The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1897-06-12
NUMBER s.
The West Virginia Agricultural Col
lege. Its Courses Of Study.
The Effort to Build q great
Institution.

The reports of the several pro
fessors of the West Virginia Agri-
clltsral College have been present
ed and show an attendance OF eigh
teen students upon the lectures EN-
braced within the curriculum of that
College, which is considered fair
showing for the first year. Itshould
be remembered that the Agrieultur-
al College was organized upon its
present basis by the direction of the
Board of Regents, with a view to
offering every advantage for aequir
ing training, both practical and
scientific. in subjects bearing direct
ly upon or closely related to agricul
ture. With view TO accomplishing
this, we have offered, first, the regu-
lar Four Year Course which is as
comprehensive as is offered by any
of the Agricultural Colleges. of the
country, and is intended to cover
both theoretical and practical in
struction, qualifying students
especially to be investigators, and
fitting them for carrying on the
more scientific lines of investigation.
Then we offer shorter course in
agriculture, covering two years,
which is intended to give the student
purely technical training in the agri-
cultural branches. In this course stu
dents can secure all of the technical
instruction relating directly to agri
culture that is given in the Four
Years Course of training above re-
fcrred to, but it covers simply the
technical branches and has eliminat
ed from it all the work intended to
give man general culture and
wide view of the sciences relating
to agriculture, as is contemplated in
the Four Years Course.
In addition to this we offer One
Year Course in Agriculture, intend
ed to give the student as much
technical instruction upon fewer
subjects as is practical in the time
at his command.
Then we offer twelve Weeks
Course in Agriculture, which fur
nishes ar epitome of the longer
courses, intended for persons who
have practical knowledge of the
problems of general agriculture,
stock breeding, dairying. and horti
culture, and who cannot spend a
whole year at the University.
In addition to this there are offer
ed Four Short Practical Courses of
instruction, which are intended TO
consist largely Of practical work and
instruction in carrying on the oper-
ations OF agriculture, horticulture,
Horticulture, the handling of poultry,
eggs, incubators and young chickens.
All of the courses are open To-
every citizen of the State, free of
tuition, and it has been our object
to offer courses OF instruction cover
ing both practice and theory, in
both long and short courses, and to
furnish any student who completes
any course. with certificate that
he has studied the branches of the
course. Under the present arrange
ment the student may, therefore,
take either Six Weeks. IA Twelve
Weeks, a One Year, "A Two Years,
or Four Years Course, which GOV
ers both theory and practice.
1t has been claimed by gentlemen
of ample experience in the State
that there is little or no demand for
an agricultural education in this
State. The object of the Board of
Regents in organizing the Courses
was to try to create a demand for
such an education, and with a view
to this the Agricultural College has
been advertised to the full extent of
the resources of the University. The
fact of the matter is, it has been
more extensively advertised than
the entire University was the year
before this one. Young men are
offered every advantage in the agri-
cultural course, and we have had
several calls this season from people
who wish educated young men to
take charge Of special branches of
agriculture. but we were unable to
meet the demand, owing to the fact
that the students have not taken the
course of study necessary to prepare
themselves for such positions.
JOHN A. MYERS.