nications and suggestions. It is proposed to inaugurate as many experiments as our means will admit for the benefit of fruit-growers and others. The means and appliances of the Department are very limited in this respect. However, many experiments are under way. The most prominent at present is the testing of new fruits and vegetables. We solicit new varieties from originators, desiring, especially, to secure them before they are put upon the market. We are attempting the improvement of promising wild fruits. The first essential to successful experiment is a systematic record. In order, therefore, to make an exact record of the whole visible biography of all our cultivated plants from sowing to maturity, arrangements have been made for competent observers-one for the fruit garden and orchards, one for the vineyards, and one for the vegetable garden-to make daily notes throughout the season upon conditions of plants and important phenomena of growth and structure. This arrangement will enable us to present in systematic tabulated form the seasons of germination and maturity, the period of the plant's greatest and least vigor the exact external influences of culture and weather, the detailed characteristics of leaves, flowers and fruits, and many other highly important features of experiment. This report, so far as this paragraph, was published and distributed to the press and to to the horticulturists of the State as a "Statement concerning the Department of Horticulture and Landscape of the Agricultural College of Michigan." It received extended and favorable commentfrom the press, and I hope that it has awakened an interest in the college among our very extensive fruit-growing population. The improvements upon the college premises, so far as the work of the Department is concerned, have been extensive in certain directions. The removal of over a hundred trees has improved our landscape in many places. The most patent fault with the grounds is the sombreness of expression. This fault must be corrected by the judicious removal of trees and by the introduction of attractive flowering shrubs. The drainage of the apple orchard and vegetable gardens has been overhauled. The cat-hole east of the farm house has been drained in the most thorough manner by Mr. C. M. McLouth. We intend to grow crops upon it next year. The needs of the Department are many and urgent. The supply of tools of all sorts is small and poor. There is no suitable room for keeping tools, for packing, sorting or storing fruits or vegetables. The basement of College Hall which is now used for this purpose, is dark, damp, and cold, and in every way entirely unfit for our use. It is also much too small. The storing of vegetables in the basement is unwholesome. The basement should be used wholly as a store-room for College Hall, having ash bins built in. The present method of storing ashes in barrels is bungling and unsafe. The Department needs a workroom which can be used in cold weather. Many students desire to carry on illustrative labor in root grafting and in other directions, but which cannot be done to any extent with our present accommodations. We have been obliged to work out of doors and in a cramped corner of the horse barn during the cold weather in making mats for hot-beds, and in doing other work which is illustrative and attractive to students. We have no place for keeping seeds or for preserving specimens for class instruction. We have been obliged to sell nearly all our vegetables at a sacrifice this fall for want of any place for storing them. The instruction has been largely suited to our means of illustration; consequently it has been fragmentary and unsatisfactory in many directions. There has been given no adequate instruction in the important matters concerning the propagation of plants, in floriculture, forcing-house and green-house practices, and in numerous vital particulars. During the whole year an especially gratifying feature has been the readiness and in many cases the eagerness with which the students have entered into the spirit of all labor which is illustrative. This fact is indication enough that no pains and effort should be spared to render all features of illustrative labor prominent. As yet we have no means for furnishing educational labor. The year just closing has been one of busy prosperity in the Chemical Department. The attendance of students in their classes has been prompt, and their work satisfactory. In the autumn term three classes daily received instruction in this Department, namely: Seniors in chemical physics; Juniors in organic chemistry, and the same class in blow-pipe analysis. In the spring term the Seniors had daily lectures in meteorology, and the Juniors three hours daily in chemical analysis. In the summer term, the Seniors had one hour daily in quantitative chemical analysis, the Juniors a daily lecture in agricultural chemistry, the Sophomores a daily lecture in elementary chemistry, and two hours a week in chemical manipulation. This course in lecturing and teaching would have been impossible but for the efficient aid of my assistant in chemistry, who has done the work of a full instructor, besides his assistance in the care of the laboratory and the apparatus. OUTSIDE WORK. In December I attended the Sanitary Convention at East Saginaw, and gave a public address on the water-supply for that city. In March I attended the meeting of the Sanitary Council of the Mississippi Valley (of which I am a member,) at New Orleans, and presented a report on the means to guard our people from a threatened incursion of cholera and yellow fever. This journey involved a large expense and considerable personal sacrifice. The question may arise, "Why should a professor in an Agricultural College interest himself in these questions of public health?" I am sure that the public health is a question of the first importance to agriculturalists because all disturbances of production and distribution of public wealth reach the producing class in their final sweep, and leave their abiding impression there. The march of yellow fever from New Orleans to Southern Ohio in 1879 affected the welfare of every farmer in Michigan as certainly as it did the citizens of Memphis in Tennessee or Gallipolis in Ohio. A second outbreak of yellow fever on the banks of the Mississippi, or the sweep of cholera up the St. Law rence would exert a marked depression on the prosperity of Michigan. No class of men are more interested in health than farmers, and any effort to promote the public health is not out of place even for a professor in an Agricultnral college. FARMERS' INSTITUTES. The duty laid upon me by the State Board of Agriculture in arranging for the Farmers' Institutes in the State was duly performed. I attended the Institutes in Flushing and Monroe. The Institutes in the State were held according to the programme adopted by the State Board. These Farmers' Institutes continue to be a power for good to farmers and College alike. METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. The meteorological observations begun in 1863 by the order of the State Board