ies toy J TA ue CR Ole TOR See rh A at Ra BS AGRICULTURE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS A STATEMENT OF THE WORK AND NEEDS OF THE COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION Prepared by the Dean and Heads of Departments URBANA-CHAMPAIGN March, 1917 CONTENTS PAGE THE STUDENT (BODY iiiciciserpeieleiecere) einer isl etelaaist ste ate feraletetetolete sieteetele ieee teeta I WHERE THE GRADUATES GO AND WHAT THEY DO...................... 2 DEPARTMENTS OF— AAGRONOM Weegee see ecient Hojoleinle se eaNetese ales yeRNe Tole eRe eens on) ANIMA HUSBAIN DR Virrsrarclcrcreioisislolciersielare ololeletoicielteeieiaaeteneaenetitiemttctehe reriate 7 DAIRY VHUSBAND RY eciretersceictercisvereletatey=cicls olal= tarciel ete elevelar ose eters inte heel tees aieetera 15 HORTICULTURE ters ctereter oie mn eieleiertaleteyaaherere even ieleteletetatetets lel st= le teteleratene teeta tees 19 HOUSEHOLD SCIENGE) <22 6. elise eisicic ci0-)- oe =i nogodo c Ren pedracowdan coma: 25 SMITH-LEVER) EXTENSION © = « stetos «2s cinieiae eles aici BAe up a dood. dcuc* . 30 WHAT THE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE AND EXPERIMENT STATION NEED 31 De of D. APR 2 1917 This statement is prepared for the information of the Governor and General Assembly to show why the Agricultural College and Experiment Station are in need of larger resources and of a new Aoricultural Building. The wealth of Illinois is in her soil, and her strength lies in its intelligent development.—Draper Biz sH04 ApS 96OT9IRAOO Oil ozbsoa|e5]ostorTasoro| ua vay Salis vel GROWTH IN STUDENT ATTENDANCE—COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS, 1891-1917 AGRIGULTURE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS E. DAVENPORT, DEAN OF THE COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND DIRECTOR OF THE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION HE Agricultural College and Experiment Station were established for the advancement of farming and housekeeping and the improve- ment of living conditions in the open country. They are organized under six departments: AGRONOMY—covering crops, soils, and farm mechanics ANIMAL HusBANnpry—inecluding horses, beef cattle, sheep, swine, meats, breeding, and feeding Dairy Huspanpry—dealing with dairy cattle, dairy farming, milk and its products VETERINARY SCIENCE—covering the general subject of animal diseases and their control HorvicuLturRE—ranging from orchard fruits and vegetable gardening to landseape gardening and floriculture HOUSEHOLD ScIENCE—treating of food, clothing, and shelter from the eco- nomic, the artistic, and the sanitary standpoints, especially in regard to the home Each of these departments is organized to do work along three definite lines: (1) instruction of students, (2) investigation of unsolved problems, and (3) extension service to the people of the state outside the University. Besides these subject departments, there is maintained an extension service for young people of the state and a special cooperative demonstration service with farmers and housekeepers. A brief statement of the work of the departments is given in the succeeding pages by the several heads and in the order named. THE STUDENT BODY Of the 1,201 students registered up to February 23, 1917, 992 come from the state of Illinois; 186 from other states; and 23 from foreign countries, these latter bringing to the University and the student body a rich variety of agricultural practices from other parts of the country and the world. The 992 students coming from Illinois represent every county of the state except 9. The 209 coming from outside the state represent 36 states and 15 foreign countries. Those coming direct from farms represent an average acreage of 275, but many poor boys avail themselves of the college as a means of gratifying 2 Agriculture at the University of Illinois their desire to fit themselves for country life. One hundred and twenty-five, or 10 percent of the total number, come from Chicago, representing for the most part a pronounced and intelligent tide from the city back to the land. Investigations show that this latter group of students is not headed for the teaching profession or for public jobs, but for the farm, and many of them come from land-holding families. It is therefore a type of student very much to be desired. Of the total number, 1,015 express decided church preferences and represent 28 denominations. These students, as well as many not express- ing a preference, connect themselves in various ways with local churches, the work of the Y. M. C. A. and the Y. W. C. A. and other religious organizations. WHERE THE GRADUATES GO AND WHAT THEY DO There have graduated from the Agricultural College of the University, 943 students since 1900, and 53 before that date. According to the latest available statistics, our graduates are engaged as follows: < 69 percent are actually living upon farms and engaged in farming 17 percent are in agricultural departments of colleges, experiment sta- tions, and high schools 10 percent are in occupations allied to farming, such as veterinary surgery, landseape gardening, creamery management, ete. Less than 4 percent are in occupations not allied to agriculture It has been said that the agricultural college is educating away from the land. These figures, which are about the same as those