EPORT OF THE AGRICULTURAL COMMITTEE ON THE NEEDS OF THE COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS DECEMBER, 1910 THE GENERAL AGRICULTURAL COMMITTEE The Interests which it Represents This committee may be said to represent the following organi- zations : The Illinois Live Stock Breeders' Association, The Illinois Grain Dealers' Association, The Illinois Corn Growers' Association, The Illinois State Farmers' Institute, The Illinois Horticultural Society, The Illinois Dairymen's Association, The Illinois State Florists' Association, besides miscellaneous unorganized agricultural interests. How THE Committee Came into Existence Appropriations made by the State of Illinois for the conducting of experimental work in agriculture at the Experiment Station, in connection with the College of Agriculture at Urbana, have carried with them the provision that such funds should be expended under the supervision of an Advisory Committee of five members in each case, which committees are appointed respectively by the various state organizations interested in the lines of work in which experiments are to be made. Following out this provision The Illinois Grain Dealers' Association and the Illinois Corn Growers' Association, jointly, appoint the Advisory Com- mittee on Crops, The Illinois Live Stock Breeders' Association, the Committee on Animal Husbandry, The Illinois State Farmers' Institute, the Committee on Soils, The Illinois Horticultural Society, the Committee on Or- chards, The Illinois Dairymen's Association, the Committee on Dairy- ing, The Illinois State Florists' Association, the Committee on Floriculture. Thus have come into existence six committees of five members each, having a general supervision over the experimental work in ag- riculture. These committees meet separately as the interests of their individual departments require, and general meetings of all are held at least once a year. It is fair to assume that each committee is com- posed of representative men of the state in the particular branch of agriculture covered. It is also fair to assume that these thirty men, acting jointly, represent in the broadest possible way the agricultural interests of the state. At a general called meeting of these committees held at Urbana on August i6, 1910, the condition of the Agricultural College was taken under consideration. Such short investigation as could be made at the time convinced those present that a thorough investigation was needed, and by unanimous vote a committee was constituted to ar- range for a general investigation. Ivlr. F. I. Mann, of Gilman, Illi- nois, was made Chairman and all members of the Advisory Com- mittees were named as members, as well as the various officers of the before mentioned agricultural associations. In addition to this, prom- inent men interested throughout the state were added to the com- mittee. On October 17 this committee, which was called the General Agricultural Committee^ met, pursuant to written notice, at the Agri- cultural College at Urbana. As a result of its deliberations, the fol- lowing conclusions were arrived at : First: That conditions were most critical and the existence of the Agricultural College as a school of the first rank was at stake. Second : Any practical solution of the problem and the drawing of conclusions which could be sustained before the people of the state, would require extended and careful investigation which could not be carried out by a large body of men. Third : That a small committee must be selected which should consist of representative men who would be able and willing to give the necessary time to a thorough and exhaustive investigation, and that such investigation would necessarily require an investigation of the institutions in the neighboring states and a knowledge of the work done and the work planned in those institutions. Thereupon the following committee was appointed to undertake on behalf of the General Committee the investigation specified : F. I. Mann, Chairman, Gilman, Illinois; Auditor of the State Farmers' Institute. OCT 10 *• Ralph Allen, Delavan, Illinois ; Director of the State Farmers' In- stitute. H. J. Sconce, Sidell, Illinois; Corn Breeder and Grower. C. A. Ewing, Decatur, Illinois; Attorney-at-Law and farmer in a large way. W. N. Rudd, Blue Island, Illinois; President of Mount Green- wood Cemetery Association, Chicago, and identified with the orna- mental branches of horticulture. Upon the fact of the appointment of this committee becoming known to the Trustees of the University of Illinois, they delegated two of their members, Mr. A. P. Grout, of Winchester, Illinois, and Mr. F. L. Hatch, of Spring Grove, Illinois, together with Eugene Davenport, Dean of the Agricultural College, to accompany the com- mittee in their tour of inspection. Upon the completion of the in- spection of other institutions, and after a subsequent thorough investi- gation of the College of Agriculture of the State of Illinois, a meet- ing of the General Agricultural Committee was again called, which was held at Urbana on December 8 and 9. At this meeting the report of the Sub-Committee was presented and