The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1876-01-15
coBURN's REPORT.


will be distributed to the Legislature the first
of the week.
PRESIDENT CoBURN's REPORT.
The report of the Trustees is signed by ex-
Gov. Coburn, the President of the Board, and
sets forth the aims and needs of the institution
briefly and clearly. The exercises of com.
mencement as we'll as those of the Junior class
that week demonstrate the fact, says the Presi-
dent, that the institution is sending out young
men 'who will be able to do their own think
ing, writing and speaking" He represents
that the needs of the institution are most ur.
gent, the pressing necessity being for more
room. The recitation rooms having been con-
structed for other purposes are so small that
they are only large enough for half the classes
now in attendance. A large part of the books
presented by friends. amounting to 1900 vol
umes, are inaccessible for want of space. The
material for the cabinet collected by officers
and friends cannot be arranged, classified and
made available for want of room. To cover the
pressing wants of the college a substantial
brick building should be provided without de-
lay, or better, two buildings-one for the
library, cabinet collections. apparatus etc., and
the other for chapel, lecture and class-rooms.
These with farm hoase would accommodate
$50 students, which will be sufficient to meet
the demand for many years. The cost of
these buildings might reach but would not
exceed $50,000. The Trustees take the
ground that the state by accepting the
grant offered by Congress with pledge
to establish college for the education of the
ind, rso1 - =
with its contract and should not leave the cary
of the institution to the liberality of friends
whose support it had no right to pledge. The
trustees say:
Other collegiate institutions in the State have
wealthy religious denominations and numer-
GUS alumni behind them whose aid can always
be successfully invoked in case of necessity.
The State College has no such resource in Its
hour Of need, and its appeal must be to the
State. And why should not the State respond
to its reasonable requests for aid? 1t has al
ready attained character for usefulness that
fully justfies the expenditures that have been
made in its behalf. Il is working in en- tire
harmony with the demand of the times for
PRACTICAL education. 1t sustains an intimate
and important relation to our system of free
high schools. aud its influence upon these
schools cannot be otherwise than direct and
salutary.
The Trustees report concludes with de-
tailed statement of the amount of money re-
quired OF the present Legislature which aggre-
gates $23,55O.
PRESIDENT ALIENS REPORT.
The report of President Allen is accompanied
by that of the members of the Faculty. He
says that the design of the college is to afford
practical and liberal education in industrial
and business pursuits. In relation to this mat
ter, President Allen observes:
The education demanded is to be liberal and
scientific, as we'll as thorough and practical.
So far as possible with the limited resources at
our command, we have endeavored to illustrate
in practice the principles taught in the class
room. Nor have the results hitherto disap-
pointed our reasonable expectations.
Some of our friends forget that this institu-
ton is not merely an agricultural college, and
that it is for the benefit of mechanics as well
as farmers. In our state the product of fac
tories are next in importance to those of fields
The demand from mechanics for skilled labor
is imperatively presented at the present time.
The manufacturer knows that only the best
educated artizans will enable him to succeed
10 tie sharp competition he must meet. Hith-
erto the wants in this direction have been sup
piled by drawing skilled labor from foreign
countries. The farmer has not so fully realized
that educated labor is of equal importance in
his calling. If, therefore, graduates from this
college should become machnists, or engineers
rather than farmers it would only show that
there is greater demand in those directions
for trained intellects. Many of our graduates
creasing numbers intend to make it their life
work.
Respecting the methods of Instruction, :"
the President says:
In connection with the regular recitation s
from the most approved text books accompa-
MED by frequent and thorough reviews, famil-
lar lectures on the subjects of Rotations are
delivered by the professors in their several de-
partments. These lectures are the fruit of pre-
vious years of st udy, and often embody large
amount of instruction that could not otherwise
be furnished to the classes; for the facts and
illustrations are not found in the books studied,
and are often derived from sources inaccessible
to our students
The requisition made on the students to take
notes OF the lectures, and to reproduce on ex-
animation the substance of the information inn
parted, is most valuable discipline. No one
is properly educated who is not trained to
receive instruction orally as we'll as by studying
BOOKS.
In the study of natural science, as far as pos
sible, the objects of study are put into the
hands OF students for investigation; charts and
descriptive drawings are used to convey infor-
nation, concerning those plants. animals or
Minerals specimens of which cannot be obtain
Cu' IL ouomiotIy, tue Stuu6utS IN Gne reClta-
ton room recite from manuals of the science,
and they are trained in the laboratory to per-
form their own experiments and to make care.
full investigation of the composition and prop
critics OF different substances, by the proper use
Of apparatus. In civil engineering the stud
ents, having been made familiar with princi'
Piles, are taught the use of instruments by
actual work in the field and by the most ex-
act surveys and calculations. These are en-
bodied in carefully prepared plans and draw
ings.
The reports Of the members of the Faculty
contain only resume of the years work and
statement of the requirements of their depart
ments.
The total number of students in attendance
during the full term was 115.
FARM SUPERINTENDENT REPORT.
The report of the Farm Superintendent is de-
voted to the results of several intellgently con-