LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, PRBSSNTBD BY UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from The Library of Congress http://www.archive.org/details/agriculturalschoOOmass ^^^ AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. FROM THE REPORT OF THE 1864. AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS IN EUROPE. These schools are of two kinds. Those which are connected, either directly or indirectly, with universities, and those which are independent of other institutions. With the former there is, in most cases, an experimental farm for the purpose of illus- tration and instruction, though the students are not expected to work on it ; but in some cases it consists of a simple professor- ship, as at Edinburgh. AVith the latter, the higher institutes do not invariably expect the students to labor, though this is sometimes the case ; but the location is, nearly always, if not invariably, upon a large estate, where the students can work or not, as they choose, the farm being carried on by hired labor or by students of an intermediate or lower school of practical agriculture connected with it. I visited many of both descriptions, introduced myself to the professors, mingled with the students, attended lectures, joined in excursions, and in every way attempted to make myself familiar with their practical working and efficiency. INSTITUTE AT JENA. As soon as I arrived at Jena I visited the laboratory and col- lections, was introduced to the director. Dr. Stockhardt, and was politely entertained by his agreeable family. He very kindly placed much yiformation in regard to the school at my disposal. The Agricultural Institute at Jena is designed to educate young farmers, political economists and financiers. For such young men, especially, as have already spent some time in the practical operations of farming on large or medium- sized estates, it offers an opportunity to educate themselves scientifically in their department. - But for such as will prepare themselves for political economists and financiers, it offers that special instruction in agriculture which is essential to them. 6 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. Connection op the Institute with the University. — Tiie institute is an integral part of the university at Jena, and is under the same government. The director and most of the professors are also connected with the university ; those who enter the institute for farmers are matriculated as students at the university, and attain thereby all the rights, and assuilie also all the responsibilities of academical students, the same as in any other department of the university. The advantages which the institute gains through the union with the university, pertain in part to the means of instruction, and in part to the spirit of the academical life. To the means of instruction of the university which the members of the institute can enjoy, belong, besides the lectures on those parts of natural science and political economy which are not to be had in an isolated institute, and the lectures upon mathematics, philosophy, history, general law, &c., the library, the botanical garden, the mineralogical museum, the zoological cabinet, the observatory, the gymnasium, the riding, swimming and boxing schools, &c. In consequence of the use of these means of instruction, the institute stands in an independent relation with the university, which secures it great advantages; yet far more important is the more intimate connection with it, that is, the necessity that its instruction of the same principles should be more general and comprehensive, and fundamentally scientific, like that of the university, that the institute, through an intimate sympathy in the emulation of the university students, and in connection with them should realize the idea of German university life, and thereby advance the higher education of students in agri- culture and political economy. Objects of Instruction. — Tiie sciences useful to the farmer which the institute teaches, are as follows : — 1. Sciences relating to the branches of agriculture. Sciences bearing on tiie cultivation of agricultural plants, in its whole range, as climate, soils, cultivation, tillage, manuring, seed, after-culture, harvesting, culture of grains, mercantile and fodder [)lants, fruits, &c. The breeding of animals, in its whole range, the principles of breeding, nourishment and care, raising, keeping and use of particular sorts and races of domestic animals ; farm management, with all its branches, SECRETARY'S REPORT. 7 book-keeping, valuation, &c. ; agricultural excursions, demon- strations and conversations. 2. Fundamental and auxiliary sciences of agriculture. National economy, agricultural history and statistics, agricul- tural law, physics, meteorology, general chemistry, agricultural chemistry, practice in the laboratory, qualitative analysis, quantitative demonstration of agricultural materials, grains, oil fruits, guano, other kinds of manures, soils, plant ashes. Mineralogy and geognosy, including knowledge and classifica- tion of soils. Botany, with special reference to the physiology of plants ; including botanical excursions, instruction in for- estry, care and use of woodlands. Gardening. Zoology, with special reference to knowledge of insects. Veterinary science, anatomy and physiology of domestic animals on the farm ; pathology and therapeutics, chirurgery, shoeing, &c. Mechanics and machinery, agricultural machinery and implements, their construction and use. Agricultural technology, distilling, brew- ing, sugar malcing, bread making, manufacture of vinegar, including technological excursions. Geodosy, use of the sur- veyor's chain and theodolite, field measuring, levelling, agricul- tural mechanics. The arrangement of these various branches is such, that those bearing on agriculture, national economy and the natural sciences generally, are repeated annually, some of them twice a year, and others only every two or three years. For the ancient and modern languages, the fine arts and all gymnastic exercises, the university offers extraordinary opportunities to those who desire it. Besides the above-named lectures, excursions and conversa- tions, the institute offers all essential means of instruction, such as the public domain at Zwatzen and Lehesten, embracing about 1,400 acres ; with a numerous herd of cattle, a distillery, brewery, and silk-raising establishment, which serve as means of illustration ; An agricultural botanic garden, attached to the botanic gar- den of the university ; A well-appointed chemical laboratory with a sufficient number of convenient working desks ; Collections of minerals and earths, dried plants and seeds, models of fruits, collections of insects, technical apparatus, so far as requisite for reference in the lectures ; \ 8 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. A valuable agricultural library for tbe use of the students; A reading room where all the agricultural papers are taken ; Au infirmary for sick animals, with a room for operations and necessary tools ; A rich collection of pathological preparations and objects. Special lots are set apart for experiments. Besides this there is a government experimental station at Jena. The object of this is to develop the natural laws which relate to agriculture, through scientific investigations and experiments conducted in the most scientific manner. It is requisite that young men should learn how to institute and conduct scientific investigations. Kind op Instruction. — The university is distinguished from other institutes of instruction, less through what it teaches than the mode adopted. The agricultural institute is a constituent part of the university and must be an active member of its organism, and therefore it must maintain a mode of teaching consistent with the claims of a university, that the instruction imparted may incite to self-activity ; that the student may attain, by the wise use of academical freedom, the objects of his college course, as far as possible, through self-culture ; and he may, as far as possible, be thoroughly educated, not in one or two branches, but in all. So far as regards instruction in agriculture, the professors strive to make it enthusiastic, intelligible and practical. Course op Instruction. — The course of instruction in the principal sciences can be completed in four half-yearly' terms, but the student is advised to pay more attention to auxiliary branches, which require a three years course. But the subjects are so arranged that new members can enter twice a year, in spring and in autumn. Every one on entering is expected to make known his objects and intentions, and the time he can devote to theoretical studies. The beginning and ending of tlie institute lectures are gov-^ erned by the terms and vacations of the university, and public announcements are made through the public journals. They generally begin at the end of April and the end of October. The members of the institute devote their vacations to agricul- tural excursions or to a visit to some landed estate. The students can room in the buildings of the university, or in private houses in the city. SECRETARY'S REPORT. . 9 The cost of tuition for agricultural students is, for the first term, 64 Prussian thalers, or $40.50, for the second, |36, for the third, $18, for the fourth, $4.50. There is a matriculation fee at the university of about $5, a half-yearly lecture fee of 75 cents, a payment to the treasury of a hospital society, a sort of insurance against sickness, of 25 cents, and a few other small regular sums to be paid, including the diploma on graduation, of $1.62^. Then, if the agricultural students attend auy of the strictly university courses of lectures, they have to pay the same fees as other students. For lodging, including study and sleeping room, furnished with sofa, chairs, table, bed and other necessary articles, and attendance, from $7.50 to $15 a term. For heating and lighting, in winter, $7.50 to $12 ; also $1.50 for " boots," and $3 to $5 a term for washing. The candidate for admission must bring a certificate from the magistrate of the place where he has last resided ; a consent of father or guardian to enter the institute ; a certificate of his teachers, and an explicit description of his past life. He must have sufficient knowledge of elementary studies and the German language to understand scientific lectures, but no formal exam- ination is required on admission. An attendance at a high school, or a polytechnic school, at least up to the higher classes, or at some practical school, and one, two or three years passed in practical work on a farm, is recommended as a preparation for admission to this institute. The following is the arrangement of lectures at this insti- tute : — 10 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. i c 53 a; k S 6 E OT ■0 O 3 3 _o it s X 1) C3 '£ bo o *i2 • '£ )«-( 3 s < 2 « W >^ "3 J3 s aj a .2 >> s o w "S .S 0) o bo s b .2 > 3 CO ■'5 cu s ca >> m fa o M o HI s be a 0) o a "3 ca K% c c« cd ja ^ .S a Ph ^ >. P-i "s XI O o o a> u a .2 "3 02 "S o o c 03 O i c ■3 .2 "S s o c o o "2 . 