The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1886-10-01
The South Carolina College.
A DcnidI of tho charge that the Trustees are
Uastiny tie Farmers Aonry.

Nessrs. Editors: As good many m isstate-
mcnts have been recently made regarding the
agricultural dcpartr ent Of the South Carolina
College, ask permission to give some idea Of
its scope md its work.
Since 1882 there have been the following
scientific chairs in the College:
l. Agriculture and Botany, under President
Mcbride whose work rs n scientific expert
mentalist has attracted attention in Europe as
well as in America.
=. Geology, Physiology Zoology, etc. under
Professor Woodrow, who has few equals ass
scientist in the country.
3. Mathematics, pure and applied, under
Professor Sloan, distinguished graduate OF
West Point and most thorough instructor.
4. Chemistry, Minerslogy, etc, under Pro-
fcssor Burney, Ph. ID. Of Heidelberg, under
Bunsen, q student OF Paris, under Wurtz, and
n fellow Of John Hopkins. These gentlemen
nre competent to give instruction Of the most
thorough kind. (IIcreafter there will be two
msre professors, DIR. Loughridge in agriculture,
and Engineer McElroy, Of tho United States
Navy. who has equipped n school OF practical
mechanics, including lathe-work. planning,
woodwork, iron-work, etc.
There are in the entire College five four-year
courses and as many two-year courses. In
each of these chemistry, botany, physics and
Physiology have been taught, while geology
and astronomy also enter into the longer
courses. In three long courses and three short
courses the study Of agriculture is compulsory
Tor one year, Wnlle IN the tecnnlcai aSriCuilurhi
course it is compulsory for two years, and agri-
cultural chemistry for one more. In most Of the
Agricultural Colleges agriculture is taught one
year in the Mississippi College one year and
third. The South Caroiua College therefore
is more complete in this respect than many
others.
Since the reorganization OF the College in
lSS2 an average Of forty three students year
have pursued tho years course in agriculture.
What does the study Of agriculture proper
include? During the frs; year the following
topics arc discussed Soils, organic and inor-
ganic manircs. grassc. and clovers, meadows
and pastures, crops, rotation OF crops, weeds,
no1iuus and innocuous, improvement Of soils,
farm implement. AMI machinery, farm roads
md buildings, domestic animals, etc Second
year--the students having been drilled in
theoretical chemistry are put into the labora-
tory for work. Lectures are given on the
chemical constituents OF manurcs, theory Of
the action Of manurcs and best methods Of sp-
plication, classification and Improvement OF
soils, principles Of breeding stock and feeding,
laws of plant life and growth, analysis OF soils,
fertilizers, etc.
The following are specimens Of the kinds of
practice problems that have been given out to
the class from time to time:
!. AT the present cost per ton Of dried
blood, cotton seed meal, rtshle manure, nitrate
Of soda, etc, find which is cheapest in proper
ton to the amount of nitrogen supplied.
>. Given the market value Of nitrogen,
phosphoric acid, etc. analyze -- fertil-
izer, and detcrC,inG its market price per ton"
:. Two years ago, when Furmans formula
was published, the cla,s was required to calCu-
late the market value Of a ton Of his compost.
4. company having offered to exchange
900 pounds of cotton seed meal for one ton
of seed, tho class made n com 2arison Of values
and found that the offer wss advantageous.
,. Another published offer WAS to give 3 tons
Of acid phosphate tons OF cotton seed meal
and ton Of kninit for - tons Of cotton seed
Calculation showed that under the first table or
values used in South Carolina the offer not
advantageous, but that under the table now
ruling in this State tho farmer would gaia by
the exchange.
i. "ln what proportions must cotton seed
meal, pea vines and oats straw be fed together
TO . fattening OK to secure most economical
results 2
The full course Of chemistry lasts four years,
and includes quanttativs analysis Of soils, fer
,izers, etc. 4 student has s.effed from the
right into good position in the Of
fee OF a leading chemist in Charleston. Othors
have male analyses for fertilizer companies
and received pay for them. This 10 An evil
dcnce OF good work.
Botany is much neglected in the South. but
in the College it is made practical. During tho
latter part Of the course, the student 10 required
TO analyze and name unknown plants and
weeds. Some students havo made several hum
dred analyses each, and are good practical bot
nnists.
The analysis Of seed, is also required. SO
many seeds arc adultcrated nowadays that it is
very important TO test the purity Of the sample
in order 10 know how much TO plant TO the
But cannot elaborate further.
Besides class room work, President McBryde
has conducted on an average one hundred nnd
fifty experiments year in cotton, grains,
grasses, &c. Much material has been accumu-
lated hut in order to secure accuracy, he has
A.
continued experiments in duplicate, changing
the plots each year to get rid Of any effect from
difference in soil. &c.
In cotton, for instance, every plot is meas
urcd mathcmatically two plots are given tC
each kind of seed. The number Of plant, arc
counted, allowance 10 mado for missing hills
the average is then COLT ectcd and compared for
several years. and the general average is thu,
secured.
will merely mention that three years Sc
RIGS of experiments i'll cotton shows that one
well known brand has uniformly showed a su.
perior yield Of lint, averaging about forty
pounds of lint for every fifteen hundred pounds
Of seed. On u crop Of six hundred thousand
bales in this State this would make gain OF
forty eight thousand hscs over the yield OF
other seed, which, at nno cents, would give an
increased value Of two million dollars a year to
the cotton product Of the state.
The above is some Of the work President
NIcl}rydc has been doing. although not a cent
has been given TO him for experimentation lie
has to exc ont n small sum by reducing other
expenses. lie has been making bricks and
supplying his own straw.
Last year. despite the drought, the farm
averaged nearly bale TO the acre
The Legislature, last year, refused 10 give
$1,000 to equip the experimental farm. Give
President McBrydc few thousand dollars and
he will accomplish results that will attract
widespread attention, and greatly improve
farming.
Somc nf tbe ,uost ~, nt;oua critics of tho no.