measurement. , 
 
 (5.) Topographical exercises in land triangulation. 
 (6.) Practice with the aueroyd and tachymeter. 
 - (7.) Geometrical and topographical drawing. 
 IV. — Technology: ^ 
 
 (1.) P^ncyclopedia of Technology. 
 (2.) Meadow making, drainage, drain irrigation. 
 
 (3.) The study of ground for highways and water-flows; management of run- 
 ning water. 
 (5.) Mechanics, specially of agricultural implements. 
 (().) (ieometry as applied to field measurement. 
 (7.) Descriptive geometry. 
 
 (8.) Highways, water management, aud street making. 
 (9.) Practice in constructive drawing. 
 (10.) Agricultural economy, technology. 
 V. — Sciences of public economy and law : 
 (1.) National economy. 
 ■ (2.) Political economy. 
 (3.) Laws relating to land. 
 VI. — Agricultural arts under the different departments : 
 (1.) Field and plant culture. 
 
 a. 'Climate and soil, manuring, soil preparation, agrloultaxal implements' 
 
 and machines, 
 i. Special plant culture, 
 c. Forage plant culture. 
 (2.) Horticulture. 
 a. Wine culture. 
 6. Fruit culture. 
 
 c. Raising of vegetables. 
 
 d. Beautifying the land. 
 
10 AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
 
 y I. —Agricultural arts undo the different departments— Coatinned. 
 (3.) Forestry. 
 
 a. Tree culture and forest-protection. 
 
 6. Profit of forestry, forest management. 
 (4.) Art of breeding. 
 
 a. General principles of breeding. 
 
 6. Special breeding, breeding of the horse, breeding for beef and milk, 
 sheep breeding, breeding of small animals, bee breeding. 
 
 €j. Health of house animals. 
 
 d. Shoeing and animal obstetrics; diseases of the house animals (acute and 
 chronic). 
 (5.) Laws of business. 
 
 a. System of accounts and balancing. 
 
 6. Farm accounts. 
 
 c. Records of property. 
 (6.) The relation of the industrial sciences to agriculture. 
 
 The extensive facilities for illustration are embraced in the following 
 list: 
 
 1. The experimental ground. 
 
 2. The economic botanical garden. 
 
 3. The garden for illustration of fruit and vegetable culture. 
 
 4. The chemical experimental station. 
 
 5. The physical and chemical analytical laboratories. 
 
 6. Laboratory of plant physiology. 
 
 7. Laboratory of animal physiology. 
 
 8. L.aboratory of field experimentation. 
 
 9. Hall of machines for trial. Implements and machines, with steam engines. 
 
 10. Mineralogical, botanical, and zoological collections belonging to the Royal Uni- 
 
 versity. 
 
 11. Forest collection, wood specimens. 
 
 12. Models for instruction in architecture. 
 
 13. Collections for instruction in anatomy. 
 
 14. Agricultural collections. v 
 
 15. Technological collections. 
 
 16. Models of agricultural tools and machines. 
 
 17. A special library of the industrial sciences and arts, 6,000 volumes. 
 
 18. Technical libraries belonging to each department, 
 
 1 shall give detailed accounts of many of the above collections in 
 subsequent pages under " Methods and Facilities for Instruction." 
 
 COLLECTIONS. 
 
 The scientific collections belonging to the general equipment of the 
 Bonn Agricultural Academy and;kept in the different laboratories far 
 surpass in extent and completeness those which are found at kindred 
 institutions in the United States. 
 
 In the first place, the vast museums of Bonn Tlniversity are all open 
 to the students of agriculture at the Academy. Bach of these contains, 
 often in a separate building, collections made in a single department of 
 natural history, which in many cases comprise all the known varieties 
 yet discovered. The museums of zoology, ornithology, entymology 
 paleoutology, anthropology, &c., are extensive and full, aad some of the 
 
AGRICULTUEAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 11 
 
 buildings which they occupy stand near those occupied by the Acad- 
 emy. 
 
 Across the street from the central academy building is the botanical 
 garden of the University, wherein are grown all the plants indigenous 
 to the climate, while extensive conservatories hold, in the highest con- 
 dition, the plants of other climates, especially the tropics. 
 
 But beside the University museums, large special collections hare been 
 made by the professors iu the Agricultural Academy, each of whom is 
 curator of his own scientific equipment. 
 
 COLLECTIONS FOB ILLUSTRATION IN THE DEPARTMENT OF PRACTICAL 
 
 AGRICULTURE. 
 
 Some of the working collections made by Dr. Werner are exhaustive, 
 embracing every variety yet found. 
 
 COLLECTION OF WOOLS. 
 
 For example, the collection of wools comprises every animal product 
 used for fabrics, and represents every variety of the wool-bearing ani- 
 mals throughout the globe. It coutaius 10,000 specimens, each neatly 
 tied, labeled, and kept in its own compartment under glass. I examined 
 specially samples from Vermont, from Southern Africa, and from Asia. 
 
 COLLECTION OP WHEATS. 
 
 ) 
 
 This collection is also complete, presenting 'samples of all the varie- 
 ties raised in the different wheat-producing countries. It is specially 
 rich in the German and the Eussian wheats and the wheats from South- 
 ern Europe. The entire list shows 600 kinds. 
 
 The various specimens in the wheat collection are, as in all other sim- 
 ilar ones, preserved in glass tubes 6 or 7 inches long and 1 J inches in 
 diameter, which close with a round top and are left open at the bottom 
 for the reception of the cork. The tube is completely filled, neatly 
 labeled near the base, and stands in the case on its corked end. For 
 the reason that this tube presents no obstacle to the eye when the speci- 
 men is examined it is certainly superior to the vial used in manj"^ (jimi- 
 lar collections which I have seen. 
 
 COLLECTIONS OF OTHER GRAINS. 
 
 Large illustrative collections also of the varieties of rye, oats, barley, 
 maize, &c., have been made and put up in the same manner. Some of 
 the samples are surprisingly excellent in size and plumpness. 
 
 The above grains, including the wheats, were nearly all produced 
 from experiments conducted in the agricultural department, the seed 
 having first been obtained from many foreign countries where they are 
 grown.' Kye and oats, 150 varieties each ; barley, 120. 
 
 IMPROVED POTATOES. 
 
 Six hundred sorts of potatoes, including the whole list of improved 
 varieties yet produced, have been tested here and sample parcels of 
 
12 ' . AGRICOLTUEAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
 
 each, selected from the crop, are labeled and preserved. The Ameri-' 
 can, the English, and the German varieties are most numerous and 
 make by far the best showing. 
 
 GRASSES. ^ , 
 
 To the above must be added the preserved specimens of all the cul-. 
 tivated, grasses which grow anywhere on the grass-producing belt 
 Also samples of all plants used as fodders (such as millets) are a prom, 
 inent feature of this collection, which comprises 250 kinds. 
 
 MUSEUM OF SEEDS. 
 
 The beautiful collection of seed?, embracing the entire catalogue of 
 food plants wherever cultivated, forms also a portion of the ample 
 equipment for instruction in the department of practical agriculture. . 
 
 This museum, complete as it is in extent and classification, would de- 
 light the eye of an expert. It is the work to which a student whose 
 enthusiam in this line never falters has devoted his life. The room it 
 occupies is perhaps 40 by 60 feet, and through its center and along its 
 walls are arranged numerous glass cases filled with tubes of uniform 
 size holding the seeds, which have been brought to the highest possible 
 excellence by previous culture in the botanical garden. 
 
 A botanical garden cultivated solely for improving the seeds of the 
 nutritious plants and the. consequent gathering of a museum of the best 
 seeds are features in the equipment of an agricultural school which, so 
 far as I am informed, are wholly unknown to the national schools of the 
 United States. Why should not these institutions help, by similar 
 means, to improve the garden and the farm? 
 
 IMPLEMENTS AND FAKM MACHINERY. 
 
 Ill the department of agricultural mechanics, which is an adjunct 
 of the department of agriculture. Dr. Gieseler, the professor in charge, 
 has gathered what may be termed a museum of tools, which illustrate 
 the progress of improvement in agricultural implements from their 
 earliest use up to tiie present time. 
 
 The various classes of articles are arranged in series, each of which 
 if read aright is really a history of the'advancement of civilization. 
 For every series begins with a crude, x^rimitive implement and by suc- 
 cessive steps ends in a modern complicated one. The grain-gathering 
 series, for example, commences with an awkward hand sickle and, repre- 
 senting by many samples the lapse of centuries, closes finally with the 
 latest reaper and binder. 
 
 Perhaps the most interesting class is that which shows the lineage of 
 the plow. The earliest ancestor in the line is a pointed stick with a 
 clumsy handle ; the second has its point hardened by fire ; in the third 
 the point is roughly shod with iron and the handles set in at a conveni- 
 ent angle. A few steps farther ou we find a decided iron point, and 
 
AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUBOPE. 1 3 
 
 ,beyond, with numerous intermediate samples, we reach the old Eoman 
 plow which has many appendages that were seemingly useless. 
 Finally traversing the whole exhibit, which contains 600 specimens, one- 
 finds a steel gang plow, which is evidently an American invention, at 
 its dose. 
 
 The value of such a collection in an institution like this cannot be 
 overrated, since it verifies the immense superiority of modern facilities- 
 for farm management and illustrates the progress of a great funda- 
 mental industry. 
 
 Among the numerous agricultural machines in this exhibit I noticed 
 two American mowers (Wood's and Lieberling's), one English mower 
 {Bamlette's)j and one German mower (Renter's). 
 
 These and other new farm machines or implements sent to the Acad- 
 emy for trial are tested in the field, and if found to be valuable receive 
 the written indorsement of the professor of agricultural mechanics. 
 
 THE VETERINARY COLLECTION. 
 
 A capacious room, whose walls were occupied with suitable cases, con- 
 tains in grim array, the skeltons of all the domestic animals. Also full 
 sets of papler-mach6 models showing the anatomy of the various equin« 
 organs. Also complete sets of surgical implements used in veterinary 
 operations, and horseshoes (steel and iron) of every form, size, and 
 "weight. 
 
 In this room, likewise, though the reason did not appear, are cases 
 which hold the whole catalogue of birds that are harmful to the farm 
 or garden. Beside each female bird was its nest of eggs. Along with 
 these cases of birds stood others filled with the mounted forms of ani- 
 mals which prey upon or otherwise injure the farmer's crops. 
 
 Here, furthermore, as illustrations in the study of bee culture, were 
 preserved all the varieties of the honey-bee, together with their combs 
 in various conditions and stages of growth. " This collection is com- 
 pleted with a display of the insect enemies of the honey-bee, showing 
 their different forms from the egg to the last metamorphosis. This col- 
 lection, it need not be said, belongs to the department of entomology. , 
 
 INSTRUMENTS ^.N"D APPARATUS FOR WORK. 
 
 A description that should do justice to the apparatus for work in the 
 laboratories and elsewhere would far exceed the space allotted to my re? 
 port on this institution. It must therefore sufBce to show, in a general 
 way. their exceHence and completeness of supply, avoiding the some- 
 what detailed account given of the experiments and the scientific colteo- 
 tions. , 
 
 Among, the abundant facilities in the agricultural department for 
 scientific work and investigation I found in a room used for that 
 purpose 100 surveyor's instriiments, all of the latest consti^uction, pro- 
 
14 AGEICULTUKAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
 
 tected by glass cases and kept in excellent order. These are, of course, 
 used for instruction and practice by the professor of larm engineering, 
 Dr. Vogler. 
 
 lu another apartment was a classified collection of woods, each speci- 
 men prepared so as to show a polished surface, and the whole seemingly 
 large enough to embrace exhausti%'e samples'from all the forests of the 
 globe. These are brought into requisition for illustrating the lectures 
 given by the forester, Forstmeister Dr. Sprengel. 
 
 BOTANICAL LABORATOET. 
 
 Among the facilities for work in the botanical laboratory, which oc- 
 cupies four spacious rooms, I noted a score of microscopes of the latest 
 make for the use of students in the study of structural botany. 
 
 The herbarium corresponds in extent and systematic thoroughness 
 with other collections already described. I noticed a large number of 
 papierniacb^ models of tropical plants for illustration in lectures. In- 
 deed, in the whole outfit of the botanical department nothing seems 
 wanting that can help the professor in his original researches or en- 
 lighten the pupil in Lis studies. A visit to its ample chambers, its 
 museum of seeds, the laboratory for plant analysis, the lecture room, 
 the library, and private ofSce, each abundantly supplied with facilities 
 appropriate to its purpose, would gladen the eye of an American botan- 
 ist and beget the hope that some time in the future the botanical depart- 
 ment of our national colleges might be equipped with a similar liber- 
 ality. 
 
 THE CHEMICAL LABOKATOEIES AND THEIR EQUIPMENT. 
 
 In company with Dr. Gieseler, to whom I am under obligation for 
 many courtesies, I visited the spacious rooms of the chemical labora- 
 tories, and was introduced to the accomplished professor of chemistry. 
 Dr. U. Kreusler. 
 
 It must be kept in mind that these laboratories are limited to two 
 special purposes, namely: (1) To give the students instruction and 
 practice in the analysis of foods, fodder, plants, manures, and soils, and 
 (2) to enable the chemist to make original researches to determine the 
 constituents of the same substances. In other words, they are in no re- 
 spect general laboratories, but are specially devoted to instriiction or 
 research in agriculture. * 
 
 There are two apartments or sets of rooms, the one devoted to in- 
 struction and practice, the other to original research. The first com- 
 prises five large rooms, viz : 
 
 (1) A, laboratory for practice in the analysis of plants, 30 by 40 feet. 
 Beside other abundant apparatus this room contains five large balances 
 for the use of students. 
 
 (2.) A room for the advanced class where 30 students have convenient 
 tables with water, gais, and all other appurtenances. Here are two 
 fine large balances. 
 
AGEIGULTUEAL SCHOOLS IN EDEOPE. 15 
 
 (3.) A chemical library of 400 or 500 volumes. 
 
 (4.) A lecture room with 100 seats. 
 
 (5.) An ofiSce for the professor in charge. 
 
 The laboratory for scientific researches occupies five rooms of nearly 
 the same dimensions as those of the laboratory of instruction. They 
 consist of, first, the room for analyses, 40 by 60 feet, which is furnished 
 with abundant apparatus for all those minute operations by which the 
 elements of organic compounds are determined. 
 
 As a specimen of the excellence and completeness of his equipment 
 for chemical investigation, Dr. Kreusler pointed out among his bal- 
 ances a large pair manufactured by H. Shiwljert, Dresden, whose p,d- 
 justment is so delicate as to detect the exact weights of substances 
 under experiment in a range from 5 kilograms to .00002 of a gram. This 
 is regarded as the best chemical balance made in Germany or else- 
 where. 
 
 In this room an experiment was in progress under Dr. Kreusler to 
 determine (quantitively) what elements of the atmosphere are taken up 
 by the plant in the progress of growth. This experiment is evidently 
 extremely difBcult, necessitating.the confinement of the air in which the 
 plant is grown, and after a definite period finding by operations so 
 nice that the slightest error would vitiate them what atmospheric atoms 
 have been consumed. 
 
 The second room attached to this laboratory was occupied with the 
 larger apparatus and machinery, prominent among which is an elec- 
 trical machine propelled by water, equivalent to 2J horse-power. This 
 piece of apparatus belongs, however, to the department of physics. 
 
 A third room contained another library on higher chemistry, its pro- 
 cesses and achievements. It is a marked proof of the extent to which 
 the German agricultural schools have divided and specialized their lines 
 of work that each professor is furnished with a working library that 
 treats of the subjects within his specialty. Every department here has 
 its library, and a moderate yearly appropriation enables the professor 
 to make such additions as will keep it abreast with the advancement of 
 the science it embodies. I heartily comniend this feature in the organi- 
 zation of the Bonn Agricultural Academy to the trustees of the national 
 schools in the different States of the American Union. 
 
 A fourth room is fitted up for the laboratory of Dr. Kreusler, and a fifth 
 is his private room, wherein are kept the records of all operations and 
 experiments conducted in the laboratory, with their outcome, whether 
 of success or failure. 
 
 EXPERIMENTATION. 
 
 Dr. Dreisch, who has the experimental grounds in charge, conducts 
 the experiments, and keeps an accurate record of all the steps froni the 
 sowing of the seed to the final gathering and stowing of the crop. 
 
16 
 
 AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
 THE BXPERIMElirTAL GJBOTJNDS. 
 
 The experiraentai grounds cousist of 18 morgans (16 acres) of Eliine 
 bottom laud, lying iu a square. Dr. Drcisch informs me that the land 
 has a natural drainage through a layer of gravel 2 feet beneath the sur- 
 jface. The soil is a rich red loam, with plenty of lime, and has a depth 
 iof from 10 to 12 inches. The entire square is divided by a broad walk, 
 or road, running through the center, and the different croi)S under trial 
 occupy, with their varieties, long narrow strips of land, whose bases rest 
 upon the walk. 
 
 EXPERIMENTS IN MANURES. 
 
 The series of experiments to determine the relative values of stable 
 manure and the different commercial fertilizers is very systematic and 
 minute. 
 
 The first step, which is obviously an important one, is to make the 
 soil on which the experiments are to be conducted perfectly uniform in 
 'fertility throughout. This is accomplished iu the following manner: A 
 crop of green mustard is raised on the land for several successive years 
 iu the fall after the regular crop has been gathered. Any unevenness 
 iu the crop at the time of cutting indicates precisely a corresponding 
 lack of uniformity in the productive quality of the soil. Each crop of 
 mustard is cut green, taken off', and composted, and the compost is 
 brought back the next year, and, after the regular crop has been gathered, 
 is spread upon the same surface in such a manner as to correct all ine- 
 qualities of fertility previously shown. 
 
 When a perfect evenness iu the productive quality of a morgan has 
 been thus secured, it is prepared for an experiment to determine the 
 comparative value of different commercial fertilizers by plowing and 
 harrowing repeatedly until it is reduced to the fluest tilth. The mor- 
 gan is then divided by parallel lines into as many different parts as 
 there are fertilizers to be tested, and these parts are numbered for con' 
 Tenient record, thus : 
 
 Fig. 1. 
 
 6 
 
 
 1 
 
 r 
 
 2 
 
 s 
 
 3 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 lO 
 
 , 5 
 
 Each fertilizer is then mixed thoroughly with compost and spread 
 evenly on the surface of one of the divisions. The same weight of com- 
 post is used with each mixture, and the commercial fertilizers in the 
 
AGEICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN KUROPE. 17 
 
 different compounds have the same market value. Thus, let the num- 
 ber 50 stand for the quantity of compost in every mixture, and the 
 letters A, B, 0, D, &c., for the different fertilizers. The compounds 
 are then as follows : 
 
 50 + A, plat 1. 
 
 50 + B, plat 2. 
 
 50 + C, plat 3. 
 
 50 + D, plat 4. 
 
 50 + E, plat 5. 
 
 50 + F, plat 6. 
 
 50 + (J, plat 7. 
 
 50 + H, plat 6. 
 
 50 + I, plat 9. 
 
 50 + K, plat 10. 
 In this list of compounds K represents cow manure, which serves as 
 a standard of comparison for all the others. 
 
 After these different fertilizers as composted have been spread 
 evenly, each on its own plat, as shown in Fig. 1, the entire morgan is 
 thoroughly harrowed, and a single hardy variety of winter wheat is 
 sown in drills over its entire surface. The hand drill used for the sow- 
 ing has been carefully cleaned and so adjusted as to drop the seeds 
 evenly in the drills. The whole morgan then receives another harrow- 
 , ing, the lines dividing the plats being preserved by short stakes driven 
 well into the ground. 
 
 One might suppose that the experiment in fertilizers thus begun 
 would need no further attention until the crop should be ready for har- 
 vesting. But the German experimenter never loses sight of the crop 
 which is under experiment. The condition of the wheat plants is noted 
 frequently from the appearance of the plumule up to the ripening of 
 the wheat. The wheat receives at least three hoeings during the season.. 
 An account is also taken daily of the weather as to changes of tem- 
 perature and moisture. All the facts thus observed are entered, each 
 under its own date, in the '* Eecord of Experiments," wherein an Ac- 
 count of every experiment is carefully and systematically kept. 
 
 When the crop is ready" for harvesting it is cut with a sickle and thie 
 wheat on each plat is gathered and bound in sheaves, stacked by itself 
 and labeled. On the lines dividing the plats, where two kinds of 
 manures come in contact and mix slightly, a narrow strip of wheat is 
 left standing. As soon as the shocks are in proper condition they are 
 transferred to the same mow, but kept separate bj^ means of linen cloths, 
 which effectually prevent mixing. Afterwards, as soon as may be, they 
 are thrashed with a small one-horse machine; which, after finishing the 
 contents of one plat, is thoroughly cleaned before beginning another. 
 The grain from each plat is put into bags, properly labeled, and after- 
 wards weighed, and the comparative weight determines the comparative 
 value of the fertilizer which stimulated its growth. 
 
 It is obvious that the above experiment may be made more minute by 
 increasing the number of plats in the morgan, and using a greater num- 
 8673 AS 2 
 
18 AGKICULTUEAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
 
 ber of artificial manures, or by varying their quantity in the different 
 
 plats. 
 
 It will be seen at once that the above experiment answers ,two impor- 
 tant questions : First, what is. the value of a given commercial .fertil- 
 izer iu wheat raising as compared with other commercial fertilizers? 
 and, second, what is its value in comparison with cow manure ? 
 
 EXTENT OF EXPERIMENTS IN CHOPS. 
 
 The experiments in crops this year include wheat, rye, oats, barley, 
 potatoes, beets, and the seeds of all the nutritious plants that grow in 
 this latitude. The varieties of wheat now under trial on the experi- 
 mental grounds occupy two or three morgans of land and are looking 
 well. The Kaiser wheat, a German variety, shows the most promising 
 growth. The plants stand (November 10) 4 inches high in drills 7 
 inches apart. The other kinds are also healthy and strong. 
 
 Dr. Werner, professor of agriculture, conducts another series of 
 experiments on the farm for demonstration, which is entirely separate 
 from the experimental grounds under charge of Dr. Dreisch^ 
 
 DE. WERNER'S EXPERIMENTS. 
 
 Dr. Werner's experiments in winter wheat number six hundred va- 
 rieties, which include all that "are now cultivated. Among them is a 
 long list of American sorts. Dr. Werner has lately given to the pub- 
 lic the results of his wheat experiments iu a large volume on "The 
 kinds of wheat best adapted to German soils," which is regarded as 
 the highest authority on that subject. 
 
 His work in this line embraces also extensive experimentation on 
 the improved potatoes, and the list which he put under trial embraces 
 all -the valuable varieties yet produced. I noticed that the larger num- 
 ber in his catalogue were American, English, and German potatoes, 
 the whole list containing six hundred and fifty sorts. In his experi- 
 ments on the improved potatoes Dr. Werner employed the same meth- 
 ods which I have given in detail in describing Dr. Dreisch's experi- 
 ment on the winter wheats. The same care is used in selecting ground 
 that is uniform in the depth, moisture, and qualities of its soil. Great 
 pains are taken to bring the soil to a previous even fertility. The dif- 
 ferent kinds of seed are so selected as to secure uniformity in size and 
 soundness. The planting of different varieties is at the same depth, 
 and the same number of stalks are left in the hills ; the cultivation is 
 regular and thorough. Weather, appearance, rate of growth, degree 
 of health, harmful insects, periods of ripening, &c., are all frequently 
 noted and entered on the record, wherein a page is assigned to each 
 variety. When the decay of the stalk shows that a variety is ripe, 
 the digging is done so carefully that no potato is bruised or cut. The 
 yield is sorted, bagged, labeled, weighed, and stored, and subsequently 
 
AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
 
 19 
 
 the weight, size, and quality are taken into account in answering the 
 question, What are the best sorts of potatoes to raise for the table ? 
 
 BiXPEElMENT IN WHEATS. 
 
 All the successive operations in this experiment are conducted with 
 minutest care. Every circumstance that can by any possibility inter 
 fere with certainty in the result is carefully eliminated. The first re- 
 quisite, is to bring the soil chosen for the purpose to an unvarying fer- 
 tility throughout. This uniformity of productiveness is gained (as I 
 have already said) by applying the comi)ost of green crops, and tested 
 at last by the evenness of their growth. 
 
 The ground selected for the experiment (one or more acres) may be 
 kept two or three years in a course of preparation, and grain of any 
 kind ma,y mean time be raised upon it ; but immediately after the grain 
 is harvested each year a crop of green mustard is sown and allowed to 
 grow until late in the autumn, when it is gathered, mixed with soil, 
 and left in the compost heap through the winter and the following 
 summer until the nest grain crop is taken off, when it is returned to 
 the soil, being carefully spread in such a manner as to correct any ir- 
 regularities of productive capacity shown in its previous growth. In 
 .other words, the compost of green mustard is spread thickest on spots 
 where the crop of the last au,tuum was the lightest and thinnest where 
 it was heaviest. Finally, when, in this way, a green crop is reached, 
 which stands perfectly level and is of uniform weight on equal divi- 
 sions of surface, the ground is ready for an experiment or a series of 
 experiments on the comparative value of different wheats. 
 
 The grouud is now prepared for sowing by plowing and afterward 
 harrowing and rolling several times in succession. When reduced by 
 this means to the finest tilth possible the entire surface is divided into 
 as many equal parts as there are varieties of wheat to be tested. Sup- 
 posing that ten varieties have been selected for experiment, we have 
 the divisions shown in Fig. 2 : ■- 
 
 Fig. 2. 
 
 IVo. 1. 
 
 
 JVo. 6. 
 
 Wo. a. 
 
 Wo. 7. 
 
 No. 3. 
 
 Wo. 8. 
 
 Wo. 4. 
 
 Wo. 9. 
 
 No. S. 
 
 Wo. lO. 
 
 The plats so marked out are numbered and entered in the "Eecord of 
 Experiments," together with the name of the wheat under trial. It will 
 be seen that the division leaves a narrow strip of unoccupied ground 
 
20 AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLB IN EUROPE. 
 
 between the varieties. The seed in each variety has been obtained by 
 sifting out the smaller grains through a sieve and. thus retaining only 
 the larger and plumper kernels. Each kind of seed is sown on its plat 
 in drills six or eight inches apart with a seeder, which is carefullji 
 cleaned before it is used on the next plat. The utmost precaution is. 
 taken against mixing varieties. 
 
 Ko sooner do the young plants appear than a system of observation 
 begins which is minute and exhaustive in the last degree. A double 
 page on the record is assigned to each variety, and every fact which 
 affects the growth of the stand, as well as its condition and appearance 
 at different stages, is noted and entered in such a manner as to give 
 clearly within a limited space a complete consecutive history of the ex- 
 periment from its beginning to its close. Among the items gathered 
 and recorded daily are the weather, its changes of temperature and 
 moisture, the size of stock and leaf, color, health or disease, the pres- 
 ence or absence of insects or fungus growths, the effect of cultivation, 
 and the time of sowing and ripening. 
 
 When any one of the varieties occupying a plat is found to be properly 
 ripened it is cut with a sickle (to avoid waste by shelling), bound in 
 sheaves, shocked, and labeled. Then, when in the right condition, ^t is 
 removed to the mow and there kept from the jiossibility of mixing with 
 other varieties by means of cloths. The thrashing takes place as early 
 thereafter as may be, a small one-horse machine being used, which is 
 scrupulously cleaned after a single kind has been through. The grain 
 of each variety is gathered from the machine in bags, labeled, and stored 
 away. 
 
 In the above experiment it is evident without saying an answer is 
 sought to the question, What wheats are most profitable for Oernian 
 soils 9 
 
 The experiment is completed with'three final steps : 
 
 1. The bags containing the different varieties are compared as to their 
 gross weight. 
 
 2. The smaller grains are then sifted out of each variety, leaving only 
 the larger and more perfect berries, and these are again compared, in 
 weight, with the grains of the other varieties similarly separated. 
 
 3. The quality of the flour made from the different wheats is tested 
 by comparison in the actual loaf. 
 
 It should be added that tubes containing specimens of each variety- 
 so tested are labeled and preserved in the museum. 
 
 DE. weenee's expeeimbnts in oeossing beeeds op cattle. 
 
 An interesting series of experiments is now in progress under the 
 direction of Dr. Werner to improve the German milking stock. It is 
 the purpose in these experiments to correct the defects and increase 
 the yield of the various milk-breeds in Germany by judicious crossing. 
 The material in this country for such an undertaking is far better than. 
 
AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 21 
 
 in America. Our native cow, herself tlie product of innumerable hap- 
 hazard crosses, does not furnish a proper basis for the beginning of such 
 an experiment, and, though the cross with blooded stock is undoubt- 
 edly a great improvement, it is due to the superior prepotence of the 
 pure-bred bull, and neither accuracy of result nor persistence of type 
 <!au be relied on. In the various agricultural districts of Germany and 
 Switzerland there are many milk races bred with more or less care and 
 «ach having its peculiar merits and defects. The cows from these 
 breeds will, therefore, supply for a trial in crossing such fixed peculiari- 
 ties that the characteristics of the resulting calf may be definitely fore- 
 seen. 
 
 I found standing in the stable attached to Dr. Werner's residence 
 twenty-four cows representing several of the above races. Of these I 
 may mention two Swiss Mountain cows which were in calf by the Short- 
 horn bull. The Swiss Mountain milker is pre-eminently the peasant 
 cow of South Germany and Switzerland. She is emphatically a beast 
 '' of all work," combining the qualities of a milker, a draft, and a beef 
 animal. She supplies the peasant family with food, plows their acre 
 either singly or paired, and when too old for furthfer use is fattened for 
 the market. Probably she is better fitted for these three purposes than 
 any other race in the world. * 
 
 In form she is what might be called ungainly, but her peculiarities 
 are transmitted with remarkable uniformity. The head and neck are 
 large and clumsy, the chest is broad and deep, the hind quarter com- 
 paratively light, and the rump set up so high as to approach deformity. 
 In consequence, the fore legs are short in proportion to the length of 
 the hind legs. The entire figure suggests the probability that it was 
 developed by habitual climbing in a mountainous country. Though 
 the form of the cow is the reverse of that claimed as most suitable for 
 the model milker, she carries a broad, good-sized udder, and is said to 
 be an excellent milker. 
 
 In the adjacent stall stoofl three ^witzers, a race remarkably similar 
 to the Jerseys in all characteristics, except size. The horns, the delicate 
 blood-like face, the rings around the eyes and muzzle, the color, slender 
 limbs and broad udder, and indeed the whole figure are woaderfuUy 
 Jersey-like. But these cows weigh, I judge, from 1,200 to 1,300 pounds. 
 So far as the milk points can decide the question, the Switzer is superior 
 to all other milk breeds on the continent. She is bred with great care 
 in the vicinity of Berne, Switzerland, and is sometimes called the Ber- 
 nese cow. Animals of this breed imported to America would make a 
 valuable addition to our milking stock. ' 
 
 There were several specimens of the Simmenthaler, another Swiss 
 milking breed ; animals of good size ; color, red and white ; somewhat 
 <5oarser, but showing fair milking qualities. 
 
 Dr. Werner pointed out further a few samples of the Glan and West- 
 «rwald races, both natives of the Ehiue Province. They are large and 
 coarse, but showed a fair development of udder and milk veins. 
 
22 AGRICULTUEAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPK. . ., 
 
 In addition to the above wiere eight or ten Hollander cows, perfectly' 
 black in color and heavy and square in form, evidently bred for beef as 
 well as milk. 
 
 Finally, the collection is coniplected with a half a dozen Friezeland 
 milkers, a race well kjiown as closely akin to the Holsteius, but more 
 finely and carefully bred. 
 
 The male used for crossing with these cows is a Durhahi bull, called 
 here a milk Short-hoin. This bull is a Duke of Airdrie, and his dam was 
 a pure Princess cow. Dr. Werner holds the opinion that the family of 
 Short-horns whose milking qualities were preserved and improved by 
 Bates furnish the best milkers in the world, and that consequeutly the 
 males crossed with the females of the German milk breeds will produce 
 animals of increased capacity as milkers. He does hot explain how he 
 proposes to make the characteristics of the milkers resulting from the 
 various crosses fixed and permanent in the generations following. 
 
 Dr. Werner pointed out with some pride the points in this milk Short- 
 horn bull which indicate his special excelleace for the purpose in hand. 
 And^indeed the slender head and throat, the chest of moderate width, 
 but unusu£ll depth, the broad level hind-quarter, and the general sym- 
 metry of this line animal, seemed to justify the doctor's estimate of his 
 value. 
 
 This experiment for impro\ang the native milkers was commenced 
 last year, and there are now, as the first results, fifteen calves divided 
 as follows: Ten from Hollander cows, one Switzer, three Glans, one 
 Westerwahler. The^e calves, which were in fair condition, showed in 
 a marked degree the characteristics of their dams, which seemed to in- 
 dicate a lack of comparative prepotence in the Short-horn sire. It is, 
 however, too early to predict their final outcome in form and quality. 
 
 In the same stable are also ten or twelve twoyear-old heifers which are 
 the outcome of an experiment in crossing to produce stock having supe- 
 rior beef qualities. In this experiment, which was completed two years 
 ago, a Booth Shorthorn bull of decided prepotence and marked charac- 
 teristics was crossed with the Hollander and Westerwahler cows, and 
 the results, as shown in these heifers, are full of promise. 
 
 EXPERIMENTS IN SHEEP. 
 
 A series of experiments is also in progress to improve the races of na- 
 tive German sheep. In these experiments two results are sought : (1) 
 To enhance in certain breeds the weight and fineness of the fleece; (2) 
 to increase the mutton and improve its quality. 
 