3 a> t^ S o w "o i o •2 S a J3 o Oh 3 1 6 W "^ << o « c "a bb < .s ^ s o i2 6 b» c t? c3 a tj> >> s '3 '3 o d s t:^ m .2 1 O ■ .S a3 3 bb in C8 _3 "3 H .2 a> o t> j: i> -< Pi o 03 C8 e 15.2 a 3 O o 3 CO c "" CO • « t3 o 00 05 o 1-1 o ^ ■*^ T-( iH . ^ o a S g ° fe =» 3 (F — . ^ §'3 .2 n S . a o S a -2 K 01 P m ■S5 S.2 S 00 s ^^ •a p55 S.2 ° » S 2 !> 3 SECRETARY'S REPORT. 11 There are eleven professors and instructors of the institute. The number of students is at present one hundred and ten, ranging in ages from 18 to 21 years, I should think. The SCHOOL OP PRACTICAL FARMING is at Zwatzen, but a short distance off. In that the sons of peasants are educated, and they have to work their way. The general oversight of this practical school resides in the Ministry of the Interior of the Grand Duchy, the direction is committed to Prof. Stockhardt, of Jena, and the immediate management to a superintendent on the place. The object of the school is to give its pupils an education which will fit them for the skilful practical management of middling-sized and small estates. The course of instruction extends over twp years, and is devoted to the following objects : Religion, the German lan- guage, arithmetic and geometry, drawing, singing, geography and history ; physics and natural history, agriculture, meadow management, fruit and garden culture, cattle-breeding, instruc- tion in the carrying on of the farm in the most skilful manner, book-keeping, agricultural mechanics, and field measuring. The division of these objects of instruction is so arranged that in addition to the school studies comes teaching in general preparatory sciences and the different branches of agriculture. Besides suitable means of instruction, is the opportunity of observation on the estate at Zwatzen, and the advantage of veterinary lectures and teaching in the Veterinary School at Jena. The employment on the land belonging to the school, which has recently been increased, as well as in the workshop for the manufacture of agricultural implements, serves as a practical illustration of the instruction in the school, and as a means of preparation for the future calling. The pupils live with the family of the superintendent and his assistants, and all eat at the same table. They are expected to have had some practice in farm labor on admittance. Natives pay 80 thalers or $60 a year, others 175, for instruc- tion, lodging and board. The admission of new students takes place in the spring and fall. 12 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. Here is a notice translated from the printed circular, or pro- gramme : " Every pupil, as he enters, has to bring with him a bed, with three coverlids, — the school furnishes bedstead and mattress, — one Sunday and two week-day suits, a trunk to keep his clothes and linen in, 6 shirts, 2 pairs of stockings, 6 towels, 6 pocket-handkerchiefs, 2 blue aprons, 2 pairs of boots, a pair of slippers, a comb, a wash-bowl", 2 plates, a couple of knives and forks, a spoon, a couple of cups and saucers, clothes and shoe brushes, — all to be marked, if possible." It's a con- venient thing to have one's wardrobe so minutely specified. As I have alluded to the agricultural school at Jena, con- nected with the university, I will also say a word in regard to one or two others of the same class ; that is, connected in a similar manner with other institutions. POPPELSDORP, NEAR BONN. The agricultural college at Poppelsdorf, connected with the university at Bonn, I had taken in my trip up the Rhine. It is some ten miles above Cologne, beautifully situated on the left bank of the river, within sight of the far-famed Siebenge- birge, or seven mountains, and the Drachenfels. Bonn is beautified by the most attractive terraces along the river, and a magnificent .avenue leading to Poppelsdorf, nearly a mile, studded with superb chestnuts in double rows, on either side. I called at once on Dr. Hartstein, the director of the agricul- tural school, who kindly gave me the information I sought in regard to its present position and prosperity. Close by his house is an ancient castle, now used as a depository of the extensive scientific collections belonging to the university, to which the students in agriculture have access. The model farm of the agricultural institute is also close at hand. This is used for the purposes of experiment, and the crops on the experimental plots were very striking. Extensive mulberry hedges surround the fields, and the silk-worm was in the full tide of successful operation. The scientific lectures extend over not only the branches requisite in the department of agriculture, but also the funda- mental and auxiliary sciences connected with it, viz.: — SECRETARY'S REPORT. 13 (<2.) Agriculture in its whole range as a leading science, and especially 1. The science of tillage, which is divided into a general and special branch. In the one are the knowledge of soils, manures and the working of the land, the seed, care of the crop, and harvesting of agricultural products in general is taught ; in the other, more exact instruction is given, as to the judicious culti- vation of each one of these products. In this connection the formation of permanent meadows, and especially artificial meadows, is considered. 2. The science of cattle breeding, or the production of ani- mals, which also includes a general and a special course. In the first, instruction is given as to the different races, the pair- ing, breeding, feeding, care and fattening of cattle in general ; in the second, the breeding of cattle, sheep, horses, swine, &c., in particular. 3. The proper farm management, taking in the whole agri- cultural profession, and including general rules and principles. The principal divisions are, the objects of agriculture, land, capital and labor, sale and leasing of estates, different systems of agriculture, the arrangement and direction of farms, and of taxation and book-keeping. To these lectures upon agriculture are added those on fruit management, garden, fruit and vineyard culture. (&.) Chief and auxiliary sciences. 1. The natural sciences, chemistry and physics, zoology, botany and mineralogy, with special reference to agriculture, and so far as they are of importance, to the farmer in the over- sight and judicious direction of his estate. 2. Mathematical sciences, especially applied geometry, stere- ometry, statics, hydrostatics and machinery connected with the practice in field measuring, levelling, drawing of plans, &c. 3. Popular agricultural literature, so far as it serves as a safe ground-work for practical agricultural instruction. 4. Agricultural technology. 5. Veterinary science. 6. Agricultural mechanics. 7. Laws relating to agriculture and the cultivation of lands. 8. History, statistics and literature of agriculture. 14 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. The farm connected with the institute serves for practical ilhistration, as well as the excursions which, from time to time, are taken in the neighborhood, and during vacations, also, into more distant regions. The institute is in want of no auxiliary means of making the theoretical and practical instruction most useful. Among these are the chemical laboratory, erected espe- cially for agricultural investigation, the physical apparatus and the instruments for land measuring and levelling, the collection of minerals and ores, the zoological and veterinary collection, the collection of models and implements, and of wool, the library, the economic botanic garden, the botanical collection and the estate, with the experimental fields and the vineyard. Besides these peculiar means of instruction of the institute, the use of the rich collections and apparatus of the university, the royal university library, botanic garden and natural history museum, is available. Students pay an entrance fee of six thalers, and a fee for tuition of forty thalers, or thirty dollars, for the first term. The amount for the second term is thirty thalers, the third twenty and the fourth ten, making the fee for the whole course of two years, one hundred thalers, or seventy-five dollars. The lectures embrace a two years' course, the terras being arranged to conform with those of the university. The special plan of instruction is made known each term. The school is designed for those who desire to educate themselves for skilful farmers, and those who devote themselves to the studies of the university, and at the same time wish to become familiar with the operations of agriculture. Students who are entered at the university of Bonn, and enrolled in any of the faculties, can attend the agricultural] lectures on application to -the director. Applicants have to bring certificates of good conduct. No proof of specific attainments in elementary school studies is required, but it is desired that, before visiting the institute, the pupil should be familiar with the practical manipulations of farming, and be able to show proof of it. On admission, the student is matriculated and enrolled in the faculty of philosophy at the university. By this he acquires all the rights and undertakes all the obligations of. the univer- sity students. SECRETARY'S REPORT. 