published by other and similar institutions, show how easy it is for an untruth to gain cireulation, especially when it is sensational. Clearly, the vast mass of our graduates follow the profession for which they are educated, and so far as our information goes, the proportion of non-graduates who return to the farm is even greater than these figures show, for the person who starts out to be a teacher must take his degree in order even to make a beginning ; whereas, many farmers are able to take only one or two years of college work. Nothing is clearer than that the Agricultural College of the University of Illinois is accomplishing the purpose for which it was organized. EFFECTS OF SOIL TREATMENT Clover on Fairfield Experiment Field, 1910. Where manure alone was used, the first crop (shown in the photograph) made about one-half ton of foul grass, with but little clover. Where the same amount of manure was used with limestone and phosphate, and with no potassium salts, the crop made nearly three tons of clean clover hay DEPARTMENT OF AGRONOMY SOILS, FARM CROPS, AND FARM MECHANICS Prepared by Cyril G. Hopkins, Head of Department ‘ 24,726 Letters and cards sent out-in regular correspondence. .. 1,558 Bulletins ysentnoutiecisesicivtelevelevsteislete te sletttelels Soca po cOdUrS 18,817 Numbers served for the month of January, 1917: By separate lectures and demonstrations............... 2,091 Bi Mie AS SAaGEY Gaoosandoosc0dccooooauacdo GucodnG 3,469 Bye Damronsirationy Caner tie stersteleversinie italia sie lolelevelc oe ele lets « 1,955 Total away from the University.................. 7,515 School for Housekeepers at the University............. 657 Totaletor monthvo£ ds ANUATY a. \clcloc\sseiceisis +: e/s'a's) 6 ole, 8,172 PUBLICATIONS The following bulletins are written for the benefit of housekeepers and teachers, and aim to present simply and clearly the scientific results as determined in the laboratory. The Principles of Jelly Making Some Points in Choosing Textiles Some Points to be Considered in the Planning of a Rational Diet Some Points in the Making and Judging of Bread The Cooking of Carp The Service of Meals The Planning of Meals The Rural School Lunch Syllabus of Domestic Science and Domestic Art for the High Schools of Illinois 28 Agriculture at the University of Illinois Outlines for Work in Domestic Science and Domestic Art for the Elementary Schools of Illinois Announcement of Extension Service in Household Science Home Economics Demonstration Car SPECIAL FEATURES OF EXTENSION WORK Three features of the extension work deserve special mention—the health work, the demonstration car, and the county adviser. The health work is conducted by a woman trained in home economies and in nursing. It deals with questions of home sanitation, personal hygiene, emergencies, first aid, and the care of the mother and child. When statistics show that the death rate of children is higher in the country than in the slum districts of our crowded cities, it is time something were being done for the country child. In order that the Household Science Depart- ment may be ready to do its part in the event of war, this instructor has prepared to give the work outlined by the Red Cross organization, and is offering work in the Summer Session under the name of Community Health. During the year January 1, 1916, to January 1, 1917, she delivered 225 lectures and demonstrations in 32 counties of the state. HOME ECONOMICS DEMONSTRATION CAR The Household Science Department has equipped a demonstration car which is at the service of any community of the state. This car marks a new departure in extension work. Hitherto, de- monstrations in Home Economics have been confined largely to the cook- ing of food. It is the purpose of this car to extend this method of pre- sentation to power equipment and house furnishings; to actually show machines, kitchen utensils, and color schemes, not just to talk about them. In accordance with this idea, this car shows how power commonly used upon the farm may also be employed in performing a large part of the heavy labor of the home; how to secure an adequate water supply for both the house and barn with the necessary provision for sewage disposal; and, finally, how, by attention to equipment and to the principles of form and color, the essentials of comfortable living may be secured for the country home at a reasonable cost. The equipment consists of : I. A gasoline engine operating the washing machine, mangle, cream separator, vacuum cleaner, ice cream freczer, ete. II. Installation of a hot and cold water system under pressure for house and barn, operated by the same machine. IIT. Electric lighting system for private home. IV. Septic tank and sewage disposal. V. House furnishings. This includes a great variety of furnishings from kitchen utensils to furniture and color schemes for the living room Xo aes y DOUGLAS an @’ CUMBERL'D = a aa me JASPER NV m/ . MARION \ \~ \ ! aN VEFFERSON. QQ NUMBER OF PEOPLE SERVED DURING THE YEAR VANS |AHS- SAN. 4, 19/7. A 7206023,702 @ 204/08 /5,3 60 7 OTALS 9393 MB COUNTIES FRREPRESENTED AT SCHOOL FOF HOUSEKEEPERS. @ “ZA FISUES, JMOIEATES NUMBER OF SEPARATE LECTURES ANOQ OFMONSTRATIONS. wm “IZM _FIGURES, INO/ICATES NUMBER Of ONE- WEEK OELTON-— STRATION SCHOOLS. WITH FIGURES, INDICATES NUTBEFP?R OF WEEKS OF DEMON STRATION CAR SERVICE. IWSS§ COWNTIES HAaALING NO SERITCE. The Household Science Department 29 and the bed room, so that the housekeeper may see how, if care is given to color, texture, and quality, a house may be furnished attractively at a reasonable cost, and also how time and energy may be saved by the wise selection of utensils and by system in their arrangement. The car and its equipment provide sufficient material for demonstration work for a week. It is designed to reach housekeepers under conditions favorable to a thoughtful study of the equipment, so it is not feasible to use the car in connection with a movable school, a farmers’ institute, or as an addition to other enterprises. It is proposed to spend five days at a point. The general plan is to have the car open each morning for inspection with two demonstrators to explain the equipment; to have a demonstration each afternoon, and a lecture in the evening in a suitable hall. This ar- rangement of time leaves opportunity, if desired, for the demonstrators to visit a farm home for the purposes of inspection and suggestion. The work of the demonstration car and of the county adviser are con- ducted under the provisions of the Smith-Lever Act and in cooperation with the United States Department of Agriculture. The car seems the best possible way of carrying to the rural communities ideas and suggestions for home equipment. COUNTY ADVISER IN HOME ECONOMICS It is a matter of congratulation that Illinois was the first of the northern states to undertake the maintenance of a county adviser for women. This work is conducted in cooperation with the women of Kankakee county under the name of the Home Improvement Association. It is now in the second year of its development and bids fair to add a substantial increase to the 6,000 people served last year. NEEDS OF THE DEPARTMENT The statement of the work now in progress makes very evident the great need of the Department—adequate provision for maintenance and growth, so that by the time the last year of the biennium is reached there will remain sufficient funds to meet the increased demands due to growth. As a matter of fact, the expenditures for this year have been reduced to the buying only of that which was absolutely necessary for student use. Investigation, publication of extension bulletins, and the purchase of equipment of all kinds, have been postponed because the funds have necessarily been ex- pended in caring for the increased demands for student instruction. The Woman’s Building serves as an attractive and convenient labora- tory for the Household Science Department. It will afford sufficient space for another biennium, but the equipment both of faculty and of materials must be greatly enlarged in the immediate future if this Department is to meet its responsibilities and opportunities for service in the homes and health of the people of Illinois. 30 Agriculture at the University of Illinois SMITH-LEVER EXTENSION ROM the first the outside activities of the College of Agriculture have been very great. Members of the faculty have been called upon to attend thousands of meetings and discuss with farmers the progress of in- vestigations and the newer methods of agricultural practice. So has deep cultivation of corn been made to give place to shallow cultivation; so has exhaustion of the soils of the state been arrested by a better care of our stock of fertility and the establishment of a really permanent system of agriculture. The value of this outside work has been widely recognized. Until recently it has been mostly promoted by people already overworked in the classroom or the laboratory, but in the spring of 1914 Congress passed what is known as the Smith-Lever extension bill by which was established in every state of the union a definite demonstration service both in agricul- ture and in home economies. The amount to come to Illinois from the federal treasury under the Smith-Lever Act for the coming year is $80,085.86, which is available for demonstration service, mainly under a system of county advisers supported jointly by the local associations and this fund. Under this plan twenty- three counties are now in full operation, with advisers whom they themselves have employed after meeting three conditions imposed by the College of Agriculture, which is made the custodian of the Smith-Lever fund. The three conditions are that the adviser must be a college graduate; that he must have actually lived upon the farm for at least five years; and that he must have had at least five years’ successful experience in some line of agricultural work since graduation. The Smith-Lever work in home economies has already been outlined in the Household Science section of this report. Le ” SIONITT SwAMING aaa Mera sro Weiler WHAT THE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE AND EXPERIMENT STATION NEED “THE growth of the agricultural work of the University has been beyond all expectation, and the demands upon the institution have overtaken and are far exceeding its facilities. What the institution needs in order to meet these demands is: First. A stronger faculty Second. The strengthening of certain lines of work Third. Additional room I. A STRONGER TEACHING FACULTY The real teaching power of the agricultural faculty is greatly reduced by the fact that over one-third of the staff must give their entire time to the work