 Southdown, Oxfordshire, and Lincoln rams have been imported from 
 England for the first purpose, and Spanish Merino and Eambouillet 
 rams from France and Spain for the second. 
 
 The whole collection includes 4 Southdown rams, 6 Lincoln rams, 5 
 Oxfordshire rams, 15 Spanish Meriiio (part ewes), 5 Eifeler ewes, native 
 German mountain sheep, 4 Heidschnucken ewes, black sheep ; 4 Texel 
 
AGRIOULTUEAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
 
 23 
 
 etpes, Holland breed; 4 Ostfriesea ewes, native; 2 Marseh ewes, na- 
 tive. ' 
 
 The foreign bucks are strijjing specimens of individaal excellence in 
 form, size, and quality of fleece. A simple of wool from the Eambouil- 
 let is remarkably soft, long, and fine. 
 
 The first lambs resulting from this cross of foreign bucks with native 
 ewes came in last spring and look thrifty arid promising. 
 
 EXPERIMENTS IN FEEDING FOR MILK;. 
 
 Protracted experimentation has been carried on with minute care by 
 the professor of agriculture to determine the comparative values of va- 
 rious food-mixtures for the production of milk. The food-mixture while 
 being fed has its ingredients submitted to chemical analyses, so -that a 
 double series of results may be made, if possible, to verify each other. 
 In this way theory and practice are kept abreast in every inquiry. 
 
 The results of these food trials, which where lasting and thorough, 
 have been published by Dr. Werner in a volume entitled Futterban, 
 Plants for Feeding — a work which is of high authority in Germany. 
 Another work on Die Kuh Milch — the milch cow — describes also a se- 
 ries of experiments on feeding, and handling milk. 
 
 After long trial on compounds for milk making, the professor offers 
 the following mixture of fodders as the best he has found : 
 
 Winter feeding for one day, per 1,000 kilograms (2,200 pounds) living weight. 
 [Assimilatetl substances. Chemical composition.] 
 
 !N^ame of fodder. 
 
 Weight. 
 
 Dried. 
 
 Albumen. 
 
 starch, sngar, &c. 
 
 Fat. 
 
 
 KHS. 
 
 85 
 8.5 
 0.5 
 2.2 
 4.4 
 
 Pounds. 
 
 179. i 
 
 13.3 
 
 13.3 
 
 4.84 
 
 9.68 
 
 Kgs. 
 
 10.2 
 5.5 
 5.9 
 1.9 
 3.5 
 
 Pounds. 
 22.44 
 12.10 
 12.98 
 4.18 
 7.70 
 
 Egs. 
 0.45 
 0.55 
 0.8.1 
 0.55 
 0.10 
 
 Pounds. 
 0.99 
 1.20 
 1.87 
 1.21 
 0. -.-J 
 
 Kgs. 
 9 
 
 2.6 
 3.3 
 0.6 
 1.5 
 
 Pounds. 
 19.80 
 5.72 
 7.20 
 1.32 
 3.30 
 
 Kgs. 
 0.09 
 0.10 
 0.10 
 0.20 
 0.01 
 
 Pounds. 
 0. 198 
 
 
 0.220 
 
 MaitrefusB 
 
 0.220 
 0.440 
 
 Chaff (oat and rye) . . 
 
 0.023 
 
 HORSES AND PIGS. 
 
 The stock of hogs is limited to five, namely : One large Yorkshire 
 boar, of moderate merit, and four sows of the same breed. Of horses 
 there are only three Belgian, which are kept simply for farm work. 
 
 FARM FOR DEMONSTRATION. 
 
 This farm, which is used by the professor of agriculture as an appa- 
 ratus to illustrate the cultivation, growth, and special profit of the 
 various crops, comprises 2S hectares (60 acres) of level land. The soil 
 is a rich loam, cofitaiiiino: plenty of chalk. Since p'-^vinus manual prac- 
 tice and experience in farm operations are conditions of admission to 
 the Academy the students do not labor on the' farm fjr demonstration 
 
24 
 
 AGRICITLTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
 
 or elsewhere. It is managed by Dr. Warner and is worked by expe- 
 rienced farm hands, who are paid 2 marks (50 cents) a day for their 
 services. To the college classes this farm gives facilities for observing 
 the results of scientific management, and to the professor such instances 
 as he needs in his lectures on the'various agricultural products. 
 
 EOTATION. 
 
 The farm is cultivated according to a method known as the Norfolk, 
 system. Its entire area is divided into four equal parts for regular ro- 
 tation of crops, as follows : 
 
 Fig. 3. 
 
 No. 1 was occapied this year with mangel-wurzels; No. 2 with 
 oats; No. 3 With red clover :t.id Italian rye grass; No. 4 with two va- 
 rieties of wheat, viz., o;ierrLft 'a square head and the Imperial wheat. 
 Nest season No. 1 will be sown with wheat (No. 4) ; No. 2 with mangels 
 (No. 1); No. 3 with oats (N"o. 2), and No. 4 with red clover and Italian 
 rye grass. In tins way the rotation will be completed in four years. 
 
 The average crops are as follows : 
 
 [One hectare equal to 2^ ficres.! 
 
 Average crop of mangols 
 Maxirauru crop of mangels 
 Average crop of wheat . . - . 
 Maximum crop nf wheat'. . . 
 
 Average crop of oata 
 
 Maximum crop of oats — 
 Bed clover and rye grass . 
 
 Kilograms. 
 
 Tons per 
 hectare. 
 
 100,000 
 110, 000 
 
 110 
 121 
 
 2,500 
 
 2.75 
 
 3,000 
 3,000 
 
 3.3 
 3.3 
 
 5,000 
 10, OOO 
 
 5.5 
 11 
 
 Tons per 
 acre. 
 
 44 
 
 48.4 
 1.1 
 1.32 
 1.32 
 2.2 
 4.4 
 
 Amounts used in seeding. — Wheat, 100 kilograms, equal to 220 pounds 
 per hectare, or 88 pounds per acre ; distance of the drill rows, 30 centi- 
 meters, equal to 12 inches ; cultivated twice with the horse hoe, Oats, 
 100 kilograms, equal to 220 pounds per hectare, or 88 pounds per acre; 
 distance of the drill rows, 20 centimeters, equal to8 inches ; not cultivated 
 with the horse hoe, but sown with 32 kilometers, equal to 70.4 pounds 
 of red clover and Italian rye grass in equal weights each. 
 
 MANUEma. 
 
 In the above system of rotation each division is manured once in four 
 years. A mixture of green and liquid stable manure is applied yearly 
 at the rate of 160,000 kilograms, equal to 352 tons, per hectare, or 70.4 
 tons per acre, to that section which is to be sown to mangels. One-half 
 
AGKICtJLTUEAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 25 
 
 of this quantity (80,000 kilograms per hectare) is spread on tlie ground 
 and plowed under 26 centimeters (10.4 inches) deep, im mediately after 
 the preceding wheat crop has been harvested. Tha other half is ap- 
 plied to the same ground the following spring and covered lightly with 
 the plow. The ground is then harrowed and sown in drills, and the 
 mangels being gross feeders and requiring much cultivation, the fertil- 
 ized soil is gradually prepared for the other crops which follow in the 
 above-named rotation. 
 
 Does the farm for demonstratioji pay ? 
 
 Professor Werner informs me that a fixed sum is appropriated yearly 
 by the Prussian Government to the support of the farm, but that the 
 proceeds from the sale of its products must go back to the treasury. 
 He showed by reference to his ledger, in which I found an itemized 
 balanced account kept with every crop, that the earnings of the farm 
 had exceeded its expenses every year. It must not be forgotten, how- 
 ever, th at th e farm does not bear the burden of student labor, but is worked 
 by regular laborers at 50 cents a day. It was gratifying to learti that 
 the superintendent is permitted to invest the excess of its earnings over 
 expenditures in needed improvements, and it was consoling, I confess, 
 to hear him grumble, like an American, at the magnitude of his needs 
 compared with the smaltness of his means. 
 
 ECONOMIC BOTAN^IOAL GARDEN. 
 
 One of the most valuable means of instruction connected with this 
 Agricultural Academy, is the botanical garden, under the charge of 
 Dr. Koernicke, professor of botany. It is an inclosure which lies imme- 
 diately behind the main building and comprises aboat two morgans of 
 land (If acres), laid out in long beds, which are separated by narrow 
 walks and kept scrupulously clean.' 
 
 In this garden are cultivated all the varieties of nutritious plants that 
 mature in open air in this climate. The treatment and cultivation of 
 eaph plant is carefully- adapted to its habits, so that its seed may be 
 obtained in the highest possible perfection. When ripe the seed is 
 gathered, cleaned, and sifted. Then a portion is put into vials, labeled, 
 and placed in the museum of seeds of economic plants. 
 
 Special efforts are made in this garden to improve the garden veg- 
 etables and bring their seeds to the highest excellence. The conse- 
 quence is that the collection of seeds in the museum of economic botany, 
 most of which were produced here, is unsurpassed by any similar col- 
 lection in the world. The unusual perfection of all the different varie- 
 ties makes the display a remarkable one. 
 
 Striking samples taken from this collection, together with the fruits 
 produced in the botanic garden, were exhibited by Dr. Koernicke at 
 the Exposition in Vienna, held in 1873. 
 
26 AGKICULTUKAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
 
 It is obvious that the economic botanical garden maybe regarded 
 as among the most important means of illustration. It' belongs to the 
 general equipment, to be Used like any other apparatus, and as such fur- 
 nishes to the students opportunity for observing the nicides of propaga- 
 tion, growth, culture, and preservation of the food-plants. It \vould be 
 well for kindred institutions in America if such helps in teaching could 
 be added to their equipments. 
 
 I may further say that a systematic record is kept of all the opera- 
 tions and results in the botanical garden and of the seed collections in 
 the museum. 
 
 SPECIMEN LEOTDEES. 
 
 THE FKIBSLAND COW. 
 
 A lectuie given by Dr. Werner on the Eriesland cow will serve to 
 indicate both the methods of instruction given here and its extreme 
 thoroughness. It was delivered in a stable instead of the open air be- 
 cause of a pouring rain. The specimen used for illustration was a Fries- 
 land cow well stricken with years, and decidedly defective in form and 
 quality. It seems she had been chosen for the purpose of showing the 
 defects which are possible in the breed. 
 
 A class of young men, fifteen in number, stood around the animal 
 with open notebooks, giving the closest attention. 
 
 The professor began by describing minutely the form and character- 
 istics of a perfect milch cow. He represented the ideal milker as a ma- 
 chine for transforming the coarser foods into the largest possible amount 
 of good butter and cheese. He said that the animal could not answer 
 this purpose completely unless she possessed, in high degree, certain 
 characteristics of form and quality. First, none of the parts that go to her 
 general make-up should be incumbered with surperfluous weight. Every 
 organ must have neither more nor less than its due proportion of size 
 \ and compactness. Any excess in the size of a part involves a corre- 
 sponding waste of food used up in supporting i":. A broad chest or a 
 heavy brisket in a milch cow absorbs a portion of the material which 
 would otherwise go to milk. The digestive apparatus, the stomach, 
 the secretion apparatus, milk veins, and udder must all have not only 
 the highest, healthy activity, but they must be developed in certain 
 proportions to each other. The office of the general frame is to support 
 the milk organs, and both in size and shape it should be precisely 
 adapted to its purpose. Inasmuch as the hind quarter sustains the 
 principal milk organs, it should be correspondingly large. The loins 
 must, therefore, be broad, the hips wide apart, the line from hip to rump 
 long, the flanks well down, and the hind legs wide apart. All this will 
 make the hind quarter proportionately more capacious than the chest, 
 which needs oidy room enough for a good-sized heart and stomach. 
 This will give the model milker a shape which is slightly conical, and 
 which is due to the greater development of the posterior parts. 
 
Aq^KICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUKOPE. 27 
 
 The professor further insisted that every organ, whether special dr 
 general, shbuld be fitted in size and strength to its particular dfesign in 
 the ecoubtny of the animal. The milch cow is not & roadster ; her legs, 
 therefore, laay' be delicate and short to serve the purpose of only moder- 
 ate locomotion. She is not a fighter, and, therefore, slight horns and a 
 slender neck are most becoming to her. She is not (or should hot be) 
 a draught animal, and consequently her muscular system ought not to 
 be developed to a capacity greater than is sufficient to support the di- 
 gestive apparatus and special milk, organs. 
 
 But all these facts, continued the lecturer, may be Stated with mathe- 
 matical exactness. The size of the milch cow being given (which is a 
 matter of great moment), all her points would, if she were a perfect 
 milker, be developed in a definite proportion to each other that could 
 be measured and set down in exact figures. The length of head and 
 neck and body, the depth and girth of chest, the breadth of loin, depth 
 of flank, and length of limbs, would stand in an unvarying ratio to each 
 other. Of course there are other indispensable requirements which 
 cannot be submitted to measurement; among these are a soft and flexi- 
 ble skin, of moderate thickness, thick, and elastic hair, and delicate ofi'al 
 throughout. But to these must be added, as the crowning character- 
 istics, a sound constitution, vigorous health, and large and active milk 
 organs. 
 
 "Now," continued the lecturer, "let us see how the Friesland breed 
 comes up to the standard which I have given you. Eeally, no breed has 
 yet produced that ideal animal, the perfect milch cow. The Jersey, other- 
 wise excellent, is too small ; the Ayrshire inclines to fat as she grows 
 old, and refuses to breed ; the Short-horn, which has, of all the bovine 
 breeds, the finest fiber and most flexible organization, was originally 
 a profuse milker, but she has, in most families, had her milk organs 
 reduced, if not dwarfed, by subsequent breeding for beef. 
 
 "The Frieseland cow attains good size, and has an abundant flow, but 
 her bone is somewhat coarse, and she carries generally too much of fat 
 for a model milker, faults which might perhaps be remedied by judi- 
 cious crossing with milking families of the Short-horns. 
 
 "The cow you see before you, y.ouug gentlemen, is full of defects, 
 even as a specimen of the Priesland breed. In size, to be sure, she is 
 all that could be desired (here the proft^ssor made rapid measurements) ;. 
 her top line, indeed, from rump to shoulder, is precisely equal to the 
 line from shoulder to muzzle, and the distance between the eyes is 
 half the length of the face, which are the right proportions. The muz- 
 zle, the space between the horns, the throat, and the base of the neck, 
 show just the normal shape and size ; but the chest lacks sufficient 
 depth, and its girth is too small by 3 inches to hold a healthily-devel- 
 oped heart and stomach. The hind quarter comes nearer to filling the 
 bill ; the loins have the proper breadth, and the hips are just the right 
 distance apart ; but the line from hip to rump is 2 inches short, and the 
 
28 AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
 
 tail is set on 4 inches too far in, which hurts the symmetry of the whole 
 hind quarter. 
 
 "As to the twist, we find it seriously defective ; the thighs have the 
 requisite flatness, but they are so near together as not to afford sufft- 
 <5ient room for the udder, which is consequently too narrow at the base 
 and too long, thus bringing the teats nearly into contact with each other. 
 
 "A model udder is broad in proportion to its length, thus filling out 
 an ample twist; the teats stand well apart and are of the right size for 
 the hand of the milker." 
 
 The lecturer proceeded in this manner until every point- and part of 
 the animal was thoroughly analyzed ; then raising his hat he thanked 
 the young men for their attention, and we passed out, leaving them to 
 follow. 
 
 LECTURE BY DR. GEISELEK ON THE MOWING MACHINE. 
 
 The exhaustive minuteness with which every subject is taught was 
 illustrated in a lecture given by Dr. Geiseler, professor of agricultural 
 mechanics, on the structure and management of the mowing machine. 
 The class consisted of fifteen young men, -who occupied desks and made 
 rapid entries in their note-books as the lecturer proceeded. 
 
 The doctor began by describing separately the properties of cast iron, 
 wrought iron, and steel, and showing the different purpose which each 
 served in the make-up of the machine. A model machine was before 
 him, and he illustrated every statement by exhibiting the part referred 
 to and by rapid sketching on the blackboard. Those parts in which 
 strength alone is needed and bulk is not objectionable are made of cast 
 iron, but for such parts as need strength and elasticity combined 
 wrought iron is used, while the pieces which are so located as to receive 
 the- greatest strain and friction — pieces, in short, which do the most 
 work, must combine the greatest strength, hardness, and elasticity in the 
 smallest compass; these must be made of steel. Here the lecturer, 
 taking the machine rapidly apart, showed each steel piece separately, 
 explained its purpose, gave the reasons for its shape, pointed out its 
 possible defects, and suggested improvements; named the accidents to 
 which it would be liable and the remedies therefor. 
 
 He dealt with emphasis on the more important parts, especially the. 
 sickle, of which be exhibited a number of samples. 
 
 He went on to explain how the sickle is made, its best shape and 
 length, where defective, how kept in order, how abused, how clogging 
 «an be avoided^ how the rivets should be put in, how replaced when 
 broken, and he finally closed by showing the comparative advantages 
 and defects of the different machines, criticisiug freely the samples 
 •he had from several well-known American manufacturers. 
 
 The following skeleton of a lecture on wheat culture by Dr. Werner,' 
 before a class of twenty students will sufBice to show his method of in- 
 struction in the various field crops. 
 
AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 29 
 
 Eapidly writing the scieDtific names of each plant or insect as he men- 
 tioned it, he dwelt first on the seed ; the necessity that it should be 
 sound and healthy ; how obtained ; the best varieties ; what soils pro- 
 duce the best wheat; how prepared for sowing; the implensents for 
 sowing and cultivating, and their uses ; the various weeds that infest 
 wheat, with the habits of each, and the best means of extermination ; the 
 insect enemies of wheat; their various methods of propagation; dis- 
 eases of wheat ; the healthy varieties which are free from fungi. 
 
 ORIGINAL INVESTIGATION MADE AT THE BONN AGRICULTURAL 
 
 ACADEMY. 
 
 It may be premised that original investigation ia the line of indusr 
 trial science or art is the highest work undertaken in an industrial in- 
 stitution. The extent to which the officers of this school have helped 
 to enlarge the boundaries of practical knowledge may be inferred from 
 the following condensed statement. 
 
 The results of original research made at the Bonn Agricultural 
 Academy will include all the new knowledge gained from protracted 
 experimentation in several lines, embracing the products of the farmi 
 and garden and the various domestic animals. 
 
 These include : ' 
 
 1. A series of experiments already mentioned, conducted by Professor 
 Dr. Werner on the foods and forage plants for the most plentiful and 
 economical production of milk. The exi)eriments include also the breed- 
 ing of the cow and the management of milk. The results are embodied 
 in a volume published by Dr. Werner, entitled Kuh-Milch — milch cow. 
 
 2. Another series of experiments by Dr. Werner is published, with 
 the results, in a book entitled Plants for Feeding. 
 
 3. The outcome of exteiasive experiments on 600 varieties of wheat 
 by the same professor has been set forth in a book on The Best Wheats 
 for German Soils. 
 
 4. The experiments in breeding, including [a) the crossing of the na- 
 tive cows of Northern Europe with the " beef" Short-horn, for securing 
 native animals of better beef quality. 
 
 (6.) The experiments now in operation wherein the native and other 
 milkers are crossed with a " milk " Short-horn bull, to improve the milk 
 qualities of subsequent generations. 
 
 (c.) The crossing of the ewes of native breeds of sheep with the rams 
 of the English, the French, and the Spanish breeds, for the purpose of 
 improving the quantity and quality of the fleece and mutton. 
 
 5. The pi?oduction, by Dr. Volger, professor of botany, of all the va- 
 rieties of seeds from the nutritious plants, in a condition of special ex- 
 cellence, as shown in the museum of seeds, must also be reckoned among 
 the contributions to knowledge made here. 
 
 6. Contributions made in the improvement of the various products by 
 culture in the botanical garden. 
 
30 AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
 
 7. The innumerable analyses made in the cTiemicat laboratories by 
 Professor Dr. Kreusler to verify the results reached jn practical ex- 
 periments on the farm or other grounds, as iiistanqed in my account of 
 Dr. Werner's trial of the food mixtures for the milk flow. , ,,, , 
 
 , ,8. Minute a,nd complete observations by Prpfei^sor , Kreusler on the 
 growth, of food plants, noting tim,e, temperature,, moisture, sunlight, 
 state of soil, and all the minute circumstances thataffect the vigor ai^d 
 growth of the plant., . , vi 
 
 One of the printed pamphlets in my possession, entitled Observa- 
 tions on the Growth of the Mais Pflange (Indian corn), by Dr. Kreus- 
 ler, assisted byDrs. Prehn and Hornberger, contains three large charts ; 
 the first showing, at the close of each week, all surrounding conditions 
 which affect growth ; the second presenting the increase of dry weight 
 in certain periods of growth, together with the completion of leaf sur- 
 face and final maturity^ the third exhibiting the periodical growth of 
 the solid substance in a single plant and its organs,. v, . ,, 
 
 I have translated and append chart to my report as a sample of Ger- 
 many accuracy and minuteness in scientific observations. 
 
 The above observations on the growth of the maiz plant cannot be 
 regarded as constituting practical, experiments, their purpose being 
 purely scientific. 
 
 Other German pamphlets in my hands set forth the more practical 
 results of similar researches made under Dr. Kreusler's direction. 
 Their titles are as follows : Observations on the behavior of Ca,ne 
 Sugar under the Influence of Light; Examination of a Chalk Stone 
 from the Bowels of a Horse; The Influence of the Nitrogen and 
 Phosphorous in Manures on the composition of Grain. 
 
 The last pamphlet contains numerous tables showing the amounts of 
 nitrogen and phosphorus found in various manures by quantitative 
 analysis, and tables also exhibiting the amounts of the same substances 
 found by analysis in grain raised ,oa soil fertilized by the same man- 
 ures. 
 
 Many other practical and scientific experiments are published in the 
 Tahrbiicher (annual reports), notably one by Dr. Bb. Geiseler and 
 Dr. Hugo Werner, on the trial of machines, specially a machine for the 
 raising of cream on milk by centrifugal motion. 
 
 CONCLUDING REMARKS. 
 
 It would be fortunate for the colleges of agriculture and mechanic 
 arts in the United States if those who are interested in their success 
 were thoroughly acquainted with the plan and purpose of the agricult- 
 ural academy at Bonn. Such an acquaintance would certainly tend to 
 harmonize opinions respecting American agricaltural schools, which are 
 now various and conflicting. 
 
 In concluding my report allow me to indicate, simply and concisely 
 as may be, two or three general features wherein the institution, at BoAn 
 
AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 31 
 
 differs widely from the kindred schools across the water. It will be seen 
 that these contrasts result from the different conditions of society in 
 gejieral and of educatipu in particular in the two countries, 
 
 In the first place, the course of study in this German academy covers 
 twp years only; and yet it is able in that time to carry its students fur- 
 ther in the various sciences that uitderlie; agriculture than jan the 
 .American , schpols in their four-years' course. The reasoi;i is obvious. 
 Education is more specialized in Germany than in the United States. In 
 other words, the Prussian Government has supplied a special school for 
 every kind of culture in the technical sciences, and it demands that the 
 student shall complete his general education before he enters upon a 
 special one. Accordingly the Bonn Agricultural Academy requires 
 that every applicant tpr admission to its classes shall either be a grad- 
 uate from a,E,eal.schule (high school) or have gone through the first two' 
 years of a German gymnasium ; and either of, these is equivalent to the 
 first twp years in the best of our American colleges. 
 
 As a, consequence this agricultural academy begins when the second 
 year of the American agricultural closes ; and the German student of 
 .agriculture is, therefore, a;ble on his entrance to engage at once in the 
 study of such branches as economic botany, agricultural chemistry, the 
 anatomy and physiology of the domestic animals, &c., because he has 
 guch general knowledge of botany, chemistry, and anatomy as prepares 
 him to grapple witli the special branches of these that are related to 
 agriculture. From lack of schools and time and means the Ameri- 
 can student of agriculture has np such preparation. Under the press- 
 ure of hard necessity, especially in the West, he is compelled to enter 
 one of the State colleges of agriculture and mechanic arts, and to study 
 there the general industrial sciences before he can reach their special ap- 
 plications to agriculture. And the colleges themselves are compelled 
 to give such general instruction in science by the inflexible condition 
 of things. 
 
 If they would refuse, their empty laboratories and lecture rooms must 
 be given over to the owls and the bats. They must inevitably include 
 iu their curricula the general sciences as preparatory to the special ones. 
 And the only course left, while yielding to the pressure of a public ne- 
 cessity, is to take advantage of every favoring influence to push for- 
 ' ward, rapidly as they may, toward the ideal of an agricultural school 
 pure and simple. This they are actually doing year by year. Those 
 who critcise our national schools of agriculture and mechanic arts es- 
 tablished in the different States, see clearly and justly that they should 
 properly teach the professional sciences only, but they fail to see with 
 equal clearness that the obstacles to such exclusive instruction are as 
 yet insurmountable. Justin Morrill, however, saw this with the fore- 
 sight of a statesman, and accordingly so framed the law which gave 
 birth to the national colleges, that branches other than the technical 
 ones could be admitted. 
 
32 AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
 
 But there is another feature in the conditions of admission to the 
 Bonn school quite worthy of our attention. The applicant for entrance 
 is required to have had practical experience in the operations of the 
 farm. Ho must have had actual practice in plowing, planting, culti- 
 vating, and gathering the crops and managing the stock ; in short, be 
 familiar with all the details of farm work, for the authorities regard 
 the innumerable farms of the country as the best possible schools for 
 teaching the mere handicraft of farming. Students in the school at 
 Bonn are therefore not required to engage in manual labor. There is a 
 farm of 50 acres, described above, on which the various field -and garden 
 products are grovvn and used as apparatus fpr illustration in teaching. 
 They have also, as we have seen, 12 acres set apart for the purpose on 
 which detailed experimentation in various crops is carried out. I per- 
 haps ought to add that this school is not open to the peasantry. 
 
 Another of the interesting features of this institution is that all its 
 teaching is strictly and thoroughly scientific. The instruction given in 
 the sciences, on which each branch of agriculture is based, is broad and 
 exhaustive. Forestry, for instance, is taught not simply as an art, but 
 as a concrete science, or rather as a group of sciences, such as botany, 
 physiology of plants, entomology, chemistry of soils, climatology, &c. 
 Horticulture, again, is treated as another cluster of closely related sci- 
 ences, among which I notice such subjects as hei-edity in plant life,- 
 reversion, cross-breeding in the production of new varieties, close-breed- 
 ing, &c. Surely the policy of this agricultural academy is an answer to 
 those who urge that the standard of scientific instruction be lowered in 
 the American schools of like character. 
 
 ROYAL INSTITUTE FOR FRUIT AND WINE CULTURE. 
 
 This school, which was established by the Prussian Government, ten 
 years ago, illustrates th.e liberality with which special technical educa- 
 tion has been provided for in Germany. Its purpose is to make experts 
 in the management of fruit gardens and vineyards ; to find by experi- 
 mentation better methods and more valuable results in fruit and grape 
 culture; to investignte the diseases and insect pests of the various 
 fruits, and to improve the quantity and quality of all fruit crops by the 
 production of new varieties. 
 
 For the attainment of these objects the Eoyal institute has a special 
 equipment, which is ample and complete. In the first place, the school 
 is happily located at Geisenheim, on the Rhine, which is the center of 
 the grape-growing district. Its faculty is composed of men each of 
 whom is widely known as an authority in the specialty he has in charge. 
 Its experimental grounds are extensive, well-stocked, and minutely cul. 
 tivated, each division being under the care of a special expert. Its 
 buildings are convenient and adapted to their purpose. The houses for 
 
AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 33 
 
 the propagation and protection of plants, though not extensive, are well 
 designed and give evidence of sljillful uianagemeut, and the full collec- 
 tions found in its museum, laboratories, and cellars are calculated for 
 practical illustration rather than scieutiflc display. 
 
 A brief statement, embracing the organization of the Royal Institute, 
 (K6ninglichenLehranstalb),its courses of study and general equipment, 
 will properly preface an account of the details which I gathered from 
 personal inspection. 
 
 IHE FACULTY. 
 
 Director Goethe, general executive : Landsca,pe gardening, espaliers, 
 fruit and wine culture, fruit experimentation. 
 
 Dr. Miiller (Chnrgaii), director of botanical garden : Botany, anat- 
 omy, physiology, morphology, and classification of plants. 
 
 Dr. Moritz, cheriust : Analysis of wines, vines, &c. 
 
 Dr. Droysen : Chemistry, zoology, physics, mineralogy, analysis of 
 plants. 
 
 Herr Seucker, lecturer on wiue culture: Manager of expei'imentation 
 and cellarage. 
 
 Herr Seeligmiiller, head gardener: Ornamental plants and vegetables, 
 woodcraft, mensuration, leveling, fruit and plant drawing. 
 
 Herr Gobel : Book-keeping. 
 
 , STUDENTS. 
 
 The number of students is limited by law to fifty — twenty-four 
 seniors and twenty-six juniors. Among these are practical gardeners, 
 who are attending the Institute to complete a one year's course which 
 is especially adapted to their wants. But the larger number are young 
 men who come, some with practice in the rudiments of garden opera- 
 tions and some without such practice, and remain two years, at the end 
 of wliichliime, having received their diplomas, they go into gardens for 
 further practice, and finally take charge of gardens either in Germany 
 Prance, or England. 
 
 In addition to the above there are occasional transient students who 
 enter and remain a few weeks, more or less, to attend lectures on a 
 special part of the course, or on single subjects. 
 
 INSTEUCTITE LABOR BY STUDENTS. 
 
 All students are required to labor in the garden, without pay, from 
 2 p. m. to 7 o'clock in the summer semister, and from 1 p. m. to 4 in the 
 winter semister. The student at the beginning of his course is set at 
 heavy tasks, which do not require skill or experience, but his work 
 gradually takes in the higher processes and finally includes thorough 
 practice in all the artistic operations of the gardener's art. In the two 
 years' course in manual practice the learner is continually under the 
 supervision of an officer, beginning as a common laborer and closing as 
 an expert. Prof^ Seeligmiiller assures me that this large amount of 
 8673 A s 3 
 
34, AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
 
 manual practice is indispensable to the making of accomplished gar- 
 deners. 
 
 The school year begins with the opening of the summer semister on 
 the 1st of April, when applicants are admitted; the winter semister 
 begins after the summer vacation on the 1st of October, at which time, 
 I am told, no new students are received. 
 
 Vacations of a month and three weeks, respectively, occur in Septem- 
 ber and at Christmas, Easter and Whitsuntide. 
 
 EXPENSE. 
 
 The expenses of the student, including room and boarding in the 
 public hall, tuition, &c., are 300 marks ($75) per year,. if a Priissian ; for 
 a foreigner, 350 marks ($87.50) per year. Outside students pay an 
 annual tuitiou for first and second semisters of 60 marks ; for third and 
 fourth semisters, 45 marks; and for fifth and sixth semisters, 30 marks. 
 
 CONDITIONS OF ADMISSION. 
 
 All students, except practiced gardeners and transient pupils, are 
 required as a qualification for admission to have passed the second 
 year of a German gymnasium or a Eealschule of the first order, or. to 
 have gained an equivalent preparation in other like institutions. 
 
 THE COtlBSES OP STUDY. 
 
 • 
 
 It will be seen that the subjects of instruction and practice are all 
 special, covering thoroughly the ground outlined in the charter of the 
 Institute, but kept well within it. There are three courses correspond- 
 ing to the three classes of students mentioned above. 
 
 I. — Eegular course of two years for students prepared at the Grymna- 
 sium or Eealschule; students who come without previous garden prac- 
 tice remain three years for this" course. 
 
 II. — One year's course for practiced gairdeners. 
 
 III. — Different short courses for transient students. 
 
 I. — The two years' regular course includes the. following : 
 
 A. Practical sciences. 
 
 1. Botany, including anatomy, physiology, morphology, as applied 
 in fruit and vine culture, in special connection with plant diseases. 
 
 2. Chemistry, as applied to fruit, vine, and garden culture. Anal- 
 ysis of plant sljructure and the composition of manures. 
 
 3. Physics, embracing the pr.incipal laws of mechanics, light, heat, 
 and meteorology, as related to fruit and grape growing. 
 
 4. Zoology, as treating of all the animals which affect the growth of 
 plants, specially the Insects which are helpful and harmful to fruit and 
 grapes. 
 
 5. Mineralogy as comprising the mmerals and earths in their relation 
 to the composition of soils. 
 
 6. Mathematics, limited to planimetry, stereometry, trigonometry, so 
 ar as applicable to land surveying. 
 
AGEICULTUEAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 35 
 
 B. Horticultural arts. 
 
 1. Fruit culture, comprising the art of fruit raising, fruit breeding 
 and management; the pruner's art, espalier and other forms, fruit clas- 
 sification, the varieties, the profits of fruit raising, diaeagfes and enemies 
 of fruit trees and the vine. 
 
 2. Vesetable culture in connection with forcing, including fruit and. 
 vine propagation. 
 
 3. Market gardening. 
 
 4. Landscape improvement, the laying out, beautifying, and manage- 
 ment of public parks and grounds. 
 
 5. Floriculture, the production and management of ornamental plants. 
 
 6. Wood craft, including the nursery treatment and increase of the 
 principal varieties of woods, with a study of their habits. 
 