15 The whole establishment is under the control of the royal ministry for agricultural affairs at Berlin. The experimental farm, close by the school, contains, I believe, about seventy acres. I visited the barns and out-build- ings, all of which appeared to be in admirable condition, a place for everything and everything in its place. But seven or eight cows are kept, and those are all Dutch, which are thought there to be among the best for milk. No experiments appear to be made there to test the comparative merits of different breeds. A long series of experiments in the fields near the house seemed to be conducted in the most careful manner. Many of the plots of wheat were of extraordinary growth. A great variety of plants are cultivated, chiefly for the purpose of instruction. I visited Gissen, Gottingen and Halle, with each of which universities there is an agricultural department connected, but they do not differ materially, so far as I could learn, from those at Jena and Bonn. GEISBERG. The agricultural institute at Geisberg near Wiesbaden is the principal if not the only one of the kind in the Duchy of Nassau. I visited it in July. It stands on an elevated plateau overlook- ing a most enchanting region of country, with the fashionable invalid resort of Wiesbaden close by, while at a little distance rolls the winding Rhine between its vine-clad hills. The cele- brated vineyard of Johannisberg is not far down tlie river. This school differs from most others in giving instruction only in winter. It is on the isolated and independent plan, and is designed for the instruction of practical farmers, without teaching prac- tice on the place. Applicants must be sixteen years old, possess a good elementary education, and a good " character." They have to bring a written certificate of willingness on the part of the parent or guardian that they should enter the school, and it is expected that pupils shall have spent one or more summers in work on the farm before they enter. If the requisite certificate of proficiency in the elementary studies can- not be produced, or if it is not satisfactory, the applicant is examined, and either rejected or accepted with conditions, not 16 BOARD OP AGRICULTURE. unlike the practice in entering Harvard College, where compar- atively few get in without " conditions." Each pupil is required to attend all the lectures ; but they have a class of pupils as they have at Hohenheim, called hospi- tanten, or students who take only the partial course. The theoretical instruction is given in a regular course of two winters, the term beginning on the fifteenth of October of each year, and ending on the thirty-first of March. During the intervening summer they are either at home, at work on the farm, or, if they desire it, the director of the institute procures them suitable places with skilful practical farmers. Natives of Nassau pay no tuition. Outsiders pay forty-four florins, or about eighteen dollars, a year. All the pupils board in the town of Wiesbaden. The instruction is by lectures and written and verbal questions on the studies. After the return of the students from their summer's work on the farm, they are required within six weeks to present a full written detail of operations, which, after suitable corrections, are returned to the writer. The parents or guardians are informed, from time to time, of the industry and conduct of the pupil. Gambling, so fashion- able and exciting at Wiesbaden, is forbidden, and no student is allowed to smoke or to keep a dog. The institute possesses a library, which appeared to be toler- ably well stocked, very good collections and fine lecture and study rooms. It is on rather a small scale as compared with some others, though it may be called one of the superior class. It was founded in 1835, and, as. may be inferred from what has been said above, on the principle that it is of no use to try to teach the theory and practice at the same school. There is a small farm connected with the school, but, judging from the helter-skelter, or generally mixed-up condition of everything about the premises, I should think they were quite right in not attempting to teach practice there. Old ploughs, drags, carts, harrows and every thing else lay around the buildings in no small confusion. When I drove into the yard I felt sure we had made some mistake, and had got upon the premises of a very slovenly farmer, but the driver was sure he was right, and the result justified his topographical knowledge. The farm buildings are irregular and crowded, not large or imposing, but SECRETARY'S REPORT. 17 rather ordinary in every respect, though the building used by the students and the collections was better. These collections consisted of minerals, birds, quadrupeds, seeds, grains and grasses, and a fine collection of wax fruits. The instruction embraces, in the first term or winter, the German language, arithmetic, botany, mineralogy, physics, gen- eral agriculture, cultivation of meadows, rural architecture and veterinary science. In the second winter the boys take up zoology, physics, farm accounts, special agriculture, special zootechny, horticulture, technology, veterinary medicine and composition. The director had left for the International Exhibition at Hamburg, so that I was obliged to find my way about without much assistance. The price of farm labor there, I learned, was thirty-six kreutzers, or twenty-four cents, a day, the men board- ing themselves. HOHENHEIM. Many a grand enterprise, like many an illustrious man, grows up from small beginnings. Schwertz, who may be called the founder of the agricultural school at Hohenheim, began its direction towards the close of the year 1818, with only eight pupils, six of whom were natives of Wiirtemberg, and two from abroad. It is now generally admitted, and I think with justice, to stand at the head of the institutions for agricultural education in Europe. I propose, therefore, to enter, to some extent, into the details of this establishment, and to dwell upon them at length, even at the risk of being tedious. I arrived at this celebrated agricultural institute on the 29th of July, and took a room, such as is occupied by the students, in the building, prepared to stay some days, or till I could " get the hang of it." It was a strange feeling that came over me at first, in the midst of a crowd of rollicking German students, rooming among them, eating with them, and mingling with them in their walks, in the lecture room, and in the long corridors of this quaint old ducal palace, a monument of the wealth, the luxury and the morals of a century ago, on which hangs a tale, which I have not time to unfold. Hohenheim is some seven or eight miles from Stuttgart, the capital of the kingdom of Wiirtemberg, the road lying through 3 18 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. vineyards and orchards and royal forests. Long before my arrival at head-quarters it was easy to see that I was riding through the fields of the institute. The fruit trees were labelled and numbered, the fields and the rotation upon them, were iudicated by stakes and cards, and everything gave evidence of thrift and skill and scientific management. What capital roads ! Nothing but a royal decree could have lined them everywhere with cherry and apple and pear trees, stretching away as far as the eye could reach. No fences mar the open landscape, either along the highway or on the division lines. There is a little foot- path that leads through the woods, a beautiful, shaded walk to Kleinhohenheim. But here we are at the very door, at this fountain-head of agricultural science. I introduced myself at once to Professor Rau, whom I already knew well by reputation, and found him quite free to communicate all the information in his power ; to accompany me to the various parts of the establishment and the farm, and to give me access to the lectures which should take place during my stay. He placed in my hands a beautiful royal octavo, which had just appeared, a Beschreibung der land-und forstwirthschaftlichen Akademie Hohenheim, containing many illustrations and historical sketches of the estate, the course of instruction and management of each department, the experi- ments and the stock, and to this, and the other documents which he gave me, I am indebted for much of the information I am about to present, in regard to this school of agriculture. Hohenheim really consisted, for some years, of three quite distinct schools, which, though erected on the same estate, and, as it were, under the same roof, were, and still are, as indepen- dent of each other, in most respects, as if at opposite ends of the kingdom. 1st. The institute or school of agriculture, for young gentle- men. 2d. The school of forestry. 3d. The school of practical farming, for the sons of peasants. The lands, plantations, gardens and nurseries connected with the old chateau are wholly devoted to the purposes of the three establishments, and serve professors as well as pupils for illus- tration and experiment ; while the extensive royal forests in the neighborhood and lengthy excursions made every year, give a SECRETARY'S REPORT. 19 wide range of observation, especially for students in the manage- ment of forests. The agricultural institute originated, in a measure, from the establishment of the agricultural society of Wiirtemberg, in 1817, when the necessity of a model farm and an institute of instruc- tion and experiment became strikingly apparent, as a means of the development and the elevation of agriculture in the estima- tion of the people. The success and popularity of the school, founded in 1806 by the illustrious Thaer, at Mogiin, in Prussia, had no doubt contributed largely to this feeling among the agriculturists of Wiirtemberg. Thaer's enterprise was undertaken at first on his own private account, and so continued till the year 1819, thirteen years after its commencement. It so happened that the introduction and spread of fine-woolled or Merino sheep into Northern Europe, and especially upon the farm at Mog- iin, near Berlin, concurred to attract to this private effort a large share of public attention, while the reputation of Thaer rapidly grew at home and abroad, not only as a consequence of the success of his school, but likewise from his valuable publi- cations. His school was therefore taken under the patronage of the government, as a royal academy, but the management of the estate still remained at the risk and expense of the owners, the instruction only being paid by the government. This led to a mixed arrangement, the evils of which very soon began to develop themselves, and in time to be avoided at Hohenheim, where the whole establishment was taken under the control of the government, and located upon a royal domain. A part of this domain happening, at that time, to be under lease, it was necessary to begin the instruction on the small adjoining estate of Carlshof, consisting of only 255 acres. A small beginning was therefore a matter of necessity, and this was to continue till the year 1822, when the broad estates of Hohenheim would be at the service of the institute, at the head of which stood Schwertz, who was placed, by the confidence of the king, in full control of the property, with only the assistance of a farm inspector and two of his pupils. He personally arranged everything, and even managed the finances of the school, which, for the first two years, remained on this simple foundation, as a purely agricultural institute. But in the year 20 BOARD OP AGRICULTURE. 