The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1891-01-16
STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE.
AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT.


Agricultural College, and every farmer i'll
the state is or should be interested in the |
work of this state institution. The GAZETTE !
will endeavor to give its readers in series |
of articles from time to time fair and i'm
partial discri ption of the various depart |
ments and the work as it is being Conducted
in them.
The first of these will be tha dapertm ent
| of agriculture under Prof. FL. f. Fralch a
graduate Of Michigan Agricultural C,llege,
| where he was retained as an assistant until
accepting a position here, ana who received
| the degree of M. S. through his proficiency
| in agriculture.
Instructions in this depert.n ent is given,
for the most part, by lectures, suitable
| books being used as text books and for refer
eace. After each lecture the student il re-
| quired to recite on the lesson of the preced
ing day on which he has taken notes. The
lectures are, as far as possible, illustrated
by specimens and pictures.
Different parts of the skeleton enable the
| student Of veterinary science to get clear
| idea of the parts of the animal, and the 10
cation of the diseases. At times the class
is taken to the barn by the professor, where
the theoretical is made practical by ex1miu-
| ing specimens Of the breeds of domestic anl-
mails, tie student giving the distinguish
| ing points, and otherwise illustrating the
| various subjects tt sated Of i'll the lectures.
The class room is orname3ted with pic
| !
mems of live stock.
The professor believes that there is no
way of putting subj let's so forcibly before
the minds of stu,lents and fixing them there
as by illustration. Using the actual thing
and when this Is impossible, srppantins it
by as good representative as can be OBJ
tanned.
| Arranged about the siles of the class
room are dried specimens of wheat, osLs,
barley, rye, etc, and Oh the shelves are
specimens OF the threshed grain.
| Owing to !. lack of space the specimens of
grasses are not placed on exhibition.
The professor is conducting some expert
ments in the growth of grain, i'll his class
room. 4 narrow but deep box, with 6 lass
sides is filed with tn largely mixed with
sand, and in this arc plantel seeds of variou
kinds I'm one wheat was planted at vari
ous depths varying from one half inch tf
one half foot, in order to notice the differ
ence in time ia breaking the surface. Those
planted at a depth of one half inch came mp
in six days while those planted one half
: foot deep were not seen for ten days.
, The light colored seels of the clover W irt
sepa, ated from the dark ones and planted
in another box TIL, Il 5ht seeds at one end
and the dark at the other end. The result
, | Was that in a few days nearly all the white
seeds had germinatei and sent up their tiny
leaves as evidence OF their pow.r while very
few if any of the other see,ls haI made any
demon stratiDns toward growth. AT presen
the iortner have sent out five or six leaves
but the latter are still IN their com
atose condition. In addition to the glass
there are also movable sides of zinc whici
p fit o, er the !y.itsi:le OF the glass, aul by re
moving the zinc the growth of the roots
- ! clearly seen The object of the zinc IS t.
exclude the light, frr wsrs' l. admitted til
roots would tend to grow away from th
G glass, leaving ol!y a prrJion OF them visible
These are Easy experimants which anyoa'
Y may perform AMI which will not faii to b
I both interesting and instructive.
Besides the various instruments belong
ing to the signal service station, among
which are self-resi sterin3 baronetcrs, ther
| moneters, and thermometer, there is d com
pound microscope and II machine for measul
irg the diameter of the fibre OF wool. LII!
s signal service station is perhaps the hes
Il eouipped and conla:ted in tue state outsid
Il of Portland.
y Students in agriculture are obliged t
work five hours every week, for which the
receive nothing. The first and last term
y of the school this work is done on the tara
70 and garden while the second or winter teri
is devoted to shop work in wood and iron
it being provided by the bo'rd that tn
students must take at least one term yea
. in the shop. The object of the compuisor
i. labor aside from giving practical instruction
is not Tor the work itself, but to keep tn
}. bows in sympathy with work. Almost a
of them have provided themselves wit
overalls an,l blouse, which, having put o
are ready for work at the ringing OF tn
e farm: bell. All students must do more {
= less practical work, but special efforts al
made to give those who are peculiarly
need of work and those who show u wiliin:
D. neas, additional work for which they receiN
1T fifteen cents per hour. Et this rate oil
N may pay large part Of his expenses
lg school,
ii AS fast as means will permit the farm
5. being supplied with more buildings and In
ty plements. The student will be taught tt
r, names and objects of the various parts OF tl
he machines and how to take them apart and 81
tn them up again. He is also instructed as
lie the proper method of harnessing and unha
Messing horses, and how to repair and pr