 7. Plant drawing and fruit painting, 
 
 8. Field measurement and leveling. 
 
 9. Vine culture, wine making and cellarage, management and im- 
 provement of the vine; planting and training; classification of varie- 
 ties; espalier training of the vine ; trellising; grape' gathering ; treat- 
 ment of the vintage ; handling of wine ; diseases and enemies of the 
 vine ; management of cellars ; statistics of wine making and marketing ; 
 deterioration and adulteration of wines ; standard for the preparation 
 of wine and cellarage. 
 
 II. One year's course for practiced gardeners. 
 
 The practiced gardeners taking this course must have had two years' 
 practice before entering. They take part in Ijoth the practical and 
 theoretical instruction of the regular students, though of ^e latter only 
 in so far as their former education will permit. For. instance, they do 
 not study physics and chemistry, but botany and physiology. This 
 course generally lasts but one year, though students may continue in 
 it longer. 
 
 III. — The hospitanten or transient courses. 
 
 a. Course of four weeks in horticulture and orcharding: This course 
 is conducted in March, and lectures are given on all branches of horti- 
 culture, but especially on orcharding. It includes such subjects as 
 growth of the fruit tree, pomology, preserving of fruits, nursery work, 
 physiology of the fruit tree, treatment of old triees in gardens and on 
 roads, diseases of fruit trees, &c. 
 
 6. Course of four weeks for laborers who do the general work on fruit' 
 trees in gardens and on public roads: These are taiight the practical 
 methods of management; they do not study the theoretical part of 
 horticulture. 
 
 c. The course for vine culture and the keeping of cellars: The stu- 
 dents of this course receive lectures on such subjects -as the propagation 
 of the vine, culture in garden and vineyard, training on walls and houses 
 grafting, manuring, laying out of vineyards, pressing, keeping in cellars,' 
 diseases of grapes, physiology of the vine, chemistry, and analysis of 
 
36 AGRICOLTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPK. 
 
 the viae, &c. They also witness practical demonstrations in the vine- 
 yard here, make excursions to other vineyards and wiiie cellars, work 
 in the press room, the wine cellars, and the laboratories, especially the 
 course in vine culture, and make many extensive microscopic examina- 
 tions. 
 
 Besides euterijig these named special courses, any transient student 
 may enter and studj' one or more subjects of the regular course, includ- 
 ing laboratory work, remaining as long as he likes. The tuition for. 
 transient (or hospitant) students, if they stay for a long course of study, 
 is the same as for regijlar students ; if they enter for one month, 15 marks. 
 
 THE BUILDINGS. 
 
 The four buildings of the Institute are situated in a group in the high- 
 est portion of a 5acre park which slopes gently and evenly toward the 
 Ehine. The main building, 40 by 80 feet and three stoHes high, con- 
 tains the oiiQce of the director, library, lecture-room, museum, and draw- 
 ing room ; a large wing on its western side is used as a microscopical 
 laboratory. Behind this are two structures, the smaller of which serves 
 as a tool-house and barn, while tbe larger one is occupied by the vintage 
 and pressing-roomsi over which is the chemical laboratory. Bast of these 
 is a two-story building, the residence of one of tbe professors, and beyond 
 this, still further east, are the conservatories. The buildings are all of 
 brick and are well adapted to their several purposes. 
 
 West of the main building a large arbor, covered with choice varieties 
 of grapes, leads to the entrance of the mother garden. The grounds 
 are well platted and contain a great variety of trees and flowering shrubs 
 and many ornamental dwarf forms of fruit trees. 
 
 THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUNDS. 
 
 In giving an account of the experimental grounds and their contents 
 I shall adopt the less formal method of describing things as I saw them, 
 making frequent reference to the simple diagram appended to this part 
 of my report. 
 
 Ou the morning of November 1 my card and a brief note, sent to 
 Director Goethe the evening before, was answered by a courteous invi- 
 tation to an interview in which that gentleman kindly offered to help me 
 in all possible ways to gather the tacts I had come to learn. He added 
 that whenever 1 wished to inspect the experimental garden the head 
 gardener. Professor Seeligmiiller, would be at my disposal. 
 
 Accordingly the next morning I found myself, under the guidance of 
 Professor Seeligmiiller, standing within an inclosure of 20 acres which 
 is called , , 
 
 THE MOTHER GARDEN, 
 
 and is used for experimentation in the large and the small fruits, exclu- 
 sive of grapes. This mother garden occupies a slope which inclines to 
 the south, and stands some 50 feet above the village on its front. In 
 outline it is an oblong figure approaching a parallelogram, its sides 
 
AGRICUI-TUERL SCEOOLS IN EUROPE. 37 
 
 somewhat irregular and its length nearly twice its breadth. (See plate.) 
 The entire garden is surrounded by a high, well-kept hedge, with gates 
 that open upon the main drive. 
 
 A glance at the ])late will reveal the plan on which the ground is 
 laid out. A straight gravel road, J 3 feet wide, runs through the center 
 east and west and is intersected by walks (also graveled) on each side 
 at such distances from eaCh other as to divide about half the garden 
 into plats of various sizes for the growth of different shrubs and trees. 
 Gravel roads of the same width extend around the entire garden on the 
 outside along the hcdgi^ Two other similar roads cross the garden 
 north and south at right angles with the central one, all opeuiug'into 
 the two graveled circles, 70 feet in diameter, represented in the cut. 
 At convenient intervals near the walks are large open tanks for water- 
 ing which are supplied through pipes from the mountains. 
 
 Entering the grounds at the west gate, we obsei-ve on the left border 
 of the central road two parallel rows of dwarfed apples, extending from 
 the gate to the first circle. These dwarfed apple stocks have stems 12 
 inches high and generally two opposite branches 12 feet long, supported 
 by a horizontal wire a foot from the ground. The stocks are set along 
 the border 24 feet apart, and the two branches growing in opposite di- 
 rections extend over the intervening distance and touch each other. 
 The pair of dwarf trees that terminate the rows at each end of the bor- 
 der have, for an obvious reason, but a single 12-foot branch extending in- 
 ward. Along the border of the outside road a, which meets the border 
 just described at an obtuse angle, run two rows of pear stocks dwarfed 
 in a similar manner. 
 
 This form of dwarfing, which is used only for apples and pears, is 
 called the cordon horizontal, and is said to be an eiiective stimulator 
 of productiveness. Professor Seeligmiiller informs me that for the per- 
 fection of its fruit no other dwarf form excels the cordon; that two 
 weeks ago, before these were gathered, apples and pears of rare size 
 and beauty hung at short regular intervals. on these horizontal branches, 
 and that each tiny tree bore about a l)ushel. 
 
 The professor afterwards showed m" a few specimens of the Eeinette 
 apple (Der Grasser Oasseler) which were the product of a cordon hori- 
 zontal, and they were remarkably excellent in form and quality ; and at 
 dinner yesterday with the director 1 fourid half a delicious Duchesse 
 pear from a dwarf cordon to be quite sufficient for my dessert. 
 
 Along the border on the right of the road opposite the cordons stand 
 high wire frames supporting espalier apples and pears, which display 
 a great variety of forms, the product of the pruning knife. Among 
 these are fine examples of the palmates, the fanshapes, the diagonals, 
 and the uprights, and horizontal-parallels. The precision with which, 
 in all these forms, the opposite branches are balanced ' is admirable, and 
 the trees when loaded with their uniform rows of fruit make a striking 
 picture. "Cultivated soils and improved varieties," says Professor 
 Seeligmiiller, " are indispensable in the raising of fine fruits, but the 
 
38 AFKICULTUEAL SCHOOLS IN EUEOPE. 
 
 final meafts for gaining the highest excellence is the Icnife." All the 
 borders of the central roads which divide the mother garden into its 
 larger sections are filled with these espaliers, representing the multi- 
 tude of shapes known to the pruner's art. 
 
 But let us glance at the various experimental trees and shrubs con- 
 tained in the plats. Ko. 1 (see plate) is a triangular piece of ground 
 occupied wholly with diminutive cordon apples and pears. The tiny 
 trees are trained in rows, as on the borders, which run in close parallels 
 with mathematical exactness. 
 
 No. 2 indicates five large plats (each 10 rods square) which lie on both 
 sides of the central road, and are planted with standard apple and pear 
 trees representing some three hundred and fifty or four hundred va- 
 rieties under experiment. These standards have also all taken their 
 shape from the pruner's hand, presenting to the eye samples of regular, 
 pyramids, spindles, cones, and globes. 
 
 Between the rows of apple and pear trees in the plats described 
 grow the whole catalogue of improved strawberries, gooseberries, and 
 currant^s, all being under trial as to the comparative values of their 
 yield in quantity, quality, and size. 
 
 No. 3, a section of one of the plats on the north side, is a small nursery 
 (Baumschule) wherein fruit stock is grown until ready for transplanting, 
 and No. 7, on the southeast corner, is a patch of experimental raspber- 
 ries. 
 
 Farther on by the central road we come upon two large squares 
 (marked 4) which occupy about half the mother garden, and constitute 
 its main experimental orchard. The trees, which are in excellent con- 
 dition, are high standards (hochstammig) apple and pear. One sees 
 from the uniformity of size and outline which these trees present that 
 they have likewise taken their form from the pruning knife. Along 
 their front (No. 6) stands an assortment of beautiful apricots. 
 
 Finally we reach the long narrow strip of about 2 acres on the east- 
 ern boundary wherein grow in uniform rows all the varieties of cherries 
 and plums which are found in this latitude the world Over. The trees ~ 
 are large, healthy, and strong, especially the plums, and though the 
 season has been unfavorable from excessive rains the fruit was very 
 excellent and abundant. The curculio in Germany is unknow n. ► 
 
 THE KESUIiTS OF EXPBEIMBNTATION IN THE MOTHER GARDEN. 
 
 Though the mother garden has been cultivated a few years only the 
 results already obtained are sufficient to prove the value of experimenta- 
 tion in fruit production when carried on with the requisite skill and with 
 conditions that are under control. These results may be briefly indicated 
 here, though many of them only confirm similar conclusions which have 
 been reached elsewhere and so have become the common possession of 
 professional gardeners. 
 
AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 39 
 
 Bwarfage. — Among the effects of pruuing, Professor Seeligmiiller 
 finds that the finest fruit is obtained from the most diminutive trees. 
 In other words, the perfection of the crop is, within certain limits, in 
 proportion to the extent to which dwarfing has been carried. Accord- 
 ingly the cordon horizontal dwarfs have produced the finest samples of 
 apples and pears yet reached in the mother garden. They are suitable 
 for apples and pears only. 
 
 The espalier forms, though they uniformly quicken fruit growth, are 
 available mainly as a protection to tender varieties which suffer from 
 the severity of the climate. Examples of the peach espalier are seen in 
 the park behind the buildings. 
 
 Of the four hundred varieties of pears tested on dwarfs and standards, 
 fifty are found to be of the highest excellence for dessert and fifty for 
 cooking. Some two hundred other varieties are moderately good. 
 
 The apples under experiment for comparative excellence include also 
 nearly four hundred varieties ; of these fifty varieties have received the 
 indorsement of the Institute for the German orchards and frait gar- 
 dens. The professor mentions as the very best of these for budding the 
 following sorts: G-old Pearmaiu, Canada Eussett, Grrubensteiner (fall 
 apple), Gray Eusset (winter apple), Landsbnrg (winter apple), Grosser 
 Bohm, Gossler Eusset, Eed Eiser apple, Prince apple, Eed HerbstOal- 
 ville, Eed Winter Calville, White Winter Calville, Virginia Eose apple, 
 Yellow Belleflower, St. Germain, Karl apple, Schwert Gregoin. 
 
 The following sorts have been used for dwarfing, especially for the 
 cordons: Baumann Eusset, Landsburger Eusset, Canada Russet, Gold 
 Pearmain, White Winter Calville, Eed Winter Calville. 
 
 Of peaches from the fifty varieties^ one dozen pass muster. Of twenty- 
 four kinds of apricots, twelve are approved. From sixty sorts of cherries 
 and plums, twenty-five of each ai% pronounced good and thrifty. The 
 foUowing'cherries are specially commended: Black Eagle, Early May, 
 Buettneis Gebbe Knorpel Kirsehe, Grossa Biinte Hertz Kirsche, West- 
 hoefler Knorpel Kirsche. 
 
 , SMALL FRUITS. 
 
 The list of gooseberries in the mother garden contains sixty varieties, 
 including the large English sorts, some of which are without names. 
 All these varieties are infested with shield louse &nd all have mildewed 
 during the prolonged summer rains. Nevertheless some of the fruit, as 
 drawn from actual samples and repi'esented on plate 2, is cettainly re- 
 markable in size. 
 
 Raspberries. — Forty-five varieties. Oat of these twenty-five chosen as 
 suitable for garden in Germany. 
 
 Strawberries. — One hundred varieties in cultivation, of which a dozen 
 only are accepted as first rate. The plants throughout are strong and 
 healthy. 
 
 To the above summary of results reached ia the mother garden should 
 
40 AGEICUl-TURAl. SCHOOLS IN EUEOPE. 
 
 be added tbe experiments on the different willows in which several sorts 
 have beea found best for the following uses : 
 
 1. Salix aurea (Golden willow); for baskets and boxes. 
 • 2. Salix arundifoUa aud 8. glauca; for baskets. 
 
 3. Salix uralensis ; for framing. 
 
 4. Salix amygdalina ; for all uses, i 
 
 NEW VARIETIES PRODUCED IN THE MOTHER-GAKDEN. 
 
 The production of new varieties, especially of the larger fruits, is pro- 
 verbially slow. It requires at least ten years from the process of hybri- 
 dizing to arrive at the final result in the condition of new fruit, and the 
 Eoyal Institute has not been in operation longer than that period. 
 
 Many new apples and pears and a large number of seedlings showicx- 
 cellent promise, but have not yet reached fruitage. ) 
 
 Pour new sorts of raspberries have been produced by the director dud 
 have proved valuable additions in raspberry culture; also four ngjW 
 varieties of gooseberries. In this department of work Director Goeth^ 
 has, furthermore," attained results in the crossing of strawberries that 
 are very striking. I take the following description of four he has ob| 
 tained from the director's own lips : | 
 
 The first, which he calls King Charles, is 1| inches in diameter and 
 excellent in quality. ' 
 
 The second is " Grcesus," oblong, 1^ inches long, very early and sweet, v 
 an abundant bearer. In a warm spring it ripens here by the 1st of May. 
 Its parents are Wilson's Albany and the Beehive. The Beehive must 
 be full of honey to have neutralized the aOid of Wilson's Albany and 
 produced a "sweet" hybrid. 
 
 The third, which is christened Bism'arck, is globular, 2 inches in diame- 
 ter, a good bearer, and of first-rate- quality. 
 
 The fourth. Director Fiirer, so named, is cockscomb in shape, flat on 
 the bottom, light red in color, and excellent in flavor. 
 
 BRIEF NOTICE OP TUE PROCESSES PRACTICED AND TAUGHT IN THE 
 
 MOTHER GARDEN. 
 
 All those operations which belong to the management of trees, both 
 in nursery and orchard, are here performed in a thoroughly scientific 
 manner. The students are required to work at budding aad grafting, 
 transplanting, pruning for standards and the various dwarf forms, in- 
 cluding all kinds of espaliers and cordons. 
 
 Budding is used principally on dwarf varieties for cordon making, the 
 object being to train the tree from the very beginning; the same result 
 can be reached by root-grafting, but not in such perfection. For apples 
 summer budding in August is practiced. The bud is set in about an 
 inch above ground, two-year-old stocks being used. This process is 
 
AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 41 
 
 usually the work of students under instruction, and the healthy condi- 
 tion of the young trees was an excellent proof of their skill. 
 
 The mother garden is as much used in educating the students in the 
 practical operations of horticulture as is the lecture room in teaching the 
 sciences which underlie it. 
 
 THE EXPEEIMBNTAL VmEYAED. 
 
 Crossing the road near the northeast corner of the mother garden, 
 we enter the experimental vineyard, whose outlines are given in Pig. c, 
 plate 3. This interesting inclosure, comprising 8 morgans or 6J acres 
 of land, rises above the garden and slopes downward towards the Rhine 
 with a sharper angle. Standing within it one sees behind him on the 
 north the vine-covered steeps rising terrace above terrace to the mount- 
 ain top, and in front looks down on the red-tiled roofs of Geisenheim and 
 the liuge rugged masses that rise beyond it. The soil is a rich red loam, 
 with abundance of lime, and is said to be the best possijjle for the growth 
 of the wine grape. 
 
 The entire area is divided by graveled roads into eight parallelograms 
 of 1 morgan each, live of which (marked 2) are planted with the Ries- 
 ling and other well-known vines with which the vineyards on the Rhine 
 are usually stocked. The grape crop, which is not yet gathered, is large, 
 being much above the average in this unfavorable season. The stocks, 
 which stand from 3 to 4 feet high in rows 3 feet apart, are seemingly 
 vigorous and healthy. 
 
 Three of the plats are devoted specially to the solution of the numer- 
 ous problems in vine culture. No. 2 is the quarter whereon are tried 
 different methods of staking, pruning, manuring — in short, it is here 
 that all the operations, tools, and modes of cultivation known in grape 
 culture are compared as to effectiveness. It is also the breeding quar- 
 ter in which newly-produced varieties are grown and kept under care- 
 ful observation. 
 
 The two plats marked I are planted with varieties of the wine grape 
 from all quarters of the globe. Here are grapes from Spain, England, 
 France, Austria, Italy, Southern Russia, and from Asia, Africa and 
 America, fhe entire collection embraces three hundred and fifty varie- 
 ties, arranged in artistic order. The two plats are cut lengthwise by 
 graveled walks into long, narrow sections 30 feet wide, across which the 
 vine rows run 3 feet apart from walk to walk. One-half of a single row 
 is assigned to each variety, which occupies twelve ar fifteen stakes with 
 its five or six stocks, the last of which stands on the border, and in this 
 way every sort is brought directly under the eye of the observer in 
 passing along the walk. A single vine with its branches is supported 
 by two or three stakes, and the growth is limited by the use of the 
 knife uniformly to the height of 3J feet. The canes are all seemingly 
 strong and healthy, and though the season has been the worst for the 
 
42 AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE 
 
 grape known in thirty years the crop is certainly an abundant one. 
 The grapes hang in clusters of rare beauty, showing the perfection of 
 each variety in quality and size and displaying all the different colors 
 known to the fruit. Such avineyard can be seen only on this side of the 
 ocean. 
 
 RESULTS IN THE EXPERIMENTAL VINEYARD. 
 
 These extensive experiments in testing the comparative value of the 
 different wine stocks, to find something better than the old Riesling 
 and the Burgundies, are regarded here as full of promise for the future, 
 but it is not time yet to have reached any final results. The vineyard 
 was planted only four years ago, and two of the seasons since have 
 been wet and cold. The facts settled on so far have been only nega- 
 tive — a host of varieties under question having been pronounced worth- 
 less — while in the case of the comparatively few which give signs of 
 great excellence, the final verdict has not yet been reached. The Amer- 
 ican sorts have been condemned without exception. 
 
 The processes in testing the value of the grape for wine are compli- 
 cated and protracted. In the first place the grape must be grown un- 
 der the best possible conditions. Then the wine made from it is tested 
 both by chemical analysis and by storage in the cellar. The first test 
 may be finished at once ; the last, which is much the more important, 
 requires time for its completion. Thus many years must elapse before 
 this experimental vineyard will answer all the questions that have been 
 put to it. 
 
 The following are reported by Professor Seucker, who is the curator 
 of this department, as showing great promise : Black Ebbling, Blue 
 Burgundy, Cabernet Sauvignon, Blue Muskatella, Blue Oxeye, Red 
 Agapautha (very productive). 
 
 EXPERIMENTS IN THE OPERATION OP THE VINEYARD. 
 
 A brief account must be given of the investigations made by experi- 
 ments carried on in Plat 2. On this t)lat, as I have already said, are 
 tested the different operations and materials used in grape culture. 
 The space assigned to my report on the Institute will not admit of full 
 mention of the many matters which are placed under scrutiny here, 
 but a few specimen experiments may be given. 
 
 First, the comparative efficacy of various chemicals and other liquids 
 for the preservation of stakes is being extensively tested under care- 
 fully-observed conditions. One set of stakes was soaked in chloride of 
 zinc before setting, a second set in sublimate, a third in acid of fat, a 
 a fourth in hot tar', a fifth in vitriol, a sixth charred, and a seventh set 
 in the ground with the wood in the natural condition. 
 
 While all the above methods are known to be genuine preservatives, 
 the preference, so far, is given to the tar and the vitriol, a stake soaked 
 
AQRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUEOPE. 43 
 
 in the latter long ago in another vineyard and subsequently transferred 
 to this having already lasted eighteen years and showing no signs of 
 decay. 
 
 EXPE15IMENTS IN METHODS OP TRAIN1N&. 
 
 An interesting series of experiments is in progress here to determine 
 the most profitable of the mimerous methods employed in training. 
 Of these I notice under trial — 
 
 1. One row trained to a single horizontal wire, the vines being 4 feet 
 apart. 
 
 2. On single slender stakes, three stakes to a vine. 
 
 3. On three horizontal wires, the vines trained straight upwards. 
 
 4. Three strong stakes to one vine with strong canes. 
 
 5. One stake to one vine. 
 
 6. On trellis of wires 8 feet high, with transverse wooden slats. 
 
 7. Four stakes to one vine, with extended branches. 
 
 8. Oh one horizontal wire a foot from the ground. 
 
 9. The method known as head training. 
 
 Th^ common method of training in the vineyards on the Rhine is to 
 use three stakes set 4 feet above the ground for one vine with three 
 canes, each cane tied upright to its stake, one of them being trained 
 for the next year's bearing. The stocks in Rhine vinej'ards commonly 
 last thirty years, aud the grapes grown for Rhine wines are the 
 Riesling and the G-estreicher, which are white varieties, the black and 
 the gray Burgundy and the white Gutedel. 
 
 TRIALS OF MAJSrUKES. 
 
 Valuable operations are also carried on in this plat in which the dif- 
 ferent commercial fertilizers used in grape culture are pitted against 
 each other and against cow manure, wherein the results are greatly in 
 favor of the latter. 
 
 DISEASES AND ENEMIES OF THE GKAPE. 
 
 \ 
 
 Vines which are affected with any disease or infested with insect ene. 
 mies, are kept under daily scrutiny and different remedies and means 
 of destruction applied, and the effects noted and taken account of. 
 
 The dreaded philoxera has not reached the Rhine as yet, but it infests 
 the vineyards only 50 miles away, and its presence here is grealty 
 feared. 
 
 The York Madeira, a Spanish grape, is not subject to the ravages of 
 this terrible pest, and consequently all grapes now propagated are 
 grafted on its root. 
 
 THE PROPAGATING HOUSE. 
 
 The propagating house is a very simple affair, but is perfectly ade- 
 quate to the purpose for which it was built. It is entirely below the 
 ground, the glass roof resting on the surface. The sides are walled 
 
44 AGEICULTUEAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
 
 with brick, and there is a small room for potting and preparing cuttings 
 at the entrance. The house is narrow and long, being about 8 by 30 
 feet. The roof is quarter pitch and is made of hot-bed sash, which are 
 fastened with hinges at the top so that tliey can be raised at pleasure. 
 The benches are about 3 feet wide, extending around three sides, with 
 a narrow path in the center. They are filled first with a layer of 
 gravel to insure perfect drainage, then clean river sand, about 2^ inches 
 deep, in which the cuttings are planted. None of the benches have 
 glass covers, but Professor Seeligmtiller informs me that for certain 
 kinds of plants a glass covering is used. The beds lie so close to the 
 roof, however, that for most sorts this precaution is unnecessary. 
 
 The heating apparatus consists of a closed brick furnace with a grate 
 placed beneath the bench at the entrance, so as to be fired from the 
 potting-room, and a large flue made of tile and perfectly tight, so that 
 no smoke or gas can escape into the i)ropagatiug-room. This flue runs 
 beneath the benches, around three si les of the house, passing out 
 through the roof of the potting room. The benches are boarded tightly 
 to the floor, having small doors to the place beneath them, where the 
 thumb pots are stored. This insures a good bottom heat, which is 
 greatest over the furnace and gradually lessens toward the place whei'e 
 the flue passes out. To make this gradation more valuable the space 
 beneath the benches is liivided into compartments. In this way with 
 one fire the best heat for several different classes of plants is obtained. 
 Thus I saw grape, lobelia, alternauthera, and conifer cuttings all doing 
 well in the same benches, each having the bottom heat best adapted 
 for its growth. In the winter the room is ventilated through the door 
 only. As the plants remain here but a short time after rooting, the 
 close atmosphere does them no harm ; it rather stimulates their growth 
 than otherwise, and hence is not objectionable. 
 
 The flue is provided with a door at each corner, so that it can be 
 cleaned as often as necessary. As long as the flue is kept open no diffl- 
 culty is met in maintaining a temperature of 40° K. (122° F.), though 
 this is never necessary. 
 
 As soon the cuttings are rooted they are planted in thumb pots and 
 kept in the propagating house until the roots show against the size of 
 the pot. They are then taktn to the hot-house, cold-house, or planted 
 in the open garden, as may be desired at the time of year. 
 
 For ordinary propagation of the coleus, acharanthus, alternauthera, 
 and similar plants, a sand heat of from 20° to 25° R. (77° to 88° F.) is 
 given ; for geraniums and roses and the hardier flowers generally, 
 about 15° E. (66° F.) is required. 
 
 THE GKBKN- HOUSES. 
 
 The green-houses, two in number, are built entirely above ground, 
 and both side and end walls, as well as the roof, are of glass. The 
 houses are about 3U by 80 feet in size, and 12 feet high from floor to ridge- 
 
AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. , 45 
 
 pole, the eaves being about 7 feet. The sides are made of glass doors, 
 •which are hinged at the top, opening from the bottom upward. There 
 are small ventilators in the peak of the roof, but these are seldom used. 
 The benches are so arranged as to place all tbe'plants as near the glass 
 as possible ; thisre are some exceptions to this rule, of course, but Pro- 
 fessor Seeli^milller insisted that, in most cases, the increased light and 
 sun heat thus afforded is very beneficial to the plants. This is particu- 
 larly true of young plants, and there are several swinging shelves very 
 near the glass devoted to plants just from the propagating house. 
 Both the hot and cold houses are heated by hot-water pipes, this hav- 
 ing been found to be the best apparatus for the purpose. 
 
 The collection of plants, though not large, is interesting, and is in 
 very flue condition. There are some noble ferns here — finer than can 
 be seen in the celebrated Palm Garden at Frankfort or the extensive 
 conservatories at Ghent. I was much pleased with the neatness and 
 care displayed by these houses. Tfie hot-house is very luxuriant; the 
 plants are not rare, but they show perfect health, and their arrange- 
 ment is excellent. The cold-house, of the same size as the other, is oc- 
 cupied by plants in the resting stage, and hence they are not so pleasant 
 to the eye. in this house the geraniums, roses, pinks, 'and otlier sum- 
 mer bloomers are stored, and the temperature is kept low so that they 
 will make but little growth. The rest thus gained prepares them the 
 more perfectly for theif summer's work. 
 
 The above collection is, of course, used as a simple apparatus for in- 
 struction, and students are taught the nature and raanageineiit of all 
 hot-house plants, the care of the greenhouses, and especially the art of 
 propagating. In the last they are thoroughly drilled, and become ex- 
 perts at the business before leaving the school. 
 
 METHODS OP PROPAGATION. 
 
 The propagation of grapes from single buds. — The wood is cut as soon 
 as thoroughly ripened in autumn and kept in sand in the cellar until 
 January or February, when the buds are prepared. The piece taken is 
 made with slanting cuts, beginning half an inch from the bud on each 
 side of it, and meeting opposite the bud. This gives the greatest pos- 
 sible exposure of the inner bark, from which the roots start. The buds 
 thuspreparedareplantedin thumb pots, which contain, first, gravel, then 
 sandy loam, and lastly pure sand, the latter filling about half the pot. 
 The cutting is placed in the sand diagonally so that the bud rests on 
 thfe surface. The pots are then taken to the propagating house, ijluuged 
 into the sand of the benches to their tops to insure the most eveij tem- 
 perature and given a bottom heat of about 88° F. The air is kept moist 
 and the pots quite damp. Some varieties, as^the Concord, take root 
 within three weeks, others requiring much longer. When well rooted 
 they are transplanted into a somewhat stronger soil and kept in a warm, 
 damp green-house near the glass. In subsequent repottings the young 
 
46 A<JEilCULTUKAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
 
 vines are gradually accustomed to the normal out-of-door conditions, 
 and as soon as may be they are planted out in nursery rows and given 
 thorough culture. 
 
 Propagation of conifers from cuttings.— Manj species of Retinospora, 
 Gupressus, Thuya, Chaamsecyparus, Biota, Juniperus, Taxus, Thuiopsis, 
 and Wellingtouia are propagated from cuttings. There are two seasons 
 when this may be doue: one iu September and October, as soon as the 
 new growth ripens, and this is the better time ; again in the spring, be- 
 fore the trees begin to grow. 
 
 The wood taken should be the new shoots, perfectly ripened, and the 
 shorter the better. The cuttings are made with a small portion of two- 
 year-old wood at the base. If taken in the autumn they are planted in 
 the coolest part of the propagating house, and given a bottom heat of 
 11° E. (57° ¥,), and from 12° to 15° E. (59° to 66o P.) air heat. They 
 take root during the winter, and after a short stay in the cold-house are 
 planted in nursery rpws, where they are well cultivated and shaded dur- 
 ing the entire summer. 
 
 If the cuttings are made in the spring they are planted in a leaf 
 hot-bed or in a manure hot-bed of low temparture; the leaf bed is more 
 even in temperature and hence is better. They are kept wet and shaded 
 from tlie sun during the heat of the day. It takes two or three months 
 to root them in summer. When rooted they are potted, kept in a 
 shaded place in the open air, and finally planted* in nursery rows and 
 given the ordinary treatment for conifers. 
 
 The common method of propagating from base cuttings is practiced in * 
 growing grapes, gooseberries, currants, and flowering shrubs. They are 
 here somewhat hastened by planting in a cold frame in the autumn and 
 leaving during the winter ; the protection thus afibrded prepares the 
 cuttings for an earlier start in the spring. 
 
 Winter propagation of shrubs.— The Mlowiug process in propagating 
 the rarer varieties of flowering shrubs is in practice here : The plants are 
 taken up and potted during the late summer months and kept in a dor- 
 mant state until about the middle of December. They are then put into 
 the hot-house and watered freely. The buds soon start and grow very 
 rapidly. When the new growth shows five or six leaves it is cut off 
 with a very sharp knife, planted in perfectly clean sand in the' propagat- 
 ing house and given a bottom heat of about 25° E. (88o P.). As there is 
 danger of the delicate cuttings " damping ofl'," care is taken that they 
 are never very wet. As soon as they are rooted they are planted in 
 thumb pots and kept in the propagating house until repotting is neces- 
 sary. They are then removed to the hot-Iiouso', and, when again trans- 
 planted, to the cold-house and thence to the open air. Many shrubs 
 are grown very quickly in this way ; among others, Frunus triloba, P. 
 cUnensis, the Diervillas, many of the Spireas, especially 8. prunifolia, 
 flora plena, 8. taevigata, 8. aurifolia, and 8. piooniousis. 
 
AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 47 
 
 COLLECTIONS. 
 
 All teclinicfil iiistrnction requires abundance of apparatus in every de- 
 partment. The completeness of equipment of the Eoyal Fruit School 
 may be judged of from the following items gathered in a visit to the 
 museum, under the guidance of Professor Seeligmiiller. 
 
 Eemarking that the collections were used solely as apparatus in 
 teaching, the professor called my attention to — 
 
 1. An extensive collection of minerals arranged to show the constitu- 
 ents of different soils. 
 
 2. A great variety of woods showing discuses caused by insect ravages? 
 and along with these magnifled plates of the insect itself, its eggs and 
 metamorphic forms. 
 
 3. An exhaustive collection of the helpful birds, beautifully mounted, 
 together with their nests and eggs. 
 
 "4. The Aethiope variety of cherry infested with the larva* of the wasp. 
 
 5. A large collection of vines infested with different parasitic fungii. 
 
 6. Many gooseberries covered with. the shield louse. 
 
 7. A large collection of si)ecimens of dried fruits. 
 
 8. Twenty-five varieties of hazel-nuts raised in German gardens for 
 the market. 
 
 . 9. A full collection of grape, apple, and pear seeds. 
 
 10. An assortment of diseased plants preserved in alcohol, one of 
 which shows the ravages of phylloxera. 
 
 11. Gyninosporangium fusorum {'d, minute fungus) on leaves of pear 
 tree. 
 
 12. A collection of the seeds of ornamental trees and shrubs. 
 
 13. A collection of insects harmful to fruits. 
 
 14. A collection of grasses and garden plants, one thousand species 
 and varieties. 
 
 15. A vast collection of leaves, with descrij)tions, neatly catalogued ; 
 among these I noticed all the oaks of Germany. 
 
 , 16. A complete collection of wax casts, made under the direction of 
 Professors Goethe and Seeligmiiller, representing^three hundred varie- 
 ties of apples and corresponding lists of other fruits, large and small. 
 
 THE CHABACTER AND METHODS OF INSTKUCTTON. 
 
 The instruction given at Geisenheim, though its range is limited to 
 the purpose in hand, is very exhaustive and minute. Each science in 
 the course is taught exclusively, by lectures, in which its bearing on the 
 gardener's art is never lost sight of. The pupils take copious notes and 
 study books of reference wherein the topic under consideration is treated, 
 and their thoroughness is tested by frequent examinations. 
 
