Montana State University Bozeman - Montanan Yearbook (Bozeman, MT)

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Montana Extension Seruice THE Montana Extension Service, one of the units of the Greater University of Montana, is the medium through which the teachings of Montana State College and the United States Department of Agriculture, as they relate to agriculture, are carried into the homes of farmers and stockmen of the state. Some of the states in the country boast over twenty years of extension work. Extension work actually started in 1785 in the early agricultural societies, the first of which was formed that year in Philadelphia. The work has been nation-wide only since the passage of the Smith-Lever act about sixteen years ago. Extension work, in an educational sense, is teaching; in a business sense, it is selling ideas. In the early efforts to establish and develop a nation-wide cooperative extension service, the officers were guided largely by the teaching profession. Later, because it had to “sell” ideas, it brought salesmanship into its activities. In Montana, extension work is supervised by J. C. Taylor, who holds the office of director of extension. His office and all the offices of the administrative officers are in the Extension building, which was the home of Montana State College in 1893. Montana, being such a large state, has wide variations of soil, climate, and rainfall. For that reason, extension specialists in the various lines of agriculture are kept continually busy finding improvements suitable to all the sections of the state. There arc specialists in agronomy, livestock, dairying, poultry, home economics, horticulture, economics and other fields. These specialists keep in touch with the work of the college and experiment station, work out practical applications for agriculture, and then distribute the information through the regular extension channels. At present thirty-six of the fifty-six counties in Montana have agents of the Montana Extension Service. EXTBNSIOK m i LDING Thirty

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THE College of Household and Industrial Arts at the present time embraces the departments of Home Economics, Applied Art. and Secretarial Science. The story of the development of this college from its conception, to the present well organized branch of our institution, is interesting and worthy of note. Twenty years ago there were about one hundred women students on the campus, with few common interests. The only event which brought all the women together was the initiation of the “Does,” an organization of women that fostered fraternalism among the women students and carried out the plan of initiating into the organization the freshmen women who had completed their first semester in college. Main Entrance Herrick Hall About that time Hamilton Hall was built and named for Emma Scheidler Hamilton. The wonderful growth of the women’s division of the college may be partially realized when we note that at the beginning of the history of Hamilton Hall only sixteen women toot residence there. Following the World War there was a reorganization of the college into a quarter basis under the chancellor system which made it necessary to organize the college into divisions or separate colleges of work. At that time Home Economics. Art. Physical Education, and Applied Science were included in the women’s division. Later, when the new gymnasium was built, the Physical Education Department took over all physical education for women. Still later, the Applied Science course for women enlarged its borders and became the College of Applied Science. In conjunction with this change, men students were admitted to this division of scientific education. In the autumn of 1925. Herrick Hall became the headquarters for the women’s division. Since that time the Department of Secretarial Science has been added to the College of Household and Industrial Arts. From this college have come numerous activities and worth-while additions to the curricula of the women students, among them being the course in Freshmen College Life. The Vocational Congress for Girls originated here, the ideals of which later found expression in the development of a Boy’s Vocational Congress, and finally resulted in the evolution of High School Week. It is also to this college that must be accredited Women’s Day, that event which is such a fitting celebration for the finale of the school year. Twenty-nine

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Montana Agricultural Experiment Station THE beginning of scientific research in agriculture was scarcely one hundred years ago. Before the dawn of the historic period, man had discovered and improved most of the common grains, vegetables, fruits, and forage crops now in general use. and the same is true of many agricultural practices necessary for increased crop yields. There was. however, no explanation of the results obtained beyond the occult, nor was there any effective means of bringing the improved methods to the great mass of producers. Most of the farmers were groping in the dark. Out of this condition came the demand for colleges of agriculture, and agricultural experiment stations. In Montana, the Agricultural Experiment Station was organized in association with the State College, when the latter was esablished in 1893. Its first mission was to change the general vision of the state’s agricultural resources into concrete possibilities for the various districts of the state. Decided progress has been made in finding the varieties of grains, forage crops, vegetables, potatoes, fruit, etc., that may be produced to greatest advantage. The possibilities and limitations of dry farming and irrigated farming have been pointed out. and the methods of crop rotation and fertilization necessary to maximum yields demonstrated. The value of Montana grains and forage crops in feeding and fattening all classes of livestock has been studied. That we can produce, and finish for market, animals and animal products of the highest quality has been fully illustrated. The station has kept abreast of the need, in devising methods of controlling insect pests and plant diseases, and is making progress in the study of animal diseases peculiar to Montana. The studies on farm organization and the efficient use of farm equipment have pointed the way to more efficient farm practices, and to lower production costs. AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT GARDENS Thirty-one