1820, the school for the management of forests, which had previously existed at Stuttgart, was removed to Carlshof and placed under the direction of Schwertz, though still independent for all the purposes of instruction. The greater number of students were then, as they are at present, students of agricul- ture. Last year ('61-62) for instance, there were 124 agricul- tural students and biit 37 foresters. The limited number of foresters may be owing in part to the rigorous conditions of admission to the forest school, the appli- cants for which must have practiced in the management of woods for at least two years under a head steward of forests. It was thought that a general connection of instruction in forestry with that in agriculture would have some important ad- vantages, as, for instance, for the pupils of the agricultural insti- tute, who are either owners or to become, in future, stewards of large estates, in which the management of forests would often be of great importance, while the contact of a class of students who have to submit to a rigid examination on which their future success will largely depend, would be very useful as an example of good conduct and studious habits, to students in the agricultural institute who are not obliged to work. It would be a desirable stimulant to exertion. Then the union would enable the two to give a wider range to the instruction in both, the students of each having an opportunity to avail themselves of lectures which they could not otherwise have, so that the foresters, for instance, could get a general knowledge of agriculture which they would not gain in a special school. Experience has accordingly justified this change, and the arrangement still exists. Originally the whole instruction in agriculture was given by Schwertz, who taught general and special plant culture, cattle breeding, vine culture, book-keeping, &c. Two professors were soon appointed, one of mathematics and the other of the auxili- ary natural sciences, while instruction in veterinary science was given by the medical councillor-in-chief of the government, who went over from Stuttgart once a week for the purpose. The removal of the forest school added one only to the corps of instruction, but on the acquisition, in 1822, of the domain at Hohenheim, the farming operations became still more extended, and men scientifically educated were required in each chief SECRETARY'S REPORT. 21 branch of farming, and an instructor in sheep breeding, another in agricultural technology, and another in the culture and management of fruit-trees, were appointed, from time to time, as the exigencies required. Pupils in the higher or agricultural institute paid, if natives of Wiirtemberg, |164 for tuition, lodging and board, or if from abroad, $205 ; and all ate at a general table. But in 1825 it was thought more convenient to separate the cost of board from the other charges, and the price of tuition and room was fixed at ill for natives and f 123 for strangers. All were required to room in the building till 1842, since which time the pupils have had the liberty to board out of the institute if they choose. It will be seen that the agricultural institute is founded upon a large and liberal basis, and everything that strikes the eye would lead one to think that it is the chief and most important object ; yet, important as it is, it is probable that the practical results of the School of Practical Farming, the Ackerbanschule, are quite as valuable as those of the institute, which makes greater pretensions and enjoys greater facilities for instruction in the higher sciences. This school of Practical Farming was begun at the close of 1818, with ten stout boys of 14 years of age from the orphans in Stuttgart and other cities. These boys had but one instruc- tor, who had to keep them at work and train them to the greatest possible activity, order, and good conduct. They received to some extent the theoretical instruction of the students in the higher institute, but in 1824 they began to have more or less theoretical instruction adapted to the capacity of each, and to their future designs. This practical school was modified in 1829, when the num- ber was extended to 25, and instead of taking orphans as heretofore, the sons of peasants especially, were to be admitted, between the ages of 16 and 18, who, as they were already familiar with the ordinary routine of farm work, could be immediately useful on the farm and taught the improved processes of agriculture in a shorter time. They are required to spend three years at Hohenheim, and must be natives of Wiirtemberg. Their instruction in the theory of agriculture is limited to two hours a day. 22 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. The arrangement with regard to orplians was kept np, the number being limited to twenty-five, who were required to spend two years at Hohenheim, in order to get sufficient agri- cultural knowledge to be capable of becoming teachers in schools for the advancement of agriculture in their own dis- tricts, but this arrangement was given up in 1828 on account of the cost. Special Courses. — A school of gardening was established in 184-1 at the same place, but still independent of the others. Six pupils only were admitted into this, and each must have attained the age of seventeen years. Each applicant must have spent three years as gardener or vintager, or attended the course at a farm school, and the garden school aimed in one course to perfect what had previously been begun in the art of gardening and fruit culture. Then, in addition, there were established at the same place, special courses for orchardists, meadow husbandry, shepherds and school teachers. The course for orchardists, which has been continued since 1850, was designed for young men of 18 years and upward who wished to prepare themselves for managers of the fruit trees belonging to the communes or parishes, of which there are immense numbers everywhere around the villages and high- ways of the kingdom. This course lasts* from four to five weeks in the spring of each year, and a few days later in summer for practice in grafting. On account of the crowd of applicants to this course, in the last few years, from all parts of the king- dom, it became necessary to extend it to three courses a year, with from fifteen to twenty pupils in each, so that now this theoretic and practical instruction in fruit culture continues from the middle of March to the end of May, and a continua- tion of the course occurs also in August. The five weeks' course upon the technical management of meadows, has been continued regularly in the spring since 1855, whenever there has been a sufficient number of appli- cants. It includes the art of treating meadows, field drainage, the establishment of boundaries or practice in applied geom- etry, for those who wish to perfect themselves in farm engineer- ing. The number of attendants on this course has averaged 8. The course of instruction for shepherds was opened for the first time in 1855, and has continued uninterruptedly since with SECRETARY'S REPORT. 23 an average of 10 to 12 attendants. Applicants are required to be over 20 years old and to have been in practice with shep- herds four years. The course takes place in February and lasts four weeks. To these courses was added another in 1860, for school teach- ers, which is limited to three weeks in the autumn vacations of the public schools. The principal object is to provide the means of a continuation of their agricultural education, which was found to be needed in many parts of the country. Such teachers only are invited to attend this course as have busied themselves on their own or on the school grounds, with agricul- tural labors, in the formation of means for improvement in agricultural education. The instruction embraces the whole of agricultural labor, with special researches into the imperfec- tions and failings which appear in different parts of the country. The number who may attend each course is fixed at 25. Instruction in these several courses is given partly by the regular corps of professors of the institute, and partly by per- sons from abroad who make a specialty of certain pursuits, who go to Hohenheim for the purpose, and the arrangement is such that the pupils during their stay in Hohenheim are occupied the whole of each day, partly in hearing lectures,. and partly in demonstrations in the field, in the stalls, in the collections, or in excursions, and partly in the solution of prescribed tasks. These may be called regularly established courses of special instruction. But in addition, what may be called extraordinary or occasional courses, are also given, as, for instance, in 1853, a course upon silk culture, another on bee culture and on the nursery business. They took place in the afternoon of each Wednesday, from four to six, and were attended by twenty young men, mostly sub-teachers or assistants in the schools. In 1855, another course was given upon silk culture, designed for the pupils of the normal schools, of whom one hundred and thirty-four attended. A similar course of agricultural instruc- tion was given in 1861 for the school teachers in the jurisdiction of Stuttgart, in which fifty-two teachers of the public schools engaged. The lectures were accompanied by demonstrations in the field, and in the collections, an afternoon of each week, and the design was to prepare the teachers for holding evening agricultural schools in winter. And so in 1852-3, on the occa- 24 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. sion of considerable changes in the laws regarding distilled liquors, two courses of instruction were given to the revenue officers upon the processes of distilling. One lasted ten days and the other twelve, and was attended by over sixty officers of the revenue who desired the information. And so, also, a vast amount of labor is done and information imparted in answer to letters and through numerous publications by the professors, all of which widen the circle of influence of the institution. The means of instruction in the institute proper were limited, as already stated, at the foundation, to a physical and mathe- matical apparatus, an outfit for the chemical laboratory and a little natural history collection, for which the queen had contributed a thousand florins, and this was confined strictly to agriculture. Still with the small number of pupils it was made the means of important instruction in special branches. As for the farm a greatly improved arrangement of lands was adopted than that common in the neighborhood, either then or at present. Schwertz, who was born at Coblentz in 1759, and who was familiar with the agriculture of Belgium, where it was carried on in the highest perfection then known, not only got many improved implements but also a skilful foreman who was acquainted with their use and could teach it to others. An implement manufactory formed a part of the design, one that should not only supply the wants of the farm with the best tools, but be the means of introducing the most improved imple- ments into the country, and the institute was extremely fortu- nate in getting the right man for the place, one who had been with Fellenberg at Hofwyl, as an implement maker, and who not only answered expectations, but soon won a high reputation for the implement branch of the establishment by the strengtli and goodness of the work. In 1852, and each year since, arrangements were made for the purpose of securing a more rapid and general spread of improved agricultural implements throughout the country whereby master wheelwrights and smiths were provided with an opportunity by a stay of some six or ten days in the imple- ment manufactory at Hohenheim, of becoming familiar by observation, handling, drawings, models, &c., with the course of business and the manner of manufacture there, and the master mechanic took it upon himself to give the requisite SECRETARY'S REPORT. 