 The manual arts in fruit and grape culture are taught by actual 
 practice in the mother garden, the experimental vineyard, the museums, 
 and the conservatories, where the principles and processes explained in 
 
48 AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
 
 the lecture-room are applied by each pupil under the supervision of the 
 head gardener. 
 
 Two objects are kept constantlj' in view throughout the two years' 
 course: 
 
 1. That the student shall be thoroughly grounded in the sciences that 
 are applied in the art of gardening. 
 
 2. That he shall attain the highest possible skill as an operator and 
 an expert. 
 
 The course of labor in the gardens is carefully adjusted to answer th^ 
 latter purpose. In the operations which constitute the garden practice 
 there is a gradual progression from the simple to the more complex ; 
 every task.is not only important in itself, but is preparatory to that 
 which follows, and the most difiScult arts lie latest in the series. There 
 is no operation known to gardeners, says Professor Seeligmiiller, which 
 our graduates cannot perform ; and I And abundant proof that the as- 
 sertion is correct. 
 
 The knowledge of the higher operations of the garden, orchard, and 
 vineyard are not gained through observations solely, or through what 
 are called demonstration lectures. Not only is a large share of the or- 
 dinary work done by the lower classes, but the higher classes carry 
 through and repeat the more difflcult processes until they acquire the 
 accuracy and facility of experts. Grafting by students, budding, es- 
 palier training and pruning, dwarfing, pruning in all its forms, and all 
 the processes of propagation may be mentioned as the simplest ex- 
 amples. And we may gain a still further insight into the practical 
 character of the drill given here from the fact that not only are all the 
 abstruse branches of plant heredity taught thoroughly, but correspond- 
 ing practice in their management is furnished to the eye and the hand 
 of the learner. 
 
 The skill shown by the clase under Professor Seeligmuller in the 
 drawing and coloring of plants and fruits was also worthy of the high- 
 est commendation. Their color drawings were so far beyond the stage 
 of elementary instruction that as imitations of nature in form and color 
 I have never seen their equal in the school-room. And the wax models 
 of large and small fruits, which are displayed in the museum as the work 
 of seniors, are equal in beauty and accuracy of imitation to the best of 
 those shown at our Centennial Exhibition at Pjiiladelphia. 
 
 The following skeleton of a lecture by Dr. Goethe, to which I listened 
 may serve to give a more definite notion of the method of teaching 
 which, as before stated, is confined to lectures and frequent examina- 
 tions. 
 
 This lecture was given to twenty-four members of the freshmen class, 
 who rose when we entered the room at its beginning, as also when we 
 left at its close. The director spoke slowly and distinctly, in simple 
 German, drawing rapid illustrations on the blackboard, and stopping 
 
AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 49 
 
 to ask an occasional question. The class listened with close attention, 
 making constant entries in their note-books. 
 
 The subject was the methods of preserving fruits, and the lecturer 
 began by saying that the ordinary way of keeping fruits, either for 
 cooking or wine-making in the autumn, is to make moderate sized heaps 
 on ground, a little elevated, and cover them lightly with leaves of 
 trees, &c. 
 
 2. To keep large fruits (apples, pears, &c.) through^the winter, put the 
 perfect specimens, well cleaned, into large earthen jars that have been 
 fumigated with sulphur. Then let the jars stand open until the evap- 
 oration is completed, when they should be covered tight and buried 
 20 inches under ground. 
 
 3. To preserve the more valuable varieties, wrap each sample in 
 paper, place in dry room or bin, and cover with cut straw a sufifioient 
 depth to prevent freezing. 
 
 4. Another method is to cover the fruit with clean washed dry sand, 
 in such a manner that they do not come in contact with each other. 
 
 Among the numerous methods of keeping grapes the following are 
 the best : 
 
 1. Dry the bunches, burn the ends of the stems, and hang them up in 
 a dry room. 
 
 2. Take small branches with clusters hanging on them and keep the 
 cut end in a bottle of water impregnated with charcoal. This method 
 is much used by the French. 
 
 Then followed a description of the different ways of packing and box- 
 ing for transportation to distant markets, which do not differ from those 
 used in the United States. 
 
 WINE CELLARS AND LABORATORIES. 
 
 Proceeding now to the building containing the laboratories we visit 
 first the live cellars below, wherein experiments are made in the keep- 
 ing of wine under different temperatures. In each of these is a large 
 fass of wine, the quality of which is noted from time to time, under a 
 given degree of heat. In still another compartment are kept the assort- 
 ments of wine made from the grapes of the experimental vineyard, and 
 in the spacious press-room (kelter-haus) further on stood five different 
 wine presses for trial as to comparative merits ; also a number of wine 
 pumps, marking apparatus, a variety of fasses, grape grinders, &c. 
 
 Ascending next to the laboratory above, we pass through several 
 rooms which are used by students for making analyses Of plants to find 
 their constituent elements. 
 
 We enter next the general chemical laboratory, consisting of three 
 rooms well furnished with apparatus necessary for the work in hand ; 
 among them are highly finished balances made by Griessen, Berlin. In 
 this laboratory, which is in charge of Dr. Maritz, are the facilities for 
 the extensive series of analyses which are coextensive with the experi- 
 8673 A S 4 
 
50 AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
 
 ments in progress, thus furnishing couflrmatory tests. In this complete 
 system whatever product is under scrutiny in the garden reveals its 
 components to the expert in the laboratory. I am told that no new 
 fruit grown in the mother garden, or wine from the experimental 
 vineyards, receives its final verdict until the laboratory has passed 
 judgment upon it. 
 
 LIBRARY. 
 
 Leaving, without special notice, the fruit cellars, which correspond in 
 their extent and arrangement with the general equipment, we come 
 finally to the library, a feature in the outfit of a technical school which is 
 quite as indispensable as the experimental grounds and other appa- 
 ratus. This library, which occupies a room in the central building, con- 
 tains four thousand volumes on practical gardening and the sciences con- 
 nected therewith, including, indeed, all the copious treatises on these 
 subjects printed in the German language. In this library is found, 
 moreover, every well-conducted journal on gardening which is published 
 either in German or in the other languages. 
 
 THE EOYAL FOEEST SCHOOL OF BAVARIA AT ASCHAFFENBUEG. 
 
 This institution, which I visited on the first week of December, 1882, 
 is devoted to the preparation of young men for the Eoyal Bavarian 
 Forest Service. It is in reality a preparatory school, in which the stu- 
 dent is fitted for entering in the department of forestry in the Bavarian 
 University at Munich, where his education in this professional line is 
 completed. The extreme thoroughness with which forestry and its 
 allied sciences are taught here may be gathered from the extent of its 
 curriculum and the preparation necessary as a condition of entrance. 
 
 The candidate for admission is required to have made the same at- 
 tainments in general education as are demanded by the Eoyal Agricult- 
 ural Academy at Bonn, namely, thathe shall have completed the studies 
 of a realschule or half the course of a Gymnasium. With such an in- 
 tellectual equipment he engages for two years in the studies that un. 
 derlie forest growth and management and the practice of all the opera- 
 tions and handicrafts connected therewith. 
 
 The staff of instruction consists of^ — 
 
 1. The director, Dr. Fiirst. 
 
 2. The royal forstmeister of Kleinostheim. 
 
 3. The professor of physics and mensuration. 
 
 4. Professor of mathematics. 
 6. Professor of botany. 
 
 6. Professor of zoology. 
 
 7. Professor of chemistry and mineralogy. 
 
 8. Teacher of drawing, who is also librarian. 
 
AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 51 
 
 9. The assistant ia the laboratory and curator of the botanic garden. 
 
 The director is the supreme executive. He is responsible not only for 
 the general order and discipline, but for the instruction given by the 
 professors in woodcraft, &c. 
 
 Every branch in the curriculum is taught by lectures, with abundant 
 illustrations from the scientific and practical collections. 
 
 The following are the subjects which comprise the sciences that are 
 grouped around woodcraft and forestry, and which occupy two years : 
 
 1. Elementary mathematics, including algebra, geometry, plane trigo- 
 nometry, and polygonometrj'. 
 
 2. Experimeutal physics, including universal and physical mechanism, 
 heat, optics, magnetism, and electricity. 
 
 3. Inorganic chemistry. 
 
 4. Mineralogy. 
 
 5. Botany. 
 
 6. Zoology. 
 
 7. Forestry proper. 
 
 8. Stereometry. 
 
 9. Spherical trigonometry. 
 
 It must be understood that the above sciences are studied especially 
 in their application to forestry and woodcraft. The chemistry, for ex- 
 ample, is made to develop, by analysis, the laws and operations of vege- 
 table growth, the chemical composition of the various woods and the 
 soils on which they grow. Botany, which is extensively and thoroughly 
 taught, embraces specially the nature and classification of the products 
 of the forest ; and zoology, while it is broadly grounded in a general 
 knowledge of the laws and facts of animal life, is directed particularly 
 to the animals that inhabit the woods. Forest entomology is studied 
 minutely. 
 
 Throughout the course great pains are taken to bring the student into 
 contact with the natural objects which illustrate his studies, and ex. 
 tended excursions into the woods and fields are made statedly, under 
 the professors of biology and woodcraft. ^ 
 
 Examinations are frequent, and upon the student's standing in these 
 depends the diploma which admits him to the department of forestry 
 in the Eoyal University at Munich. 
 
 There are in attendance some 85 students. 
 
 BOTANIC G-AEDBN. 
 
 Adjoining the main building in the rear is the botanic garden, an 
 inclosure of about 2 acres, which contains the different species and 
 varieties of native forest trees and shrubs, each designated by a metallic 
 label giving its botanical name. 
 
 On the east side of the inclosure stands a small building containing 
 the collection of woods, put up in a form to show^the graining, the 
 layers of growth, the adaptation to polish, &c. 
 
52 AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
 
 THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUNDS. 
 
 As my visit was made during the great floods wMch prevailed through- 
 out the middle and south of Europe, the experimental grounds were so 
 covered with water as to be inaccessible. Dr. Furst informed me that 
 these grounds embrace several acres, and that the habits and hardiness 
 of all the trees that grow in open air in this latitude are being tested 
 thereon, and that the preparation of soil, planting, and culture of each 
 is carefully adapted to its nature and mode of growth. 
 
 I regret to say that 1 waited at Frankfort three weeks to find an 
 opportunity for visiting these grounds, but waited in vain. 
 
 LABORATORIES AND COLLECTIONS. 
 
 The museums and laboratories, which occupy convenient rooms in 
 different parts of the building, contained the following collections : 
 
 A. A full collection of instruments in geodesy, in which are all the old 
 and new measuring and leveling instruments, such as tables of meas- 
 urenaents, theodolites, compasses, &c. 
 
 B. The physical collection, which includes abundant means for dem- 
 onstration by the lecturer, such as technological models, a large number 
 of instruments for measurement and experiment, cathetometers, spherom- 
 eters, many kinds of balances, aerometers, barometers, thermometers, 
 Instruments for measuring moisture, microscopes, magnetometers, bat- 
 
 eries, and different galvanic instruments. 
 
 C. Mineralogical collection, embracing a great variety of fossil forms, 
 and a geological collection which contains the local minerals and rocks, 
 especially those in the neighborhood of Aschaflfenburg. Also a great 
 variety of petrifactions, comprising specimens in botanical and zoolog- 
 ical paleontology. 
 
 D. The botanical collection, which is made up of the native woods 
 preserved in disks and longitudinal sections. Also a complete collection 
 of, fruits and seeds of forest trees, a smaller collection of plates repre- 
 senting the diseases of the native woods, and a beautiful collection of 
 fungus models and dried fungii, a general herbarium, a small collection 
 of fossil plants, and an interesting variety of w ax-plant models for in- 
 struction. To the above may be added the plants and trees of the 
 botanic garden, whereby are taught the actual habits of plant growth 
 in the different families. To these may be added the plants in the 
 greenhouse, where, in two rooms, ^ot and cold, the foreign plants are 
 grown and used for demonstration by the professor. 
 
 H. The zoological collection, which has been made for practical work 
 rather than scientific completeness, embraces neatly mounted specimens 
 of all the birds and animals that inhabit the forests of Germany. 
 Among these the various animals pursued in the chase are conspicuous; 
 in addition, a systematic collection of anatomical specimens preserved 
 jn spirits, and dried preparations of many types of the lower orders in 
 
AGEICULTUEAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. > 53 
 
 the animal kingdom, especially those which include the parasites of 
 men. and animals — in fact, the entomological department is very full. 
 The above collection contains also many models of glass and papier- 
 mach6, representing the various lower animals, the anatomy of the 
 horse, &c. There are many specimens, moreover, for microscopical 
 demonstration. 
 
 -F. There is a large collection of arms and instruments employed in 
 the chase. 
 
 Q. A full variety of means for instruction in drawing, consisting of 
 models, engravings, leaf and flower forms, &c. 
 
 H. The library is exclusively a professional one, consisting of works 
 on practical mensuration and on every branch of physics, chemistry, 
 mineralogy, botany, zoology, the hunter's art, and the science of forestry. 
 It is fully supplied also with works on agriculture and management of 
 estates. 
 
 THE AGRICULTURAL STATION AT GHENT, BELGIUM. 
 
 The Agricultural Station at Ghent is one of nine similar establish- 
 ments sustained jointly by the Government of Belgium and local agri- 
 cultural societies. The building in which it is located is moderate in 
 size, and contains two offices, a chemical laboratory, well supplied with 
 apparatus for analysis, a stable having two stalls, and a feeding-room. 
 The working force consists of the director, D. Orispo, and a chemist 
 with' his three assistants. The chemical work done at this station is 
 limited to the analysis of the following substances: 
 
 1. All foods and products of the farms in the province. 
 
 2. All fodders used for the production of meat and milk, for the pur- 
 pose of determining their comparative values. 
 
 3. All manures, especially the commercial fertilizers purchased and 
 used by the Belgian farmers. 
 
 Director Crispo sayw'that the small farmer of Belgium is shamefully 
 imposed upon by the venders of spurious fertilizers and feeds, which 
 absorb the profits of the farm. When he applies to a guano merchant 
 he gets a worthless mixture of phosphate, saud, and damaged guano ; if 
 he seeks for nitrate, he receives sea salt instead; when he believes he 
 is purchasing oil-cake, they deliver a wretched mixture of dregs. The 
 crops fail, the soil becomes sterile, his cow dies of indigestion ; the 
 farmer's losses are the vender's gains. 
 
 This evil is evidently the result of ignorance, and is to be remedied 
 by increased knowledge. But how can a poor laborer instruct himself 
 when he must work all day and often even by moonlight ? When he 
 has been taught that if guano is good it is not because it comes from a 
 great distance, a peculiar smell and a brown color, that it gives such a 
 stimulus t^ growth, but because it contains assimilative nitrogen and 
 phosphoric acid; that a white, inodorous fertilizer may be just as good 
 
54 AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
 
 if it contains the same elements in the same proportion ; that between 
 two oil-cakes there is no dlflference except that ascertained by analysis 
 in respect to their nutritive values, whatever may be their color and 
 composition; when he knows that the microscope and balance can de- 
 tect what is hidden from plain vision, then he will recognize one of the 
 principal causes of his losses; he will buy with discernment and act 
 with a knowledge of facts. 
 
 It is necessary that the Government recognize the legitimate value of 
 these needs and meet them as promptly and radically as possible. The 
 agricultural str.tion located in each of the nine provinces of Belgium is 
 designated to subserve this purpose aud|to solve other questions that 
 are vital to agriculture. Specimens of commercial fertilizers are 
 brought here by the farmers for analysis and their values accurately 
 determined and every spurious article detected. 
 
 Y-H]gUf: EXPEKIMEWTS IN ANALYSIS OF FOODS, MANURES, ETC. 
 
 It is a surprising fact that of late years the honest manufacturers of 
 commercial fertilizers have come to grief because of the extensive sale 
 of counterfeit fertilizers at much cheaper rates. It is the mission of 
 this station to expose the counterfeits and substantiate the genuine 
 commodity by quantitative analysis and to publish the results. 
 
 Accordingly this station has made, in a single year, analyses of 1,000 
 substances, of which 314 were from within the province, and C86 im- 
 ported. 
 
 Of these there were : 
 
 Different guanos 168 
 
 Sulphates of ammonia 27 
 
 Fertilizers 57 
 
 Superplaospliates 86 
 
 Phosphates 156 
 
 Nitrates 58 
 
 Animal substances , 42 
 
 Oil-cakes 60 
 
 Beet seeds 255 
 
 Miscellaneous 91 
 
 The mostimportant service which this station has done for its prov- 
 ince has been a determination of the quality of various lots of beet 
 seeds offered in the market. The sugar beet is extensively raised in 
 Belgium from imported seeds, some of which are adulterated with 
 valueless mixtures, and some have partially lost their germinative 
 power. The station has determined by accurate methods the value of 
 each sample, and so protected the farmer from fraud. The tests of 
 beet seeds have brought to light the following facts : 
 
 On carefully examining a sample of these seeds one can distinguish 
 three different kinds of different sizes : good, satisfactory, and doubt- 
 ful. The reciprocal proportions, the weight and the germinative power, 
 the number and strength of the germs of each of these three kinds can 
 
AGRICULTUKAL SCHOOLS IN EUEOPE. 55 
 
 be detected and are very different. There is nearly 9 per cent, good, 
 45 per cent, satisfactory, 45 per cent, doubtful, and I per cent, impuri- 
 ties in any given sample, The importance of an experiment which de- 
 tects the different germinative powers of these three kinds of seeds is 
 manifest. 
 
 Analyses have been made also of many foods offered in the market, 
 such as flour, bread, sugars, &c. These analyses have revealed the 
 adulteration of flour by the addition of ground white beans, and the 
 manufacture of impure bread by the use of metallic salts as one of the 
 ingredients. 
 
 The chemical experiments of this station have also shown that a 
 mixture of different refuse substances, among which rice and maize 
 predominate, has been used to adulterate oil-cakes, which have been 
 eagerly purchased by the farmers because of their low price. 
 
 The station has even turned its attention to counterfeits in commer- 
 cial fabrics, and has determined, by infallible processes, the precise 
 amount of cotton present in mixed goods. In one piece of vigone, for 
 example, claimed to contain 15 per cent, of wool, only 6.5 per cent, was 
 found. 
 
 This station has discovered, moreover, that the saltpeter of Ohili is 
 no longer found in the market in a state of purity, the lots which are 
 offered for sale having been adulterated with from 10 to even 50 per 
 cent, of seasalt. 
 
 Feeding experiments conducted at the Ghent station are limited in 
 extent but exceedingly accurate in detail. They consist in the trial ol 
 different food mixtures as to their comparati^'e values in the production 
 of beef or milk. The different ingredients of a food mixture are first 
 analyzed and their chemical constituents quantitatively determined. 
 The mixture is then fed by weight at regular intervals to the steer, 
 which, for example, has been selected and weighed. 
 
 The excrements of the steer, both liquid and solid, are collected by a 
 device arranged in the floor of the stall and weighed every third day. 
 The expenditure in sustaining animal heat and respiration is also esti- 
 mated. The steer itself is weighed at the same time. It is evident that 
 the analysis of the excrements will determine what constituents of the 
 food have been expended in increasing the weight of the animal and 
 how much of increased weight has resulted in consequence. 
 
 At this time (January 10) two beef steers, which are a cross of the 
 Flemish with the Short-horn, occupy the stalls, and the food mixture 
 which they are consuming cont^^ins ground oats and malt refuse, half 
 and half, mixed with chaff to give it bulk. The arrangements for 
 weighing, feeding, and gathering the excrements are convenient and 
 complete. 
 
 The cement floor of the stall slants slightly from the outside towards 
 a depression in the center, to which is connected a rubber tube that 
 
56 AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
 
 leads to a glass reservoir wliich receives the urine ; the solid matter is 
 carefully gathered as it falls. 
 
 A large number of mixtures have been analyzed, tried by feeding, 
 and pronounced upon as to their comparative value. 
 
 Following is a plan of the experimental stable : 
 
 THE HORTICULTURAL SCHOOL AT GHENT. 
 
 On the morning of January 11 1 left the Hotel Eoyal, and walking a 
 mile through the quaint narrow streets, found, with some difBculty, the 
 National Horticultural School, which is located in the southeast portion 
 of the city. Passing through a front inclosure of about 5 acres, I found 
 that the apartments occupied by the school were located at the two ex- 
 tremities of a large conservatory, which had evidently been remodeled 
 and changed from greenhouse to class-rooms, museums, &c. 
 
 Professor Van Hulle, who has charge of horticulture proper, received 
 me courteously and declared himself at my service for the rest of the 
 forenoon. I gathered from him the following facts, which the rapid 
 pencil of Mr. Keffer committed to paper. 
 
 OEaANIZATION. 
 
 The Horticultural School at Ghent is one of two national schools 
 supported by the Belgian Government. It is a department of the Ghent 
 University, though entirely separate in its management and course of 
 study. 
 
 The board of instruction comprises seven offlcers, including the di- 
 rector, who is also a professor in the University. The range of instruc- 
 tion may be gathered from the following departments, to which are 
 appended the names of the professors who conduct them : 
 
 1. Director, Professor Kicks. 
 
 2. Vegetable and arboriculture, Professor Burrenich. 
 
 3. Garden architecture. Professor Pynaerd. 
 
 4. Language (French, Flemish, German, and English), Professor 
 Eodigas. 
 
 5. Theory of horticulture. Professor Van Hulle. 
 
 6. Chemistry, Dr. Vobele. 
 
 7. Plant drawing, Dr. Pannemaker. _ 
 
 The course of study extends through three years, and the list of 
 theoretical studies, when compared with the practical horticultural drill, 
 shows that the school is more elementary in its character than the Hor- 
 ticultural School at Geisenheim ; at the same time the manual skill at- 
 tained by the pupils is of the first order. 
 
AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
 The syllabus of studies stands as follows : 
 
 57 
 
 studies. 
 
 Plant drawing 
 
 Gatden architecture . . 
 
 Vegetable culture 
 
 Arboriculture 
 
 Theory of horticulture 
 
 Botany ". 
 
 Physical geography . . 
 
 Chemistry 
 
 Arithmetio 
 
 Physics 
 
 English language 
 
 G-erman language 
 
 Prench language 
 
 Flemish language 
 
 Hours 
 
 per 
 week. 
 
 Tears. 
 
 CONDITIONS OP ENTRANCE. 
 
 Students are admitted on the following terms: They must be at 
 least fifteen years old, must pass examinations iu geography and arith- 
 metic, and understand sufficient French to receive instruction in that 
 language — this last requirement excludes the sons of the common jieople, 
 ■who speak only Flemish. I may add that French is spoken in Belgium 
 only by the higher classes, and that in the high schools and universi- 
 ties it is used exclusively. 
 
 The number of students is limited to 25, and there are now 23 in at- 
 tendance. Tuition is free, the expenses of maintaining the school being 
 paid by the Government, which gives to students whose parents are in 
 straightened circumstances a gratuity of from 200 to 400 francs per an- 
 num. 
 
 GOVERNMENT. 
 
 The government is rigid. The students are required to show all out- - 
 ward signs of respect to their superiors, to attend lectures punctually, 
 to refrain from all conspiracies among themselves, and to keep aloof 
 from public places of amusement; they are forbidden to use alcoholic 
 liquors, to receive packages from home, to take flowers, plants, or fruits; 
 to play games of chance, or to handle books or instruments without the 
 permission of the professor in charge. 
 
 Each student has his own desk and box for implements, which he 
 must keep in good order ; he has his number in class for the year, and 
 any unexcused absence, either from class or practical work, is punished 
 by extra labor. The director reports the progress and deportment of 
 students to their parents or guardians once in three months. No pupil 
 can be expelled without the permission of the Government minister of 
 the interior. 
 
 The students, when graduated, are employed in the gardens of noble- 
 men and prominent citizens, and often have the management of public 
 parks and grounds. 
 
58 AGRICULTURAL SCHOOES IN EUROPE. 
 
 In tliis school floriculture is made prominent, receiving the principal 
 attention both in instruction and practice. As a consequence botany 
 is more extensively and thoroughly taught than the other natural 
 sciences. 
 
 BOTANY. 
 
 The lectures on botany extend through the entire course. The stu- 
 dents are thoroughly drilled in systematic and structural botany, with 
 a special application of the science to practical horticultural work, and 
 are required to make herbariums of native plants, though no specific 
 number of specimens is demanded. 
 
 The apparatus for instruction is very extensive, consisting of — 
 
 1. The great collections of plants in the conservatories. 
 
 2. An herbarium of thirty thousand specimens, comprising the entire 
 flora of Belgium and a large number of the representative plants of 
 other parts of Europe and of America. The plants, numbered to cor- 
 respond with their names in the catalogue, lie loose in folds of straw- 
 paper, which are placed in covers of tar board and tied with broad 
 bands of tape. These cases, each with the name of its order printed 
 on the shelf on which it stands, are inclose'd with glass doors. 
 
 3. A collection of casts showing the structure and habits of growth 
 of the lower orders of plant life, the different tissues of the Phanera- 
 garaia, the parts of flowers and fruit, &c. 
 
 4. A large number of charts covering the same subjects as the casts. 
 
 5. Six new Hardtnack microscopes, for the use of students, which 
 are supplied with three eye pieces, three objectives, a good light-con- 
 centrator, scalpels, needles, and other apparatus. They were obtained 
 in Paris, the price paid being 250 francs ($48) each. The microscopical 
 laboratory is fitted up with tables for fifteen students arranged parallel 
 to the window, the whole south side of the room being glass. 
 
 HORTICULTURE. 
 
 In theoretical horticulture the students listen to one lecture a week 
 throughout the course. A review of their notes occurs every Saturday, 
 and any errors are then corrected by the professor in charge. All the 
 students work every afternoon, Saturdays included, in summer six and 
 in winter three hours a day. During work they are under the supervision 
 of a foreman who directs and explains the operations performed ; any 
 disobedience to his orders is punished by extra hours of labor. 
 
 Under the system arranged the course in labor is made to correspond 
 to the course of instruction, so that every fact giiined theoretically in 
 the lecture room is reduced at once to practice in the garden. The 
 work, which in the first year is confined to the heavier and more com- 
 mon operations, is changed to a higher order in the second, and in the 
 third comprises those i)rocesses only which require artistic skill. 
 
 During the summer season the senior class, in charge of Professor 
 Van HuUe, make excursions to places noted for the successful man- 
 
AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 59 
 
 ageraent of certain classes of plants, both in Belgium and the adjacent 
 countries. Last summer they visited, among other localities, Mes- 
 sange Place, near Marsche, Belgium, to investigate the method of cul- 
 tivating orchids in practice there. 
 
 THE PROPAGATING HOUSE. 
 
 The propagating house, 60 by 9 feet, is built against a high stone 
 wall, which runs east and west. The roof has a southern slant and sharp 
 pitch, the front wall being only 4 feet high and made of brick. There 
 are two rooms Of equal size, one for the growth of grafted and budded 
 stock, the other for the propagation of flowers from cuttings. The 
 benches are 3J feet wide, with a path 2 feet broad running between 
 them ; they are filled first with a layer of gravel, then 2 or 3 inches of 
 sifted coal ashes in which the cuttings are planted. Ashes are said to 
 be entirely free from fungus growths, though not so good a retainer of 
 moisture as sand ; to obviate this difficulty, and to insure more even- 
 temperature and moisture, the benches are divided into compartments 
 6 feet in length, each of which has a glass covering. There were cut- 
 tings of lobelia in one case, alternauthera in another, in a third some 
 recently potted acharanthi, all looking healthy and strong. 
 
 The house, as are all the conservatories, is heated by hot water-pipes, 
 which run under the benches ; these are boarded to the floor, the bot- 
 tom heat being regulated by doors in the partition. 
 
 Only the more tender plants are rooted in the propagating house ; 
 geraniums are propagated in hot-beds in the spring, and when rooted, 
 are planted at once in the flower borders. Eoses are grown from cut- 
 tings, in beds in the open air, in much the same way that we root cur- 
 rants. 
 
 For soil for flowering plants they use a mixture of peat, leaf loam, 
 and sand, giving a strong and rather heavy soil for the coarser feeders 
 and a light sandy loam for the more delicate ones. 
 
 Much attehtion has been given the subject of mantires for flower cult- 
 ure. In preparing beds for such plants as roses, gluxinias, grosularias, 
 and other strong growers, the soil is enriched with decayed dung-earth, 
 a compost of cow and horse manures only, which has been mixed and 
 turned until of even consistency throughout. For pot culture this de- 
 cayed compost mixed with leaf loam is the best thing. Professor Van 
 HuUe informs me, that can be used. Liquid manure "is found to be 
 the best fertilizer for open air cultivation. It is prepared in the barns, 
 A cemented vat is made and partly filled with water, into which all 
 the excrements, both solid and liquid, are put. Every three weeks the 
 vat is emptied, the contents being diluted with water and poured upon 
 the flower beds. Professor Van Hulle considers this better than any 
 commercial fertilizer made. 
 
60 AGRICULTUEAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
 
 BULB CULTURE. 
 
 The forciug system here is employed in bulb culture with great suc- 
 cess, and as the same process is followed at the Frankfort Palme Gar- 
 den, Geisenheim, and other places I have visited, I will describe it in 
 detail. The bulbs are planted in 4-inch pots about September 1, 
 and placed in a cool, dark cellar, where they, are covered with 3 
 inches of earth. When the tops are about half an inch high the plants 
 are taken to a greenhouse, and each one is covered with a pot to ex- 
 clude the light ; they are left there fourteen da.ys, receiving little water 
 and no bottom heat, at the end of which time they are uncovered, al- 
 lowed full sunlight, watered freely, and given a bottom heat of 15° E. 
 {66° F.), gradually increased during five or six days to 25° E. (88° P.) 
 or more. The bulbs thus treated give large flowers in trusses- of re- 
 markable size. 
 
 THE CONSERVATORIES. 
 
 The Ghent horticultural school has conservatories that are unusually 
 extensive and very valuable as aids to instruction. Before the school 
 was located in its present grounds the property was used as a public 
 botanical garden, and it was during that time that the immense collec- 
 tions were made. 
 
 There is one main conservatory, about 250 by 60 feet, which has a 
 central octagon-shaped room 80 feet in diameter and 40 feet high, two 
 long corridors on each side of this room ^occupied with tropical trees and 
 shrubs, and a wing at each end fitted up as a lecture room. On both 
 sides of the high corridors mentioned there are lower rooms with roofs, 
 which curve to the ground, in which an extensive collection of miscel- 
 laneous plants is grown. The octagon room is well filled with large 
 and beautiful palms, comprehending every known species. I noticed 
 particularly an immense sago tree that had reached the roof and seemed 
 vainly trying to force its way through. 
 
 In the rooms devoted to tropical plants there are some magnificent 
 specimens of the acacia, vanilla. Coffee, and clove trees. All the plants 
 are of good size and seemed strong, but they are not in first rate con- 
 dition. Professor Yan Hulle informs me that the heating apparatus 
 is defective and they have not help enough in the care of the houses to 
 keep them in the best shape. 
 
 The cold house contains plants which, requiring lower temperature, 
 are thriftier than those in the tropical collection. This large structure 
 <200 by 30 feet) has only one glass side, through which sufficient light 
 is admitted to supply the needs of the resting plants. There are here 
 some very fine specimens of auricaria, eucalyptus, myrtle, lauristinus, 
 and camellia, and many old ferns, one of which, of the " stag horn" 
 variety. Is 3 feet high and as many in diameter. 
 
 Going from this to the orchid house I found a good collection of or- 
 
AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 61 
 
 chids, pitcher plants, and aquatic plants, the latter occupying a large 
 vat filled with water, on whose surface lay the immense leaves. 
 
 This whole vast plant collection is employed in teaching — an apparatus 
 whose equal can hardly be found in Europe. The great difference of 
 treatment required by the various plants, their names, habits, native 
 homes, diseases, structure and properties are all clearly and thoroughly 
 taught, the collection affording everything needed in the way of illus- 
 tration. 
 
 I noticed, surrounding one of the curved roofs of the conservatory, au 
 immense gtape " cordon horizontal." It consisted of two vines, one very 
 much the larger, grafted into each other at their extremities. The cordon 
 extended along the lower part of the roof, about 18 inches from the 
 ground, up one end, along the top to the other end, then down and to 
 the place of beginning. The total length is not less than 175 feet, the 
 larger vine being at least 100 feet long, 4 inches in diameter at the 
 ground, and 1 inch at the end of the branches. The fruit spurs, which 
 are cut to four eyes, starting from the main caae or short branches, occur 
 at regular intervals of 2 feet. I was assumed that the vine is a profuse 
 bearer and the fruit of good quality ; certainly it serves an excellent 
 purpose as an ornament. 
 
 YAN HOUTTB'S COMMERCIAL HOETICULTUEAL ESTAB- 
 LISHMENT. 
 
 We visited the grounds of Louis Van Houtte, at the instance of Mr. 
 Lefevre, the United States vice-consul at Ghent. This firm, while doing 
 a heavy business in nursery stock and seeds, makes a specialty of hot- 
 house plants and bulbs. Particular attention is given the origination 
 and propagation of new varieties of flowers, and it was this subject 
 which w% investigated. 
 
 Soil for pot culture. — Everything considered, oak-leaf ihold is found 
 to be the best foundation for soil for pot culture ; with this is mixed 
 short manures, clay, sand, &c., as may be best for the particular plant. 
 As an instance, for forcing hyacinths they mix a great deal of cow ma- 
 nure and sand with the leaf mold. This makes a very rich, light soil. 
 
