Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades - Mechanic Yearbook (Media, PA)

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The academic work of the course. in addition to the common school branches, includes botany. agronomy, studv of soils, breeds of livestock, feeds and feeding, stock judging, veterinary science, rural law, and farm management. The Government has placed a large number of rehabilitation men in the school since the war, the largest percentage of them specializing in some one particular line of agriculture. The course in agriculture has developed to such an extent that it has been necessary to obtain the services of more instructors to assist Mr. Burr. Three graduates of the school now hold these responsible positionsg one as herdsman, another general farm manager, and the third an instructor of the Rehabilitation Class. Although greatly handicapped by the war and other causes, we are sure that each and every individual of the section will prove a success in whatever line of agriculture he may follow. WILLIAM E. YOCOM. 'if D .sau AGRICULTURAL LABORATORY AND GREENHOUSES 20

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d Qgrinuliure Agriculture deals with the production of plants and ani- mals that are useful to man. It is the fundamental occupation upon which all others depend. Being a combination of science, art, and business, it is being looked upon more and more every day as a trade. It is being taught as such at Williamson, where ample practice and theory are combined. The World War has placed this industry at the head'of the list. Never before has the importance of the farmer been realized to such an extent as at present. For a student to receive practical training in agriculture, it is necessary to have a reasonable amount of tillable land, well planned farm buildings, a complete equipment of modern machinery, and well-bred stock. All these are found at Wil- liamson. The school farm covers about four 'hundred thirty acres, of which two hundred twenty-five acres are tillable. The farm buildings include a large dairy barn with creamery attached, calf barn, horse barn, poultry houses, piggery, slaughter house, greenhouse, hot beds, and the agricultural laboratory. Our dairy consists of thorough-bred Jerseys and Ayreshires. The Poultry Department is already well known for the quality of its breeding stock, and has a large collec- tion of prizes won at various shows. Our horses are grade Percherons and meet the require- ments of the farm very well. We have fifteen head, including two young colts. The Swine Department consists of pure bred Berkshires and Duroc Jerseys. Butchery is one of our side lines, special HARVEY R- attention being paid to the preparation of meats for mar- keting. During the war, interest was taken in gardening, resulting in a great demand for knowledge of this branch. Muc is received along this line at Williamson A well equipped greenhouse h . is available for those ho are interested in raising plants and small truck. A special course in tractor driving, assembling, an repairing has been added during the past two years. We have on the farm two trucks and two tr ctors which afford us plenty of practical experience. There is a great demand for men skilled in this lline, as the average so-called expert lacks practical experience. l l 19

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igrirklzxging Bricklaying as taught at WILLIAMSON involves more than the 1 use of the trowel and hammer. It is a trade devoted to teaching young 1 men to become skillful, intelligent mechanics. It is my desire to ac- quaint you with a brief outline of the course as presented to the Brick- layers' Class of 1920. FRESHMAN YEAR On May 10, we met our instructor for the first time. His Hrst efforts were to inspire in us an interest toward the trade we were about to start and to acquaint us with the elementary steps, including the use and care of the tools. Our first lesson was the spreading and stringing of mortar on 4-inch walls raised five courses high. After mastering this fairly well, we built a number of short walls ranging from 4 inches to 2515 inches in thickness, for the purpose of gaining knowledge in bonding. Our next step was the building of long walls to give us practice in laying to a line and the use of a trig. Following this, we built chim- neys consisting of plain shafts at first, for the practice of plumbing and keeping courses level, afterwards chimneys with fancy tops, such as base, beehive, and panel, all of them containing work in receding and corbeling. The Greek Cross was given for practice in corners and angles. We had considerable experience in concrete, consisting of laying the curb and gutter to the station and the floor of No. 3 Pump House, JOSEPH 51-HSLER while our reinforced concrete work consisted of casting fence, wash line, and bull-pen posts, and telephone poles. JUNIOR YEAR During our Junior Year, our brickwork consisted of 8-inch and 13-inch walls with window frames set in, also work on pilasters and fancy corbeled cornices, followed by bond walls in English, Flemish and Garden Wall Bonds.. The. last brick work of our Junior Year was the construction of octagonal stacks and octagonal bay windows. We had considerable outside work consisting chiefly of plastering in two and three coats and the laying of terra cotta drain tile, also numerous repair jobs. Instructor 21