University of Maryland College Park - Terrapin / Reveille Yearbook (College Park, MD)

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doing a useful work, than that todaj it has the almost unanimous indorsement of the agricultural organizations of the State. That this should be true augurs well for the future career of the College ; and we think that it presages still greater benefit to those interests upon which so largely rests the prosperity of our people. Resting here the discussion of the extension of the scope of the College work in the line of the practical application of scientific principles to the development of the agricultural interests of the State, we proceed to a consideration of the question of the development of the school as a source of technical instruction in agriculture and the mechanic arts. We have seen that it was the intention of the founders of this College to establish a school for training young men in scientific agriculture ; that, after the vState had interposed to aid the College in its recuperation from the vicissitudes incident to civil war, such idea was widely departed from by the existing management of the insti- tution ; and that such practice, after a number of years, resulted in the withdrawal of the financial support of the State. When the Federal Government extended its aid to agricultural education throughout the United States, a new feature was established in the work of colleges receiving such support. Under the provisions of the Morrill Act of 1890, such schools must provide for tech- nical instruction in agriculture and the meehanic arts. This period marks a new epoch in the development of the Maryland Agricultural College. From this time it has been an agricultural and tncchanical school, though the original name has not been changed to conform to the change in the scope of its work. This fact should not be lost sight of ; for, in the itUention of the author of the Morrill Act, and of those by whose support it became a law, this additional feature was deemed of equal importance to the instruction in the art and science of agriculture. In conformity with the spirit of the above-mentioned act, b} ' which the institution receives by far the most important part of its financial support, the College at once began to make provision for the additional feature of the work. But, in order to give instruction in the mechanic arts, there must be available a building and equipment suffi- cient for the purpo.se. This the College could not, out of any fund available, provide ; for the State appropriation, though not required by law to be so used, was necessar} ' to provide for the twenty-six scholarships which the lib- erality of the Board of Trustees bad provided for the benefit of the people of the State ; for books and tuition free to all students, and for repairs and insurance on the buildings already provided. Moreover, by the terms of the grant, not one cent of the federal appropriations might be di- verted to the procurement of any permanent plant or building, or for any purpose other than for the salaries of instructors and facilities for instruction. In 1894, however, by careful husbandry of its resources, the College was enabled to use enough of its general appropriation to erect a building and to purchase a partial equipment ; and, for the time being, the Department of Mechanical Engineer- ing was provided for. The Maryland Agricultural Col- lege had become an agriculturaland mechanical school. 16

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M. iiYLAND AGWeytT ' JRAL rOLL C L THE ORIGINAL PLAN OF THE BARRACKS.

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It might be well, if space permitted, to show here that a course of instruction, such as that intended by the author of the Morrill Act, is the ideal course, viewed as an aid to the agricultural development of a nation. The comparativelj- recent introduction to this country of the idea, following the German method, of training the hand while educating the brain, working upward from the kindergarten to the Manual Training School, is yet a most important advance over old methods of instruction. He who, while acquiring a principle, is taught the prac- tical application of that principal, whether it be of mathematics, or of agriculture, or of mechanics, is better equipped for his life work than is he whose mind is .stored with facts, the true relation and value of which are lost to him. The hand occupies such an important place in giving expression to ideas of the mind, that in an age of specialization as is this, the manual training becomes a prime necessity. The College is, therefore, not only acting in conformity with the ideas of its founders, but it has also caught the inspiration of the modern idea in education. But while provision was being made for the establish- ment of the Mechanical Engineering Department, the number of students had gone on increasing from year to year, until the old main building, used as well for dormi- tory as for lecture rooms, proved inadequate to the needs of the institution. The Legislature of 1898, therefore, provided a sum of money to improve the sanitar} ' condi- tion of the old building and to provide an additional building to be the home of the various scientific depart- ments. Morrill Hall it was named in honor of the ven- erable .senator from Vermont, who.se name is indelibly written in connection with the development of agricul- tural education in the United States. In 1896 the Chemical Department had erected a new building ade- quate for its purpo.ses, the funds therefor being provided from the income of the State Fertilizer Inspection. This relief of the crowded quarters of the College was, how- ever, only temporary, for increasing attendance of stu- dents made the demand for a new dormitory building imperative. The College, therefore, went before the Legislature of 1902, a.sking for an appropriation to enable it to receive the full measure of the liberal support which the Federal Government has always granted. It is .scarcely necessary to argue the justice of the demand made by the College. It is preeminently the State College. The need for such a school in the State of Mary- land, which has always been and will ever be an agricul- tural State, is obvious. The important agricultural and horticultural interests of the State demand careful atten- tion, and require the application of .scientific principles to their development. The College, with this fact in view, aims to provide for the practical training of the youth of Maryland. It aims to 1)e the logical climax to the Public School system of the State in so far as that sy.stem leads to scientific ends. The College does not offer a high course in belles-lettres. Other schools there are in the State which .seem better adapted to that work ; but for training in the sciences, in agriculture, and in the mechanic arts, it aims to be second to none in the Union. 17