 'So commercial fertilizers are used. After trying everything of the 
 kind that has been offered, Mr. Van Houtte assures us that he has 
 found nothing so good as the animal manures. 
 
 Boses. — New varieties are obtained principally by crossing, though 
 some good sorts have come from sports. In growing roses, cuttings 
 are generally taken in July and August and planted in sand, under 
 which is a foundation of leaf mold. The beds are covered with white- 
 washed glass. Cuttings are made of half matured wood, and are grown 
 without bottom heat. 
 
 For pot culture of roses they make a soil, using leaf mold as a basis, 
 and with this mixing clay and well rotted horse manure. Care is taken 
 
62 AGEICULTUEAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
 
 that too much clay should not be added so as to make the soil hard, its 
 purpose being simply to strengthen the compound. For out of door 
 culture a clay soil heavily manured with horse dung is best. 
 
 Mr. Van Houtte is a very extensive grower of camellias, azaleas, and 
 rhododendrons ; the greater number of the fifty hot-houses being oc- 
 cupied by these three classes. 
 
 Gamellias.—The camellias are all grafted. Seedlings of the wild 
 single-flowering variety {G. japonica) are grown, and on these are 
 grafted the fine sorts. Most new camellias are sports on old plants ; for 
 instance, they had here a white camellia, and it threw out a branch which 
 produced flowers edged with pink. The latter blossom was a sport, 
 and the branch on Avhich it grew was cut off and grafted ou a wild 
 stock, and thus became the basis of a new variety. No crossing of ca- 
 mellias is carried on here, but in Italy, where these plants are exten- 
 sively grown in the open air, many fine new varieties are obtained by 
 crossing. There are three thousand established varieties of camellia. 
 
 Azaleas. — Here again seedlings of the wild variety. [A. indica) are 
 used as stocks, and only the best kinds are grafted upon them. They 
 employ the common whip graft and wrap with light cotton thread, no 
 wax or other covering being necessary. The wood of both stock and 
 graft is immature, the young shoots being used. The grafts are placed 
 in a glass-covered case in a greenhouse, in a slanting position, so that 
 the water will not stand on the graft and rot it. They are given a gen- 
 tle bottom heat, the glass covering insuring even temperature and 
 moisture. They are watered very little at first and moderately at all 
 times. 
 
 Insect pests. — This firm has tried many things for the destruction of 
 the insects that infest hot-house plants, particularly the shield louse 
 and red spider. Mr. Van Houtte informed us that their most success- 
 ful way of killing these pests is to wash the plants with a solution made 
 by putting ecjual weights of tobacco stems and brown bar kitchen soap 
 in water. The mixture is left to stand twenty-four hours and is stirred 
 thoroughly before using. It is applied to leaves and branches with a 
 brush, and is very effective, without damaging the plants. 
 
 Palms. — There are several houses devoted to the growing of palm 
 trees. The seeds are planted, in sandy loam, in pots, and receive just 
 about such care as we give geraniums ; repotted when needed and wa- 
 tered when dry. The palms are not considered hard to manage and 
 certainly the great number of plants, large and small, all uniformly in 
 perfect health, tended either to prove the assertion or, at any rate, to 
 show excellent care. 
 
 Bulbs. — The best soil for out-of-door culture is a light, sandy, dry 
 loam, which has been heavily manured with well-rotted cow-dung. 
 They require perfect drainage, so that at no time the ground is very 
 wet. All bulbs, except lilies, should be taken up every year as soon 
 as the tops have withered. There is an excellent plan for wintering 
 
AGRICULTUEAL SCHOOLS IN EUEOPE. 63 
 
 bulbs here. They are lifted, during dry weather and the dirt shaken 
 from them ; the tops are cut back, but the roots are allowed to remain. 
 The bulbs thus prepared are placed on shelves in a room of low tem- 
 perature, but they are never allowed to freeze. They lie one layer deep 
 on the shelves, the air circulating freely among them, and they are left 
 wholly without covering. Half hardy bulbs are kept in the bulb-house 
 in pots during the winter. 
 
 The origination of new varieties of bulbs. — As the processes for the dif- 
 ferent species is much the same, I will only describe that for getting new 
 hyacinths. Some new varieties are obtained from sports, but by far 
 the greater number are from seedlings by crossing two old varieties. 
 The process is as follows : When the flower of the mother plant is al- 
 most ready to open the pollen is rertioved by cutting out the anthers. 
 It is then allowed to come to maturity. When fully blown, pollen from 
 the male plant is applied to the stigma of the female, either with a fine 
 camel's hair brush, and this is the better way, or by the fingers. This 
 operation must be performed in bright sunshine during dry weather. 
 The plant thus fertilized must be kept free from rain until the seed is 
 set; an umbrella-like covering is here used to protect it. It must also 
 be completely isolated from other hyacinths, so that no other pollen 
 can reach it. Both plants are always grown in the open air, as they 
 are more apt, iu this way, to be strong and in a naturally healthy con- 
 dition. The seed resulting from the cross is planted, and when the 
 bulb produces flowers its value is determined. It generally takes ten 
 years to get three bulbs of a new variety, and at least twenty-five years 
 before sufflcient bulbs are obtained to begin their sale. 
 
 The orchid houses are very extensive, and a great many novelties are 
 grown. The pot-grown orchids are planted in a mixture of charcoal 
 and broken pottery, and the tops . around the plants are covered with 
 growing sphagnum. The orchids are syringed twice a day in winter, 
 and from three to five times in summer. Every evening the houses are 
 densely filled with steam. During the winter the temperature is kept 
 at from 65° to 80°, averaging 70° P. ' 
 
 The houses and their arrangement. — Most of the houses are long, vary- 
 ing from 60 to 220 feet, and they are from 12 to 20 feet wide. They 
 are all built above ground, the side walls bricked as high as the benches 
 and having glass ends and roof, with the sides above the benches also 
 of glass. All the houses are low, and when there is a central bench it 
 is either elevated or contains tall plants ; the fact that the plants do 
 best nearest the glass not being lost sight of. The houses are all heated 
 by hot- water pipes, which radiate from a central heating house, and so 
 arranged as to keep a current of hot water passing through the pipes 
 constantly. In none of the houses is sand used on the benches ; sifted 
 coal ashes having been found to be better, and the refuse of tanneries 
 the best thing for this purpose. The latter is said to be equal to ashes 
 
64 AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
 
 in its freedom from fungus growths, and superior as a conductor of heat 
 and a retainer of moisture. 
 
 In passing through the houses of this firm we were struck with the 
 universal healthiness of the plants; not a single really poor specimen 
 did we see, and most of them were very thrifty and strong. 
 
 In one of the orchid houses there is a large collection of pitcher 
 plants, among them some of great rarity. "We were shown one with 
 dark green foliage, each leaf terminating in a' tendril which supported 
 a large reddish-brown " pitcher," the lid of which stood rigidly upright. 
 It was valued at $250. 
 
 In one of the " New Zealand " houses there is a magnificent ooHection 
 of acacias and allosias; the odd forms of the acacia leaves contrasting 
 strangely with the fine frond-like leaves of the other. 
 
 There is a large circular-shaped house devoted to specimen palms, 
 bananas, and tree ferns. The plants are from 5 to 15 feet high ; not 
 remarkably large, but in excellent condition. All are fresh and clean, 
 no decaying or sickly leaves being seen. 
 
 DOWNTON COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE. 
 
 The College of Agriculture at Downton, near Salisbury, was estab- 
 lished in 1880 for the purpose of preparing students for positions as land- 
 owners, surveyors, and farmers. 
 
 The faculty numbers, beside the principal, five professors, occupying 
 the chairs of dairy farming, chemistry, natural history, estate manage- 
 ment, and veterinary medicines. Professor Wrightson has charge of 
 the agricultural department, in addition to the duties of general execu- 
 tive. 
 
 The government of the college is vested in a council, composed of the 
 president and the several professors. 
 
 As a condition of admission, students are required to have entered 
 their eighteenth year, and to furnish satisfactory references as to char- 
 acter. There are no entrance examinations, the principal deciding upon 
 the fitness of the applicant for admission. 
 
 Expenses, including board, lodging, laundry, and tuition, but exclu- 
 sive of books, apparatus, breakage, laboratory lees, &c., £129 per year. 
 For students boarding outside the college, £60, both payable in equal 
 installments at the beginning of each term. 
 
 Instruction is given by lectures, field classes, and practical work. The 
 student's progress is. tested by weekly examinations, the results of 
 which are entered upon the record. Each student is required to keep 
 a journal of all the operations of the farm, which is examined at regular 
 intervals by the professor in charge. An inventory of all stock, fix- 
 tures, and improvements is taken once a year, when all students are 
 required to be present. 
 
AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 65 
 
 The farm, which comprises 550 acres, is admirably adapted for pur- 
 poses of instruction on account of its great diversity of soils and prod- 
 ucts. The rotation of crops is so planned as to provide for growing 200 
 acres of grain, and for keeping a flock of sheep, numbering 700 ewes, 
 of the Hampshire Down breed. 
 
 The , museum and library, owing to the recent organization of the 
 institution, are yet in a formative state, though the latter contains a 
 number of standard agricultural and scientific works, and many peri- 
 odicals on these subjects. 
 
 The chemical and physiological laboratories are furnished with the 
 newest apparatus, the one for the study of analytical and agricultural 
 chemistry and the other for botanical and zoological investigation. 
 
 Student labor. — Students are required to work in the fields and to 
 help in the management of the live stock. By special arrangement 
 with the professor of agriculture, they may take any regular detail, 
 such as that of dairyman, pig man, shepherd, &c. ; they are also en- 
 couraged to assist the professors in experiments on the values of ma- 
 nures and feeding stuffs, and in other investigations of interest to the 
 farmer. They receive no compensation for such services. 
 
 SYLLABUS OF SUBJECTS. 
 
 The following syllabus of subjects, selected from samples furnished, 
 will give a definite notion of the range and character of the instruQ.- 
 tion given in this institution. 
 
 AG-EICULTUEE. 
 
 Soils. — 1. Origin ; geological distribution ; classification ; proportions 
 of sand, clay, lime, vegetable matter, mineral fragments ; eJBfects of tillage ; 
 subsoil ; influence of climate, aspect, altitude, slope, color, and texture 
 upon fertility ; land drainage ; claying, clay burning ;' paring and burn- 
 ing, marling, chalking, warping, and mixing; plowing, harrowing, roll- 
 ing, cultivating; effects of fallowing pulverization by frost. 
 
 2. General and special manures; adaptation of manures to crops; 
 conditions which influence the quality of farm-yard manure ; treatment 
 and after treatment of the same, application ; composts ; sea-ware ; 
 green-crop manuring; bones; superphosphates; potash; salts; gyp- 
 sum; guano; sulphate of ammonia; soot; nitrate of soda; refuse 
 cakes ; blood manure. 
 
 3. Implements: Plows, harrows, cultivators, and other tillage instru- 
 ments ; drills, seed barrows, and other sowing implements ; hay ted- 
 ders, horse-rakes, carts, and wagons ; harvesters, reapers, and mowers ; 
 barn implements, thrashing and dressing machines; chaff cutters, root 
 pulpers, and turnip cutters ; steam plows and cultivators. 
 
 Crops. — 1. Eotations; fallowing; root, forage, cereal, and other ordi- 
 nary farm crops ; their history, botanical position, varieties, soils suit- 
 able for; preparation of the ground; times and methods of sowing; kind 
 8673 A s 5 
 
€6 AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
 
 and quantity of manure; seed; after cultivation ; harvesting, consump- 
 tion, or preparation for market; cost of production; probable yield; 
 insect attacks; diseases. 
 
 2. Cultivation of potatoes, raising of new varieties ; marketable vege- 
 tables adapted for field cultivation. 
 
 3. Laying land down to grass ; water meadows. 
 
 Live stock. — 1. Agricultural horses: breeds, general management, 
 feeding, number required, cost of maintaining, capital sunk in. 
 
 2. Sheep : breeds ; management of ewe flock, management of lambs ; 
 winter feeding, shed feeding; relations of food to increase ; wool: Dip- 
 ping, salving, and smearing; number of sheep maintained ppr acre; 
 diseases (foot rot, fluke, fly, &c.). 
 
 3. Cattle : Short-horns, Herefords, Devons, Long-horns, Ayrshires, 
 Polled Galloways, Polled Angus, and other breeds ; rearing and fat- 
 tening of calves ; summer and winter management of store stock ; the 
 fattening process ; pedigree. 
 
 4. Swine: Breeds, management, fattening, bacon curing. Farm build- 
 ings, general design, construction, and cost; fences; capital; labor; 
 task work. 
 
 Dairy farming. — Breeds of dairy cattle ; soils, climates, and crops 
 suitable for dairying ; breeding, feeding, and treatment of dairy stock ; 
 milking; rearing of calves ; management of young stock; cheese mak- 
 ing; butter making; amount of produce per cow ; influence of food on 
 quality and quantity of produce ; dairy utensils ; the commerce of the 
 dairy; American and Canadian dairy farming; suburban dairy farming. 
 
 Cheese and butter making : butter making is carried on all through 
 the year in the college dairy, and cheese making during a portion of the 
 summer session. 
 
 Poultry. — Breeds for laying and for table ; the sitting hen ; manage- 
 ment of young chickens; fattening of fowls; capons; fowl-houses; 
 feeding and general management ;. cost and produce; artificial incu- 
 bation. 
 
 The agricultural instruction is imparted in the form of lectures, field 
 classes, excursions, attendance at sales and markets, and practical work 
 on the farm, in the barns, and in the dairy. 
 
 ESTATE MANAGEMENT AND LAND AGENCY. 
 
 This important subject forms a branch of its own, and isnot left to the 
 joint efforts of the professional staff. The lectures and field classes em- 
 brace the following subjects : Leases and agreements; the drawing up 
 of legal forms and schedules ; valuation between outgoing and incom- 
 ing tenants; valuation of landed and house property; the law of 
 landlord and tentant; life estates; freehold; copy-hold; enfranchise- 
 ment of copy-holds ; uses and principles of valuation tables ; law of 
 fixtures ; dilapidations ; building and repairs ; measurement of brick 
 and other work ; brick making; materials used for building; geology 
 
AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 67 
 
 as it relates to material; pond and tank making and general water sup- 
 ply ; tithe-rent charge ; rates, taxes, &c., as they relate to property. 
 
 ipOEESTRY. 
 
 The history, propagation, uses, treatment, and value of timber trees. 
 Management and valuation of underwood; the planting, thinning, and 
 general management of flr plantations ; measurement of standing and 
 felled timber and of converted timber ; use of sliding scale ; sale of 
 timber and underwood; the economy of woods and forests in the man- 
 agement of estates. 
 
 The lectures are supplemented by practical classes in the neighbor- , 
 ing woods. 
 
 MENSURATION AND LAND SURVEYS. 
 
 Measurement of surfaces ; quantity of land cultivated by va,rious im- 
 plements ; areas occupied by crops ; mensuration of solids and estimates 
 •of the contents of tanks, ditches, wells, manure heaps, walls, ricks, 
 stacks, timber, road-metal, cuttings, and embankments. 
 
 Field and road surveying ; plotting and drawing of plans and de- 
 termination of areas surveyed ; leveling and plotting of levels ; use of 
 prismatic compass, quadrant, &c. ; details of the chain, theodolite, and 
 leveling staff; mode of keeping surveying and leveling books; the 
 ordnance survey, ordnance maps and bench marks. 
 
 BOOK-KEEPING. 
 
 The uses of the day-book, cash-book, journal, and ledger ; journaliz- 
 ing ; opening and closing accounts in the ledger ; profit and loss and 
 balance accounts ; taking stock ; valuation ; partnerships. 
 
 COMMERCIAL KNOWLEDGE. 
 
 Monetary transactions of all kinds ; banking ; buying and selling 
 stock; bank notes; bills receivable and payable; promissory notes; 
 drafts; interest; discount; commission; stamps; technical terms in 
 use in the various markets ; modes of trading in various commodities in 
 different districts ; prices current of cattle, sheep, and pigs ; British and 
 foreign corn, seeds, hops, hay and straw, potatoes, fertilizers, feeding 
 stuff's, hides and skins, wool, butter and cheese, fruits and vegetables. 
 
 PHYSICS AND MECHANICS. 
 
 Barometer, thermometer, rain gauge, and other instruments employed 
 In meteorology ; levers and their combinations; laws of motion; steam 
 engine; agricultural machinery. The steam-engine, grinding mill, 
 thrashing machine, reaper, mower, elevator, plows, &c., on the farm, 
 are periodically taken apart for cleaning, and the students are then ex- 
 ercised in naming the varidus parts, explaining their action, and re- 
 storing them to their proper positions. 
 
68 AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
 
 CHEMISTKT. 
 
 Inorganic chemistry. — Elements and compounds ; symbols and formu- 
 la; equations; weights and volumes; the metric system; correction 
 of gaseous volumes f,OT temperature and pressure ; fhermometric scales f 
 chemical calculations. Chemistry of the non-metallic elements and their 
 principal compounds : Hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, the atmosphere, 
 water, carbon, carbonic acid, ammonia, nitric acid, chlorine, hydrochloric 
 acid, phosphorus, phosphoric acid, sulphur, sulphurous and sulphuric 
 acids, silicon, silicates, bromine, iodine, fluorine, boron. Chemistry of 
 the more important metallic compounds : The alkali metals and their 
 chlori,des, nitrates and sulphates ; chloride, nitrate, and sulphate of 
 ammonium ; calcium, lime, carbonate, phosphate, and superphosphatfr 
 of lime; magnesium, iron, aluminum, copper, and lead. 
 
 Organic chemistry. — Determination of carbon and hydrogen ; consti- 
 tutional fdrmulse ; classification of organic compounds ; cyanogen, prus- 
 sic acid, cyanides, and ferrocyanides. Hydrocarbons : Marshgas, ethy- 
 lene, benzine, anthracene. Derivatives of the hydrocarbons : Wood 
 spirit, formic acid; common alcohol, fermentation, brewing and distill- 
 ing, acetic acid, vinegar making, acetates, fruit essences ; oxalic acid r 
 glycerine, oils and fats, saponification and soap manufacture ; tartaric 
 acid, cream of tartar ; rochelle salt ; citric, lactic, malic, succinic acids ;. 
 grape sugar, cane sugar, starch, dextrine, and cellulose; glucosides;. 
 carbolic acid, benzoic acid, aniline, salicylic acid, and aldehyde, couma- 
 rien, and vanillin ; madder and artificial alizarine, indigo, tannin, gallic 
 acid, pyrogalljol ; urea and uric acid ; alkaloids ; albumen, casein, gela- 
 tin, and allied bodies. , 
 
 Agricultural chemistry. — The relation of the science of chemistry tO' 
 the art of agriculture; food of plants; chemistry of germination; the 
 atmosphere, meteoric water, and soil as sources of plant-food ; physical 
 and chemical properties of soils ; the skeleton or frame-work of soils 
 and the "fine earth" they contain; drainage- waters ; analysis of soils ; 
 chemical changes in the plant and in the soil during growth of crops j 
 rotation of crops; manures, special and general; farm-yard manure; 
 nature, analysis, and adulterations of guanos, superphosphates, and 
 other manures ; constituents and utilization of sewage ; composition of 
 different crops and effect of manures thereon; composition of feeding- 
 stuffs, their manurial value ; foods required for horses, oxen, sheep, and 
 pigs, respectively ; dietetics ; ratio of flesh-formers to heat-givers in the 
 staple feeding-stuffs ; the chemistry of milk and dairy products. 
 
 Laboratory course. — Chemical manipulation; preparation of reagents f 
 experiments with gases; preparation of chemical compounds; chemi- 
 cal testing; qualitative analyses; reactions pf the metals and acids, 
 simple salts, mixtures of salts, organic acids, alkaloids ; quantitative 
 analysis ; determination of the principal acids and bases ; examination 
 of commercial salts, manures, waters, feeding-stuffs, soils, organic com: 
 pounds. 
 
AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 69 
 
 GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY. 
 
 Forces modifying the earth's surface; igneous, aqueous, and meta- 
 morphic rocks ; rock-forming minerals ; the stratified rocks of the Brit- 
 ish Isles, their structure, composition, distribution, economic products, 
 and organic remains ; soils, their origin, properties, and relation to the 
 underlying formations; mineral fertilizers, metallic ores, fuel, and build- 
 ing materials ; springs, water supply, and drainage. 
 
 Practical course. — The examination and identification in the labora- 
 tory of minerals, rocks, soils, and fossils; geological surveying and 
 field-work. 
 
 BOTANY AND VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 
 
 The external conformation of plants ; classification ; structure and 
 functions of the tissues ; chemical composition; plant-food, its sources 
 and nature; vital processes in the plant; hybridization and the pro- 
 duction of new varieties ; a particular knowledge of agricultural plants, 
 especially of grasses, cereals, and clovers ; identification of seeds of 
 weeds in samples ; determination of germinating power of seeds. Pun- 
 gal diseases. Eust, bunt, smut, mildew, ergot, potato disease ; diseases 
 due to animal pests ; malformations. 
 
 Practical course. — Two early morning excursions each week during 
 the summer into the surrounding country (the Hampshire Downs, Avon 
 Valley, and lifew Forest); dissection, description, and identification of 
 flowering and flowerless plants in the physiological laboratory. 
 
 ZOOLOGY. 
 
 Distinctive characters of the classes of animals ; a more detailed 
 knowledge of the mammals, birds, insects, worms and parasites ; pecu- 
 liarities of the vole, hedgehog, mouse, rat, mole, cat, dog, rabbit, sheep, 
 pig, ox, and horse ; of the frugivorous and insectivorous birds and birds 
 of prey; of crop-destroying insects, such as the wire- worm and turnip 
 fly; of the earth-worm, slug, and snail; and of the fluke, bots, and other 
 animal parasites. Instruction in this subject is given b'y means of lec- 
 tures, field classes, and practical work in the physiological laboratory. 
 
 ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY. 
 
 The position, structure, and functions of the organs of circulation, 
 respiration, digestion, secretion, and reproduction in the horse, ox, sheep, 
 -pig, dog, cat, and rabbit; the nervous system and the sense organs; 
 muscles, bones, joints ; dentition, its application in determination of 
 age; inute structure of the tissues; blood, its organic and chemical 
 constitution ; food, the quantities and kinds necessary to balance the 
 losses in the animal body ; the several processes which it undergoes 
 ■during digestion ; production and regulation of animal heat. 
 
70 AGEICULTDRAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
 
 The students are taught anatomy by being required to perform in the 
 physiological laboratory the actual dissection of specimens or parts of 
 specimens of the above-mentioned animals, the result of each dissec- 
 tion being sketched in an api)ropriate book, and all the parts named to- 
 the satisfaction of the professor. The osteological studies are also con- 
 ducted in the laboratory, the students being required to familiarize 
 themselves with the names and positions of the bones of the foregoing^ 
 animals, skeletons of which have been prepared at the college. 
 
 TETEKINARY MEDICINE AND SURaBRY. 
 
 The horse, ox, sheep, pig, and dog, in health and disease; accidents^ 
 and operations; principles and practice of shoeing; parasitic affections; 
 properties, doses, and modes of administration of the ugual therapeutic; 
 agents; stable management; hygiene; breeding, parturition, and ges- 
 tation; diseases connected therewith; hereditary influence; morbid 
 anatomy; demonstrations. 
 
 THE ROYAL AGRICULTUEAL COLLEGE AT CIRENCESTEJR, EITGLAWD- 
 
 Accompanied by my secretary, Mr. 0. A. Keffer, I left London on the 
 morning of February 8, and reached the Eoyal Agricultural College, 
 near Cirencester, Gloucestershire, at 2 p. m. on the same day. We were 
 conducted at once by the porter to the office of the principal, Eev. J. 
 B. M'Olellan, A. M., to whom I had previously written, informing him 
 of the object of my visit. He received us with the proverbial courtesy of 
 a cultured Englishman, and declared that himself and all his faculty 
 would be at my service to furnish the information I had come to seek. 
 
 The members of his faculty, whom I met soon afterwards, are able and 
 scholarly gentlemen, to whose kind attentions the fullness of this report 
 is mainly due. 
 
 THE MXTSEUm. 
 
 Under the guidance of Professors Kinch and Harker we left the oflSce- 
 of the principal to inspect, first, in order, the museum, which contains a 
 large variety of specimens designed for instruction in agriculture. The 
 hall they occupy is about 30 by 60 feet, and the arrangement of the 
 different collections is well adapted to study. In other words, it is, as- 
 one of the professors remarked, " a museum for work instead of scien- 
 tific display." A brief description of the various groups of illustrative 
 objects will show its practical character. 
 
 Among the substances gathered for chemical analysis are a hundredl 
 different commercial fertilizers held in vials, various forage cakes, in- 
 cluding kinds made from seeds of hemp, rape, palm, cocoanut, cotton^ 
 and flax ; a selection of sugars, starches, animal and vegetable oils^ 
 and mineral phosphates. 
 
AGEICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 71 
 
 Further on is a series of excellent wax models representing the Eng- 
 lish root crops, such as mangels, swedes, turnips, and potatoes ; some 
 of these are of remarkable size. Next in order, fastened against the 
 wall, are neatly-preserved samples of a hundred British grasses and also 
 a display of flue cereals. 
 
 Veterinary collections. — About one-fourth of the entire museum is 
 taken up with the veterinary collections, many of which show extreme 
 care and skill in their preparation. A large case contained the whole 
 catalogue of veterinary surgical instruments, and occupying the center 
 of the west end are skeletons of a horse, cow, sheep, i)ig, dog, cat, and 
 rabbit. A similar case incloses the entire list of animal organs, show- 
 ing abnormal or diseased conditions preserved in alcohol. Near at hand, 
 hanging upon the wall, I noticed numerous samples of horseshoes, 
 among which are many novel patterns, never dreamed of except in Eng- 
 land. The pathological group embraces many papier-mach6 models 
 for teaching the anatomy of the domestic animals ; these include deli- 
 cately formed organs, such as the eye, lung, liver, heart, &c., represent- 
 ing both normal and abnormal states. 
 
 But the most remarkable anatomical collection consists of nearly two 
 hundred papier mach6 and natural specimens of animal jaws, illustrating 
 the teeth in all stages of their growth. The dental formation from the 
 foetus to the mature animal is fully illustrated in the horse, the cow, and 
 the sheep. The teeth of the pig, dog, and cat are also included, but not 
 80 fully. This novel and beautiful apparatus for teaching animal den- 
 tition is said to be the best in all England. 
 
 The geological collection, though not complete, comprises many well 
 selected fossils which characterize the geological formations of Eng- 
 land, and three thousand specimens of British plants constitute the 
 college herbarium. The entomological department, though somewhat 
 limited, includes all the harmful insects of the country in which it is 
 gathered, and a series of drawings which show the character of their 
 depredations. 
 
 On the whole the museum, though not striking as a scientific exhibit, 
 is admirably adapted to the purposes of instruction in an agricultural 
 college. 
 
 THE LABORATORIES. 
 
 Prom the museum we were conducted by Professor Harker to the 
 botanical laboratorj' and lecture-room. This consisted of the laboratory 
 proper, in which the biological collections are kept, and the lecture- 
 room where class instruction is given. The first is an ample apartment, 
 containing, among other apparatus, four hundred large, well-executed 
 drawings illustrating zoological and botanical anatomy ; some of these 
 are in water colors and others in crayon. Arranged on convenient ta- 
 bles stand nine Beck microscopes, with 1-inch and J-inch objectives 
 
72 AGRICULTUEAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
 
 attached by nose-pieces. There is also au excellent section cutter for 
 the use of students. 
 
 Botanical garden.— An interesting adjunct of the biological depart- 
 ment, and contributing to its resources for instruction, is the botanical 
 garden, lying behind the main building, and occupying 1 J acres. This 
 garden is laid out in numerous plats, each of which is occupied by rep- 
 resentatives of closely-allied species, including specially a' full list of 
 the grasses and other economic plants. 
 
 In the lecture-room, which is used both for chemistry and botany, and 
 is seated for 135 students, we found also a series of samples of wheat 
 plants with the roots and heads perfectly preserved, the result of an 
 experiment by Sir J. B. Lawes, LL. D., at Eothemsted, llerts, to test 
 the effect of different manures. A single variety of wheat had been 
 grown upon the same soil for nineteen successive harvests. The ground, 
 in this interesting series of experiments, was divided into small plots, in 
 one of which the nineteen successive wheat crops were raised without 
 manure, while in each of the others a definite weight of a specified fer- 
 tilizer was applied every year throughout the series. In this way, by 
 nineteen repeated applications, the exact effect of every kind of manure, 
 whether stable or commercial, was determined. These twenty eight 
 samples of wheat, therefore, present the most interesting object-lesson 
 in the world, the unmanured specimen showing about half the size and 
 weight of the best manured. Of the twenty-seven manures under ex- 
 periment, the size of the wheat plant proved that superphosphate, am- 
 monia salts, and magnesia salts were the best in the order I have named 
 them. 
 
 Department of physics. — The department of phynics occupies conveni- 
 ent apartments over the biological laboratory and lecture-room. The 
 laboratory is well furnished with apparatus for illustrating the various 
 topics of mechanics, light, heat, electricity, &c. Professor Ohan is en- 
 abled to illustrate his lectures on the steam engine with excellent work- 
 ing models, made in section, so that the workings of every part, both 
 internal and external, may be clearly seen. It is evident from the num- 
 ber of model engines, pumps, water wheels, and other mechanical ap- 
 pliances that physics is here taught in its practical relations to agri- 
 culture. 
 
 Chemical laboratory. — The chemical laboratory, which we inspected 
 next in order, comprises four spacious apartments, of which the first is 
 the office of the professor in charge, containing the chemical library, 
 substances for analysis, «&c.; the second is the scale-room, wherein are 
 eight balances manufactured by L. Oertliflg, London ; the third is the 
 general laboratory, in which the students have their practice in qualita- 
 tive and quantitative analysis. This room is furnished with thirty-six 
 tables, each supplied with twenty reagents and all other necessary ap- 
 paratus. The instructive work in this laboratory extends through the 
 
AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 73 
 
 first five, terms of the coui'se, the remaining two being spent in the fourth 
 room, which is used wholly for the analyses of substances connected with 
 agriculture. These analyses are made by the professor, assisted by the 
 senior students, who iu this way become experts in agricultural chemis- 
 try. I noticed several young men busily engaged in finding the con- 
 stituents of some product of the farm under the direction of two assist- 
 ants. 
 
 I cannot withhold my hearty commendation of the completeness of 
 equipment in. this laboratory and the perfect neatness and system which 
 is manifest throughout. 
 
 Worlc of the laboratory. — The original researches made here by the 
 officers and the students under their charge comprise analyses of soils, 
 fertilizers, and all the. products of the farm. At the hazard of repeat- 
 ing what is already given in the course of instruction, I will mention 
 here the most prominent of these, which are either now in progress or 
 have been made recently: 
 
 1. An examination of the physical and chemical properties of several 
 typical English soils, their absorptive powers, &c. 
 
 2. On the uses in agriculture of basic slag from the Gilchrist-Thomas 
 process of steel manufacture. 
 
 3. On the constituents of the varieties of sorghum. 
 
 4. On various coloring matters in plants (belladonna, &c.). 
 
 5. On the water used for drinking and domestic purposes in the town 
 of Cirencester. 
 
 6. On the constituents of the various manures and the plants they 
 are used to fertilize. 
 
 7. On the soy bean [Soja hispida), its chemical composition and value 
 as a food. 
 
 The following is a detailed account of Prof. Edward Kinch's descrip- 
 tion and analyses of the soy bean of China. I append his entire report 
 of the results of this interesting investigation, because it not only shows 
 the character of the work done in his laboratory, but indicates that this 
 bean may be profitably grown in some parts of the Western States. In- 
 deed, the same bean was grown on the experimental grounds of the 
 Iowa Agricultural College last year, and showed a very large yield : 
 
 THE SOY BBAN. 
 
 This bean, sometimes known as the Japan pea and China bean, is the seed of the 
 Soja hispida, Miquel (Glycine hispida, Moeuoh; Doliohos Soja, Linn^; Glycine Sojat 
 Jaquin) a plant of the natural order Leguminosse, suborder Papilionacese, and 
 tribe Phaseolse. Its natural habitat appears to be China and Japan ; it also grows 
 in Mongolia and in India, in the Himalayas, and within the last few years it has been 
 cnltivq.ted experimentally in several European countries. This bean is worth more 
 than a passing notice, as it is the vegetable which approaches most nearly in its 
 proximate chemical composition to animal food. This will be seen later on. 
 
 There are a great number of varieties of the soy bean known, which differ to some 
 extent in the shape, size, and especially in the color of the seed, and in a few minor 
 
74 AGRICULTUEAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
 
 particulars, but which seem to -vary comparatively little in chemical composition. 
 Dr. C. O. Harz has classified the principal varieties as follows : 
 Group I. — S. hispida platycarpa. 
 
 1. olivaoea. 
 
 i. punctata. 
 
 3. melanosperma. 
 
 a. vulgaris. 
 6. nigra. 
 
 c. renisperma. 
 
 d. rubro-cincta. 
 
 4. platysperma. 
 
 5. parvula. 
 Group II. — S. hispida tumida. 
 
 6. pallida (Roxburgh). 
 
 7. eaalanea. 
 
 8. atrosperma. 
 
 These names sufficiently indicate the nature of the variety as far as the seed is con. 
 cerned. 
 
 The soy bean is extensively cultivated in the north of China, whence it is exported 
 to the southern provinces ; it is here pressed for the sake of its oil and the residual 
 cake largely used as a food for man and beast, and also as a manure. 
 