of the Experiment Station, extension, and administration ; while some three-fourths of the remainder give part time to experiment station work, extension service, or graduate study. Effective service in the class- room is still further reduced by the fact that much of the equipment of the College of Agriculture is in fields and herds that require a very great amount of labor in their proper care. ; The actual result is that even tho men are overworked, they are still unable to give sufficient attention to the student body. The only relief is a substantial addition to the number of the agricultural staff. The University of Illinois has been slowly beating its way upward among the institutions of the country in paying salaries sufficient to hold in its service the picked men of the faculty. In this it has been fairly successful, especially in later years, but new conditions are bringing new demands, and unless the resources of the College of Agriculture can be substantially increased, we shall be unable to maintain that tested body of teachers and investigators without which the University would be unable to render satisfactory service. It is inevitable that a considerable portion of a faculty must con- sist of young and inexperienced people still in the list of learners, because in no other way can instructors and investigators be trained. It is also inevitable that if these men are to live normal lives, they must be paid, even while completing their education and training, salaries sufficient to provide the necessities; otherwise the supply of faculty material will be cut off at its source. Until the present time we have been able to secure these young men at very moderate salaries, so moderate that the wages now paid to janitors frequently equal and in some eases exceed salaries paid to assistants. Clearly, the increased cost of living indicates that something must be done at this point. Besides, a new competition is springing up from neighboring institutions. 32 Agriculture at the University of Illinois If there were a reliable and adequate supply of faculty material, the institution would be freed from much embarrassment in the training of teachers and investigators, and the service could be much more cheaply and effectively rendered, but such a supply does not exist and the University of Tilinois, like all other of the larger institutions, has no choice but to do its share in the preparation of teachers and research men. Il. THE STRENGTHENING OF CERTAIN LINES OF WORK No marked additions have been made to the offerings in the College or the work of the Experiment Station during the last half dozen years. In the meantime certain subjects have come to the front which have been either entirely neglected, or undertaken only in a feeble way: for example, Farm Organization and Management, involving the study of farming from the standpoint of economies rather than of chemistry or biology ; research work in Farm Machinery, which has been studied mainly from the standpoint of the designer, not the operator; Poultry husbandry, which is beginning to be a large subject in a state like Illinois; more exhaustive work in Animal Diseases, particularly with reference to the instruction of agricultural students in the care of live stock; a considerable increase in facilities for instruction and research in new phases of the Food Problem both from the public and the private point of view, with further work in Home Nurs- ing; and extension work with boys and girls in agriculture and home economics both in connection with schools and with local clubs. Such new and important subjects should be equipped for the best grade of instruction, and in some cases for research as well. Besides such subjects of generally recognized importance, there are others, like bee-keeping, which have long pressed upon the attention of the University and which have been neglected for no other reason than lack of funds. Vast amounts of honey are going to waste in the forests and fields simply because a sufficient stock of bees is not maintained for its gathering. Scanning our possible resources in this fashion, we should find many other enterprises which ought to be seriously undertaken, but the problem is so vast that only the most pressing needs can be met at the present time. Even so, considerable additions of funds are necessary. In a very considerable sense the Agricultural College and Experiment Station have been marking time in recent years. The present budget, ex- elusive of buildings, is but 5 percent higher than the budget four years ago; whereas the student registration has increased 32 percent, the agricultural faculty 27 percent, the graduating class 136 percent, and the graduate students 200 percent. In order to live with the situation at all, we have been forced to close certain classes against additional students even on the first day of registra- tion, and we have been obliged to greatly change the conditions for gradu- ation in order to give the students wider liberty in finding courses not Needs of the College and Station 33 filled and which might be offered for credit. We have about reached the limit even of these devices, and something significant will have to be done without delay if the College is not to be injured and students actually turned away. To strengthen the faculty and enable it to meet the increased