unanimously approved. The Sub-Committee was continued and made a permanent committee by unanimous vote, with instructions to make public the findings in the report, and to promote in every pos- sible legitimate way the strengthening of the Agricultural College of the University of Illinois in accordance with the terms of the report so accepted. The Work oi? the Committee The committee at its first meeting decided that a knowledge of conditions in similar institutions in other states, as had been pointed out by the General Committee, was absolutely necessary ; and that a proper investigation of other institutions required a knowledge of the scope of our own College, of the conditions now existing and, in a general way, of the demands made by the people of the state. A pre- liminary investigation of conditions at Urbana was undertaken by each member individually presumably in the line of supplying his own individual requirements. October 27, the committee, together with Dean Davenport and the two members of the Board of Trustees, left Chicago for Ames, Iowa, examining the Iowa College of Agriculture at that place; thence going to Lincoln, Nebraska, for an investigation of the Nebraska State College of Agriculture; thence to Minneapolis and the Min- nesota College; then to Madison, Wisconsin, and the State Agri- cultural College of Wisconsin. Later a second trip was taken in- cluding the Michigan Agricultural College at Lansing, Michigan ; the Agricultural College of the State of New York, connected with Cor- nell University, Ithaca, New York; the New York State Experiment Station at Geneva, New York; and ending with the Ohio Agricul- tural College at Columbus, Ohio. The entire committee, as well as the two Trustees and Dean Davenport made the two trips with the exception of Trustee Grout, who was unable to make the visit to Lansing, Michigan, but covered all the rest of the trip. After the return from the tour of inspection the committee met at Urbana and was in session almost continuously, days and evenings, for six days. Its work at Urbana consisted in a careful examination of the buildings, the equipment, and the scope of instruction, and a com- parison with other institutions in the light of information acquired during the trip. The committee made it a special point to closely question the leading men in other institutions as to their views upon agricultural education in general, the strong points in their own work, and also the weak parts of their organization, and the information thus gained was of much value when applied to the investigation of our own conditions. The chief of each department of the Agricultural College at Urbana was examined at length as to the needs of his department, and as to the conditions existing. The Dean of the Col- lege was called upon to corroborate or modify the opinions of his assistants. All facts were weighed, statements were sifted, differing local conditions between Illinois and other states were considered, and the committee used its best judgment to separate and discard all fads and theoretical fancies. It had in view, first, efficiency, and, hardly second, almost equally economy. In other words, its attempt was to make such recommendations as would secure for the people of Illinois in its College of Agriculture, a great, strong, economically and practically organized public service institution which should work to the betterment of the whole people of our commonwealth. The Findings of the; Committee Having been so courteously received at every institution visited, and so freely and so fully advised as to the details of organization and management in each case, it would have been highly improper to make specific statements or criticisms. It may suffice to say in gen- eral that the committee found much to commend and much to rec- ommend for adoption in our own College. It also found some things to criticize, notably in some institutions what appeared to the commit- tee to be extravagant expenditure for buildings and for equipment. It found that the best work was not in all cases being done where ex- pensive buildings and expensive equipment existed. On the other hand it found in other institutions where the buildings and equipment were inadequate, that the work of a good corps of men was not so effective as it should be. Its findings are based on the necessity for a high grade staff, reasonably good equipment which will permit of obtaining the best results of which the staff is capable, and of a suf- ficient number of plain, well built, substantial, but not high priced buildings to house the equipment and to furnish room for properly and economically giving the instruction and research demanded. Specific Re;commendations A careful scrutiny of present lines in which instruction was given and a study of the records of attendance, made it evident that none of the present lines could properly be discontinued. The committee also became convinced that the items included in the report under "New and Enlarged Lines of Work" were essential. It should be un- derstood that not all of these lines are new but that a part of them have been worked out in a small way and