 In Japan it is known by names signifying the bean, and from it are made not only 
 soy but a paste known as miao, which is in constant request at nearly every meal, 
 iofu, or bean cheese, and other foods used to a less extent. This bean cheese is also 
 well known in China, and is obtained by extracting the legumin from the beans with 
 water and precipitating it with brine. Au analysis of it is given below. 
 
 These foods are most valuable additions to the dietary of the Oriental nations, and 
 especially of the Japanese, who use so little animal food ; they tend to supply the 
 deficiencies of the staple food, rice, in nitrogenous matter, fat, and- also in mineral 
 constituents. 
 
 The Buddhist priests, who are strictly forbidden to use animal food, consume con- 
 siderable quantities of these beans, principally in the form of miso. 
 
 The soy bean first attracted attention in Europe in 1873, when specimens from 
 Japan, from China, and from India were shown at the Vienna International Exhibi- 
 tion. Dr. Forbes Watson, reporter on the products of India, called attention to it in 
 the Catalogue of the Exhibits of the Indian Museum. Since then numerous experi- 
 ments have been made on the European Continent on its growth, and also feeding ex- 
 periments with the bean and its straw on different kinds of domestic animals have 
 been prosecuted. Such experiments have been carried on by WoUing and Wein, at 
 Munich; by Haberlandt, Lehman, Harz, Stahel, Zimmerman, Siewert, Wieski, and 
 others, at various stations in Germany, Austria, and Hungary, and experiments have 
 also been made in France and in Italy. 
 
 The proximate chemical composition of some of the different varieties, grown in 
 different places, is now given and compared with some other foods of vegetable and 
 animal origin. 
 
AGRICULTTJEAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
 Percentage composition of the soy bean. 
 
 75 
 
 Constituents. 
 
 Water 
 
 NitTogenons matter 
 
 Fat 
 
 Carbohydrates 
 
 Fiber 
 
 Ash 
 
 Pale yellow. 
 
 Japan. China. 
 
 11.3 
 37.8 
 20.9 
 24.0 
 2.2 
 3.8 
 
 9.0 
 32.0 
 18.0 
 32.0 
 4.0 
 5.0 
 
 Germany, 
 &c. 
 
 9.5 
 34.5 
 
 18.0 
 28.5 
 4.5 
 5.0 
 
 India. 
 
 12.0 
 36.0 
 18.0 
 
 |3.0| 
 
 Brown. 
 
 35.1 
 17.8 
 28.6 
 4.5 
 4.7 
 
 Kound 
 black. 
 
 11.2 
 33.0 
 17.2 
 ■29.7 
 4.2 
 4.7 
 
 Lonff 
 black. 
 
 12.7 
 35. S 
 14.2 
 28.5 
 4.4 
 4.4 
 
 It has been shown by Levallois ( Comptes-Sendiis') that the soy bean contains a special 
 variety of sugar, many of its properties.resembling mellltose ; this constitutes about 
 10 per cent, of the soluble carbohydrates. Of the nitrogenous matters nearly all is 
 in the form of albumenoids; a small quantity, about 1 per cent., appears as a pep- 
 tone-like body, and about one-tenth to two-tenths per cent, is non-albuminoid. 
 
 Percentage Composition. 
 
 Gonstitaents. 
 
 Peas. 
 
 Beans. 
 
 Lu- 
 pins. 
 
 Len- 
 tils. 
 
 Lean 
 beef. 
 
 Fat 
 mutton* 
 
 Water 
 
 14.0 
 23.0 
 1.7 
 63.8 
 5.0 
 2.5 
 
 14.8 
 
 24.0 
 
 1.6 
 
 49.5 
 
 7.0 
 
 3.1 
 
 12. -2 
 28.3 
 
 5.0 
 36.4 
 14.1 
 
 4.0 
 
 12.5 
 25.0 
 1.8 
 54.6 
 3.0 
 2.5 
 
 72.0 
 
 10.0 
 
 4.0 
 
 53.0 
 12.0 
 32.0 
 
 
 Fat 
 
 Carbohydrates - 
 
 Fiber 
 
 
 
 Ash 
 
 5.0 
 
 
 
 
 These analyses show the greater richness of the soy beans in nitrogenous matter 
 and in fat than the common bean and pea, and that, when the water is equalized, it 
 more nearly approaches meat in proximate composition. The only leguminous seed 
 of common occurrence, which contains more oil than this bean, is the earth-nut or 
 ground-nut, Arachis hypogaa, which is now so largely cultivated abroad for its oil and 
 its cake. In order to compare the soy bean straw with hay and with other straws of 
 like nature, the.followiug average analyses are given : 
 
 Constituents. 
 
 Water 
 
 ll'itrogenoas matter 
 
 Fat.. 
 
 Carbohydrates 
 
 Fiber 
 
 Ash 
 
 Meadow 
 hay. 
 
 14.0 
 8.2 
 2.0 
 39.8 
 30.0 
 6.0 
 
 Bean 
 straw. 
 
 16.0 
 10.0 
 
 1.0 
 34.5 
 34.0 
 
 4.5 
 
 Pea 
 straw. 
 
 15.0 
 7.0 
 2.0 
 34.0 
 38.0 
 4.0 
 
 Lentil 
 straw. 
 
 14.5 
 14.1 
 
 2.0 
 26.4 
 36.6 
 
 6.4 
 
 Soy 
 bean, 
 straw 
 
 11.3 
 7.8 
 2.2 
 41.6 
 24.9 
 
 Soy 
 bean 
 hulls. 
 
 10.2 
 
 6.0 
 
 1.5 
 
 43.0 
 
 31.0 
 
 8.3 
 
 A special variety of Soja hispida is cultivated in some parts of Japan as a fodder 
 crop and cut just as the pods are fully formed. The hay made from this is much 
 relished by horses, cattle, and sheep. A sample of a crop grown on the Imperial Col- 
 lege of Agriculture Farm, Komaba Tokiyo, gave on analysis : 
 
 Water 15.0 
 
 Nitrogenous matter 19. 8 
 
 Fiber 35.9 
 
 Ash.. 6.8 
 
 Carbohydrates and fat 22.5 
 
 100.0 
 It will be seen that this hay exceeds even lentil straw in the amount of nitrogenous 
 matter it contains. 
 
76 
 
 AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
 
 The following are means of various analyses made in Japan of food products ob- 
 tained from the soy bean, and which are largely consumed there : i 
 
 Percentage eomposiUon. 
 
 Constituents. 
 
 White 
 miso. 
 
 Eed 
 miso. 
 
 Bean 
 
 cheese. 
 
 Frozen 
 
 bean 
 
 cheese. 
 
 Water 
 
 Ifitrogenous matter, 
 
 Tat 
 
 Oarbohydratea 
 
 Tiber 
 
 Ash 
 
 .50.7 
 5.7 
 
 24.4 
 
 12.6 
 6.6 
 
 50.4 
 10.0 
 
 89.0 
 5.0 
 3.4 
 2.1 
 
 .5 
 
 18.7 
 
 48.5 
 
 28.5 
 
 2.6 
 
 1.7 
 
 The ash of miso consists mainly of common salt, which is added in the process of 
 manufacture. 
 
 The ash of the soy bean was found, as a mean of several samples, to have the follow- 
 ing percentage composition. The composition of that of the straw is also given : 
 
 Constituents. 
 
 Soy 
 bean 
 ash. 
 
 Straw 
 ash. 
 
 15.4 
 
 2.2 
 
 44.2 
 
 15.4 
 
 .8 
 
 .2 
 
 9.4 
 
 «.4 
 
 5.5 
 
 PotMh 
 
 Soda 
 
 liime 
 
 Magnesia 
 
 T'erric oxide 
 
 Chlorioe 7 
 
 Phosphorus pentoxide. 
 
 Sulphur trioxide 
 
 Silica 
 
 44.5 
 
 1.1 
 
 5.6 
 
 9.1 
 
 .8 
 
 .2 
 
 32.7 
 
 6.0 
 
 The crop takes from the soil a large amount of valuable mineral constituents, phos- 
 phoric acid and potash, as well as a large amount of nitrogen. 
 
 The results of the German and Austrian experiments show that where temperature 
 is not too low, the result of the harvest as compared with that of ordinary beans or 
 peas is exceedingly satisfactory. 
 
 The kinds most suited for cultivation there are the yellow, brown, round black, 
 and long black varieties, i. e., pallida, castanea, atroaperma, and melanosperma, especially 
 the first three named. They require a vegetation time ot about one hundred and fifty 
 days, during which the average temperature must be about 58° F. (14.3 C), and the 
 sum of the heat (the average temperature multiplied by the number of days) about 
 2,100 C. They may be sown the beginning of May and harvested the end of Septem- 
 ber or even the beginning of October. 
 
 The seeds should not be sown deeply, not more than 1 to li inches deep, and about 
 «ighteen plants to the square yard may be left after weeding and thinning out. The 
 plants grow to a small bush about 2^ feet high, and produce pods with two to five 
 seeds. The most suitable soil is a peaty soil,- or one containing a good deal of organic 
 matter, and the next most favorable is a calcareous soil. Nitrate of soda has been found 
 to be a goodfcianure for the crop in Germany and also potash salts, espexjially potas- 
 Binm sulphate. Ammonium sulphate did not give as good a return as the same amount 
 of nitrogen in the form of nitrate; on soils poor in organic matter it would probably 
 be better to supply the nitrogen in some organic combination, such as rape-cake, 
 shoddy, and the like. Phosphoric acid, especially as a dicaldic phosphate was a help 
 on some soils. 
 
 Field experiments made by myself on this crop in Japan showed that woo% ashes 
 had a good effect, and that anything like an excess of nitrogen was very harmful to 
 
AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. ' 77 
 
 the yield of grain. In that country the plants are often sown on the dividing ridges 
 between the plots of paddy and without any manure. The yield of seed and straw in. 
 the German experiments compares very favorably with that of peas and beans grown 
 tinder the same conditions ; from 2,000 to 3,000 pounds of seed and from 5,000 to 10,000 
 pounds of straw per acre have been obtained. 
 
 Feeding experiments with the produce have been, made with pigs, sheep, oxen, and 
 milch' cows, and with very good results. The beau is a most excellent addition to other 
 foods, especially such as are deficient in nitrogenous matter and fat. The digestion co- 
 effients of the nitrogenous matters of the fat and of the non-nitrogenous matter of 
 the soy bean, and also in the cake left after its pressure for oil, closely approximate 
 to 90 in each. case. As a mean of two direct experiments with soy bean straw, the 
 digestion coefficients were found to be as follows : Nitrogenous matter 60.8, fat 6.2, 
 fiber 33.6, and non-nitrogenous extractive matters 69.0. The hulls are rather less 
 digestible. 
 
 The albuminoid ratio in the bean is about 1 to 2.3, in the straw 1 to 8.1, in the hulls 
 about 1 to 20, and in the cake 1 to 1.3. 
 
 An analysis of the cake shows : 
 
 Water 13.4 
 
 Nitrogenous matter 40. 3 
 
 Fiber -. 5.5 
 
 Carbohydrates 28. 1 
 
 Fat 7.5 
 
 Ash - 5.2 
 
 100.0 
 In good condition it would be a valuable addition to our feeding cakes, but it is 
 too highly valued in the East to enable it to be imported to any extent at a profit. 
 
 The soy bean plant has considerable power of resisting unfavorable climatic influ- 
 ences, as cold, drotight, and wet ; and appears to be particularly free from insect 
 attacks, and, indeed, from all parasites; this last, if it continues, is by no means a 
 slight advantage. The soy beans are eagerly bought by the natives of Southern Italy, 
 an almost vegetarian race ; that they are easily digested I can speak from experience, 
 having frequently used them on my table, cooked after the manner of haricots. Tak. 
 ing into account the great richness of these beans in valuable food constituents, their 
 easy digestibility, the value of the straw, and the great probability of some variety 
 being able to be acclimatized without great trouble, this Soja hispida is worth consid- 
 eration. The bean would form an exceedingly useful addition to the food of the 
 poorer olaeses, as a substitute for a portion of the animal food which in the kitchens 
 of the laboring classes is so wastefully cooked. One use it has already found, not 
 altogether to be commended, viz., after roasting, as an adulterant of and substitute for 
 ooflfee. 
 
 We have procured seeds of several varieties direct from Japan, and of one variety 
 from Germany, and these are now being cultivated in the botanic garden. They were 
 sown rather late, and the month of June has not been favorable to their growth, but 
 some of the varieties promise lairly. 
 
 A WALK WITH THE PEOPBSSOE OP AGEICULTTJKE. 
 
 Starting from the well-kept grounds in front of the college building, 
 under the guidance of Mr. E. Wallace, professor of agriculture, we 
 entered a large open meadow, on which were feeding some thirty-two 
 sheep, that represented nearly all the breeds raised in Great Britain. 
 These sheep, as the professor tells me, are not used for experiments in 
 breeding, but as simple apparatus in teaching and for comparing the 
 
78 AGRICULTUEAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
 
 characteristics of the different races. There were sixteen breeds, each 
 represented by two ewes, which were, indeed, the finest of their kind. 
 The college keeps no rams of these various races; all the ewes were 
 crossed last year with a Cotswold buck, and the resulting lambs fattened 
 and sold to the butcher. 
 
 The professor pointed out the following breeds : 
 
 (1.) Of Downs : Shropshire, Oxford, Hampshire, and Southdown. 
 
 (2.) Of the Multons : Herdwicks, Highland Blackface, Lanks, and 
 Exmore. 
 
 (3.) Of the Leicester and related breeds : Scotch Border, English 
 Leicester, Lincoln, Long-wooled Devons, and Wensleydales. 
 
 (4.) Of the other breeds : Euglish-bred Merinos, Eomney March, and 
 Dorset. 
 
 The lectures on sheep and their management ai'e given by the pro- 
 fessor in this field, with these rich illustrations close at hand. 
 
 wokb:shops, experimental feeding, stables and veterinary 
 
 department. 
 
 Still farther, a quarter of a mile distaut from the college, and, stand- 
 ing near the public road, is a building with several out houses, which 
 contains the veterinary hospital, the various college workshops, and the 
 experimental feeding stables. 
 
 WORKSHOPS. 
 
 We first entered the quarter wherein the workshops are located and 
 took account of their purpose and equipment. These shops are wholly 
 devoted to the manufacture and repair of the implements, machinery, 
 vehicles, &c., used on the college farm, and here the students learn and 
 practice the various handicrafts in the mechanic arts, so far as they re- 
 late to agriculture. The foremen, whom we found in the shops, assured 
 US that the young men under their charge show a great interest in 
 shop work. The work is voluntary, but they are incited to diligence 
 in it by the ottering of silver medals as prizes for the best work done 
 in carpentry, lathe-work, saddlery and harness-making, wheelwright- 
 work, horse-shoeing, and blacksmithing. 
 
 The blacksmith shop is fitted up with the ordinary appurtenances for 
 smithing, and here the farm horses are shod, and the wagons, carts 
 ■ plows, harrows, and other implements mended. We were shown well- 
 made horse-shoes as samples of students' work, and told that most of 
 the smithing was done by them. 
 
 The lathe-room contains five lathes on which such . parts of farm im. 
 plements as can be made by lathe-work are completed. The foreman 
 here also spoke in high terms of the expertness of the young men in 
 the use of the lathe, saying Tbhat though the work was voluntary there 
 was no lack of enthusiasm on their part in this line. 
 
AGRICULTUKAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 79 
 
 The carpenter shop. — Here the foreman, who has twenty-one young 
 men under his charge, exhibited with much pride a number of samples 
 of what his pupils had done in the line of carpenter work. A well-con- 
 structed cart, a wheelbarrow, and several models of farm buildings 
 were among- the articles shown. The following is the course of prac- 
 tice which is completed in this department of shop work : 
 
 1. Mortise and tenon work. 
 
 2. Field gates, 1^-inch scale. 
 
 3. Dovetailing. 
 
 4. Wheelbarrows throughout. 
 
 5. Wheelwright in general. 
 
 6. Ladders of different designs. 
 
 7. Paneling. 
 
 8. Gates. 
 
 9. Windows and frames. 
 
 10. Model buildings on l-inch scale. 
 
 11. Pit sawing. 
 
 Harness shop. — In this shop are displayed specimens of all sorts of 
 harness and saddlery used on the farm. The workshop is above, and 
 the man in charge claimed that his handicraft had many student ex- 
 perts also. 
 
 Stables for experimental feeding. — These consisted of seven or eight 
 spacious rooms, with straw-covered floors and suitable racks and feed- 
 ing boxes. They were in admirable order; indeed, the general neatness 
 of the whole establishment was pleasant to look upon. 
 
 In these stables are kept and fed, under the direction of the professor, 
 cattle of different ages and breeds for the purpose of testing both the 
 eflcacy of different fodder mixtures in fattening and the fattening 
 qualities of the different races. The professor has now under experi- 
 ment only three steers, a Hereford, a Short-horn, and a Devon, on 
 which he is trying the following fodder-mixtures : 
 
 The first begins with 5 pounds oilcake, 100 pounds swedes, and 14 
 pounds hay daily, and closes with 8 pounds oil-cake and the same quan- 
 tities of swedes and hay. 
 
 The second is a mixture of five parts decorticated cotton-seed cake to 
 two parts Indian corn meal ; of this mixture he feeds 5 pounds at the 
 beginning of the experiment, increasing the amount to 8 pounds at its 
 close. The same amount of swedes and hay is fed as with the first 
 fodder. 
 
 The times of feeding are 6 a. m., 1 p. m., and 6 p. m. In the morn- 
 ing one-half the oil-cake is fed with half the swedes (turnips), followed 
 later by 6 pounds of hay. At 1 o'clock the remainder of the oil-cake 
 and swedes is given, and at 6 hay alone is given. The same order and 
 corresponding quantities are fed to the animal on which the fodder- 
 mixture is being tried. The cattle are watered twice a day, and are 
 allowed the free range of their respective stalls. Each steer is weighed 
 daily, and his condition noted and entered in the experimental record. 
 
80 AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
 
 Veterinary quarters. — The same building wherein are located the ex- 
 perimental feeding stables and the workshops contains also a series of 
 rooms in which is the pharmacy, the hospital, and the room for Turkish 
 baths. In the first we found a complete stock of medicines for diseased 
 'animals ; the second consisted of five-box stalls for the reception of sick 
 horses ; and the third (the Turkish bath) is an ingenious contrivance for 
 giving them a profuse sweating whenever the diagnosis requires it. A 
 guinea a week is charged for the keeping aiid treatment of outside ani- 
 mals, and the students are required to make a written diagnosis in the 
 case of each. 
 
 In an adjoining shed is a platform and derrick for dissections, and 
 ranged around convenient seats for those who witness them. At least 
 two horses are dissected here each term by the professor of veterinary 
 medicine and his classes. \ 
 
 THE COLLEGE FARM. 
 
 The college farm, consisting of about 500 acres, is owned by Lord 
 Bathurst and rented to Mr. Eussell Swan wick at 36 shillings per acre on 
 condition that all its operations and stock shall be available as means of 
 instruction to the students. It is situated upon the southern flanks of 
 the Cotswold Hills. The land is inferior, consisting of flat level fields, 
 diversified with low hills, and the soil, which abounds in clay and nowhere 
 exceeds 12 inches in depth, rests upon the limestone rock. 
 
 The farm is divided into twenty fields, which vary from 10 to nearly 
 70 acres. A great variety of crops are raised on the system of rotation 
 known as the " Norfolk, four course" which is varied to meet the necessi- 
 ties of stock raising and market gardening. This rotation runs as fol- 
 lows: 
 
 First year : Mangels, swedes, turnips, or winter vetches, followed by 
 late turnips. 
 
 Second year : Uarley, and occasionally wheat. 
 
 Third year : Forage crops, mown and fed. 
 
 Fourth year: Wheat. 
 
 It will be seen from this rotation that the green crops alternate more 
 or less regularly with the grains. 
 
 Mr. Swanwick, who has gained a high reputation at home and abroad 
 as a breeder of the Sallie Berkshires and of superior Ootswold sheep, 
 is a graduate of the college. The great success of the farm, both 
 financially and educationally, is due largely to his energy and unusual 
 business capacity. The laborers employed are under the direction of 
 two experienced farm bailiffs, one of whom, Mr. Rutherford, is its gen- 
 eral overseer. 
 
 A WALK ON THE FARM. 
 
 On the morning of February 8 we met Mr. Rutherford, the principal 
 farm bailiff at the college, «Fho conducted us across the field to the farm 
 buildings. These are on a large scale, comprising a barn, granary, chaff 
 
AGEICULTUEAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 81 
 
 and root house, machineiu aud carfc sheds, piggeries, cattle stalls, 
 stables, cattle yards, ram sheds, stock j'ard, laborers' cottages, &c. 
 Each building is furnished with the modern conveniences, and in one of 
 them we found a stationary engine for thrashing, sawing, grinding, &c. 
 
 We spent an hour in the business office inspecting the farm accounts. 
 The system on which these are liept is exceedingly simple, comprehen- 
 sive, and minute. Bach field has its number, and careful entries are 
 made of the cost of labor, manuring, cultivation, and harvesting, all of 
 which are charged against it, while its i)roduct is credited, and at the 
 end of the year the balance on the ledger page shows the exact outcome 
 of profit or loss. 
 
 All kinds of labor employed upon the farm is entered in the daily farm 
 book, with its date, rate of pay, and the field in which it was performed. 
 lu journalizing every field and every herd of sheep, swine, horses, or 
 cattle is charged with the labor expended upou it, and all expenditures, 
 whether of feed, machinery, or repairs, are entered in like manner. 
 
 A separate account-book is kept, even for the farm engine which is 
 used for thrashing, straw-cutting, wood-sawing, grinding, &c. The 
 granary account-book shows at any time the amount and value of feed 
 fed per week and the amount on hand. There are also separate books 
 for cattle, sheep, and pigs, wherein are entered the date of birth, pedi- 
 gree, food, care, purchases, and sales ; in short, this book is a condensed 
 history of the stock to date, and the ledger certifies its final result to 
 the owner. 
 
 The cultivation-book records in systematic tables the rotations arid 
 kinds of crops, the expense of cultiviition each day, the amount, kind, 
 and cost of seed sown, and the amount of grain harvested ; besides this 
 a special account is kept with each crop. 
 
 The system of tabulation iu all the above books is simple and conven- 
 ient, and its value lies in the fact that the farmer can at any time deter- 
 mine his financial status. 
 
 How book-keeping and business habits are taught. — The above system 
 of book-keeping is not only of high value In the management of the 
 farm but it is made the means of instructing the students in the keep- 
 ing of accounts and in the principles of business. Beside the systematic 
 drill given in book-keeping by the college itself, every student is re- 
 quired to keep a daily farm-book, in which he gathers and enters an ac- 
 curate account of the same matters as are comprised in the daily farm- 
 book kei)t by the bailiff. This book he completes during the first two 
 terms of his course, at the end of which time a blank cultivation-book, 
 similar to that kept in the oifice, is placed in his hands, in which he 
 enters all the statistics gathered by himself from the fields and their 
 management. The completion of the cultivation book occupies the last 
 four terms of his course. Both books, when finished, are carefully ex- 
 amined and prizes are given the two which are most compreliensive and 
 accurate and which correspond most nearly to the books kept by the 
 8673 A S 6 
 
82 AGEICULTUEAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
 
 farm bailifif. In this way the theory and practice go on together, and 
 many a young man becomes an expert accountant before his gradua- 
 tion. 
 
 Pigs. — We next visited the pens of the piggery, where we found and 
 examined more than a hundred of the famous "Sallie" Berkshires, 
 which have had extensive sale both in America and Europe. Some 
 forty or fifty pens contained pigs of all sizes, from the youngest sucker 
 up to the matured specimen. It was the most remarkable collection of 
 model Berkshire forms that I had ever seen ; scarcely an inferior pig 
 could be seen among them all, and a half dozen boars and a dozen sows 
 were sTiown me whose development was beyond all criticism. 
 
 The ideal Berkshire, with all the faults of his race eliminated, with 
 every valuable point brought to perfection, had been reached in many 
 an instance. Prominent among these was the " Duke of Monmouth," 
 a famous boar, which took the first prize at the national fair last year. 
 He was brought out for my inspection, and Mr. Eutherford challenged 
 me to point out a fVxult in him, which I failed to do. In delicate offal, 
 breadth of ham, and fullness of form generally, no painter of animals 
 could sketch a better hog. The young pigs we inspected were likewise 
 instances of the finest results of judicious breeding. They were all 
 modeled after the same admirable pattern ; the size they had attained 
 at weauing, when they were eight weeks old, was surprising. 
 
 The prices at which these pigs are sold are proofs of their superior 
 excellence. A fine boar which was farrowed on September 3, was con- 
 tracted for at 15 guineas. Ten weeks' pigs readily brought 6 guineas 
 each. Several mature sows had been sold for 20 guineas each. 
 
 The list of premiums taken at national and other fairs by this herd 
 is too long for detailed insertion here. Suffice it to say they comprise 
 ten first and eleven second prizes gained in the last two years, and that, 
 too, in competition with the best Berkshire stock in England. This re- 
 markable success in breeding the Sallie family is beyond question 
 largely due to perfect management and judicious feeding. The en- 
 tire herd is in the hands of a special expert, who gives them the closest 
 attention and the most scrupulous care. All the pens I noticed were 
 entirely clean, and the straw in them fresh and dry. The feeding is 
 systematic ancl regular, and the kind and quality of the food is adapted 
 to the age and condition of the pig. The mixture fed to young pigs 
 contains the elements that promote growtk, while a stronger feed is 
 given to older animals. 
 
 For growing pigs the allowance is composed of two parts barley meal, 
 two parts wheat middlings, one part pea meal, with steamed turnips or 
 potatoes. 
 
 Mr. Eutherford informs me that they have never had a single barren 
 sow nor an impotent boar, and that they have never lost a hog from 
 epidemic disease. 
 
 ^Aeep.— Following our obliging guide, the bailiff, we next proceeded 
 across a turnip field to a nortable "lambing fold," wherein were kept a 
 
AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 83 
 
 hundred fine Cotswold ewes which were approaching the time for 
 dropping their lamb's. This inclosure is so unique that a brief descrip- 
 tion of it may be of value to American sheep breeders. In shape it is a 
 parallelogram, about 70 by 120 feet, the sides of which are made by 
 thatching a rough wooden frame on both sides with straw, the thatch 
 being held firm by coarse regular stitches of hemp twine. The front 
 side, in which is the entrance, is about 5 feet high, and against the 
 other three sides are arranged rows of smaJl lambing stalls (6 by 8 feet), 
 thirty-one in all, whose roof and sidt^s are also neatly and strongly 
 thatched. I inspected the interior and found them perfectly warm and 
 dry, though a heavy rain was falling, The cost of this breeding-pen 
 was not above £5. The ewes were in the care of a shepherd who watched 
 them continually and confined each at the time of lambing iu one of 
 these stalls. I am told that a lamb is rarely lost. At this date, Feb- 
 ruary 8, twenty-five or thirty fine lambs were following their mothers 
 in the opeu inclosure. 
 
 Leaving the breeding-pen we visited next the "ram shed," wherein 
 we found six Cotswold bucks of marvelous size and beauty. One of 
 these, a ram of surpassing excellence in weight and symmetry, had taten 
 more prizes than any other Cotswold, or, indeed, any other sheep in 
 England. 
 
 Some 250 large premium cards of various colors, fastened to the walls- 
 of the shed, attested the estimate iu which Swanwick's Cotswolds are 
 universally held. Among these are the first medal taken at the Inter- 
 national Exhibition at Vienna in 1873, two silver medals taken at the 
 Bremen International Exhibition in 1874, the Centennial medal and 
 sweepstakes at Philadelphia in 1876 and four first prizes and gold medals 
 at the Paris Exposition in 1878. A host of premiums given by the na- 
 tional and district fairs in England cannot be specified. 
 
 It will be remembered that this is the district which originated tUe 
 Cotswold sheep, an4 where the highest excellence is attained in its 
 breeding. The bailiff assured me that these six rams are sheared twice 
 a year, and the average clip is 27 pounds. 
 
 Horses and cows. — Leaving the ram shed we next inspected the stables, 
 where we met Mr. Swan wick, who showed us his stock of horses, which 
 consisted of fifteen pure-bred hunters, all bred on the College Farm. 
 Mr. Swanwick pointed out two fine brood mares, one of which was the 
 dam of his famous horse Glengyle, which, at three years old, took six 
 prizes at important shows in England in 1875, and was sold the same 
 year for 400 guineas. Though there were several excellent animals 
 among his stock, yet it is evident that the College Farm does not make 
 horse-breeding a specialty, and is not as famous for its hunters as for 
 its Cotswolds and Berkshires. Indeed, Principal McClellan declares in 
 his Cultivation Book that — 
 
 The ligtit, thin, breaking-up land predominating so largely over the strong, and 
 there being little or no shelter and no fioh meadows, the College Farm is essentially 
 a sheep farm. Hence no pedigree horned stock are kept at present, but the perma- 
 
84 AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
 
 nent stock consists of eiglit to ten cowa selected for .tlieir milking qualities. Tweutj- 
 to thirty store cattle are bonglitininthe autumn and fattened on roots witli corn, cake, 
 and straw chaif, in covered loose boxes and stalls. Some of these bullocks are weighed 
 every fortnight to test the iuorease. 
 
 THE bailiff's FIELD LECTURE. 
 
 At half past 11 we adjourned from the stables to a field not far 
 distant, where, though the rain was falling steadily, we found the farm 
 bailiff and a class of twelve students to whom he was giving his daily 
 field lecture. They stood in a field of vetches where the mud was abund- 
 ant, and diligently made entries in their note-books while the bailiff 
 went on to say in quaint Scotch-English : 
 
 . It is wise policy on a sheep farm like this to grow green crops for continuous winter 
 feeding, and among these the vetch is the most available. We will therefore consider 
 this morning the mauagemen't of the vetch cirop. 
 
 The seed should be sown on wheat stubble which has been thoroughly prepared by 
 burning, plowing, and cultivating to the finest tilth. It must be enriched by spread- 
 ing and harrowing in fifteen cart-loads of well-digested manure to the acre, after 
 which, about September 1, 5 acres, prepared in this way, are sown in drills 6 inches 
 apart. When the vetches are an inch high, or usually in about a month, the second 
 6 acres must be sown. After a similar interval the third crop is sown in the same 
 -way. An acre of vetches will keep 70 tegs (mature sheep) one week, so that 15 acres 
 -will suffice, with a moderate supply of turnips, to keep a flock of a hundred tegs well 
 through the winter. 
 
 Great pains should be taken to secure the best of seed, of which 2 to 2i bushels per 
 acre should be so^^n for the first two crops, and 3 bushels for the third. 
 
 Spring vetches should be sown from February to May at the same intervals as the 
 fall sowing already described. In spring sowing we use Si bushels of seed per acre, 
 and each crop is ready for feeding in six weeks. The reason why an increased quan- 
 tity of seed is required in the spring is that the crop suffers more at that season from 
 the ravages of ins-cts and rot. A crop of turnips is usually sown in June or July, 
 after the spring vetches have been fed off. 
 
 The keeping of roots through the ivinter. — The bailiff further described 
 to his class the English method of keeping root crops over winter for 
 early spring feeding. Halting near a long clay-coveted pile, 10 by 70 
 feet in extent, he said : 
 
 For winter keeping mangels and other roots should be piled in the field, the pile 
 being 7 feet wide at the base and sloping toward the top, and from 40 to 70 feet 
 in length, according to quantity. Then cover 3 or 4 inches with straw and afterward 
 half way up with dirt a foot thick, leaving it in this condition three weeks, so that 
 the heat may escape, at the end of which time cover the top. For feeding, the pile is 
 opened at one end, the roots removed, washed, and allowed to stand three or four 
 days before being fed. 
 
 Wheat. — Passing on to a wheat field, the lecturer next described the 
 preparation of the seed and the cultivation of the crop as follows : 
 
 The seed is first prepared by a process called " pickling,'' One pound of blue vit- 
 riol dissolved in 6 quarts of water is thoroughly mixed with 6 bushels of the wheat, 
 afte which u, solution of 3 pounds of tar to 3 quarts of water is applied, and the 
 whole is stirred thoroughly and allowed to partly dry ; quicklime is sometimes added 
 to hasten the drying process. The object of-this treatment of the seed is to prevent 
 rotting in the ground. 
 
AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 85 
 
 The field has been previously prepared by plowing, cultivating, manuring, har- 
 rowing, and rolling, and the seed is now sown in drills, 2 to 2J bushels to the acre. 
 After the seed is in, the ground is carefully harrowed and an application of soot is 
 made to prevent slugs. About the first of May all noxious weeds are pulled out and 
 removed. If the crop he sickly looking it is top dressed by spreading a mixture of 
 100 pounds nitrate of soda and 2 bushels of wood ashes. When the plants are 3 or 4 
 inches high the whole crop is hoed, either by hand, the usual way, or with the horse ■ 
 hoe. Hand hoeing is paid for at the rate of 5 shillings per acre, which is two days' 
 work. To avoid waste during harvesting, the grain is cut before it is thoroughly 
 ripened and stored in a loft over the thrashing-room. 
 
 . Subjoined is a lacture given before the students by H. J. Little, 
 E.A.S., senior professor of agriculture. It is appended to ray report 
 as a sample of the instruction in agriculture given here. As a disser- 
 tation upon the necessity and method of rotation of crops it is of great 
 value. 
 
 ROTATIONS. 
 
