 | University of Virginia record March, 1912 |  |
AGRICULTURE.
Students completing the first six courses in agriculture will be
qualified to teach the subject in agricultural and other high schools
of the country. They will be so recommended. Some previous training
in botany or biology and physics or chemistry is desirable. Agriculture
1 should be taken preliminary to or parallel with the other
courses. Courses 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, may be taken in any order.
1. General Agriculture.—This course is intended for new students
and will be of a very practical nature, planned to fit directly into
school-room needs. The newest and most useful methods will be
discussed. Experiments suitable for schools will be carried on in
classroom and garden. Lessons will be made real by objects and
materials. The teaching will be done by demonstrations and experimental
proofs of principles. The following topics will be treated:
Corn selection; production of good seed corn; testing seeds for
vitality; butt, middle, and tip kernels of seed corn; conditions for
germination; testing soils for acidity; soils and their characteristics;
the office of root-hairs of plants; saving soil moisture; rotation of
crops; study of nodules on legume roots; renovation of wornout
soils; clover and alfalfa seeds; alfalfa in the eastern States; roots of
corn plants; curing clover hay; weeds and how to kill them; cotton
seed and its products; use of soiling crops; catch crops and cover
crops; cuttings for house plants; layering and plant divisions; budding
peach trees; pruning a fruit tree; the home garden; the school
garden.
Text-Book.—Warren's Elements of Agriculture.
Daily, Section I, 9:30 to 10:30; Section II, 10:30 to 11:30. Professor
McGowan, Chemical Laboratory.
2. Horticulture.—This course will consider each of the following
subjects in the order named. Propagation of plants: propagation
by seeds, cuttings, layerage, budding and grafting; principles of pruning.
Practical pomology; a study of the principles of fruit growing;
selection of soils and subsoils; selection of a site for an orchard;
selection of varieties; ordering trees; treatment of trees before planting;
laying out orchards; setting trees; fertilization; intercropping
in orchards; systems of orchard management; the object and value
of cover crops; how to pick, pack, and market fruit; fruit packages;
storage of fruits. Small fruits: grapes, raspberries, blackberries, dewberries,
currants, gooseberries, and strawberries. Soils: preparation
of the land; propagation; planting; cultivation; fertilization; pruning;
spraying; picking and marketing; varieties; insect enemies and
fungous diseases. Market gardening: selection of location; relative
importance of character of soil, labor, transportation, and market
problems; soils best adapted for market gardening; principles of
management of soils for the production of vegetable crops; practical
principles and suggestions upon the growing and marketing of the
principal vegetable crops, including peas, beans, beets, cabbage, cauliflower,
tomatoes, rhubarb, asparagus.
Text-Books.—Bailey's Fruit Growing; Watt's Vegetable Gardening.
Daily, from 2:30 to 3:30. Professor Davis. Chemical Laboratory.
3. Animal Husbandry.—The different phases of this subject will
be taken up in this course as follows: types and breeds of farm animals;
adaptability of various breeds for practical purposes; dairy conformation;
care and management of the dairy herd; the raising of
calves; mutton and pork production; examining horses for unsoundness;
diseases and ailments of farm animals,—tuberculin test, treatment
for milk fever, garget, abortion, and other common troubles;
practical methods of handling dairy herds for profitable milk and
butter production; advanced registry, requirements and testing.
Principles of breeding: mating and selection; grading; inbreeding;
cross-breeding; line breeding; relative importance of pure bred and
grade animals; the influence of a pure bred sire in the breeding pen.
Stock judging: competitive work in judging cattle, horses, sheep and
swine; score-cards as a method of emphasizing the relative importance
of various points and of developing the student's power of observation.
Milk and its products: the formation and secretion of
milk; composition of milk; changes in milk; bacteria in milk; sanitary
milk production; influence of bacteria on the flavor of milk and butter.
Poultry husbandry: poultry farming and what it means; factors
governing the location and situation of the poultry plant; the breeds
of poultry; design and construction of houses, their equipment and
fencing; management of laying and breeding stock; natural and artificial
incubation and brooding; broilers, roasters, and capons; fattening,
killing, and dressing; marketing poultry products; poultry records,
accounts, and advertising; exhibition, scoring, and judging;
parasites, diseases, and enemies.
Text-Book.—Harper's Manual of Farm Animals.
Daily, 3:30 to 4:30. Professor Davis. Chemical Laboratory.
4. Animal Nutrition and Crop Production.—The different subjects
will be taken up in the order given. Composition of animal feeds
and feeding: grouping and classification of feeds; composition of
home-grown feeds, and of commercial feeds; the exchange of homegrown
feeds for concentrated feeds; analysis, adulteration and inspection
of feeds; ready mixed feeds; fertility value of commercial feeds;
the compounding and preparation of rations for the various classes
of farm animals; the mixing of feeds; balancing of rations; methods
and practices of feeding; study of feed-stuffs; ensilage; results of
feeding experiments and practical work in the dairy; value of cooking
and grinding feed stuffs; maintenance and working rations. Farm
crops: characteristics of different kinds of farm crops, such as potatoes,
corn, wheat, rye, and oats; preparation of soil, seeding, cultivation,
harvesting, and marketing of crops; rotation of crops; the
varieties of corn; corn judging; the selection of seed corn. Alfalfa
growing: its importance as a crop; its characteristics; land suitable
for the crop; preparatory treatment; seed; fertilizing, liming; time of
cutting; after treatment; uses. Forage crops: the growth and use
of forage crops for the dairy, such as fodder, corn, clovers, tame
grass crops, millets, cow peas, soy beans, Canada peas, vetch, kaffir
corn, small grains for hay; rape; silage crops; summer silage; soiling
versus pasturage; pastures and their treatment.
Text-Book.—Henry's Feeds and Feeding.
Daily, 8:30 to 9:30. Professor Davis. Chemical Laboratory.
5. Elementary Agriculture.—This course is primarily intended for
those who have not previously made a study of the subject and
should be taken by those expecting to stand State examinations.
The following topics will be treated: soils and their formation; principles
of plant growth; the offices of the plant; plants and water; the
moisture in the soil; what tillage is, what it does, and how it is performed;
humus and its uses; cover crops and their uses; enriching the
soil; permanent fertility; propagation of plants; purity of seed, vitality,
cuttings, layerings, grafting, budding; stock of the farm; poultry,
swine, sheep, cattle, horses, and their care, feeding, and management.
Text-Book.—Davis' Productive Farming.
Daily, 12:15 to 1:15. Professor McGowan and Professor Davis.
Chemical Laboratory.
6. Nature Study and School Gardens.—This course will be practical
and helpful, especially to teachers of primary and intermediate grades.
The subjects will be closely correlated, many of the nature lessons
being based upon school garden work. Much time will be devoted to
the successful management of school gardens. A model school garden
will be conducted upon the University grounds. Other nature
lessons will deal with wild flowers, grains, grasses, birds, insects,
minerals, and other objects suitable for the school room.
Text-Book.—Watt's Principles of Vegetable Gardening.
Daily, from 8:30 to 9:30. Professor Davis and Miss Taylor. Cabell
Hall, Room 3.
Note.—An incidental fee of one dollar will be charged to cover
garden expenses.
Certificate Credit.—Summer School Professional Certificate—Agriculture
1, 2, 3 and 4; Special Certificate—Agriculture 1, 2, 3 and 4;
Professional Grammar Grades Certificate—Agriculture 1, 5 and 6;
Professional Primary Grades Certificate—Agriculture 1, 5 and 6.
| University of Virginia record March, 1912 | |