25 explanations. Up to this time no less than seventy-seven master smiths and fifty-eight master wheelwrights have availed themselves of this opportunity to perfect themselves in their business. But as imperfect and defective as were the arrangements at the outset, at Hohenheim, there was one thing that neither the director nor the pupils were in want of, and that was an earnest love for their work and an enthusiasm for the high reputation of the new institute. It was not the least of the merits of Schwertz that he knew how to infuse such an enthusiasm into all his pupils. Where such a spirit reigns great things are easily developed from small. Forty-five years have now passed away and from the weak seed then planted a strong fruit-bear- ing tree has developed its wide-extended branches. From eight pupils of 1818, the number has increased to one hundred and fifty in 1863 ; and from one great professor the number has grown to twelve. Such is a brief sketch of the earlier history of the institute at Hohenheim. Let us look for a moment to its present position "and prospects. The domain consists of about 825 acres, not including a vast forest of over 5,000 acres, belonging to the government. The government exercises a controlling influence in the general management of the institute, and the reports and financial standing of the establishment are made to the proper authori- ties at Stuttgart. But at Hohenheim, the institute, as well as the farm with all its branches and dependencies, is under the immediate control of the director, who has an assistant, or sec- retary, also a farm assistant, who acts also as a tutor in the institute. There is also a treasurer and a book-keeper, a libra- rian, who assists in the office, an overseer in the institute, a house-master and a post-master. The director, at present von Walz, is also head teacher of agriculture, and lectures upon agricultural practice, taxation of property, special plant cul- ture and agricultural architecture. There are nine established professors, as follows : — Dr. Riecke, professor of mathematics and physics. Karl Siemens, professor of agricultural technology and head director of the implement manufactory. 26 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. Dr. Fleischer, professor of geognosy and botany, and director of the botanic garden. Dr. Nordlinger, principal teacher of forestry, and steward of the hunting grounds at Hohenheim. Dr. Emil Wolff, professor of chenaistry, and director of the agricultural chemical laboratory. Dr. Rau, professor of agriculture, who lectures upon agricul- ture in general, plant culture, meadow management, vine, hop and tobacco culture, breeding of cattle, sheep and smaller ani- mals. Dr. Rueff, professor of veterinary science, who lectures upon zoology, horse-breeding and silk culture. Professor B^ischbach, second teacher of forestry and steward of the forests at Denkendorf. Besides these, there is a teacher of book-keeping, another of national economy and the laws of forests, a director of the garden school, who teaches fruit and root culture, and a head teacher, Mr. Kik, manager of the farm school, who gives instruction in bee culture. The farm inspector also conducts some agricul- tural exercises on the experimental field. These professors are appointed by the king, upon presentation to the minister of the interior, made by the general council of agriculture. The salary of the professors, like the pay of scientific and literary men generally in Germany, is very small, scarcely ade- quate to their support, even on a very economical establishment. This accounts for their prolific pens. They are compelled in very many, no doubt in the vast majority of cases, to write books, prepare articles for the scientific journals, and otherwise to eke out the means of a respectable support. The cost of living is, in some sections, a little less than with us, to be sure, but to live equally well, the difference is but small, so far as I could judge from the cost of very many articles which I could compare. The salary of the director amounts to 2,500 florins, $1,025. That of three professors, each 1,500 florins, $615. One profes- sor has but '1533. Three others have $492 each. Another, $348. Two assistant teachers, each $102. As the professors and their families room in the buildings of the chateau, which SECRETARY'S REPORT. 27 are amply sufficient for the accommodation of all, and many more, I do not suppose they are charged with rent. The students of the higher institute are admitted, after the age of eighteen, without examination, on certificate of willing- ness on the part of parents and of industry and good conduct at the schools hitherto attended, and at any time during the year, and are held to no very rigid discipline, being required to attend three of the regular courses every week, which they may select. They rise and go to bed when they choose, and employ their time as they choose, and go out from the institute with an ex- amination. Many sons of wealthy families are no doubt attracted there by the beauty of the institution for an agreeable temporary residence. They have as complete control of their time and their actions, within the reasonable limits of good conduct of course^ as the students at our law, medical and divinity schools. It may not be generally known that all students in German uni- versities are left or thrown upon their own responsibility to a far greater extent than the students of any of our colleges. Their whole early education familiarizes them with this liberty, and it is not probably so liable to abuse as it would be with us. But it is no less true that real severe study requires the stimu- lus of emulation, and necessity or compulsion, especially upon minds not arrived at full maturity. The lectux'es begin at six o'clock in the morning in summer and at seven o'clock in the winter, and end at seven o'clock in the evening throughout the year. They continue with only two hours' intermission for dinner at noon. Two lectures, for differ- ent sections, are often going on at the same time. It may be proper to remark that there is a sort of impassable aristocratic barrier between the institute pupils and those of the school of practical agriculture. The instructors of the institute alone bear the title of professors, a dignity rather inaccessible to the tutors and teachers in the lower or school of practice, although these latter often give courses before the students of the institute. This barrier falls, no doubt, when they separate at the close of the course and go out to take their places in society, according to the capacities of each. I am inclined to think it is a fact that the graduates of the lower school are more successful in secur- ing places as stewards and managers of estates than those of the institute, many of whom have to rely on such positions. 28 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. Since the establishment of the institute it has sent out no less than 2,944, including those in the school of forestry, or 2,322 agriculturists, and 622 foresters ; while from the school of practice, since its opening, in 1818, to 1861, inclusive, the number of graduates is 334, without including some tempo- rary students, a few of whom are taken nearly every year. The Other Means of Instruction. — Among the means of instruction presented at the institute may be mentioned, what has already been alluded to, the whole management of the farm, with its experimental fields, the implement manufactory, the workshops, the forests and hunting parks, the nurseries, both native and exotic trees, the botanic garden, the library and the different collections and apparatus designed especially for the purposes of instruction. The botanic garden was started in 1829, with an area of about ten acres. It was intended to serve the double purpose of instruction and ornament to the surroundings of the chateau. I spent a good deal of time in the various parts of this garden. It is laid out on a generous scale, with an agreeable, park-like aspect ; groups of trees, ornamental and useful shrubs, parterres of flowers and lawns well kept. A part of it is devoted to annuals, where an immense number of varieties of wheat and other grains are cultivated ; each plot labelled, so that the visitor may know, without a guide, what each contains. In another part are the perennials, especially those of economical value. A grass garden forms a part by itself, where the different species of grass are cultivated in little clumps, each labelled with its systematic and common name ; while an arboretum of consid-. erable extent is, at all times, accessible for students and others. The library contains 4,000 volumes on agriculture and forestry and their auxiliary sciences. The collections are very extensive and valuable, more so than at any other institute of the kind that I visited. They consist of large collections of soils, manures, models of implements, and implements in full size ; admirable collections of wools, kept in glass cases, among which are complete historical collections from the sheep kept on the farm for many years back, especially of the most celebrated bucks and ewes ; collections of woods, minerals, petrifactions, &c. ; collections of seeds of fruits, her- SECRETARY'S REPORT. 29 bariums, pathological and zoological collections, apparatus used in the lectures on physics, the chemical laboratory, &c. The course of instruction in the institute embraces a very wide range, and a full detail would lead too far. A general outline may be stated, as follows : — 1. General field and plant culture. This includes a general introduction, the objects of cultivation and the connection of cattle breeding with farm operations ; also instruction upon climates, soils, manures, implements, working the soil, multipli- cation of plants, care of seeds, crops, preservation of farm pro- ducts, accompanied by demonstrations in the field, the collec- tions of models and machine shops. 2. Special plant culture. 3. Meadow cultivation. 4. Wine, hop and tobacco culture. 5. Fruit culture. 6. Vegetable cultivation. 7. Breeding of general farm stock — embracing domestic cattle and their necessity for man, science of feeding and nourishment, care, uses, multiplication, choice, &c. 8. Horse breeding, including the structure and anatomy of the horse ; with the assistance of a large collection of fine illustrations of the different breeds, and excursions made to the various royal studs in the kingdom. 