 A system of rotation of crops is the foundation of modern husbandry. Primitive 
 agriculture was satisfied with the yield of mother earth in such proportion as she 
 gave 8j)ontaneous]y, or with no other preparatiou than plowing or digging and sow- 
 ing such .crops as were required for the sustenance of man. With the increase of 
 population such methods have had to yield to more enlightened systems, and though 
 we see even at the present time great continents farmed withoiit method and without 
 plan, nothing can be more certain that in some not very remote age they must revert 
 to the systems by which alone can earth be made to satisfy the necessities of ever-in- 
 creasing millions of the human race. 
 
 But even the primitive methods of agriculture, though wanting In development, 
 satisfied to some extent the conditions which earth imposes on those who wish to 
 reap her fruits. Before root culture was known, periods of alternate grass and corn 
 were found to give sufficient for the food of man, but in the very early days of sys- 
 tematic husbandry it may be taken for granted that the disovery was made that ex- 
 haustion was soon produced in the soil by the endeavor to produce successive cereals. 
 or indeed crops of the same species of any kind. 
 
 And in the present day, though we see in America and Australia, owing to the 
 prodigality of nature, which, for thousands of years, has been working with unspar- 
 ing hand on regions scarcely traversed by the human foot, a mine of treasure which 
 bids fair to he rifled by mankind in as many years as it took ages to form, it cannot 
 he doubted that when the first flash of wheat growing has robbed that virgin sjil of 
 its fertile elements, old methods and old rotations will be thrust upon the cultivation. 
 
 Already, indeed, this is shown by the complete exhaustion of the soil in the older- 
 peopled States of the Union ; and although, undoubtedly, this exhaustion is in part 
 owing to ignorance or neglect of other principles of husbandry, and notably of proper 
 manuring of the land, it is certain it proceeds, in great measure, from the omission 
 of the proper rotation of crops from the scheme of husbandry. 
 
 There seems to be two reasons why rotations of crops are so desirable : (1) because, 
 though all crops exhaust the soil more or less, they do not do so ia equal proportion, 
 nor indeed in the elements which they abstract; and certain crops therefore leave 
 the land naturally adapted for the succession of crops o£ another kind ; (2) because 
 such rotations give scope for the cultivation of crops which are mainly returned to 
 the land again in the form of manure. The incapacity, however, of nearly all land to 
 grow satisfactory crops of some plants, iiotably of red clover, except at distant inter- 
 vals, is well known. Then again, too frequent cropping of one kind produces disease 
 in some species of plants, as " finger and toe" in turnips. These of themselves would 
 he sufificient reasons for placing certain crops at intervals in rotations ; but there are 
 others which make such rotations almost indispensable. The mechanical state in 
 
86 AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN KUROPE. 
 
 which the soil is left by certain plants has no small influence upon the capacity of 
 the following crop for assimilating the food of the soil. How much is due to that 
 disintegration of subsoil caused by the passage of deep-rooted plants,, how much by 
 the fact that such plants draw most of their sustenance from the subsoil itself, and 
 how much by the different aeiion of fibrous and fleshy-rooted plants, can scarcely be 
 said to be known at present, but science, it may be added, is rapidly filling up the 
 void in our knowledge even in these particulars. What we do understand about the 
 rotation of croijs is, then, that on all old soils (as distinguished froin those virgin ones 
 which have never been cultivated) they are indispensable for profitable agriculture, 
 unless, indeed, we except the somewhat doubtful experiments of recent years as prov- 
 ing that on certain soils, with certain manures, remunerative crops of cereals may 
 be grown iu succession for a lengthened period. Even admitting this, the value of 
 the principle is not impaired, because it is certain that on the majority of soils they 
 are absolutely indispensable according to our present lights. 
 
 Now, admitting the principle which has been definitely established by practice in 
 every country where agriculture has been studied, we come to a consideration of 
 some of the methods adopted in our own land. The most advantageous succession 
 of crops iu this, as in other countrie.s, is generally known from experience. 
 
 It will vary much with climate and with soil, but it will generally be found that 
 some broad principle-underlies it, however itmay be modified or inverted. Probably 
 there is no rotation so common as that known as the four-course : (1) turnips, (2) bar- 
 ley, (3) seeds, (4) wheat. It is diflicult to say when this plan, so beantifnl in its sim- 
 plicity, was introduced into English agriculture, but it is probable that it was not 
 long after the introduction of the turnip itself. It has indeed one fault (to be pres- 
 ently noted), but otherwise it is a model rotation. 
 
 Now, examine this course a little in detail, what do we find? We find the cereal 
 crops put apart by a year, and following such other crops as are not only suitable as 
 for^jrunners to their production, but which leave the land ready for cultivation for 
 them at a suitable time. Wheat cannot readily follow turnips, because the latter , 
 crop must be consumed on the land ; but this takes place in time for the barley crop, 
 which, therefore, obviates that difficulty. But uo sooner are the turnips ready for 
 stock food than the faimer can spine some of his seed land to be broken up for wheat 
 which there is no difficulty, therefore, in sowing art the proper time of year. 
 
 Then, again, consider the turnip crop and the part it takes in the rotation. At the 
 end of the course comes the cleansing and fertilizing turnip crop — mark its place. 
 The wheat crop has left the poor soil comparatively exhausted and possibly slightly 
 foul. The turnips, which are not sown till the middle of May or beginning of June 
 in such a climate, give ample time for that thorough cleaniug of the soil which is 
 so necessary in modern agriculture. In manures applied for the iiroduotion of 
 the crops itself, or made by the consumption of substances fed on the land by the 
 sheep consuming the crop, it may be taken for granted that a restoration of elements 
 in greater proportion than those abstracted is made to the soil, and thus one of the 
 great principles of scientific agriculture is maintained. The barley crop is an ex- 
 haustive crop, no doubt, but it is followed by clover, the great proportion of which 
 is fed on the land. But even in the case of that, which is. mown and removed, it is 
 to be remembered that clover is one of those plants which has the property in an em- 
 inent degree, of receiving from the soil and the air and storing up in the land in its 
 roots those nitrogenous elements which are so peculiarly valuable to the succeeding 
 crop. Dr. Voelcker found in a good crop of clover that the roots in the soil weighed 
 about three tons, and contained almost exactly 100 pounds of nitrogen to the acre. 
 This is almost double the nitrogen present in the average produce of au acre of wheat. 
 On the same soil a had crop of clover only produced 31 pounds of nitrogen from its 
 roots, showing the great importauce of securing a good crop of this plant. 
 
 Whether, therefore, considered scieutifically or practically, this four-course rotation 
 may he said to be almost perfect. The elements abstracted from the laud in the 
 
AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 87 
 
 turnip croi) are more than restored to it again in the consumption of that crop, and 
 the clover plant, whether mown for hay or harvested for seed or grazed by cattle, has 
 that peculiar quality of accumulating nitrogen in the soil which makes it in some re- 
 spects one of the most valuable plants known to the husbandman. Even iu America, 
 which I have spoken of as remarkable for its contemptuous neglect of scientific agri- 
 culture, it is found that an occasional crop of red clover, plowed in entirely, has a re- 
 markably invigorating influence on the succeeding crops of wheat. 
 
 But nature pays us out for the great anomaly of which I have spoken, because an- 
 omalous this crop is in many respects. Four tons per acre from two mowings is by 
 no means an unusual crop ; but such a crop yields on analysis no less than 224 pounds 
 nitrogen, 51 ponnds phosphoric acid, 211 pounds sulphuric acid, 201 pounds lime, 57 
 pounds magnesia, and 134 pounds potash, to most of which substances the soil is, 
 greatly indebted for its fertility. Nature, I say, pays us out for the anomaly of grant- 
 ing us a crop which, after removing many of the most valuable elements from our 
 soils, leaves it in some way more valuableVthau before, by a stubborn refusal to grow 
 this crop again except after a considerable interval. Aud this is what I alluded to 
 just now when I said that one drawback might be alleged against the four-course 
 system. Modifications of it have therefore sprung up to overcome this difficulty. In 
 some cases peas or beans take the place of clover when it recurs in the rotation the 
 second time. The latter crop is, however, not adapted for the description of land 
 where the rotation was first adopted— I mean the weak aud light lauds of ISTorfolk. In 
 lieu, therefore, of frequent repetition of clover, there saurifoin is much grown. It is 
 plowed up in the autumn just the same as clover, and is not allowed to remain, 
 down several years (as in sfime parts) thus interfering with the regular course of the 
 rotation. But whatever modification is practical with regard to the clover crop, it 
 generally comes to this : "Put your clover crops apart as far as you can in your rota- 
 tions if you wish successful ones." Probably iu most parts of the Kingdom you would 
 learn from experienced agriculturists that seven or eight years is the limit iu which 
 it would not be safe to take more than one clover crop, though I am myself ac- 
 quainted with districts where red clover can be successfully grown every four or five 
 years. This, however, is such an unusual circumstance that, though it deserves 
 mention, it must not -be taken as anything but the exception to a well-known and 
 recognized rule. 
 
 There are some parts of the country where rotations are almost needless and where 
 the simple rules which might be given to an intending agriculturist might be briefly 
 summed up: Manure plentifully, cleanse when required, only take two white straw 
 crops in four, aud don't attempt clover too often. I am uow talking of soils which 
 will grow almost any crop, wheat, barley, oats, peas, beans, mangels, coliseed or rape, 
 mustard, potatoes, &o. But it may safely be said that there are no good soils on which 
 proper rotations do not conduce to profitable agriculture. ITor some of the yet un- 
 euumerated benefits are that they bring constant aud suitable employment to our 
 laborers, according to the seasons of the year, and thus enable a staff of men to be 
 profitably employed ; and moreover that they provide our live stocli; with a succes 
 sion of suitable food. These reasons (aud they are very cogent ones) must be added 
 to those before given in favor of these rotations. 
 
 I go on uow to enumerate a few courses which have been found advantageous ac- 
 cording to soil and circumstances in different parts of the country, and you will see 
 that most of them spring in some degree from that old four-course shift which we 
 have been considering. In the north of England the clover mixed with grass seeds 
 is kept down two years in other respects the rotation is unaltered. It thus becomes> 
 (1) turnips, (2) barley, (3) seeds, (4) seeds, (5) wheat. In Northamptonshire aud Bed- 
 fordshire, ora joorf tend, two years corn crops are on the contrary taken at the beginning 
 of the course instead of one, thus: (1) Turnips, (2) barley, (3) barley, (4) seeds, (51 
 wheat. The reason of this is obvious ; the first crop of barley after turnips, where 
 cake is cousumed in any quantity, is apt to be too bulky and thus to smother the 
 
88 AGEICULTUEAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
 
 young plant of seed : the succeeding crop has not this fault, and thus gives them a 
 better chance of making a perfect plant. In East Lothian an ordinary rotation is 
 (1) turnips, (2) barley, (3) seeds, (4) oats, (5) potatoes every twelfth year, and beans 
 alternately with this crop every twelfth year, (6) wheat. This is a modification 
 -which throws the clover shift further apart, and gives scope for the cultivation of the 
 very profitable crop of potatoes on suitable soils. 
 
 We now come to one which I have found almost universal in Warwickshire and 
 the neighboring districts of Worcestershire, and which, I believe, is common in this 
 immediate neighborhood as well : Turnips (or mangels), barley, seeds, wheat, beans 
 or peas, whe!),t; On some of the poor land of the Cotswold district I am told that 
 turnips take the place of beans (the fifth crop in the rotation) and that rye is sown 
 for feeding off immediately after the removal of the wheat crop (the last in the rota- 
 tion), the said rye being followed immediately by white turnips. Or, again, it is not 
 nnusiial to take a crop of oats or barley after the wheat crop of the course, thus 
 changing it into a five- course shift. 
 
 It is scarcely necessary to observe how all these rotations which I have enumerated 
 owe their foundation to the old Norfolk system. Where peas and beans are intro- 
 duce!! they form an excellent preparation for the wheat which follows, they being 
 plants which, like clover, have the valuable property of either drawing the whole of 
 their nitrogen from the air or in some yet unexplained manner helping its develop- 
 ment in {in assimilable condition in the soil itself. 
 
 Perhaps it may be useful here to say a few words on a system which has been suc- 
 cessfully practiced in some parts of the midland counties for many years, and which 
 offers many advantages to high farmers by largely increasing their root area without 
 a deviation from the regular course of the district. In some of the gravelly loam parts 
 of Warwickshire and Worcestershire it is common to interpolate a crop of turnips be- 
 tween the beans and wheat, which conclude the course. 
 
 Winter beans (the land having previously received a dressing of twelve one-horee 
 cart-loads of farm-yard manure) are planted early in November after one plowing, 
 2 bushels per acre being drilled in double rows, 9 inches apart ; the distance between 
 each double row is 27 inches. This method leaves ample room for hand and horse 
 hoeing, which is vigorously prosecuted araoug them throughout the spring. In the 
 third week in May, and just previous to the final horse-hoeing, a seed barrow, cleverly 
 prepared for this purpose, is run over the land and drops in the center of each wide 
 row Ihe very small quantity of half a pound per acre of white turnip seed. The diffi- 
 culty is, of course, to get this small quantity of seed evenly distributed, and the re- 
 sult is so thinly scattered a plant that no hoeing or thinning out in any way is re- 
 quired. The horse-hoe follows and completes the operation, at one stroke giving a 
 final touch to the bean crop, and covering at the same time the turnip seed. At the 
 time of harvest it might be thought that the machine could not be safely employed ; 
 bnt, on the contrary, without material injury to the tnrnip crop (which is by that 
 time making considerable progress), that invaluable implement is used, and thus no 
 extra cost is incurred in consequence of the extra crop. The reaper cuts the beans 
 entirely the same way as the drills run, the turning being accomplished upon the head 
 lands, and the driving wheels running upon the stubble, and bciug kept clear of the 
 young turnips. It was cert.iinly a novel experience to irnd among the bean-straw, in 
 the stack sides, large turnip leaves which had been out by the reaping machine at the 
 time of harvest; but a careful examination of the roots themselves satisfied me that 
 little, if any, damage had occurred to them from its use, and that a valuable and nu- 
 tritious crop of turnips had, by this admirable plan, been added to the resources of 
 the farm at a minimum cost. As soon as the beau crop is harvested the broad-share 
 is run between the rows of turnips, in order to cut the stubble and destroy any weeds 
 which may remain. The operation is now complete, and by November the "extra 
 crop "is under consumption by sheep. Thecroplastyear wasa very good one. Some 
 of the seed had fallen singly, and in that ease the turnips were a very good size ; others 
 
AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 89 
 
 again had fallen in groups of two to five, but from the ample room on all sides of the 
 plants, owing to the width of the rows and the comparative regularity of distribution, 
 even these "bunched turnips'' had thrown themselves out and produced very fair- 
 sized roots. 
 
 On the pea portion of the break the same system of extra cropping is adopted, but 
 a different course is pursued. About 4 or .5 acres is generally drilled 14 inches apart, 
 and at the rate of 3 bushels per acre, some early variety being selected (snch as 
 Sangster's No. 1), which may be suitable for pulling green for the market. Between 
 every third row, and at a distance of 42 inches apart every way, drumhead cabbages 
 are planted about the beginning of May. The peas are sold to pick for the Birming- 
 ham market, and last year the satisfactory price 6f£10 10s. per acre was realized, 
 the haiilm being left, and the purchaser paying all expense of labor in picking. It 
 will be readily understood with what facility the subsequent cultivation of the cab- 
 bage crop, is attended. The horse-hoe is enabled to work without hindrance be- 
 tween the rows in each direction and very little hand labor is therefore required. 
 The cabbage crop at our November visit was cajiital. It was already stocked with 
 the ewes, which were eating half a pound of rape cake and half a pint of Indian 
 corn, and were thus adding to the fertility of the land. Only part of this break (as 
 I have mentioned) is thus treated. The remainder is planted with peas for a crop ; 
 taut it must not be supposed that where they are thus allowed to remain, no extra 
 crop is used. In this case, immediately they are harvested, rape, mustard, or turnips 
 are quickly put in, whichever may be most required according to the circumstances 
 of the young sheep stock. 
 
 WAeai follows each and all of these extra crops and completes the rotation. 
 
 I only mention this subject incidentally and as showing what " wheels within 
 wheels" there maybe, so to speak, evenin rotations of cropping. But there is much land 
 in Great Britain to which no adaptation of the real Norfolk system can be profitably 
 applied, because it will not grow turnips, either from some innate disability or because 
 such a crop ruins the land in the carting-off or feeding-off stages of its cultivation. On 
 some of this land dead fallow is no doubt a necessity, but dead fallows cannot be said to 
 indicate a very high style of farming, and for my part I alwayslook with some suspicion 
 outhe agriculture of those parts of the country where they are predominant. If roots 
 cannot be consumed on the land in winter a crop of equivalent restorative value 
 should take their place in summer. Vetches will, to a certain extent, effect this pur- 
 pose, and cabbage can be grown so as to be ready for consumption in almost any de- 
 sired mouth in the year. When, therefore, the land seems naturally inimical to 
 turnips, a bare fallow is. I think, a somewhat doubtful advantage. I know some- 
 thing of this description of land. In my own neighborhood yon may take a day's 
 journey without finding a single field of turnips. The oldest of rotations followed 
 on such lands was generally (1) rape fed oif in winter, (2) oats, (3) wheat, (4) seeds, 
 beans or peas, (5) wheat. Perhaps the primitive form of this was simply rape fed 
 off, oats, wheat, a rotation which it maybe remaiked even now lingers on among 
 some penurious farmers, who wish to spend as small an amount as possible in labor. 
 Even this simplest of all rotations is, therefore, not without its advantages. The 
 rape for winter-feeding of sheep is not sown until July, which gives an oi^portunity 
 of fallowing the land far beyond the period allowed by any other root crop, and en- 
 courages the almost total destruction of weeds which would prove prejudicial to the 
 corn crops. 
 
 The peculiarity of this rotation and its modifications is the large proportion of the 
 area allotted to corn crops. Thus, in the first-named course, three-fifths of the arable 
 land is always in cereals; in the latter two-thirds. Of course, only land naturally 
 rich in the elements"of fertility could stand this, but that the Fen lands of Lincoln- 
 shire, Cambridgeshire, and the Marsh land district of Norfolk have done so for years 
 there can be no question. In 1769, Arthur Yonng, traveling through South Lincoln- 
 shire, found many extraordinary courses of cropping. Thus he enumerates the fol- 
 
90 AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
 
 lowing: Fallow, wheat, wheat, beans, barley, which he remarks on as "very bad" ; 
 'and coleseed eaten, oats, oata, barley, as "much worse." He then comes to grass 
 broken up for flax, turnips, flax, oats, oats, wheat, fallow. " This," he says, "it must 
 be confessed, is as admirable a system of exhaustion as can be met with." Again, in 
 Norfolk MaMhland, a district of rich, though low-lying laud, entirely alluvial, he 
 came upon some equally peculiar rotations, thus : Fallow, oats, oats, wheat, spring- 
 wheat ; and, again, wheat, wheat, oats, potatoes, wheat ; and, once more, wheat, oats, 
 wheat, potatoes, wheat. He exclaims satirically upon these courses, " Bravo, Marsh- 
 land lads!" 
 
 But though I have said that properly devised rotations are of the very essence of 
 good i'arming, it would, in many cases, be extremely unwise to bind the tenant of 
 certain descriptions of laud. For instance, I have just myself concluded, on one of 
 my own fields, the following somewhat eccentric rotation of crops: Coleseed fed off, 
 oats, wheat, beans, wheat, barley, seeds, wheat, peas, wheat, and I have no hesita- 
 tion in asserting that thift land has? been uninjured by the succession of crops men- 
 tioned. 
 
 Again, I have known land in my own neighborhood cropped alternately with beans 
 and wheat for twenty years without an application of manure to either crop, and 
 without exhibiting any diminution of produce. This, it must be admitted, is only 
 suited to rich loams or clays of a peculiar character. 
 
 On my own farm I have a field which for twenty-three years has grown alternate 
 crops of mangels and wheat without any variation, the whole of the mangel .being 
 removed from the land for consumption by cattle. The mangel crop has probably 
 averaged 28 tons per acre, one year with another, and the wheat crop 36 bushels. 
 (The mangels are manured with 20 loads farm-yard manure, 3 cwt. bone superphos- 
 phate, and occasionally 2 cwt. Peruvian guano per acre. The wheat is always un- 
 mauured.) This is a case where the nature of the land rendering it peculiarly suita- 
 ble, and its proximity to the homestead peculiarly convenient, for the prodnction of 
 mangels, an apparently exhausting course has been followed out for this lengthened 
 period with signal success. 
 
 But in this case, as in the other one quoted above, the (Juestion of manures for each 
 crop has been curefuUy considered, and, taking into account the nature and character- 
 istics of the land, it would probably be found on analysis of the soil and the crops 
 from year to year, tliat no more than the usual surplus beyond the manures supplied 
 had been abstracted from the soil. I mean, of course, that exhausting as such courses 
 of cropping apparently are, if manures be judiciously applied, they arc probably not 
 more 80 than the old-fashioned rotations .under which the land has maintained its 
 fertility for generations. 
 
 But with regard to the exhaustion produced by certain rotations, the whole thing 
 resolves itself into the question of the proper tillage of the land and the application 
 of manures. Sir J. B. Lawes is of the opinion that he has not deteriorated his experi- 
 mental i)lots by the growth of wheat for thirty -eight years in succession. Dr. Voelcker 
 does not think that Mr. Prout is diminishing the condition of his land at Sawbridge- 
 worth by his system, but in both these cases science has been called in to aid the 
 farmer, and a restitution has been made, upon principle, of such proportion of the ab- 
 stracted elements as slie shows to be necessary. 
 
 Let us, therefore, consider this question of rotation for a few minutes in a scientific 
 light. 
 
 We have seen^hat practically well-devised rotations are beneficial in agriculture, 
 because under them crops are better and freer from disease ; because some crops ex- 
 haust the land for themselves but improve it for their successors ; because they pro- 
 vide regular employment for laborers and a succession of suitable food for cattle. 
 We have seen that it would not be wise or beneficial to lay down any hard and fast 
 rule with regard to them, because climate, soil, labor dililoulties, proximity to market, 
 facility for the purchase of manure, and many other circumstances may render it ad- 
 visable to modify or entirely alter the usually followed plans, But notwithstanding 
 
AGEICULTUEAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 91 
 
 these exceptions, we may safely come back to the axiom with which we started — that 
 a, rotation of crops is the foundation of good husbandry; and scientifically we are on 
 as good grounds for malting this assertion as we are ■practically. 
 
 For Sir J. B. Lawes's and Dr. Voelcker's experiments prove that there is a constant 
 waste of nitrates from the soil by drainage and that practically this waste only occurs 
 in winter. Moreover, nitrification in the soil is only carried on during the warmer 
 period of the year, and the green crops, the roots sown late in spring, and the clover 
 sown the previous year are therefore in a stage of growth which permits them to ap- 
 propriate the nitrates of the soil as quickly as formed. Not so with the cereals. 
 Their active growth ceases at flowering time, when nitrification has not long com- 
 menced. The nitrates on the cereal fields are therefore to a great extent wasted, 
 whilst those in the green and root crops, which are in an active state of growth, are 
 appropriated and retained. 
 
 Again, there can be but little doubt that the leguminous crops draw their supplies 
 of nitrogen from entirely different sources to the cereals, and although their action in 
 this particular has not been fully explained by science at present, the very fact that 
 a crop of beans removes more than double as much nitrogen from the soil as a crop. of 
 wheat, whilst it leaves the land in fiue condition for a crop of this latter cereal, indi- 
 cates that such must be the case. Further, in the removal of other substances beside 
 nitrogen, the cereal, leguminous, and root crops differ exceedingly. Thus, whilst 
 wheat removes only a,bout 28 pouuds of potash, swedes abstract 81 pounds, and 
 mangels 262 pounds. But of silica, whilst wheat removes 111 pounds, 2 tons of red 
 clover hay only removes 7 pounds, and beans scarcely more than that insignificant 
 amount. These variations, though they do not resolve everythiug, clearly indicate 
 how scientifically the benefit of these rotations can be explained. 
 
 And now I will conclude with a very few words, practically summing up our con- 
 jaideration of the subject, and these shall be addressed to those who are in future con- 
 templating the important business of estate management as their calling. Though 
 rotations are, as we have seen, of the highest importance to successful agriculture, it 
 is possible that by scientific knowledge of the ingredients of our soils and the proper 
 employment of manures, they may in the future be to some extent dispensed with. 
 It is certainly unreasonable in the present day to treat the ignorant farmer and the 
 enlightened oue as on the same footing. Though I would recommend certain restric- 
 tions in the majority of cases to be maintained, the enforcement of which could be 
 put in practice if necessary, and though I would recommend a watchful eye to be 
 kept upon cropping, I would give very considerable license to experienced and good 
 men. The large consumption of artificial food and increased use of artificial manures 
 have rendered such restrictions less necessary. The good farmer will always find it 
 to Lis advantage to practice proper rotations. The agent can alway satisfy himself 
 by a glance at fields and stock-yard whether the farm is properly tilled or in process 
 of gradual impoverishment. If, according to Sir J. B. Lawes's opinion, "rent is paid for 
 the right to remove, without restriction, a certain amount of the stock of fertility in 
 the soil," if, I say, such an axiom as this can be established, then it must be admitted 
 that it is equally hopeless and unwise to bind the tenant, in the face of increasing 
 competition with the world, with restrictive covenants only applicable to an entirely 
 different state of agriculture. At present we may be said to b6 standing at the thresh- 
 hold of our information with regard to soil exhaustion caused by various rotations, 
 and even by different crops. But one thing seems at least clear, that he who imparts 
 the largest amount of food and manure to his fields to counterbalance the continual 
 drain in produce sold will more surely retain that mysterious property called fertility, 
 than he, who, trusting entirely to the efforts of nature to recover herself, returns 
 naught but what she in the elaboration of her own secret processes has herself given 
 him. " Rational agriculture," says Liebig, "is based upon the principle of restitu- 
 tion, and however this may seem to qlash with Sir J. B. Lawes's dictum, the two say- 
 ings are not contrary in spirit, for though it is probable that all rotations of crops ex- 
 haust the land by degrees, such exhaustion will take place more slowly in proportion 
 to the artifioal fertility imparted to the soil." 
 
92 AGEICULTDEAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
 
 SKETCH OF THE ROYAL AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE AT CIRENCESTER, 
 
 ENGLAND. 
 
 History.— The Eoyal Agricultural College near Cirencester was es- 
 tablished in 1845 by a company of noblemen, beaded by Prince Albert. 
 It was incorporated at the same date under a charter granted by Queen 
 Victoria. The sale of corporation shares realized a sum sufficient to 
 erect the fine Gothic structure used as the main college building. The 
 charter provides for six regular resident professors, beside the principal, 
 and empowers the college to grant certificates of proficiency and dipilo- 
 mas of membership. In 1880 the institution was first named by Her 
 Majesty the Queen the " Eoyal Agricultural College of England." There 
 is no endowment fund ; the support of the institution depends wholly 
 upon the patronage of the association and students' fees. 
 
 The purpose of the college, as set forth in the charter, is to train sci- 
 entific and practical agriculturists. It aims " to teach the science of 
 agriculture and the various sciences connected therewith and the prac- 
 tical application thereof in the cultivation of the soil and the rearing and 
 management of stock." It seeks, by teaching the scientific principles 
 which govern agricultural operations in all parts of the world, together 
 with methods and processes of sound agricultural practice, to train its 
 students effectively for the profession and business of the agriculturist, 
 whether at home, in India, or in the colonies, and its courses of study 
 are adapted expressly to meet the needs of the three following classes : 
 
 I. Future land owners. 
 
 II. Future land agents or surveyors ; stewiirds and managers of es- 
 tates. 
 
 III. Future colonists and employes in Indian agriculture. 
 
 Over and above the special training thus furnished, the institution 
 supplies the advantages of a university course, in which is included the 
 means of intellectual and moral discipline and preparation for the duties 
 of country gentlemen who have the care of large estates. 
 
 The organization. — The formal jjatron of the institution is the Prince 
 of Wales, and its president is the Duke of Marlborough, Correspond- 
 ing to the board of trustees who have legal control of our American 
 national schools is a committee of management, consisting of ten mem- 
 bers, four of whom belong to the nobility. The following list comprises 
 the board of instruction, as it stands on the college prospectus : Princi- 
 pal, Kev. John B. M'Olellan, M. A., double first-class man in honors 
 and late fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge ; agriculture and rural 
 economy. Prof. J. H. Little, member of council, E. A; S., and Prof. E. 
 Wallace, F. H. A. S. ; tenant and director of the college farm, Eussell 
 Swanwick, esq., M. E. A. C; assistant practical instructors and bail- 
 iffs, Mr. Eutherford, Mr. E. Eutherford ; chemistry, Prof. B. Kinch, 
 P. 0. S., F. I. C, &c.; assistants, Mr. H. H. Eobinsou, B. A., Magda- 
 len College, Oxford, and Mr. W. James; geology and biology, Prof. 
 
AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 93 
 
 Allea Haiker, late of the Zoological Station, Naples ; special lecturer oa 
 entomology, Miss E. A. Ormerod, consulting entomologist, E. A. S.; 
 mathematics and physics'. Prof. H. Ohm, M. A., Emmanuel Colle;4e, Cam- 
 bridge; land surveying, practical engineering, and bookkeeping. Prof. 
 A. W. Thompson, C. B. B. Sc. : veterinary medicine and surgery. Prof. 
 W. F. Garside, M. R. 0. V. S.; agricultural law. Prof. W. M. Pavvcett, 
 barrister-at law ; building materials and construction. Prof. F. W. 
 Waller, F. E. I. B. A. ; estate management, Prof. T. J. Elliot, M. E. A. 
 C; drawing, Mr. James Miller, art master. 
 
 honorary professors. — Prof. G. T. Brown, professor of cattle pathol- 
 ogy at the Eoyal Veterinary College, London ; John Coleman, esq., M. 
 E. A. C, formerly professor of agriculture at this college ; Dr. Augustus 
 Voelcker, T. E. S., consulting chemist to the Eoyal Agricultural Society. ' 
 
 In addition to the above, there are five foremen and teachers of handi- 
 crafts connected with the farm, viz., lathe work, carpentry and wheel- 
 right work, smith work and shoeing, saddlery and harness making, 
 gardening. 
 
 There is also a body called the board of studies, whose duty is to 
 select and arrange the courses of instruction. The graduates who have 
 obtained the diploma of the college (M. E. A. C.) number 250, of whom 
 24 have taken the diploma of Fellowship of the Highland and Agricult- 
 ural Society of Scotland. 
 
 The buildings. — The college building, which stawis near the extensive 
 Oakley Park, owned by Lord Bathurst, is an imposing Gothic structure 
 located on the college farm, a mile and a quarter from Cirencester. It 
 has a front of 200 feet in extent, and contains the apartments of the 
 resideut professors, the students' dormatories and study-rooms, the din- 
 ing-hall, library, museum, lecture-rooms, class-rooms and laboratories. 
 Grouped around the main building at different distances are the cricket 
 pavilion, botanic garden, veterinary hospital, forges, work-shops, and 
 the college farm buildings, most of which I have already described. 
 
 The chapel, which is an adjunct to the main building, is a tasteful 
 Gothic structure, built from the contributions of private individuals in 
 1846. The services conducted in it are those of the Church of England, 
 and the students gather here for prayers twice a day on week days and 
 twice for Sunday service. 
 
 Meteorological station. — Connected with the college is a meteorolog- 
 ical station, which is supplied with instruments for daily observations, 
 which are made and reported to the Government Meteorological Ofldce. 
 
 The government and discipline. — A striking feature in the management 
 of the institution is that the eutire government and control, both of 
 faculty and students, is in the hands of the principal, who is respon- 
 sible to the committee of management alone. In the management of 
 the entire enterprise his powers are plenary and his authority unques- 
 tioned. He appoints and removes professors, regulates the time and 
 number bf the lectures, organizes the classes, and settles all questions 
 
94 AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUKOPE. 
 
 respecting the work of the faculty. The discipline of the students is 
 wholly in his hands, penalties are inflicted and rewards bestowed ac- 
 cording to his judgment, and, in short, he holds supreme control over 
 all the departments. 
 
 Admission and dismission of students. — There are three terms in tho 
 year, beginning, respectively, January 28, May 28, and October 6, 
 and students are admitted at the beginning of each, without entrance 
 examinations. The regular form of ajjplication, which I have appended 
 because of its contrast with the rules of admission to similar schools in 
 America, makes moral character and good health of more account as a 
 qualification for entrance than scholastic preparation. The principal 
 assured me, however, that the general standard Of education in the 
 grammar schools was so high as to make it safe to admit their pupils 
 to the college without question.- 
 
 In and out students. — -The ia-students, so called, are those who reside 
 in the building, and are required to take the prescribed course of study. 
 They must be eighteen years of age on admission. 
 
 The out-students, who are required to be at least twenty-one years of 
 age, and may be either married or unmarried, board in the town, and are 
 permitted to attend any course of lectures or pursue any branch of 
 practical study, at their option. 
 
 There are about 70 in-students and about one tenth of these gradu- 
 ate. The out-studeilts number 21, eight of whom are alumni of Oxford 
 University. 
 
 The expense of students. — The cost of attendance at this college is much 
 greater than at corresponding schools in the United States. 
 
 FORM OF APPLICATION FOU ADMISSION AS IN-STUDENT. 
 
