THE MUSEUM.

Two new cases have been made for our timber collection and the work of putting it on exhibition is now going on. Additions are all the time coming in from all sources. Since writing the report most of the forestry collection has been prepared and sent to the New Orleans Exposition.

EXPERIMENTS.

A few experiments, and only a few, not yet completed, have been undertaken this year. My time has been so fully occupied with regular classwork, and some other things named below, that, with no one to help me except young students, I have not been able to make good experiments, and therefore have not undertaken them.

OUTSIDE WORK.

It has always seemed to me important to attend meetings of certain societies to form acquaintances, keep up with the times and gain enthusiasm in my department. These meetings generally come in vacation. To attend them, requires considerable time and strength and previous work in preparing papers. It also not unfrequently costs two hundred or more dollars each year for expenses, all of which is paid out of my own salary. My two previous reports contained two or more full, close pages of questions, such as had been asked by people in various parts of this country. The questions are on the increase, but are not included in the present report.

I have attended and taken part in three meetings of the State Horticulural Society, the State Teachers' Association, the State Grange.

I made a quarto report of the American Pomological Society, of which I am the secretary, attended the meeting and presented a paper at the meeting of the Society for the Promotion of Agricultural Science, held in Philadelphia, presented two papers at the meeting of the American Association for the advancement of science, one paper and a short address as president of the Botanical Club of the last named association. To me, as much as to any one, belongs the credit of getting together in Philadelphia the largest number of botonists ever assembled in this country. Invitations to lecture at meetings of boards of agriculture and meetings of State horticultural societies, in other States, have been declined at least three times during the past year. I also declined to take a professorship in a new Correspondence University. A good part of my last winter's vacation was spent in the preparation of the manu. script for a book on grasses and clovers for students and farmers of the United States. During the coming long vacation I hope to complete the work.

DONATIONS.

Oliver McLouth, Addison, Mich. :

Four ears yellow dent corn, covered with long silk.

Durkee & Stout, Kansas:

Five ears nice, large, yellow dent.

Six ears nice, white dent.

A. C. Redding, Berlamont, Mich. :

A cob of rice-pop corn with kernels on the inside of cob. J. C. Holmes, Detroit, Mich. :

A Tree Pæony.

D. Landreth & Sons :

One pakage of tubers of Solanum Jamesii.

Gleason Wood Ornament Company, Grand Rapids, Mich.:
Fifteen samples of work.

Chas. W. McCurdy, Lansing, Mich.:

Natural graft of iron-wood, from Traverse Co., Mich.

Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.:

Two-thousand five hundred European plants for herbarium.

E. S. Carman, Editor Rural New Yorker:

Four heads hybrid wheat and rye.

L. D. Watkins, Manchester, Mich.:

One ear corn raised by Indians on northeast shore of Lake Okeechobee, Florida.

F. A. Warner, South Saginaw, Mich. :

Sends a bulb of Colocasia esculenta.

L. H. Bailey, Cambridge, Mass.:

Sends from the Botanic Gardens, the following seeds: Vernonia altissima, Silphium integrifolium, Solanum atropurpureum, Solanum torrezi, Helianthus multiflorus, derived from H. decapetalus, Helianthus lævigatus, Solanum moematocarpum, Acer circinatum, Eupatorium sessilifolium, Grindellia squarrosa, Lepachys columnaris, Nicotiana affinis, Rhadotypes kerrioides, Fremontia Californica, Torr., Aster patens, Aster, Hydrangia radiata, Lonicera flava, Magnolia umbrella.

D. Landreth & Sons, Bristol, Pa.:

The following packages of seeds:

Six packages different varieties of cabbage seeds.
Three packages citron melon seed.

Four packages beet seed.

Five packages different variéties of corn.

Three packages different varieties of cucumbers.

REPORT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS AND CIVIL

ENGINEERING.

To the President:

I have the pleasure of submitting to you the following report of the department of mathematics and engineering for the year ending September 30, 1884.

MATHEMATICS.

Classes in geometry, algebra, and the Sophomore class in astronomy were taught by the assistant in mathematics, Prof. L. G. Carpenter. His work amounting to a daily average of three and one-half classes, has been done in a satisfactory manner. A detailed report of his work is appended to this report.

CLASS IN TRIGONOMETRY.

Surveying, mechanics and hydrostatics, agricultural engineering, civil engineering, and senior astronomy have been in my charge. Of these studies trigonometry only can be grouped with the pure mathematics.

Trigonometry was taught to the Sophomore class for eight weeks at the beginning of the spring term. The class was in two divisions, and completed the subject of Plane Trigonometry and about two thirds of the Spherical Trigonometry, as developed in Wentworth's text-book.

APPLIED MATHEMATICS AND ENGINEERING.

Mechanics was taught to the Sophomore class during the summer term and one half of the autumn term. The text-book used was Atkinson's Ganot's Physics, which was completed so far as it related to mechanics, hydrostatics, hydraulics, and acoustics.

Surveying was taught to the Sophomore class the last half of the spring term and for two weeks at the beginning of the summer term. Davies' Surveying was used for a text book, and the class was made thoroughly familiar with the practical details of compass surveying and leveling, as applied in the location of farm lines and surveying of drains. A great amount of actual work with the various instruments was required of each student. Higher surveying, including field practice with the Transit will be taught as a branch of civil engineering.

AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING

It

This is one of the elective studies lately introduced into our course. comprehends such engineering and mechanical arts as are essential to successful agriculture. This study was taught, for the first time, in the fall term of 1884, and was elected by a very large portion of the Senior class, and by a number from the Junior class. The especial topics discussed were construction and care of common roads, construction of farm buildings, house drainage, sewage, and water supply, sewage disposal and utilization, highway bridges, limes, mortars, and cements, farm implements.

CIVIL ENGINEERING.

An elective study for the Senior class was taught during the fall term of 1883. The subjects taught were those of higher surveying, highways and highway bridges, limes, mortars, and cements, general and farm machinery,

and architectural styles. The course for 1885 will be modified somewhat, as a few of the above subjects were taught under the head of agricultural engineering.

ASTRONOMY.

Astronomy was taught during the summer term to such Seniors as wished to take it. It was chosen by a large proportion of the class. Newcomb's Popular Astronomy was used as a text book, but the time of the class was largely devoted to practical work in our observatory, and in the study of constellation figures.

WORK OUTSIDE THE CLASS ROOM.

This work has been unusually arduous and confining the past year, requiring from me, each day, five to eight hours work. The work has been of that peculiar kind which could only be satisfactorily. done when under my immediate oversight. The work the past year has been principally devoted to finishing the construction of the water-works, to supervision of the construction of the boiler-house and chimney, to construction of dam and ditch for water supply for fish ponds to be used by the State Fish Commission in the breeding of Mirror carp, the location and surveying of drains on the farm and garden departments, and in addition to this, the purchase of fuel and general oversight of the steam heating works. This last duty, involving as it does all the repairs and improvements, is a subject of anxious consideration. To furnish satisfactory heat from one source to several buildings, each containing a large number of rooms, and keep within the limits of strict economy, is a difficult thing to do, and needs the closest oversight possible. We have tried constantly to improve the efficiency of our heating apparatus, and I think we have done so, both as regards the consumption of fuel and the heat supplied to the various rooms. Much, however, still remains to be done in order that we may get the best possible results for the fuel consumed, and that every room may be comfortable at all times. Besides the larger interests, there have been numerous smaller ones entrusted to my care, such as repair of pumps in various parts of the grounds, and looking after plumbing and bathing apparatus in the various houses. These small jobs have frequently required from me a great deal of time. This latter work has not been allowed to interfere with the principal work of the department, but has been done at such times as that work would permit.

All our work has been done, with few exceptions, with the ordinary help of the department, which has consisted of one skilled mechanic, the engineer; and most of the time one laborer; two or three students, and, when needed, one man and team. The department has never been troubled with a "loss of what to do," on the contrary we have been at times so far behind our work as to make it necessary to temporarily neglect needed repairs. This, however, has only occurred when the full force of the department was occupied with the regular duties relating to steam heating.

If it continues to be the practice to assign this department all the miscellaneous repairs in iron work pertaining to the College, it will be necessary to keep one laborer engaged all the time. The practice of doing our own repairing saves a great deal of expense to the College, and is one which in my opinion should be fostered as much as possible. This mechanical work is generally very popular with the students, and we have utilized their services

as much as possible. We find them generally the most trustworthy men we can hire. The limited time spent in work each day by students makes progress slow, and precludes their employment on jobs needed to be furnished at once.

The condition of the various interests in my charge is shown in the following sketch of each:

THE BOILER HOUSE AND CHIMNEY.

This building was erected over the old shed containing our boilers, it has been in course of construction for two years and is now completed.

The building is 96 by 39 feet, and contains a boiler room 40x37, a pump and engine room 20x37, a shop containing an engine and a power lathe, shaper and drill press, 22x37, and living rooms for the engineer, which Occupy a space 14x37 feet.

The building is well constructed, and answers its purpose admirably. The tools in the tool room will be very serviceable, and will permit us to do nearly all our repairing and original construction in iron work. The chimney stands on a heavy foundation of concrete, is 69 feet high, its flue is 3 feet square, and the wall of the flue does not come in contact with the exterior wall at any place. This construction was to prevent expansion of the outer walls by heating of the inner one. The design of the building and chimney, with details, was made by myself. The construction was done by Olin & Sproas under a contract. The latter gentlemen generally did their work well, they are especially to be commended for the mason work on the chimney, which was the most difficult part of the construction.

WATER WORKS.

The water works were designed for fire protection and water supply of the principal College buildings. The plan adopted is a combination of the reservoir and direct pressure method. For ordinary use water is stored in a tank in the tower of Williams Hall. This tank is eighty feet high and will give a static pressure of about forty pounds per square inch. This is sufficient for all ordinary purposes; by closing certain valves the water may be pumped direct into the pipes, thus allowing as high a pressure as may be desired. The tank is made of boiler iron and rests on heavy iron beams, its weight when filled, together with that of the iron work beneath, is about forty-five tons. This throws a load on the brick work of the tower of about 1 tons per square foot at the tank; this is soon distributed over so much surface as to be reduced to a small amount.

Questions have arisen regarding the safety of the tower, and during the past year I have carefully watched for any settlement, cracks or other signs of excessive load, but so far without success. The safe load for brick work is put by all authorities at seven to twelve tons per square foot, so that we probably have no reason to apprehend any trouble. The tower was thoroughly braced and tied together before being loaded, and is no doubt sufficiently strong.

The pump is a Worthington duplex, non-condensing, with steam cylinders 18x10, and water cylinders 10x16. The suction pipe is eight inches in diameter, the main discharge six inches in diameter, with branches to barns, Wells Hall, and Library building, each four inches in diameter. No hydrant was set on a pipe smaller than four inches. All buildings, with one exception,