Washington State University - Chinook Yearbook (Pullman, WA)

Page 32 text:

Horticulture The courses in the Department are intended to give a thorough training in the science of Horti¬ culture and to prepare students for practical work. The schedule is arranged to give a well-rounded education, with special emphasis on one or more of its various branches of Horticultural work. The courses fall into four groups: fruit growing, land¬ scape gardening, floriculture and vegetable garden¬ ing. The development of the fruit industry of the Northwest makes that branch of the work very pop¬ ular. The rapid development of the country and improvement of public and private property is call¬ ing for men . trained in landscape gardening and floriculture. The course in vegetable gardening gives the student an idea of the outside work in vegetable gardening, either for the home garden, truck garden, or the market garden. On the other hand, it gives him special training in the greenhouse to fit him as an exp ert along such lines. The greenhouse, nursery, orchard, small fruit plots and campus all afford excellent opportunities for instruction and research work. The students are required to do actual work of laying out orchards, planting trees, pruning, spraying and picking fruit, grafting, propagation, making hot beds, caring for greenhouses, making designs for the improvement of public parks and private property, and everything a successful horticulturist must know how to do. The completion of the course fits the student for practical work in Horticulture, teaching, or for research work. In these lines the demand for efficient men far exceeds the supply. 28

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Geology SOLON SHEDD The Department of Geology is one of the oldest departments in the State College of Washington and il has been built up to its present high standard largely through the efforts of Prof. Solon Shedd, head of the Department. lie is assisted by Wilfred M. Handy, Professor of Economic Geology. The courses offered in this Department are in¬ tended to fit the students for research work along special lines, for work in Geology as teachers, of the subject in its various phases, for positions on State or National Geological Surveys, or for work along Economic lines. Today the Mining Geologist plays as important a part in the professional world as does the Mining Engineer, and he has just as large a field to work in. The Petroleum Geologist is also a man much sought for at present. It is the aim of the Department to train the student to observe carefully, and to draw. In order to accomplish this result, a considerable amount of field work is required of each student. As a large proportion of Geology is theory, the student must learn to theorize; but at all times he should be able to separate theory from fact, and not let the former carry him too far. The Department is well equipped for work in Geology and additions are constantly being made. In the work in general Geology there are many relief maps; photographs of Geological phenomena; and sets of rocks showing the effects of different atmospheric agencies, and the products of decomposi¬ tion produced by them. For work in Petrography there is a good collection of rocks, a large number of thin sections, and petrographic microscopes and accessories includ¬ ing a stereoptican with hundreds of views. The collection of minerals in¬ cludes all of the common and many of the rarer ones, and hundreds of speci¬ mens. The Department is supplied with a good working collection of crystal models and many crystals of minerals. There are also good collec¬ tions of typical fossils for work in palentology. A well-selected library, con¬ taining the standard current Geological magazines, as well as a complete set of the publications of the United States Geological Survey and many reports of the State and Foreign Surveys, is accessible to the students of the Depart¬ ment. Standard works covering all phases of Geology are also available. 30