 1. Name, in fall, of the candidate for admission. 
 8. Date of birth. 
 
 3. Parent's or guardian's name, and which. Profession of ditto. Full postal 
 address. 
 
 4. Mention the schools or other places of instruction where the candidate has been 
 during the last six years, giving the time spent at each, and the addresses of the prin- 
 cipals. 
 
 5. Has he been rusticated or removed from any college, school, private tutor's, or 
 other place of residence or occupation for misconduct? If so, state the name and 
 address. 
 
 6. Has he been vaccinated ? Has he had the small-pox ? Measles ? Is his health 
 generally good ? 
 
 7. Has he ever been of unsound mind? Is he predisposed to any sudden or dan- 
 gerous malady ? Has he had any infectious disorder or severe illness within the last 
 six months? If so, furnish doctor's certificate. In case of illness, is it his parents' 
 wish he should be attended by the accredited medical officer of the college ? 
 
 8. Is it his parents' wish that he should have a private room, if one be vacant? 
 (See prospectus.) 
 
 9. Is it his parents' wish that he shoiild be allowed to have wine in his own room 
 at his own expense, by permission of the principal ? If so, to what extent ? 
 
 N. B.— No spirits allowed except under medical order, or at the special desire of 
 parents or guai'dians. 
 
 10. Is there any other matter of which the college authorities should be informed I 
 
AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 95 
 
 Testimonial to moral cJiaracter to he signed by the master, tutor, or other person or persons 
 (^vot being the parent or guardian) under whose care the candidate has been during the two 
 years immediately preceding the application for admission.' 
 
 I hereby certify that was under my care and instruction [or ivell 
 
 known to me*] from 18-, to 18—, and that, to the best of my belief, he 
 
 Is of good moral character, not addicted to any depraved or vicious habit, and not 
 removed from my own or other care in consequence of any misconduct. 
 
 Name : . 
 
 Address: . 
 
 Profession, &c., . Date, 
 
 Undertaking to be signed by the candidate for admission. 
 
 I, the undersigned , hereby sincerely promise that, if I be admitted » 
 
 student of the Royal Agricultural College, I will honorably conform to all the rules 
 and regulations of the college relating to in-students, and in every way observe such 
 a standard of conduct as shall command respect, and as shall maintain the honor of 
 the college. 
 
 Signed : . 
 
 Counter signature of parent or guardian: . 
 
 Dated, , . 
 
 Certificate to be signed by the parent or guardian, or student (if over age). 
 
 I hereby certify that the answers given to each and all of the above questions are, 
 to the best of my belief, explicit and accurate, and I undertake to pay for the above- 
 named the college fees on the conditions mentioned on the page facing this, of 
 
 which I retain a duplicate. 
 
 Signed : . 
 
 Dated, , . 
 
 Date of admission: . 
 
 An in-student pays £45 per term, or £135 per annum. The out-student 
 pays £25 per term tuition or £75 per year. This is five times the cost of 
 attendance at the Agricultural College of Iowa. 
 
 Incentives to study. — In this college numerous prizes are given, mainly 
 in money, for excellent scholarship in the various sciences' that compose 
 its curriculum ; there is in consequence among the students an eager 
 strife for the highest standing and a very successful competitor may gain 
 the large sum of £75 per year. 
 
 The Governmentof Bengal gives £1,200 annually in scholarships, which 
 are bestowed upon the native Indian graduates of the University of Cal- 
 cutta. 
 
 Thecollege itself awards every year two hundred prizes, which are con- 
 ferred upon students having maximum marks in agriculture, agricultural 
 law, estate management, and architecture. It gives also silver medals 
 and books as prizes for excellence in the various handicrafts of farming, 
 such as shoeing, plowing, sheep-shearing, carpentry, harness work, farm 
 accounts, &c. In addition to the above three gold medals are awarded 
 
 * If the candidate has been at home during part of the period (vacations excepted), 
 the testimonial for such time must be signed by the clergyman of the parish or other 
 minister of religion or magistrate to whom the candidate has been well known. 
 
96 , AGEICULTUKAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
 
 for the highest attaiuments showu in the final examinations for the di- 
 ploma. 
 
 General interest among students.— One cannot commend too highly the 
 great earnestness witli which the young men pursue their various du- 
 ties, whether in the lecture-room or the farm. Wherever I met students 
 I was impressed with the absorbing attention they were giving the work 
 or study they had in hand. All the exercises which I attended were 
 characterized by the most perfect order and decorum. The moral senti- 
 ment among these young men seems to be unusually high, and the princi- 
 pal manages them mainly by paternal kindness. 
 
 Method of instruction. — The entire instruction throughout the course 
 is given by lectures only. The exercise known in the United States as 
 recitation is wholly unknown here. The classes take careful and com- 
 plete notes on the matter presented by the lecturer, then consult works 
 of reference on the same subject, and prepare themselves for a weekly 
 written examination of some three hours, by which their standing is in 
 part determined. Written and oral examinations are held at the close 
 of the term, and the final examinations for the diploma on the completion 
 of the course covers the entire ground passed over during the preced- 
 ing terms. (See examples of questions in these examinations. 
 
 The course of instruction, practical and scientific, embraces the latest 
 si-ientific knowledge and practical experience, and is adapted to the 
 training of practical agriculturists, land agents, stewards, surveyors, 
 &c. It comprises lectures, field inspections, laboratory practice, vete- 
 rinary hospital practice, mechanical work of the farm, ai;id experiments 
 in the field. Foremost stands the science and practice of agriculture, 
 and along with these are taught the related sciences, which are applied 
 by the practical agriculturist, including chemistry, geology, botany, 
 zoology, mechanics, physics, veterinary surgery, mensuration, practical 
 engineering, land surveying, book-keeping, and architecture. The prac- 
 tical instruction includes estate management, forestry, agricultural 
 law, and farm architecture. 
 
 The following syllabus of studies will give a general notion of the ex- 
 tent and practical character of the subjects pursued: 
 
 Terms 1 and 2, class 1. — Agriculture (soils, manures, implements, la- 
 bor, buildings, &c.), chemistry (inorganic), book-keeping, mensuration, 
 physics, geology or botany or zoology, veterinary anatomy and physi- 
 ology, drawing (plan). 
 
 Terms 3 and 4, class 2. — Agriculture (tillage, crops, &c.), chemistry 
 (organic), bookkeeping, surveying, physics, geology or botany or zool- 
 ogy, veterinary pathology, drawing (machinery): 
 
 Terms 5 and6,class3. — Agriculture (stock, dairy farming, economics, 
 &c.), chemistry (agricultural), book-keeping, leveling and engineering, 
 physics, mechanics, geology or botany or zoology, veterinary thera- 
 peutics, obstetrics, &c., drawing (design). 
 
 Agricultural law in the winter session, building materials or construe- 
 
AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 97 
 
 tion in the spriug session, and estate management in the summer ses- 
 sion each year. Indian and colonial agriculture separately or inclu- 
 sively. 
 
 I append the following detailed account of the chemical laboratory 
 work, kindly prepared for my report by Professor Kinch, as a specimen 
 of the fullness and minuteness with which the operations of each de- 
 partment are carried on. 
 
 CHEMICAL LABORATORY WORK. 
 
 First term. — Chemical manipulation ; practical lessons on crystalli- 
 zation, filtration, &c. Preparation of gases, as oxygen, hydrogen, car- 
 bon, dioxide, ammonia, &c. Examinations of soils, waters, foods. &c. 
 Blow-pipe experience, vide pfc. 1. Laboratory Guide, by A. H. Church. 
 
 Second term. — Similar to first term, but more advanced, e. g., differ- 
 erent samples of water may be given to the student to test qualitatively 
 and relatively for the most common impurities, as lime, chlorine, sul- 
 phuric acid, ammonia, nitric acid, behavior with potassium, permanga- 
 nate, and the like. The general style of the lessons is that in Church's 
 Laboratory Guide, modified to suit circumstances. 
 
 Third term. — Reactions of bases and acids. 
 
 Fourth ferm.TT-Qualitative analysis of salts, mixtures, manures, &c. 
 
 Fifth term.^Sa.me as fourth term. 
 
 Sixth term. — Quantitative analysis specially of agricultural value 
 manures, foods, soils, and farm products, e. g., a student, when suffi- 
 ciently advanced, is given a superphosphate which has been previously 
 carefully analyzed by the professor or his assistants, and required to 
 determine the percentage of water, organic matter, and combined nitro- 
 gen, soluble phosphate, insoluble phosphate (deduced phosphate), sand 
 calcium sulphate, iron oxide, «S;c., present, and report thereon, keeping 
 a record of all processes, which is examined. Guanos, bones, and other 
 manures are given in the same way. Also kainit, ammonium sulphate 
 sodium nitrate, shoddy, blood, manures, &c., are given and required to 
 be alnalyzed and reported by the student. For this work he is adjudged 
 a certain numbier of marks which count towards his passing his class. 
 
 Seventh term. — This term is devoted to special preparation for pass- 
 ing the diploma examinations in qualitative and quantitative analysis. 
 At the end of the term an examination is given in qualitative analysis 
 lasting one whole day. A mixture of siibstances is given containing 
 about five metals and five acid radicals ; this to be analyzed and reported 
 on and notes of all experiments and their results to be showu up. No 
 njtes or book allowed to be taken in to the examination. 
 
 Also an exahiination in quantitative analysis, lasting over three weeks. 
 
 In this two or three substances (which have been previously examined 
 
 by the professor) are given to each student, that is, a soil in which to 
 
 determine the water, organic matter, sand and silicates, oxide of iron 
 
 8673 A s 7 
 
98 AGETCULTORAL SCHOOLS IN EUEOJfE. 
 
 and aluminum, lime, potash, and nittogen. A superphosphate in which 
 lo determine the ingi^edients above mentioned, and an oif-cakfe ot other 
 feeding stuff irt which to determine water, oil, nitrogenous matter, fibetj 
 mucilage, &c., ash, and to examine for starch and sugar and report 
 geherally upon its purity, condition, and suitability for feeding purposes. 
 
 The student before taking his diploma also has to satisfy the pro- 
 fessor in a written examination (three hours) in agricultural cTieifiistry 
 and in a searching viva voce examination, during which he is examined 
 in specimens of rocks, minerals, manures, seeds, feeding material, and 
 the like. 
 
 Except during his examinations, the stlident has free access to the 
 advice and help of the professor and his assistants in all practical and 
 theorfetical maitters, and the particular processes most suitable to any 
 jjarticular analysis are pointed out and explained. During all the terms 
 the Student is required to keep a " labroaitbry'journal," which is period- 
 ically examiuedj in which he enters a record of all experiments made, 
 including the results observed or obtained, and the infeirences or deduc- 
 tions drawn. A certain number of marks is allotted to theSe journals. 
 
 THE COLLEGE AS AN EXPERIMENTAL STATION. 
 
 I have referred to certain experiments made upon the College Farm 
 in cattle feeding, in analysis of the soy bean arid other foods, iri the 
 different races of sheep, and in the breeding of Ootswolds and Berk- 
 shires. In the character of the results of the last two ei|)'eriments the 
 Eoyal Agricultural College at Cirencester may fairly challenge com- 
 parison with any similar institution in the world. ' ' ' 
 
 As to the general plan of expferimentation, the college publishes the 
 following account : ■ ' ■; 'y ' ' "' 
 
 GENERAL PLAN OF EXPERIMENTATION. 
 
 Series of experiments are carried on by the < professors as a part of 
 the college work, in which the senior students participate, and their 
 practical utility is increased by the co-operation of various leading 
 farmers in the neighborhood and of the Cirencester Chamber of Agri- 
 culture. Additional researches are prosecuted from time to time^ as 
 opportunity arises, in conjunction with other agriculturists and men of 
 science at home and abroad. It is intended that these experiments and 
 researches should deal with different varieties of cereals,- grasses, roots, 
 &c., the comparative merits of artificial fertilizers, occurrence and pre- 
 vention of diseases, the feeding of growing, fatteningj and work ani- 
 mals, &c., and thus at once enhance the value of the teaching given at 
 college and contribute to the advancement and success of British agri- 
 culture. 
 
AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 99 
 
 AGRICULTURE: PROFESSOR WALLACE. 
 
 Examination for diploma. 
 
 1. What considerations are necessary in di-aining a stiff clay loam ? 
 Calculate the cost per acre, using 3-inch pipes, in the parallel drains. 
 
 2. What increase of flesh would you expect per week in an average 
 fattening (1) bullock, (2) teg, and (3) pig, all well fed? What would 
 be th(E! proportions of dead weight to live weight when fat ? 
 
 3. Describe the management of hill «heep for a year. 
 
 4. Describe the management of a flock of Ootswold ewes for a year. 
 
 5. Given 100 acres of good! old pasture land, worth 40 shillingis per 
 acre of rent, how many bullocks would graze on it during summer ? 
 State how much and what kinds of food the same would require to make 
 them fat during the following winter. 
 
 6. How should a milch-cow be fed and managed (a) before calving 
 and (6) after calving, and why ? ' 
 
 . 7. Describe milk and its products, giving their properties. What is 
 a good average yield of each from a cow 1! 
 8. Describe the method of storing mangel adopted on the College Farm. 
 
 Agrieulture : Arable, sheep, buildings, machinery, <&o. 
 
 1. Describe the best rotations of cropping for light, medium, and heavy 
 soils in this country, having regard for situation. 
 
 2. Particularize the act,^ of husbandry, and state the cost of cultiva- 
 tion in (ionduuting each' of the rotations described. 
 
 3. Given a 400-acre arable farm .of sandy loam soil, Lady- day entry, 
 and agreement precluding the sale of hay, straw, and roots, state the 
 numbers and description of stock required for its proper occupation, their 
 value, and the total amount of capital required to work the holding, 
 explaining iH detailfor what it is wanted. 
 
 4. Describe the buildings best adapted for the profitable occupation 
 of the above-named farm, cost, as adding to the rental value, to be taken 
 into consideration. 
 
 5. Describe the buildings best suited to a 400 acre clay arable farm 
 in the midlands occupied on the same terms as the above. 
 
 6. Compare the cost of horse and steam laboir in preparing a good 
 seed-bed on 100 acres of clean stubble upon a strong loamy soil ; also 
 upon the same quantity of a clean, light sandy stubble. 
 
 7. 'Describe the management and give the cost of keeping a flock of 
 200 ewes in the first- mentioned farm from Michaelmas to Michaelmas. 
 
 8. Explain the management of the lambs fi?om the above &6ck, giv- 
 ing cost of kelep from ' weaning time till they are fe0ld','a8snining one- 
 half to be ewe lambs, ome-fourth to be ramS, and one-fourth wethers. 
 
 9. Give a short history and explain the respective attributes of the 
 undermentioned breeds of sheep: Southdowns, Shropshires, Hetd wicks. 
 Cheviots, Leicesters, Lincolns, and Cotswolds. 
 
100 AGRICULTOEAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
 
 10. Name the implements required for a mixed arable and grass farm, 
 and describe the different parts of Fowler's double engine system of 
 steam cultivation with their action; also of an improved thrashing 
 machine and a pair horse plow. 
 
 PUAOTICAX, AGKICTJLTURE : PROFESSOR LITTLE. i 
 
 1. What are the best conditions of land for sowing (1) wheat, (2) bar- 
 ley, (3) clover, and (4) turnips, taking into consideration mechanical 
 condition of the soil and cropping ? 
 
 2. Give a list of special manures in most common use, and state their 
 suitability for raising crops, and quantities applied. 
 
 3. In feeding two and one-half year old Short-horn cattle in stalls, 
 give quantities of various foods you would use to make beef of them as 
 quickly as possible. 
 
 4. Put .marks against the following breeds of cattle to indicate their 
 value (1) as beef producers and (2) milk producers ; ten marks to be the 
 maximum value in each case : (1) Short-horn, (2) Hereford, (3) Devon, 
 (4) Ayrshire, (5) Galloway, (6) Angus, (7) Jersey. 
 
 5. Describe the principal differences in the systems of labor manage- 
 ment in Northumberland, Westmoreland, and Lincolnshire. 
 
 6. What axe the advantages of paying shepherds "in kind" as prac- 
 ticed in Northumberland ? 
 
 7. Given a crop of swedes of 15 tons per acre, how many Cotswold 
 tegs should such crop keep for fifteen weeks ; and what increase of 
 mutton should such sheep make per head in that period ? 
 
 8. Give fair prices of piece-work on the College Farm for (1) hoeing 
 peas and beans, (2) hoeing, setting out, and singling turnips, and (3) for 
 filling dung. 
 
 9. What should be the cost of cutting, tying, stacking, and thatching 
 fair crops of wheat and other grain, machines and horses being found? 
 
 10. Give the commonest Cotswold rotations. State any variations 
 frequently adopted. 
 
 Practical agriculture: Cattle, dairying, grass land, pigs, &c. 
 
 CATTLE. 
 
 1. What breeds are best suited for producing (a) beef, (6) milk, 
 (c) butter? 
 
 2. Suppose you wish to establish a dairy, what general principles 
 would guide you as to choice of breed, age, number of years to be re- 
 tained in the dairy, and ultimate disposal of cattle 1 
 
 3. If you desired a herd for producing beef at a profit how would 
 you begin and how proceed as to choice of breed, rearing, management 
 after twelve mouths old, and time of maturity ? 
 
 DAIRYING. 
 
 4. Mention points of importance in dairy management under follow- 
 ing heads : Times and intervals of milking ; times and intervals of 
 
AGEICULTUEAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 101 
 
 feeding ; times and intervals of exercise ; care of milk ; churning of 
 cream ; ripening of Gloucester cheese. 
 
 5. In deciding the method of management of a farm for cattle carry- 
 ing, what conditions would influence your decision as to the probable 
 advantages of producing (a) beef, (6) milk, («) butter, {d) cheese ? 
 
 6. Describe the process of cheese-making and chief diiierence in mak- 
 ing Cheddar cheese?, Gloucester, and Stilton. 
 
 GRASS LAND, ETC. 
 
 7. Given a farm of 300 acres of medium soil, devoted chiefly to cattle, 
 what crops should be grown, and about how many acres of each? 
 
 8. What would be a fair average crop of (a) hay, (6) mangels, (c) 
 swedes, (d) common turnips, (e) drumhead cabbage ? When should the 
 crops be sown, when harvested, and in what rotation consumed? Give 
 any special reason for the early or late consumption of any roots. 
 
 9. My neighbor bas grown on clay land 8 acres of wheat at a cost 
 of about £40; he has recently sold the grain for £18 10s.; the straw 
 will about pay for the harvesting and marketing. If you were so un- 
 fortunate as to have such a field on your farm and could not get out 
 of it, how would you manage it for the next three years f 
 
 ; PIGS. 
 
 10. Give the special points of merit and general characteristics of (a) 
 Igirge white breed, (6) Berkshires, (e) Tamworths. 
 
 AGEIOULTURAL CHEMISTRY: PROFESSOR KINCH. 
 
 Diploma examination. 
 
 1. Give.a concise account of the agencies, physical, chemical, and or- 
 ganized, concerned in the formation of soil from rocks. 
 
 2. To what constituents of soils is their absorptive power for bases 
 generally due, and how would you proceed to estimate this power in any 
 particular case 1 
 
 3. How does the growth of trees assist in the formation and ameliora- 
 tion of soils, and in what respects do deciduous trees diifer from conifers 
 in their action ? 
 
 4. Enumerate the principal sources of potash used for manure, and 
 state how you would estimate potash in a manure. 
 
 5. What products of gas works are useful to the farmer ? Give their 
 composition and state with what precautions they should be used. 
 
 6. What are the most favorable conditions for the process of nitriflca- 
 tion ? Suggest means to prevent a large waste of nitrate in drainage 
 water. Also do you know of any other chemical changes affecting the 
 farmer which are brought about through the agency of minute organ- 
 isms similar to those causing nitrification ? 
 
 7. Compare the composition and the feeding and manurial values of 
 
102 AGRICm.TUBAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
 
 decorticated cotton cake, linseed cake, decorticated earth-nut cake, carob 
 beans, maize, linseed, and rice. 
 
 8. Give a short account of the chemicallifehistory of an oat plant. 
 
 9. What is meant by the albuminoid: ratio lof a food ; how. is dti calcu- 
 lated? Give an example from one of the foods mentioned in question 
 
 10. How would a knowledge of this ratio guide you in the selection of 
 foods for various animals? 
 
 BOOK-KEEPING- : PEOPESSOR THOMPSON. 
 
 Diploma examination. 
 
 Journalize, post in the ledger, and write a balancersheet for the fol- 
 lowing statement ; by means of a private ledger apportion the profits to 
 tbe three partners and write a balance-sheet showing the amount of 
 capital at the end of the year belonging to each : 
 
 A, B, and start in business, their shares of capital being as 3, 4, and 
 5. A manages and receives £400 as salary, 5 per cent, interest to be 
 charged on capital and on the drawings of the partners, and' the profits 
 are then to be equally divided between A, B, and 0. 
 
 They commence with £4,800 in cash. From the outgoing tenant they 
 buy stock, £3,050, and horses, £260 ; for tenant right they give £300 
 and pay in cash £3,000, giving a bill for the remainder. 
 
 During the year they buy stock from Smith, £300, sell stock for cash, 
 £1,890. They consign stock to Scott valued at £800, he pays expenses, 
 £26, sells it for £870 ; he remits a bill for £400 and for the remainder a 
 check which is cashed ; the bill is dishonored when it falls due ; he ulti- 
 mately fails and gives 5_ shillings in the pound. 
 
 Eent, £700, is paid the landlord, and A's salary, £400, and wages, 
 -£340, are paid; A draws out £200, B £500, and C £600; interest is 
 charged on these amounts. The tenant right det)reciates one-third, 
 horses depreciate 10 per cent. ; Smith receives £280, £20 being discount. 
 Bills payable are cashed less £10 discount ; valuation of stock £5,627, 
 and interest on capital is charged at 5 per cent. 
 
 ZOOLOGY : PEOPESSOK HAEKEE. 
 
 Diploma examination. 
 
 1. Describe the morphology of a typical worm ; distinguish the sub- 
 kingdom Vennes from the Arthropoda. 
 
 2. What are the four principal groups of the parasitic worms? Give 
 briefly characters sufficient to distinguish one from the other. 
 
 3. What is a weevil ? Give a list of the noxious weevils you are ac- 
 quainted, with and say what plants they damage. 
 
 4. Describe the wheat-midge, give its history, and describe its various 
 appearances in the field. ' 
 
 5. What are the CEstridse or bots ? What animals do they infest, and 
 how? 
 
AGRICULTUEAL SCHOOLS IN EUEOPE. 103 
 
 6. What is the difference between the common field-mouse and the 
 shrew-mouse, and of what importance is this ? 
 
 physios: professor ohm. 
 
 Diploma examination. 
 
 1. Describe the specific gravity bottle ; in using this what preliminary 
 precautions wquld you take, and show how you would proceed to deter- 
 mine the specific gravity of an insoluble powder '? 
 
 2. In looking over an estatfe, what conditions Would encourage you to 
 fix a hydraulic ram 1 To what extent has this proved a valuable ma- 
 chine? 
 
 3. Write out the laws of capillary attraction, and show how these 
 laws may be demonstrated. 
 
 4. Compare the three forms of wheels commonly in use. What necr 
 essary arrangements would you make before fixing each of these wheels, 
 and why ? 
 
 5. Write out the laws of evaporation and ebullition. What do you 
 understand by the term latent heafi Mention experiments which prove 
 that a large amount of heat is rendered latent during the process of 
 evaporation. 
 
 AGRICULl'URB : PROFESSOR WALLACE. 
 Class 1 A. 
 
 1. Grive a good classification of soils. 
 
 2. Describe the actions of glaciers in forming soils. Where do we 
 find soils formed from glacier deposits in this country ? 
 
 3. How are alluvial soils formed ? Where are they found in this 
 country ? Describe their characters. 
 
 4. Show by diagram sections of different kinds of drains (with and 
 without pipes), and state in what soils each may be used. 
 
 5. Describe the process of irrigation, and state its advantages. 
 
 6. Why is lime applied to soils ? Mention the different forms in which 
 it may be applied and the characters of each. 
 
 7. Describe the operation of " paring and burning," and state its ad- 
 vantages and disadvantages. 
 
 8. How can farm-yard manure be best preserved (1) at the homestead 
 and (2) in the field ? 
 
 Glass 1 B. 
 
 1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of "water" and 
 " wind" power as compared with " steam" power ? 
 
 2. Describe (shortly) a double- furrow plow, and state its advantages 
 as compared with the ordinary swing plow. 
 
 3. Explain the construction of (1) a Cambridge roller and (2) a cross- 
 hill roller; for what purposes are they used ? 
 
104 AGEICUETCTRAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
 
 4. What is the usual difference between a "grass mower" and a 
 " reaping machine " ? Why should it be so ? 
 
 5. Name and describe briefly the different systems of steam cultiva- 
 tion. 
 
 6. Give the construction of the zigzag harrow. Explain why it is so 
 constructed. What are its uses ? 
 
 7. What is the weight of the standard bushel of (1) wheat and (2) 
 oats in the market of this district 1 How is barley sold ? 
 
 8. (a) Show how the gradual increase of wages tends to raise the 
 standard of work in this country. (6) Describe the Bothy system of 
 lodging young plowmen in Scotland. 
 
 Glass 2 A. 
 
 1. State in bushels what would be an average crop of wheat, barley, 
 and oats. What proportion of straw would you expect to grain. And 
 arrange the straw in order of feeding quality.' 
 
 2. Describe (shortly) the advantages and disadvantages of three 
 ways of sowing grain. Calculate the cost of drilling wheat per acre. 
 
 3. Calculate the cost per acre of cutting grain (a) by scythe and (6) 
 by reaper. Show how you make your estimates. 
 
 4. At what seasons and how deep are beans and peas sown ? How 
 much seed is used per acre? 
 
 5. Name the different varieties of turnips and swedes grown on the 
 College Farm. Give the order and time of sowing and consuming and 
 the manure applied. 
 
 Glass 2 B. 
 
 1. Give lists of " seeds " (grasses and clovers) suited to sow on land 
 to lie out (1) one year, (2) two years, and (3) for permanent pasture. , 
 Why do you arrange the mixtures so? 
 
 2. What actions have the following manures when applied to per- 
 manent pastures: (1) Nitrogenuos manures alone; (2) mineral man- 
 ures alone ; (3.) Nos. 1 and 2 mixed ? 
 
 3. Describe (shortly) the different ways of storing roots. 
 
 4. Calculate the cost per acre of ridging land for a green crop, put- 
 ting 16 tons farm-yard manure per acre into the ridges from a heap in 
 the field ; horse, 3s., men, 2s. 6d. per day. 
 
 5. Explain how a simple expieriment ma5'^ be carried out in a turnip 
 field to test which of the three valuable inanurial substances, nitrogen, 
 potash, and phosphoric acid, was most wanted. 
 
 Glass 3. 
 
 1. Describe the feeding and treatment of a cow giving milk from the 
 day she calves in March for one year, 
 
 2. Which green crops and pasture plants are uusuited to cows in 
 milk, and why ? 
 
AGBICULTUEAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 105 
 
 3. What are the causes of inflammation of the udder in cows, and 
 how is it prevented ? 
 
 4. Describe the treatment of curd in the Cheddar system of cheese- 
 making after all the whey that will run off is removed. 
 
 5. What are the principal differences between ordinary milk and 
 colostrum, or the first milk after calving ? Why is the latter well suited 
 to young calves ? s 
 
 6. What takes place when milk sours 1 What causes souring, and 
 how is it prevented ? 
 
 FARM JOTJENAL: PROPBSSOK "WALLACE. 
 
 Glasses 1 A cmd 1 B. 
 
 Describe the breeding and management of the pigs on the College 
 Farm. 
 
 2. What is the benefit derived from keeping a farm journal? De- 
 scribe the method of keeping it at the College. Suggest improvements 
 on the same. 
 
 3. What number of bushels of wheat, barley, and oats can be thrashed 
 per day of ten hours at the College Farm ? Explain why the amount 
 should dififer. 
 
 CULTIVATION BOOK: PBOFBSSOE WALLACE. 
 
 Glasses 2 and 3. 
 
 1. Give the cultivation for wheat of No. 1, "So. 5, and No. 10 fields, 
 and give reasons why those differed. 
 
 2. What are the costs per acre on the College Farm of (1) hoeing 
 wheat and barley; (2) hoeing swedes and turnips a first and second 
 time ; (3) hoeing mangels three times ? 
 
 3. How are potatoes and mangels covered in pits 1 Explain why and 
 give costs. 
 
 4. Give (shortly) the cultivation of a potato crop. 
 
 AGRICULTURAL LAW : PROFESSOR FAWCETT. 
 
 1. State (shortly) the modes of making a binding bargain, to be carried 
 out within a year, for the sale of an animal or goods (1) under the val- 
 ue of £10 and (2) over that value. 
 
 2. What tests should you apply to ascertain whether a statement 
 made by the seller of a horse is a warranty or a mere representation ? 
 
 3. State the general principles by which you would decide what is 
 unsoundness in a horse, so as to constitute a breach of warranty of 
 soundness. 
 
 4. To what extent is the "rule of the road" binding on a driver? 
 
 5. Your dog bites a man and afterwards worries a sheep. What will 
 have to be proven in each case in order to enable the bitten man or the 
 owner of the bitten sheep to recover damages against you 1 
 
106 AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 
 
 INORGANIC CHEMISTRY : PROFESSOR KINCH. 
 
 Glass 1 A. 
 
 1. State the laws of chemical combination, giving examples. 
 
 2. Define the terms acid, anhydride, normal salt, acid salt, basic 
 salt, efflorescence, deliquescence, deflagration. 
 
 3. What gases are contained in atmospheric air? Give the propor- 
 tions of those which are most important, and state reasons for believing 
 that air is a mechanical mixture and not a compound. 
 
 4. Classify natural waters. State the usual impurities present in them 
 and how they may be detected, 
 
 5. Describe the- preparation and properties of ammonia. 
 
 6. Give the formulae of ozone, hydrogen, peroxide, red mercuric oxide, 
 chloric acid, nitric acid, and laughing-gas. 
 
 7. Give an account of the laboratory lesson on the preparation of 
 oxygen. 
 
 Glass 1 B. 
 
 1. Give an acpount of the chief chaFacteristic§ of sulphur, its beha- 
 vior on heating, and its uses in the arts and in agriculture, , ,. : , 
 
 2. Describe the process for the production of superphosphiate of lime, 
 giving an equation. 
 
 3. Ton are given ordinary sodium phosphate, microcosmic salt, acetic 
 acid, white of egg, and silver nitrate ; how would you illustrate charac- 
 teristic reactions of the three phosphoric acids ? 
 
 4. What is meant by the hardness of water ; to what is it due ? Name 
 some of its effects and how it may be remedied. 
 
 ORGANIC AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY: PROPBSSOB KINCH. 
 
 Glass 2 A. 
 
 1. How did Wohler obtain urea artificially, and how did its production 
 in this way affect the views held with regard to organic chemistry ? 
 
 2. Describe* the preparation of chloroform, and state its properties 
 and uses. 
 
 3. Having at your disposal ethylene, sulphuric acid, and water, how 
 would you prepare common alcohol and ether? 
 
 4. Give the name and formula of a number of each of , the following 
 families of organic compounds : Saturated hydrocarbons, alcohols, ethers, 
 mercaptans, anhydrides, acids, and organo-metallic bodies. 
 
 5. How is oxalic acid prepared from saw-dust ? 
 
 6. An organic body containing only carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen 
 gave, on combustion, the following percentages: 0.,, 71.43; ,H., 9.53; 
 O., 19.04 ; its vapor density, compared to hydrogen, was found to be 
 41.7 ; required, its molecular formula. 
 
 7. How would you. detect copper, arsenic, iron, and magnesium oc- 
 curring together in solution ? 
 
AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. 107 
 
 Class 2 B. 
 
 1. Classify the more important carbohydrates. Give a list of the 
 principal plants from which sugar is extracted, stating from what part 
 of the plant it is obtained. 
 
 2. Ton are given cotton, sulphuric acid, nitric acid, lime, and water ; 
 how would you prepare glucose and gun-cotton 1 
 
 3. Name some organic bases existing in the animal body. 
 
 4. State the chemical composition of bone and of blood. 
 
 AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY: PROFESSOR KINOH. 
 
 Classes 3 A and B. 
 
 1. State the average composition of good farm-yard manure as far as 
 its most valuable constituents are concerned ; what conditions are most 
 conducive to prevention of loss in keeping ; and why are the effects of 
 farm-yard manure usually more striking on light than on heavy soils ? 
 
 2. Give an account of some of the effects of cropping on the subse- 
 quent condition of soils, and show how and why different crops differ in 
 their effects. 
 
 GEOLOGY: PROFESSOR BARKER. 
 
 Classes 1 A, 2 A, and 3 A. 
 
 1. Describe the origin of a glacier and its action on descending a val- 
 ley. Distinguish between a glacier and a continental ice-sheet. 
 
 2. Define the following terms : Loam, marl,xhert, porphyry, amygda- 
 loid, shale, and trap. 
 
 3. What are the evidences of successive upheaval and depression of 
 land areas ? 
 
 BOTANY : PROFESSOR HARKER. 
 
 1. Contrast Protococcus and Saccharomyces. 
 
 2. Give life history of potato fungus. 
 
 3. What is ergot of rye ? 
 
 4. What is dry rot f 
 
 5. How does a plant obtain its food from the soil ? 
 
 Similar questions are proposed in the different departments of phys- 
 ics and meteorology, and in surveying, engineering, book-keeping, vet- 
 erinary science, and drawing.