demands in both old and new lines of work, and to provide proper equipment for the same will require additional funds to the amount of not less than $125,000 annually. Il. ADDITIONAL ROOM Six years ago upon the recommendation of a committee of citizens which visited half a dozen other institutions, the Trustees of the University asked the Legislature for $337,500 for an addition to the Agricultural Building. During the session it became necessary to sacrifice either this asking or the increased funds for maintenance. With the conditions threat- ening, the building was sacrificed in the interest of caring for students, hoping that space would make itself available. The wisdom of this move was shown by the fact that since that time (1911) the student attendance has inereased over 64 percent. Without the funds provided at that time, it would have long ago become necessary to turn away agricultural students. We have, however, been pressed for room even beyond our anticipation six years ago. In spite of additional space provided in the new Stock Judging Pavilion and the Floricultural laboratories, we have been obliged to roof over the court of the Agricultural Building and also erect a temporary structure for genetics. After doing this, we have overflowed into all sorts of available buildings, even into private houses, until the offices of the College of Agriculture aré scattered in ten different buildings upon the campus— from Springfield avenue on the north to the Stock Judging Pavilion nearly a mile to the south. Clearly, this scattered condition makes the best work impossible. UNABLE TO SERVE STUDENTS Besides, we are unable properly to serve the students. The laboratory equipment of certain courses is so far below the present registration that many students are unable during their entire sojourn to get the instruction they came especially to receive. The inevitable result of such a condition of things is best pointed out by calling attention to the fact that since 1900 there has been an average annual increase in students of 65, in recent years approaching and some- times exceeding 100 (1912, 100; 1913, 76; 1914, 109; 1915, 170; 1916, 71), until the present year, in which the registration has fallen off some- thing more than 50. When an annual increase of approximately 100 be- comes a decrease of 50, it is time to consider the conditions and take stock 34 Agriculture at the Uniwwersity of Illinois of the situation, particularly when the registration in the University as a whole has increased during the present year as in other years. Tt is of course impossible to state to what causes this decreased attend- ance is due, but remembering that the attendance in the institution as a whole has inereased while that in Agriculture has suddenly decreased after sixteen years of rapid rise, the suspicion is well founded that our inability to meet the demands of the students as they ought to be met is responsible for at least a good proportion of this decline, particularly as the decline set in last year (the increase being 71 as compared with 170 and 109 in the two former years). Students have noticed these limitations to our work and have been talking about them for three or four years. As this condition becomes chronic, it cannot but deter students from coming or send them to other states. POSSIBILITIES FOR RELIEF There are but three things that can be done to relieve the situation: First. Limit the attendance of students, frankly cutting down the number to those that can be accommodated under present conditions. Second. Put up temporary structures to be wrecked after a few years. Third. Provide at the earliest possible moment properly constructed permanent buildings. Clearly, the public would not approve the policy of turning away students. The construction of temporary buildings to be wrecked in a few years would only postpone the problem, not solve it. The erection of any- thing but permanent buildings is not feasible; first, because, with valuable records, the fire risk in any but permanent buildings is too great; and second, because the repair of such buildings under the heavy uses of a uni- versity soon comes to cost more than the buildings are worth. THE ONLY FEASIBLE SOLUTION The only feasible solution is a fire-proof construction of the most durable sort, plain in its architecture but adapted to the purposes of university work. Inasmuch as the present Agricultural Building stands on a portion of the campus which in the growth of the University is needed for purposes other than agriculture, this plant should be erected upon the South Campus, and it should be large enough to shelter the entire classroom, laboratory, and office needs for both the College of Agriculture and the Experiment Sta- tion. To do this it must provide not less than 300,000 square feet of floor- space, which for fireproof, permanent, and creditable construction acecord- ing to architects’ estimates will cost $2,000,000. This is a very large sum of money; but when it is remembered that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has just invested $7,000,000 in an engineering plant, and that a new Illinois Agricultural College building should take care of the educational needs of more than 2,000 students, with offices, laboratories, library, and other equipment for faculty work, the amount is clearly a minimum.