University of Virginia Library

AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT.

JOHN R. PAGE, M. D., Professor of Agriculture, Zoology and Botany.

FRANCIS H. SMITH, M. A., LL. D., Professor of Natural Philosophy.

JOHN W. MALLET, Ph. D., M. D., LL. D., F. R. S., Professor of Chemistry.

F. P. DUNNINGTON, B. S., Professor of Analytical and Agricultural Chemistry.

WM. M. FONTAINE, M. A., Professor of Natural History and Geology.

W. M. THORNTON, Professor of Mathematics Applied to Engineering.

Trustees of the Miller Fund.

         

J. F. SLAUGHTER, President.
W. W. MINOR,	S. V. SOUTHALL,
RANDOLPH HARRISON,	H. W. JONES,
GEO. W. PALMER,	B. JOHNSON BARBOUR.
R. T. W. DUKE, Secretary.

The late Samuel Miller, of Lynchburg, having by deed given in trust
one hundred thousand dollars for the establishment of a Department of
Scientific and Practical Agriculture in the University, this Department
was organized in 1869. Subsequently the above-named Professors were
nominated by the Trustees of the Miller Fund, and elected by the Visitors;
certain lands belonging to the University were set aside, and brought
into cultivation as an Experimental Farm; and all necessary implements,
apparatus, models and specimens of various kinds have been collected
as material aids to the course of instruction.

The studies of the Agricultural Department are distributed into an Introductory
Course, comprising Zoology and Botany, Mineralogy and Geology,
General Chemistry, and Physics; and an Advanced Course, comprising
Scientific and Practical Agriculture, Industrial Chemistry, Analytical
and Agricultural Chemistry, and Agricultural Engineering.

Applicants for the degree of Bachelor of Scientific Agriculture are required
to complete all the studies of both courses. They are recommended
to take the studies of the Introductory Course for the first year,

and to distribute the studies of the Advanced Course over two more
years. For the conditions of award and tenure of the Miller Agricultural
Scholarships, see p. 66.

Detailed descriptions of the courses in Mineralogy and Geology,
Physics, General and Industrial Chemistry, Analytical and Agricultural
Chemistry, will be found under the several schools to which they belong.

MILLER SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURE, ZOOLOGY,
AND BOTANY.

Prof. Page.

In this school there are two courses, as follows:

I. Zoology and Botany.

1. In Zoology the class studies the leading principles of the science,
with special reference to the anatomy, physiology and morphology of
typical species throughout the animal kingdom.

Special lectures are given during the course on insects injurious to
vegetation, on fish and oyster culture, and on the breeding, rearing and
diseases of domestic animals.

The fine collection of Zoological specimens in the Brooks Museum affords
excellent facilities for study of the science. The class is continued
until the examination, about the middle of March.

Instruction is given not only by lectures with reference to suitable textbooks,
but practical exercises in dissection are also employed, and the
student is trained to repeat the demonstrations of the Professor.

2. In Botany, the instruction commences about the middle of March,
and continues until the end of the session.

The time is mainly devoted to the study of flowering plants, their
analysis and determination. Cryptogamic Botany, especially fungi and
fungoid diseases of plants, receive as much attention as possible.

In this course as in that of Zoology, careful attention is paid to the
analysis and classification of actual specimens, and practical exercises are
required from the student, both in the laboratory and in the field.

II. Scientific and Practical Agriculture.

1. The Scientific Course comprises a review of what is known of the
chemical composition, the structure and the functions of the organs of
plants; and of the atmosphere and soil, as related to vegetable production.

2. The Practical Course comprises the study of the nature and formation
of soils; their exposure and drainage; the best methods of
tillage; and the use of manures and fertilizers, with experiments to
show their effects. Special instruction is given in the mechanical operations
of the farm, and in the practical management of teams.

This class is continued throughout the session.

Text-books:—"How Crops Grow," and "How Crops Feed," by Johnson; "Scientific
Agriculture," by Pendleton: "American Farmer," by Flint; "Manual of Zoology,"
by Nicholson; "School and Field Book of Botany." by Gray; Sack's Textbook.
For reference:—Carpenter's Zoology; Harris's Insects Injurious to Vegetation;
Mivart's Comparative Anatomy; "Flora of the Southern States," by Chapman;
Armsby on "Cattle Feeding," and Law's Veterinary Adviser.

The Course in Agricultural Engineering, under the Professor of
Mathematics applied to Engineering, includes lectures and practical exercises
in the field and at the drawing-board on the following subjects:

Land Surveying and Levelling, with special applications to the surveying
and the mapping of farms, the location of roads and ditches, and the
measurement of ordinary earthworks.

Design and Erection of structures in Earth, Timber, Brickwork and
Masonry, as buildings, simple forms of highway bridges, dams for storage
reservoirs, etc.

Elementary principles of Hydraulics, with applications to the drainage
and irrigation of lands, the reclamation of swamps, the storage and conveyance
of water, etc.

Elements of the Mechanics of Machines, with special reference to the
more important types of Agricultural Machinery.