9. Cattle breeding— with demonstrations in the stalls, collec- tions of models and cheese dairy. 10. Sheep breeding, including instruction in regard to wools, demonstrations in the sheep stalls, in the wool and model col- lections, and in the wool market at Kirchheimer. 11. Swine and poultry breeding, accompanied, also, by prac- tical demonstrations in the pig-sties and collections. 12. Silk culture — including the care and cultivation of mul- berries, the proper buildings, the treatment of silk-worms, &c. 13. Bee culture. 14. Practical agricultural instruction — embracing, in general, the duties of steward, landed property in its political and legal relations, position, cHmate, soil, farm buildings, &c. ; capital, labor and, particularly, the organization and direction of a farm ; choice of objects, estimation of requirements of manure, statics, nourishment of plants, choice of stock, rotation, farm system, 30 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. division of fields, transition from one course of cropping to another, > II o o a o o o "3 til 2 9 .5 2 .2 ''S 1^ 1 m cc ?*; S C 03 1 ^ O 1-1 pq g 1 1.1 Eh g Pi .2 .—1 CJ P3 j3 H I' m fc. JS 03 O u ^ ? 2 02 g fe Pi tA -8 g i .S " W o c« O 1^ '3 M <3 51 "S o 1 ^ Ph .2 1— t -*-' •3 ^ g o O _c; "5 2 P^ = 1 at a; =3 03 O h^ P5 o a b IK a 4) O Ol IJ 03 03 H 5 6 1 ^ o ci a Mi ^ 0) S .S "« s < .1 ^ o t^ a a o '2 b o g ^ o ^1 •a 03 3 .2 -3 TS 03 S ►^ pa Eh a "o PP ^ O ^ 2 g S ho ^ f> P4 bJO <1 >^ b >, >, 1 ^ s o 1 .s ■8 a e ja cu t1 03 ^, a ■ O S 03 gJ ■2 P^ 13 Eh 2 "3 g .2 2 "cS Pi 2 o <1 Ph he aj • O »^" oo" Oi o" T-T r1 tN o o o O o CO t^ CD O iH SECRETARY'S REPORT. 33 •SAvaTA8j[ pu'B snoisjnoxg; ?99J0j[ a ii .2 -2 Is '3 V, ^ ■ a .tj O 3 i ^ ■ i s Agricultural Demon- strations. Forest Botany. o c fco o a> 3 "3 -2 1> a o e a g 3 g "a « .2 'C < a3 6 5 o a be o O « 3 s IS £ 3 3 o o a fcJ3 o a Botanical and Geog- nostical Excursions. Agricultural Demon- strations. Forest Botany. o a o o •s;ni3i ^2 44 cows, 2 bulls, . 39 cows, 2 bulls, 37 heifers, 34 heifers, 34 heifers, 10 calves,* . 8 calves,* 1st to 17th Nov., . 18th Nov. to 1st Dec, 2d Dec. to 4th May, . 1st to 10th Nov., 11th to 17th Nov., 18th Nov. to 1st May, 1st to 10th Nov., . 11th Nov. to 27th July, 15 =35.22 =36.93 =36.68 =16.00 =17.45 =18.22 =18.00 =18.00 * Three pounds Crushed Grain. From this it will be seen that for the older stock about 36 lbs. of hay or its equivalent are required per day. It has been found that a sixtieth or 1| per cent, of live weight will support the animal without loss, but also without gain, and to provide for secretions, as milk in cows, wool on sheep, it is necessary to double that ration, making it a thirtieth of the live weight or 3|- per cent. This is greater than would be required if the cattle had been raised and kept up in condition from birth, as is the case in England, which is no doubt the most economical method. The roots are cut. The oil-cake was formerly softened with water before feeding out, but now, like the crushed grain, fed out dry with a slight mixture of salt, of which 12 lbs. a year on an average, are used per head. The feeding takes place twice a day, morning and evening. Each meal is divided into several small parts, and a wqw one given only when the last is eaten up. The stock is watered at a fountain outside, between the regular meals. The fountain is a little way off from the stable, so that they get some exercise in going and coming. The young stock is turned daily into a roomy yard close by the stalls. All the stock is curried every day, and kept clean and neat. It has been found by careful observation that an animal attains its greatest weight of body and greatest yield of milk at 8 years ; i. e., after the sixth calf. A cow just before calving weighs i50 lbs. more, on an average, than after calving, and about 200 lbs. more than when dry. The calves usually weigh 80 lbs. and 88 lbs. according to sex. The weight of a calf when dropped is from -^^ to ^""g of the average weight of the SECRETARY'S REPORT. 37 cow. The use of males for breeding is commenced at a year and a half old, but they are not much used till two. In 100 calves 94|- per cent, are living and 5^ per cent. dead. Among 100 calves, 55^^ per cent, are males, and M^q per cent, females. In 100 parturitions, 4^^^ per cent, are twins. A form of cattle register is kept as follows : — Copulation. Weight. Name and Sire. Dam. Day of Bbebd. Birth. Day. Bull. Day. Pounds. The for m of f )edigre e regi ster is as follows :- - ° S Copula- Kemakks on the Weight of Yield op Breed. tion. Calf. Cows. Milk. 1 s p ^ . ■ O C3 ^ £ a 03 03 u fs " J5 3 ■a n s u g3 0.3 '^ ^ 33 Q « CO Ph C J ^ Ph (H p-1 l^i O An account is kept so that the weight of milk of each cow and each month is seen at a glance, the yield of each noted and the yearly yield noted. The average annual yield per cow is 4,816 pounds. It occurs as follows : — After the 1st calf. 3,616 lbs. After the 4th calf. 4,852 lbs. 2d " 4,492 a " 5th " 5,308 " " 3d " 5,048 i( " 6th " 5,352 " After that the yield continues the same for some time, or falls off. It does not increase. The largest yield of any one cow bred at Hohenheim was from a cow which I saw when there. Her weight was about 1,200 pounds. She gave in one year nine thousand six hundred and seventy pounds, in the year after her fifth calf, at the age of eight. The general average yield of milk is four times the live weight of the cow each year. 38 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. The milking takes place twice a day at the time of the morning and evening feeding. The average time of going dry is three months ; the number of milk days, 275. The milk is sold to a dairyman and cheese-maker. Young stock, not wanted on the farm, is sold at public auction twice a year, in May and October. The average price for bulls from a year to a year and a half old, is S58.47. The highest price for any one animal was $172.20. The raising of calves is artificial from birth. They are taken from the dam and fed from the pail. They do exceedingly well ; the cow is less disquieted and the trouble is less than if the calves suckle the cow. The latter is allowed some days with young cows after the first calf till they get used to being milked. The amount of food given is : — 1st week, daily, 12 pounds of milk, - pounds of oatmeal, - pounds of fine hay. 2d " 16 - 3d " 20 - 4th " 22 - 5th to 7th 22 i 8th week. 24 1. 9th " 20 i 10th " 16 2 11th " 12 2 12th " 8 2 13th " 4 3 1 " . u '3 « " 6 " - " 10 " " 10 " In the ninth week the milk is first mixed with water and a little fine oatmeal. The meal is after that mixed with the dry fodder. After three months the milk is withheld, and then the young animals receive daily, till two and a half years old, from twenty to twenty-two pounds of hay, or its equivalent. But the calves never after receive, even in summer, any but dry food, till they are nine months old. The average feeding is so divided that the younger portion receive less, the older more, till two and a half years, when they begin to receive the regular rations of the older cattle, including the grain fodder as indi- cated above. The growth with this treatment is so remarkable that it is only a little surpassed by the rapidly maturing Shorthorns. SECRETARY'S REPORT. 39 The average weiglit of heifer calves at 3 months is 233 lbs. Bulls, 353 lbs. " " " 6 " 357 " " 472 " " " " 1 year 640 " " 750 " " " " 2 «. " 1,180 " " 1,300 " The daily increase of a heifer calf is 1.5 lbs. Of a bull calf, 1.8 lbs. " " " in the 2d year is 1.4. Of a bull, 1.5 lbs. Few animals are fattened except working oxen, and now and then a cow that goes diy. At the commencement of winter, when the work is over, about twelve oxen are usually fed for beef. The process never exceeds four months. The oxen receive daily, 10 lbs. of hay, 6 lbs. of straw, 25 lbs. of beets, 45 lbs. of beer-malt, 4 lbs. of oil-cake ; in all 66 lbs. of hay or its equivalent, and 6 lbs. of straw for litter, a day. The average time of feeding for the last four years was one hundred and twenty-three and a half days. The increase per head in this time was three hundred and two and three-quarters pounds, or two and one-half pounds a day on an average, live weight. For each one hundred pounds of hay, or its equivalent, fed out, the animal took on 3.64 pounds live weight. From what has been said it will be seen that all the feed of stock, the dry and green forage, straw, © c3 >,« m t(M ai Cvj ^ 5P « ^ 3 OJ S oS fco u 0.2 (X! o o o a 02 •- 2 ti) £ 3 o •S 2 <11 a o 0) H "A e O Ci 6 b i b t4w aj o - 2 b ■ "a "a o a ■r' Ol ^5 Ch Q o |5 °'m a 03 >, 13 >^ >> a 2 £ a> ^35 2 .Si •g2 Q, tc 3 ^ ■3 o "o d o a o 0) D-i ^^ |5 a £ fcD H e CO (» << H H M <5 <1 o lb nS-C "2 1 aj "2 ^ o -S o £ 3 o O |5 CD t« 1^ q; 03 II ^ OS >* fc. s^ a ta w |H >^ o < . Q en » « < << g 3 02 SECRETARY'S REPORT. 57 -tTt: -g a a "3 t3 "m.2 3 fa " D-r »^^ bo g .5:5 s >fa s h-1 2 fen a3 .2 II 'A «9 0- ■ts -55 s fa = H ■0 PM ■" .s-s 5 b a -2 1 § •"!2 3 bb c > .S 2 Jl "S .2 S 1^ ^ p:^ ^^ m £ ^ ,__ 6 s ■0 So txPn a ill C3 ;-. 3 bB £ 3 bD 1 1 -g Ph CO M e < <5 <^ CO T-l s 6 s §§1 a> . • •^ 2 •B b 3 aS"g •" 0) g Sfa f^ bii c .S 2 ■| 1 CO s fe .3 -s 2 o--^ 3 Ph < V a ^ 0) >. t^ M . a t^ to e<3 s 3