that the progress of agri- culture and general science, and the demand from the people of Illi- nois requires their enlargement along lines specified. Classes oe People in the State Beneeited by the Agricultural College It was understood by the committee that it might be claimed that an enlargement and strengthening of the Agricultural College was class legislation, and was singling out the farmer for benefits denied the other citizens of the state. Secretary Wilson of the Department of Agriculture has stated that eighty-five per cent of all the materials used in manufactures are agricultural products. All of the railroads in the state of Illinois are dependent for a large proportion of their earnings upon the transportation of agricultural products from the farm and the transportation of the farmers' purchases from the cities. Every citizen of the state is dependent upon the farms for his food supply, and every move which increases the productiveness of the farm tends to increase the abundance of his food supply and decrease the cost of the same. In times of large crops the state is prosperous; in times of short crops the reverse is the case. It should be borne in mind that while trade and commerce do not increase the aggregate wealth of the country but simply transfer it from one point to an- other, the farmer is a producer and that every percent by which his crop is increased is so much added to the wealth of the state, and is, therefore, of an advantage to every other citizen in the state. However, while in certain of the new and enlarged departments of the college the activities will be directed specifically to the better- ment of the farmer, many of them apply equally to every citizen in the state. Municipal and sanitary dairying, while incidentally benefit- ing the producer of milk, have for their object the purifying and rendering sdfe the milk supply of the state, and thus affect to a many times greater degree the inhabitants of the cities. Landscape Garden- ing, which has for its primary object the embellishment and adorn- ment of the home grounds, affects each citizen equally. The same applies to Floriculture. The raising of poultry is becoming more and more a work carried on in the suburbs and outskirts of the cities. The conservation and increase of the forest areas, and the timbering of lands which are now waste touches all citizens both by the in- crease of resources and by the influence upon the water supply. Household organization and activities and household sanitation and health, are subjects which apply alike to every household in the state. The work of the College, therefore, both in a broad way, as has been shown, and in many specific ways, applies to all citizens of the state and cannot be regarded as favoring one class at the expense of an- other. It is a fair assumption that in the extent of money invested in agriculture and in the bulk of its agricultural products, Illinois leads all the states of the Union. The committee has given weight to this fact and yet has not attempted to create a competition in expenditures for agricultural education, or to recommend that our state make ex- penditures in proportion to those made in certain lines by states of lesser importance, but it has attempted to find out what is really needed and to recommend such expenditures as will enable the Col- lege of Agriculture of Illinois to meet the proper demands of the citi- zens of Illinois. For the Committee, W. N. RUDD. GENERAL AGRICULTURAL COMMITTEE Re;P0RT of SuB-COMMITTEe We, your committee appointed to visit the various Agricultural Colleges and to make comparative investigations of conditions exist- ing, beg leave to submit the following report: At our first meeting to give general consideration to the matter placed in our hands, it became evident that a close survey of the work in other states must be made. We, therefore, have visited the following institutions: Iowa State College of Agriculture, Ames, Iowa. Nebraska State College of Agriculture, Lincoln, Neb. Minnesota State College of Agriculture, Minneapolis, Minn. Wisconsin State College of Agriculture, Madison, Wis. Michigan Agricultural College, Lansing, MicH. New York College of Agriculture — Cornell University, Ithaca. New York State Experiment Station, Geneva, N. Y. Ohio State College of Agriculture, Columbus, O. The above list of institutions was selected to be visited as being considered typical of the various ideas and methods of instruction and research which might be of most use in considering our Illinois problem. At each institution visited an attempt was made, so far as the time at our disposal permitted, first to make a general survey of the buildings, equipment and financial resources, and of the relative em- phasis given the three different branches which must necessarily be em- braced in the activities of all such institutions which properly fulfill their functions, namely, Teaching, Research and Extension (that is the carrying to the people and the putting in practical operation the results gathered through research and experimentation) ; second, to ascertain further, by discussion with the leading men of the institu- tion visited, their general policies, separating those arising through local conditions from those of wider application. In every case we were shown the greatest courtesy and afforded every facility for ob- taining the information desired. At all institutions visited the prominent fact was the phenomenal awakening of public interest in things agricultural, the rapidly increas- ing number of students and the new lines of work everywhere de- manded. 