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ANNUAL REPORT

OF THE

PENNSYLVANIA STATE COLLEGE.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES.

Members Ex-Officio.

His Excellency, JAMES A. BEAVER, Governor of Pennsylvania.
Hon. CHARLES W. STONE, Secretary of the Commonwealth.
GEORGE W. ATHERTON, LL. D., President of the College.
Hon. THOMAS J. STEWART, Secretary of Internal Affairs.
Gen. DANIEL H. HASTINGS, Adjutant General.

E. E. HIGBEE, D. D., Superintendent of Public Instruction.
J. A. Paxson, Esq., President of the State Agricultural Society.
Joseph M. Wilson, Esq., President of Franklin Institute.

Elected Members.

Capt. CHAS. W. ROBERTS, West Chester.
Hon. FRANCIS JORDAN, Harrisburg.
EASTBURN REEDER, Esq., New Hope.
GABRIEL HIESTER, Esq., Harrisburg.
CURTIS G. CAMPBELL, Esq., Johnstown.
Hon. GEORGE W. Hood, Indiana.
ANDREW CARNEGIE, Esq., Pittsburgh.
H. V. WHITE, Esq., Bloomsburg.

JOEL A. HERR, Esq., Cedar Springs.
CYRUS GORDON, Esq., Clearfield.
Hon. JOHN H. ORVIS, Bellefonte.
Hon. AMOS II. MYLIN, Lancaster.
Hon. JOHN A. WOODWARD, Howard.
SAM'L R. DOWNING, Esq., West Chester.
JOHN HAMILTON, Esq., Lemont.

FACULTY AND INSTRUCTORS.

GEORGE W. ATHERTON, LL. D., President: Political and Social Science.
JAMES Y. MCKEE, M. A., Vice President: English Literature and Mental and
Moral Science.

WILLIAM A. BUCKHOUT, M. S., Botany and Horticulture: Secretary.

CHARLES F. REEVES, M. S., Modern Languages: Librarian.

I. THORNTON OSMOND, M. S., M. A., Physics.

JOSIAH JACKSON, M. A., Mathematics.

LOUIS HI. BARNARD, C. E., Civil Engineering.

JOHN W. HESTON, M. A., Principal of Preparatory Department.

HARRIET A. MCELWAIN, M. A., Lady Principal: Latin and History.

LOUIS E. REBER, M. S., Mechanics and Mechanical Engineering.

WILLIAM HALE HERRICK, M. A., Chemistry.

WILLIAM FREAR, Ph. D., Agricultural Chemistry.

SAMUEL S. PAGUE, First Lieutenant, 15th Inf., U. S. A., Military Science and Tactics.

MILTON W. BOIN, B. A., Assistant in Preparatory Department.

HARRY J. PATTERSON, B. S., Assistant in Agricultural Chemistry.

NELSON E. CLEAVER, Assistant in Preparatory Department.

R. G. DAVIES, M. E., Assistant in Chemical Laboratory.

JULIA E. GORSLINE, Instructor in Music.

1 STATE COllege.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INSTITUTION.

THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE COLLEGE

Was organized in 1859 as the "Farmers' High School," and its object then was to give an exclusively agricultural education. Its organization, however, was upon a collegiate basis from the beginning; and its name was, in 1862, changed to "The Agricultural College of Pennsylvania." Subsequently, the Legislature of the State having appropriated to this institution the income from the proceeds of the National land-grant, and the scope of its work having thus been necessarily enlarged, its name was, in 1874, again changed, and it has since been known as "The Pennsylvania State College," a name which indicates the intimate connection of the College with the State Government, and its relation to the people of the whole Commonwealth.

The scope of the institution, as now organized, cannot be better stated than in the following comprehensive words of the act of Congress:

"The leading object shall be, without excluding other Scientific and Classical Studies, and including Military Tactics, to teach such branches of learning as are related to Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts, in such manner as the Legislature of the State may prescribe, in order to promote the liberal and practical education of the Industrial Classes in the several pursuits and professions in life."