. M >. >, >. br . !^ S. fcc ho bX) ■ 5 •§ bo @ N a m H N N !2i -<; N -td b S c« c« S^ 5» Si s c "5 CS b a ^J CP 2 ai 5; 3 g P3 /a s 02 ^ 3 >, _a a X >> ej bD (i> re; •3 a ■§ a s s c3 be 1 CO fa g ;h fe != ^ tn IH >< p < to D CD a s K H £ fa < < 02 58 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. The nurseries on the farm are extensive and the sales from them profitable ; but probably the brewery is the most profitable branch of the establishment. Here are used more than ten thou- sand bushels of malt a year. In the year ending with July 1st, 1863, it used 3,668 Bavarian schefFel, or about eleven thousand bushels. In the same year over a thousand bushels of potatoes were used in the distillery. There were sold from the nursery, in the same time, 8,520 trees. Just before I was there a terribly destructive hail-storm had occurred, and I never saw such magnificent fields of wlieat and other grain so completely riddled and ruined. It was painful to look upon. It had given promise of an extraordinary yield up to the time of the hail, but it was very nearly a dead loss when I saw it. A committee of appraisers from the insurance company for crops was on to estimate the damages. The wide- spread system of insurance, of which the institute had fortu- nately availed itself, saved it from very great loss, which otherwise would have fallen very heavily upon it. I was indebted to Professors May and Dohlemann for many kind attentions. The director was much occupied with the people who were to estimate the damage of the storm. I should add that much instruction is given in the field and the nurseries, in the barn and other parts of the establishment, by practical demonstrations. There is a reading-room and a library ; there are extensive collections and other appliances. SCHLEISSHEIM. This is now a school of practical farming corresponding to the Ackerbauschule at Hohenheim, that is, the pupils are the sons of peasants mostly, and they enter the school to work a considerable part of the time. The number of students at the time of my visit was thirty-four. This school was founded in 1822 as a higher agricultural institute like Hohenheim, but the lands at Weihenstephan being well adapted to the purposes of a model farm, the higher department was removed to that estate some years ago, leaving Schleissheira, and this latter has since remained as a school of practice. The estate consists of about six thousand five hun- dred acres, and like many other establishments of the kind, it possesses a fine old royal residence or chateau, the whole lying SECRETARY'S REPORT. 59 in an immense, bnt not very fertile valley. I have seen it intimated that the lands were so decidedly inferior and unpro- ductive that the intention of the government in giving it over to the school to be managed by scientific men was to put the value of scientific principles in agriculture to the severest pos- sible test. I believe, if such was the case, that there has been little reason to exult in the triumphs gained over such power- ful natural obstacles as a poor soil and an ungenial climate, and I think it may be taken to be as great a mistake to select land for a model farm, or an agricultural college farm, that is much below the average of natural fertility, as it would be to select one very much above it. In the first case even scientific man- agement can hardly be charged with the responsibility of a failure to produce high crops, and in the latter, it would not get the credit of whatever it did produce. Neither would be a fair test of the skill and science applied to it. The character of the soil led to the early adoption of a twenty years rotation, in which wheat came in but once, oats five times, rye and barley one year each, grass occupying six years, and one year being given over to an idle fallow. The buildings are old and immense in extent, arranged in the form of parallelograms with broad open courts or yards between. Tlie whole has an air of majestic desolation. I do not think palaces especially well adapted for the purposes of agricultural schools. The endless stables were partly occupied by horses belonging to the Bavarian cavalry. The course of instruction is more practical than theoretical, that is, of the time devoted to study and training two-thirds is given to practical work and one-third to theoretical. The theoretical instruction, which comes mostly in winter and on rainy days in summer, when it becomes impracticable to work out-doors, embraces — 1. Religion. A brief survey of the history of religion and biblical history. 2. Elementary studies, arithmetic, orthography. In arith- metic, the fundamental rules and fractions, exercises in reducing common currencies, weights and measures, and measurements of space. It is especially mathematics applied to agriculture. As large a proportion as possible is mental. 60 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. About an hour a week is devoted to orthography, to teach correct writing and language, and to develop facility in writing. It includes examples of receipts, bills, notices, &c. 3. Agriculture. On climate, atmosphere, knowledge and estimation of kinds of soil and their cultivation or working. On machines and implements, their manufacture and repair, the parts of which they are composed and their use, the handling and management of sowing, threshing and cutting machines, to guard against accidents. On the formation of manure heaps and the manufacture of manure, the application of different sorts of manure. On the knowledge of seeds, and the different methods of sowing and planting. Tiie treatment of plants during the period of growth. The reduction of different feeding substances to the hay value. Estimation of the neces- sary requirements of manure. On the various methods of harvesting, threshing, preservation and drying. On the valua- tion of fruits. On the arrangement and keeping of simple farm registers. Plan and model drawing from measurement; Technical Employments. — On milk and the products of milk. On the erection and management of brandy distilleries, and the suitable materials to use. Culture op Mowing Lands. — Preliminary instruction. 1. Levelling by the application of the level and other instruments. 2. Measuring of level surfaces, lines, angles, and figures ; tri- angles, quadrangles, right angles, the circle, practical exercises in these operations. 3. Laying out trenches and dams for water or irrigated meadows, calculation of bodies of water, and the requirements of water for irrigated meadows. 4. Tools for field culture. The practical management of meadows. Study of meadow or field plants. Requirements of seed and time of sowing. Seed raising. Manuring mowings with barn and compost manures, with liquid and artificial manures ; the hay harvest and its yield. Preparation of brown hay ; care and improve- ment of meadows other than irrigation. Drainage. — When and how to be applied. The work pre- paratory to draining. Cattle Breeding. — Application of anatomy to horse, cattle, sheep, and swine breeding. The various breeds and their characteristics. Explanation of particular methods of improv- SECRETARY'S REPORT. 61 ing the breeds of cattle, through the introduction of foreign males, and through in and in breeding, &c. 1. Explanation of characteristics according to the kind of use required, feeding for beef, milk and draught. 2. Choice of animals for breeding, according to age, use, special points. 3. Treatment of the breeding animal, — feeding and care. 4. Parturition. Treatment immediately after. 5. Management of the calf. Methods of raising. Quantity and quality of milk for its nourishment. 6. Feeding, management and care of the young animal up to the period of use. 7. The same of the full-grown animal. Quantity and quality of food for milking, fattening, and working animals. Housing of sheep, product of wool, and the cleansing of it. 8. Adaptation to work. 9. Purchase and sale of animals, especially tlie horse. The students are instructed in veterinary manipulations, and so far as possible applied in practice. Bleeding at several points in different animals. Treatment of wounds, &c. Shoeing of horses and oxen. The proper management of forests, in all its branches, also forms a part of the instruction, as well as that of fruit trees. Excursions are also made to neighboring estates for the pur- poses of observation, the results of which are written out by the pupils. Money is sometimes appropriated by the government to defray the expenses of long excursions. Experiments are conducted in the making of implements, and the application of manures, and the cultivation of plants. There is a collection of models, a herbarium, a library, and tools, and workshops for repairing the smaller agricultural imple- ments, and the preparation of models. The students are held to a pretty strict line of conduct ; neatness, order, and industry are inculcated and required. An examination takes place at the close of the course, and prizes awarded according to merit. The number of cows kept is ninety ; the number of yokes of oxen thirty-six. They make cheese and butter. The age of the students varies from sixteen to twenty. The tuition, board, ' +^ ID hi , 4-.* aJ Pf^ •5 W) I. *j 3 O) ^ « wOOO O O "O lO • n CO ro 1— 1 -* pj CO 50 «0 00 00 05 03 o o o o o o o sooo o o o in lo « CO CO iH -* pq S^ CO <» CD 00 00 0> OS a o:r s s s - - . , =a o CI G-ii C « ^ cs £ 3.9 5; 3 C ca-2^ m S 3 tS g »^ 5 J lO o o >o ooo R ■^ CO ^ CO (^ g lO CO 1^ 00 05 05 (M lOOO o ooo ^oo»oo o iraoo « ^ CO -* CO [5 lO >n *n CO t~ 00 oi Ci (U JS (►, bcS s a 13 en n ^ o 1 V. >> CS ,ri 3 s. g STS a 11 ^ ^ >> f^ ^ ^ ^ ^ M M M j^r M ^ & a a a a a a s s a a a a a M "m "m ^ Mi M M r-ld HW H« a. 9 a.s s.s a.s a. a a. a a.s "S 'S-^S 'S-'S 'S-B 'o-ts 'Sh-S ■p-'S ■" o o o o o o o ^ :S •c hc"^ — ■« a -s ^: r^ ^ oj 3 ca-d pq M m pq w P5 « .9 .a « E3 :i3 S S OS S fe ^ '^ 3 J= j= ,C ^ .o J2 .o rt|-H nW nW «l* Ml* Ml* M(* T3 TS tS T3 "3 T- ■« e3 CS C3 tS cS m W pq pq M cq 05 i ^ ^ T3 5 •C OS ^ 112 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. The course of instruction comprises : — 1st. A sound English education, including reading, writing, grammar, and composition, geography, history, arithmetic, book-keeping, the elements of geometry and algebra, and land surveying. 2d. In the agricultural department — The elements of agri- cultural chemistry and of animal and vegetable physiology ; drainage ; tillage by manual and horse labor, with the descrip- tion and use of the different implements necessary ; rotation of crops ; preparation of the soil for, time and mode of sowing, after-culture, harvesting and economizing the different crops cultivated ; the best modes of collecting and preserving manures, with the nature and utility of stimulants and special manures, the crops to which they should be applied, at what time, and in what quantity ; the breeding, rearing, house-feed- ing, and general management of the different kinds of live stock ; and the mode of keeping farm accounts, &c. The school farms are managed by men who were trained at the Glasnevin establishment, and who are expected to carry out the most approved and economical modes of farming. They are provided with improved farm implements, approved seeds and manures. The live stock is, in many cases, of pure blood, and, in some cases, pure-bred sires are kept partly for home use, and partly for the improvement of the stock in the sur- rounding country. The farm offices are also arranged on approved principles, and substai^tially built. It will be seen, from what has been said, that agricultural instruction forms a prominent part of the system of national education, — that this instruction is comparatively open and free to all who are prepared by an ability to pass a reasonable exam- ination, — the cost being so low, as to bring its advantages within the reach of all classes. There are one hundred and thirty-four of these branch schools where agriculture is taught. The Albert Model Farm and Institution, which stands at the head of the whole system, is worthy of the name it bears. The land of this farm is hired at four pounds, or twenty dollars, the statute acre a year rent, on a lease of nine hundred and ninety- nine years. Here the boys do all the work, — a man being hired now and then, as an exception, for some special employment. SECRETARY'S REPORT. 