8 At each institution was emphasized the necessity of a better and better class of men for teaching and research, and the growing diffi- culty of obtaining and retaining them. Our unanimous conclusion is that of the three branches of work mentioned before, teaching does and must stand first. Scarcely second in importance, and essential to the best teaching, is research; while without well planned extension work, much of the results and practical application of research does not promptly reach the people for whom it is intended. In no case must extension work be allowed to infringe on the other branches, as such a course will not only decrease the effectiveness in those branches, but ultimately lower the standard of the extension work itself. The above is formulated, not with the idea that the College of Agriculture of the University of Illinois is solely a teaching institu- tion, or that it exists for research, or that its province is the dissem- ination of popular knowledge ; but that it is, and ever must be, a great public service organization for the betterment of agriculture in its broadest sense and of the people engaged directly or indirectly in agricultural pursuits. We have given especial attention to the subject of Domestic or Household Science, and our specific recommendations, to follow, have in view a radical departure in broadening and extending the scope of that most important department. After returning from our investigation of the institutions in other states we have made a careful investigation of conditions in Illinois. We feel warranted in stating that the people of our state may take just pride in their Agricultural College, in its personnel, and in the work which it has done under difficulties generally unknown, but we must not be blinded to the fact that we now face the greatest crisis in its history. Seven years ago the College had 339 students. During these seven years, it is fair to say that the scope of agricultural education has doubled, the directions in which instruction and research are de- manded has more than doubled, and the students enrolled number nearly two and one-third times those of seven years since; while the funds and facilities available are practically the same as those of 1903-04. In this connection attention is called to the following table, a careful study of which is invited: 9 Growth and Funds of College; and Station, University oE Illinois Federal Funds State Appropriation Students Graduating Graduate Year CoUeg-e Station College Station Registered Class Students 90-91 $ 5.000 $15,000 7 2 91-92 5,000 15,000 6 2 92-93 5.000 15,000 13 2 93-94 5,000 15,000 5 I 2 94-95 5,000 15,000 9 95-96 7,000 15,000 14 96-97 7,000 15,000 17 2 97-98 7,000 15,000 19 2 98-99 7,000 15,000 25 4 99-00 28,000 15,000 90 2 00-01 28,000 15,000 159 4 01-02 28,000 15,000 $ 8,000 $54,000 232 4 02-03 28,000 15,000 8,000 54,000 284 9 03-04 28,000 15,000 61,000 85,000 339 10 04-oS 28,000 15,000 61,000 85,000 406 18 oS-06 28,500 20,000 61,000 95,000 430 24 9 06-07 28,500 22,000 61,000 95,000 462 43 10 07-08 31,000 24,000 71,000 102,500 528 38 17 08-09 33,500 26,000 71,000 102,500 531 54 IS 09-10 36,000 28,000 55,000 138,000 660 49 23 10- 1 1 38,500 30,000 55,000 138,000 662* ? 31* ♦Will be at least 750 , all told, before the year closes, besides 50 in the Academy. The average annual : rate of increase in the number of students for the past ten years has been over 17%. On this basis, in V (vo years (and before all buildings recommended can be corn- pleted) there will be over 1,000 students, and in five years there will be nearly 1,700. If the people of Illinois are to be effectively served as they have been in the past, immediate provision for not only present essentials, but for reasonable requirements in the near future must be made; otherwise our college will sink into the position of a second rate school, and our students seeking education must go to other states. Other colleges and private commercial interests are making such inroads on our present efficient corps of men that additional funds must be made available in order to maintain the present efficiency. Additional instructors must be provided to care for the more than doubled number of students and for the new lines of instruction de- manded. More men must be had for research. The demand for ex- tension work from almost every township in the state must be met by an additional force. New buildings and new equipment must be pro- vided. The establishment of agricultural instruction in the public and normal schools of the state and the training of teachers in these subjects should be pushed as rapidly as possible.. Passing every demand in review, and subjecting every item to the closest scrutiny with a view to strict economy, we submit the fol- lowing recommendations, being convinced that none may be omitted or reduced in amount without serious damage to the interests at stake. 