of Agriculture, have been continued to the present day. The value of continuous observations running through so many years increases with the years in increasing ratio. They cover a longer period than any taken in this State, and furnish the data for an exact study of the meteorology of our State. While the labor of a single observation is trifling, the confinement and care of tri-daily observations for 22 years becomes a burden. While the Chemical Department has had no startling experiences for the year, and its work has been of the plodding, persistent, every-day-at-work order, yet reasonable prosperity and satisfaction with the results crown the Respectfully submitted, year. AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE, & R. C. KEDZIE, REPORT OF THE PROFESSOR OF ZOOLOGY AND ENTOMOLOGY. To the President of the State Agricultural College: The work during the past year in my Department has been very pleasant and satisfactory. The students have shown much interest and enthusiasm in their work, and have made good progress. In the autumn term twenty-two of the Senior class elected zoology. The class in anatomy-consisting of Juniors-numbered thirty-six. Divisions of this class numbering nine students, each spent one hour daily in laboratory work under my special supervision. During the spring term, the Junior class, numbering thirty-one, attended the daily lectures in physiology. During the first half of the term three hours were spent each afternoon in laboratory work. During the last half of the spring term twenty-two Seniors attended the lectures in geology, which are elective. During the summer term the Junior class, numbering thirty-two, attended the daily lectures in entomology. It is very desirable to have at least two hours a week laboratory work in this study; but owing to the press of other required duties, it was found impracticable for the students to find the time. About one hour daily was given to such as could get the time in the laboratory. Since the beginning of the spring term Mr. C. P. Gillett of the class of 1884 has been taking post graduate study, looking toward a master's degree. Mr. Gillett has studied very thoroughly and described with illustrations several insects that were discovered to be enemies to various garden and field products. Mr. Hodges, of the same class with Mr. Gillett, spent some time in the laboratory engaged in histological work. One of the Seniors, Mr. Woodmansee, did much laboratory work dissecting insects. SUGGESTIONS. I wish to renew my urgent request that the apiary be made complete and put in charge of some competent assistant. It would be self-sustaining, and at the same time illustrate more fully the science and art of apiculture, would give me needed relief, and would surely add to the number of our students. I also wish to urge that our manual labor operations be so modified as to make it possible for me to have for each pupil at least two hours each week laboratory work in both entomology and zoology. This is granted in all kindred institutions so far as I know, and would add very greatly to the value of these studies. COLLEGE WORK OTHER THAN INSTRUCTION. I have lectured once before the whole body of students by special request, and have prepared two of the series of bulletins sent out by the college. One on a new wheat enemy, Isosoma nigrum, and one on the winter management of bees. I prepared two papers for the institutes, which were presented at Plymouth and Manchester. In one of these lectures I treated of the physiological effects of alcoholic drink, in the other of noxious insects. During the entire year I have taught a large and interesting class in the college Sabbath School. Our study has been given to the life of Paul and to the life of Christ. EXPERIMENTS. During the year I have had fully the usual number of inquiries regarding insects. All subjects have been promptly investigated and the desired information given as soon as possible. In many of these investigations I have profited by the aid of Mr Gillett. Several new insects have been described and illustrated, and such of these reports as have not been published in the last report of the State Board will appear in the next report. In the spring, I received a large number of bees dead of diarrhoea, that I might make a careful microscopic examination of the excreta, with a view to determining the precise cause of the winter malady. The results were published in all the bee journals. We have tried many experiments with insecticides, the results of which will appear in institute lectures. THE APIARY. Notwithstanding the general and widespread mortality among bees the past winter, our bees wintered very well indeed. It would seem that our unvarying success almost demonstrated that cellar wintering, in a proper cellar and with proper care, is a certain success. Owing to an accident, mice got into some of our hives, and in two cases utterly destroyed the bees. We have sold several colonies of bees during the season, and have secured a large harvest of honey. OUTSIDE WORK. Last fall I prepared a large and complete collection of apicultural products, instruments, bee plants, bees, etc., for the New Orleans Exposition. i attended the annual meeting of the State Horticultural Society, where I presented two illustrated papers, both of which are published in the annual report of that society. I also presented a paper before the annual meeting of the State Bee Keepers' Association, of which body I was elected president. I have acted as president of the Ingham County Horticultural Society, which holds monthly meetings. By special invitation I presented an illustrated paper on Economic Entomology before the North American Pomological Society at the Grand Rapids meeting. During our August vacation, I attended the meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science at Ann Arbor, which was not only a very enjoyable, but a very profitable occasion. DONATIONS TO THE ZOÖLOGICAL DEPARTMENT. Miss Helen S. Norton: Three specimens lava from Sandwich Islands, and 57 specimens of marine shells. C. H. Judson: Twenty-one specimens of fossils from Lucas county, Ohio. Voiselle & Larose: Two willow Pt rmigans. A. W. Page: One ammonite. W. H. Jessup : Specimen of partzite. Lieut. J. A. Lockwood: Ammonite, 2 baculites, opalized wood, 2 concretions and fossil wood. Rev. O E. Murray: A. G. Nead purchased: Virginia deer and fawn, gray fox, white rabbit and long-tailed duck. R. M. Bates: Fossil brachiopods, crinoidal stems, spirifer, and fossil coral. Detroit Scientific Association: Fifty-seven specimens of native woods. Chas. Smith: Three specimens marble, selenite, five specimens sulphate of iron, three specimens iron ore. three specimens talc, Turkish emery, two specimens tourmaline, hornblende, two specimens garnets in emery, three specimens Chester emery, serpentine, corundum, Turkish emery wheel, corundum emery wheel, brown hematite, three specimens sandstone, stalactite, conglomerate, granite, two specimens Italian marble, three specimens limestone, umber, two specimens pottery, quartz, iron concretion. T. A. Stanley: Cast skin of afsnake. |