This act of Congress was, in 1863, "accepted by the State of Pennsylvania, with all its provisions and conditions, and the faith of the State **** pledged to carry the same into effect."-Laws of 1863, p. 214.

Based upon this broadened foundation, the special work of the State College is INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION; that is, the training of youth in those branches of learning which lie at the foundation of modern industrial pursuits. In accordance with the purposes of its founders and the terms of its original charter, it aims to give special and prominent attention to Agriculture, both theoretical and experimental. But it also provides a "liberal and practical education" in the leading branches of mathematical, natural and physical Science, in order to prepare youth for "the several pursuits and professions in life," as the laws of Congress and of this State distinctly require. While the College therefore, is no longer exclusively agricultural, it is doing more in the direction of progressive and scientific Agriculture than when that was its principal object; and, at the same time, it has greatly increased its subjects and courses of study, and its teaching and illustrative equipment in other directions. "Without excluding classical studies" entirely, it aims to teach the various sciences in such a manner as to show their applications in the more important industries, and thus to combine theory with practice. Such a course of training, aiming to cover even a part of the vast field of modern scientific knowledge, must necessarily be somewhat prolonged. But its results are showing themselves, in a most gratifying way, by the readiness with which our graduates find honorable and remunerative employment.

The range of work is shown, as far as the limits of space properly

allow, in the following schedules and descriptive statements. It is confidently believed that few, if any, institutions in the country furnish opportunity for obtaining an advanced scientific education, of equal extent and thoroughness, at so moderate a cost, and with so many incidental advantages.

LOCATION.-The institution is situated in the village of State College, Centre county, nearly twelve miles south-west of Bellefonte, and about equi-distant from the extreme parts of the State. Its position in the midst of a broad, rolling valley, with Muncy mountain on the north, Tussey mountain on the south, and Nittany on the east, secures a varied and remarkably beautiful landscape and a healthful climate.

A special act forbids the sale of intoxicating drinks within two miles of the College, and all its surroundings are exceptionally free from demoralizing influences and from temptations to extravagance.

The main college building is a plain and substantial structure of magnesian limestone, two hundred and forty feet in length, eighty feet in average breadth, and five stories in height, exclusive of attic and basement. It contains the public rooms-such as chapel, library, armory, cabinets, laboratories, society halls and class-rooms-and a large number of dormitories. The building is heated with steam, one or more upright radiators being placed in every room, hall and passage-way; is furnished on every story with an inexhaustible supply of pure water from an artesian well, and is lighted throughout with electricity. The sewerage system is frequently and carefully inspected, and the unusual exemption of our students from every form of sickness justifies the statement that the sanitary condition of the building is very nearly perfect.

CAMPUS AND FARM.-The tract of land on which the building stands contains nearly three hundred acres. Of this, about fifty acres in the immediate vicinity of the building constitute the campus, and furnish recreation grounds, sites for professors' houses, and other needful buildings, &c., the whole being tastefully laid out and adorned with trees, shrubbery, flower-gardens and walks.

PRACTICAL TRAINING.-The college has, from the first, sought to combine practical with theoretical instruction, and thus to fix in the student's mind a knowledge of both methods and principles. With this end in view, a portion of each student's time has been set apart for this training, and the number of subjects in which such instruction is given, and the apparatus for it, have been increased until it covers an extensive range of topics, as will appear from an examination of the several schedules. A portion of this training is largely technical, and so is almost wholly connected with these courses. Other parts, however, are so general in their character as to be appropriately required of all students. Among these, the following may be mentioned for illustration: Book-keeping, so important for the right conduct of all business; Drawing, free-hand and mechanical, needed by individuals in all employments aud professions; Military Drill, rẻquired by the law of Congress, and helpful in securing right habits of body and mind; Mechanic Arts, in which are learned, among other things, the making of plane surfaces, correct angles and joints, and the care and use of tools; Horticulture, where instruction is given in all ordinary operations belonging to fruit-culture, such as pruning, grafting, budding, and propagating by cuttings and layers; and Surveying, which acquaints the student with the instruments of the art, and trains him to determine points, distances and areas. Some of

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