10 New and Enlarged Lines oe Work and Cost of Maintenance NOW. PROSPECTIVE. Soil Biology $ 6,000 $ 10,000 Municipal and Sanitary Dairying 5,ooo 10,000 Veterinary Science 3,ooo 10,000 Farm Organization and Management 10,000 25,000 Rural Sociology 6,000 8,000 Agricultural Education 10,000 10,000 Landscape Gardening 10,000 10,000 Floriculture 7,000 10,000 Rural Architecture 7.000 7,000 Poultry 10.000 10,000 Forestry 10,000 25,000 Comparative Agriculture 5,000 Genetics 3,ooo 10,000 Animal Nutrition ic,ooo 25,000 Household Organization and Activities, Household Sanitation and Health 6.000 6,000 Agricultural Extension 15,000 15,000 Farm Mechanics 10,000 20,000 Total $128,000 $216,000 Total amount immediately required as above $128,000 Less amount covered under former appropriations 32,000 Net annual amount immediately required for new and enlarged lines of work $96,000 Prospective amount for new and enlarged lines as above $216,000 Less amount immediately required 128,000 Net amount by which the immediate annual requirements must be in- creased in the near future $ 88,000 Buildings Repair Fund, 5 per cent, of $295,000 invested in buildings $ 14,750 Addition to Agronomy Greenhouse 9,000 Plant Breeding House 8,000 Present Glass Houses rebuilt and enlarged 35,ooo To complete Horticultural and Field Laboratory 9,000 Addition to Agricultural Building, 100,000 sq. ft 337,5oo Dairy Cattle Building 40,000 Dairy Investigating Barn 12,000 Horse Building 40,000 Sheep Buildings 15.000 Judging Pavilion 100,000 Tool Barn on South Farm 2,000 Clinic Building _ S-OOO Alteration Farm Mechanics Building 8,000 Total amount for buildings which must be built at once $635,250 Considering the fact that Household Science has twice outgrown its quarters, and that the present rooms are entirely inadequate for serving more than the present enrollment of 225, and considering the growing importance of a serious study of the home as an economic and social institution, the Committee recommends that at the next 11 biennium succeeding the coming session, appropriations should be made for a building sufficiently commodious to provide for the ade- quate study of the affairs of the home whether by women or by men, and that such a building fully equipped should cost not less than $200,000. Equipment Dairy Cattle $ 8,000 Beef Cattle 8,000 Horses 12,000 Sheep 2,000 Swine 2,000 $32,000 Farm Machinery 3.500 Total new equipment immediately required $ 3S,500 Maintenance (Annually) Agronomy $ ^'^'4°° Animal Husbandry 20,000 Dairy Husbandry 20,500 Horticulture 21,300 Veterinary Science 2,000 Household Science 5,ooo College Extension 9.900 General Offices 7,ooo $ 96,100 Salaries Total present salary of the teaching faculty $ ^|'5°° Vacancies and cost of filling 8,600 Increase necessary to maintain a body of first class men 15.000 Additional assistance because of increased number of students 16,400 Total amount required annually for salaries to continue the teach- ing work in its present scope $i3S.ooo SUMMARY Amounts required to supply the Urgent Needs of the Agricultural College of the University of the State of Illinois : Annual Appropriations Salaries $i35.ooo Maintenance 96,100 New lines of work 96,000 $327,100 Deduct Federal Appropriations 40,000 Total Annual Appropriations by the State $287,100 Appropriations to be Made but once. New Equipment $ 35,500 Buildings 635,250 Total ......_ ...._. $670,750 Total appropriations to be made for the coming biennium $1,244,950 12 The Committee early decided that in view of the rapidly increas- ing number of students anything like temporary methods were not only inadequate and futile but were bound to result in a waste of money. Accordingly, the purpose has been to look ahead as far as may be in order that the recommendations may become a part of a comprehensive plan, and in several instances recommendations are divided between what must be provided at once on account of the life of the institution and those needs that are clearly coming in the future. The above may probably be made to cover the requirements for a period of five years. We believe it should be the policy of the college to take part in public exhibitions of an educational nature, but are firmly con- vinced that the established policy of not entering into competitive exhibitions should be commended and continued. The attention of fairs and expositions especially is called to the fact that the work of the college and station affords much excellent material for attractive exhibits, but that such exhibitions should be strictly educational and not competitive; first, because such institu- tions are established as educational agencies ; second, because no basis for competition exists between educational exhibits; and third, be- cause the support is all derived from public funds. The committee has included no estimates therefore for defraying its expenses of competitive exhibits. 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