113 The pupils range from seventeen to twenty-two years of age. They prefer that they would not enter under twenty. The land is rich and under a high state of cultivation, as it ought to be, to enable the institution to pay so high a rent. Every thing abo'ut the farm-buildings is plain and substantial. The whole establishment, in fact, has an air of practical work. The dining-room is hung with the drawings and lithographs of prize animals. One end of it is used for a collection of imple- ments, seeds, minerals, &c., — all labelled. The school-room is furnished with plain, hard seats, vastly inferior in ease and comfort to those in any of our improved school-rooms ; and hung with charts, maps, &c. It has various kinds of apparatus, thermometer, barometer ; rain-gauge, on the outside of the window, &c. ; globes, celestial and terrestrial, &c. The chemi- cal laboratory is small and ill-supplied, compared with the same in most of the large schools on the continent, but probably suffi- cient for the limited instruction in this department. The farm does not wholly support the institution. It would be unreasonable to expect it, with the high rent it has to pay, and the small amount required of the pupils, which covers board, washing, tuition, &c. . I was told, the additional cost per pupil to the government was twenty-four pounds a year. But the farm itself, not charging it with the labor of the boys, shows a considerable balance in its favor. The stock kept on both farms is, usually, seven horses, about fifty cows and young stock, two bulls, from forty to sixty sheep, and forty to fifty swine. The cows are mostly grade Shorthorns. There were two pure Ayrshires and one Kerry. They find that nothing exceeds a three-quarters Shorthorn for profit, when the product in milk and the economy of fattening afterwards is considered. From a three-quarters Shorthorn and one-quarter Irish cow, they get large yields. The bulls are worked in the fields, and this is thought to improve them. The pigs are Yorkshires and Berkshires. They are washed about once a week. The Berkshires are the most hardy, and can endure considerable rough usage ; while the Yorkshires are a little tender, and are not so good nurses. The price of ordinary dairy cows in this neighborhood is from twelve to fifteen pounds, or from sixty to seventy-five dollars ; 15 114 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. but first-class cows for the dairy bring from eighteen to twenty pounds. Vetches are sown in September, at the rate of two and a half bushels of seed to the acre. With us, they thought, it would be necessary to sow in April or May, and to sow about half a bushel of beans or oats with them, as a support to the stalk. They feed this crop out green for soiling. Sixteen varieties of Swedes are cultivated on two acres ; and they say that none are better than Skirving's Improved, — the only objection to it being its bottle-neck. The Leicester Swede is exceedingly good. The best for the table is Laing's. The flower-gardens and shrubbery about the house are kept in superb order ; and, when I was there, every thing was loaded with luxuriant foliage and teeming with fragrant blossoms. Mrs. Kirkpatrick — to whom I was indebted for a great deal of civility — took great delight in showing this part of the establish- ment ; much of it, no doubt, due to her good taste and skill in planning and directing. This statement with regard to some of the principal agricul- tural schools in Europe might be considerably enlarged, but the- practice and instruction in the others are so similar to those that have been given, that it is believed a pretty good general idea of them all may be derived from the foregoing pages. It has been seen, that a large and influential class of scientific men are devoting their lives to pursuits connected with this important branch of human knowledge ; some of them in institutions designed expressly for this instruction, isolated and independ- ent ; others in connection with other institutions, old and long established. It can hardly be denied, that it is an important incidental advantage to any country, resulting from the organization of agricultural institutions, that it creates a class of men who devote their higher intelligence and their entire lives to investi- gations designed to promote the advancement of science in its relations to practice. The constant contact with men learned in the other professions and sciences ; the means of experiment and study at their disposal in a college for professional instruction, — like that at Hohenheim, for instance, — are eminently suited to form and develop those choice intellects which add to the SECRETARY'S REPORT. 115 glory of a country and the pride of the people. Well, indeed, has Hohenheim paid its debt in this respect ; for, since its foundation, many scientific professors of distinction have spread throughout Germany and the world, the valuable practical knowledge acquired or taught by them at that royal institute. The circumstances in which the European agricultural schools have grown up, and th'e state of society, are so different from our own, that it does not follow, that what would be best for them and for the condition of society which feeds them, w^ould be best for us. I am inclined to think the system adopted at Glasnevin, at the Albert Model Farm, is better adapted to meet the wants of the present time and the present condition of things in Ireland, than a scientific institute connected with the University of Dublin, or with any other, would be. Nor do I think that any impartial observer can fail to see, that had the agricultural college of Cirencester been connected with one of the universities, Cambridge or Oxford, it would be more likely to accomplish the ends which it now proposes to itself, would possess greater vitality, and receive a far more liberal patronage from the class of p#ople it now aims to edu- cate, than it does, or is likely to, in any time to CQme. It would have been able to secure and retain the highest scientific talent ; while the farm which is now used simply as a model for illustration, on which the students do not work, would have been equally valuable and important on the downs of Oxford- shire or on the fens of Cambridge. In Germany, where the experience has been longer than in any other part of Europe, the question of connecting agricul- tural institutes with others, or of having isolated and independ- ent establishments, has long been agitated, and is now more warmly discussed than ever before ; one party — and it is proba- bly by far the larger — taking the ground for, and the other against such union ; each governed, in a measure, no doubt, by personal experience in the one or the other system. So far as I was able to inform myself, the ground taken by the advocates of a union with the universities is, that it is better for a young man setting out to procure a liberal education in agriculture, to lay the foundation in a thorough knowledge of general principles embodied in the wide range of sciences which bear more or less directly upon agriculture, and then to 116 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. devote himself to the application of those principles hy prac- tical labor on a suitable farm or farms for one or more years, or till he becomes efficient in the manipulations. This course will be seen, on reflection, to be closely analogous to our present most approved modes of acquiring a thorough knowl- edge of law, medicine and divinity. Suppose a young man wants to become a lawyer. Is it better to go first into the office of some successful man in large practice, where he must fall at once into the routine of office work, filling out forms, copying writs, looking up titles, and a thousand other details, or to study a year or two at a law school, under the guidance and instruction of the highest lights in the profession, where he will see little of the details of prac- tice, to be sure, but where he can hardly fail, if he has any application at all, to obtain a widely extended general view of the great principles which underlie the whole structure of the profession, and where he can occupy himself " in tracing out the originals, and, as it were, the elements of the law," and afterwards go into an office and become familiar with the routine of practice ? * Some would answer in one way, no doubt, and others in another. Some might regard the time at the law school as comparatively thrown away; others would esteem it as of the utmost importance. The latter would justify it by saying that the broad groundwork of general principles which the school would give the young man, would be of untold value in all the emergencies of after practice, while, ten chances to one, if he began with the details of practice, he would never rise to gen- eral principles. In the former case, after becoming familiar with general principles, a familiarity with practice must be obtained, as a matter of course, as every thing depends upon it. It would be unfair, I think, to assert that the advocates of university teaching in Germany undervalue practice. If I understand their position, it is that the union of the highest education in the sciences and in the practice, is incompatible at the same time and in the same school, and they advise the pupil to begin at the fountain head and become well grounded m the scientific principles, and then to go on to a farm under a competent, practical man, and learn the details of farm management. SECRETARY'S REPORT. 117 If this is a correct statement of their position, the idea of commencing in a lower grade school with the intention of going up into the higher scientific institute afterwards, as a sort of finishing off of their education, is equally impracticable ; that is, according to them, it would be beginning at the wrong end. "Whether they are correct or not, it is not for me to say ; but I give it as the result of their long experience, and of their thought and observation upon the subject, and as such worthy of careful consideration in establishing similar institutions with us. I do not know that it would serve any good purpose to enter at length into a development of the controversy now going on in Germany upon this question, owing to the fact, already inti- mated, that the state of society is so different, the lines of caste there so nicely drawn, and the objects proposed in an agricultural education so distinct from our own. But it may be remarked that Liebig has taken the ground very strenuously in favor of a connection with the universities, and that a great majority of the agricultuinsts adopt that view, or take a middle ground, that the location should be in the immediate vicinity of some established university, partly as a means of bringing the students under university laws, and partly as a means of giving the professors a higher position in the estimation of their pupils, and of availing themselves of the advantages of the collections, libraries,