The course in mathematics covers a period of seven years, including Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, and Surveying. Throughout the entire course, the aim is to give the student, as far as possible, a practical knowledge of the subjects embraced. The pupil is required to deal in things associated with figures, rather than with figures alone. In multiples and measures, his work is brought in close and effective touch with the trade work. For example, the carpenter must get the greatest common length of board from several different lengths without any waste: the dressmaker must find and use the smallest number of yards of cloth that suffice for the making of dresses of different sizes. Mathematics is shown to be an instrument of economy. In fractions, estimates are made of the cost of bales of cotton at prevailing prices. The student is often required to weigh out in each case the amounts of various articles which can be purchased for given amounts of money. In compound quantities and in the various measurements, the student does the measuring. Yards, rods, tons of coal, and tons of hay are measured. In carpeting, he is required to carpet a room. In lathing and plastering, he must witness the work in active operation. In percentage, problems which must be solved in the daily work the student is able to get from the industrial departments. For example, if the leather for a pair of shoes costs a definite amount, and the shoes are sold at a definite rate, what per cent. is gained? Or for what must they be sold so as to gain a certain per cent.?
Much actual outdoor work is done during the study of trigonometry, and in surveying the student learns to lay off lots, country roads; to plot, map, etc. The last term of the Senior year is spent in mastering the elements of Civil Engineering, work for which the first two terms have prepared the student. The South is sorely in need of surveyors and men grounded in the elements of engineering; positions of this character are easy to find, and pay well.
The object of the work in Nature Study, as taught in the Academic Department, is to train the faculty of observation, create an interest in and love of nature, gain knowledge which will be of service in the future, and to cultivate a practical interest in Agriculture. Knowledge of things near at hand should be acquired first, and later of things more distant; a clear and definite acquaintance with home surroundings (plants, animals, minerals, natural phenomena, and the human body) is made the basis of the teaching as a foundation for more advanced study. In the assignment of work and selection of material for study, the special needs of special classes are kept in mind, the work being determined by the student's power of observation and interpretation. Subjects for study are selected largely according to the seasons. This work is conducted with reference to its correlation with Geography, language, and other subjects. Field excursions, collecting and preserving specimens, and gardening of various kinds, are prominent features of the courses in Nature Study.
CLASS IN OUTDOOR ARITHMETIC
The school offers also through the Academic Department, a two-years' course, especially treating of the affairs of the farm. Instruction is by laboratory work, supplemented by text-books, lectures, and reference readings, which are assigned from standard volumes and periodicals. The student is brought into close practical contact with his subject. He studies farm implements, traces root systems of corn and other crops, tests germination of seeds, determines the properties of soils and the effects of various crops and of rotation of crops upon soil fertility. He tests milk, studies butter and cheese, and judges a variety of animals.
The school owns an ample supply of plows, cultivators, planters, cutters, engines, etc. It has extensive collections of agricultural plants, seeds and products. Laboratories are well equipped with apparatus for the study of manures, fertilisers, soil bacteriology, germination of seeds, and judging cotton and corn. The Institute grounds and the fields and orchards of the Experiment Station are always available for illustrations in class work. Collections of seeds and woods, cabinets of beneficial and noxious insects, photographs, maps, charts, and drawings afford valuable material for study and demonstration. Specimens of draft and coach horses, Jersey, Ayrshire and Holstein cattle, Southdown sheep, and Berkshire swine, afford material for judging. In the Dairy Division is a complete outfit for cream separation and butter and cheese making. We have, also, levels, microscopes, and an extensive list of agricultural journals, a complete file of experiment station bulletins from all the States, and an excellent assortment of standard reference books.
The one purpose is to acquaint the student with the facts and principles needed for the improvement of soils, the increase of fertility, the nature of the various crops, the conditions governing their successful and economic production, and with the general development of agriculture. The student is also made familiar with animals, first, as to fitness for specific purposes; second, as to their care and management; third, as to their improvement by breeding; and fourth, as to the manufacture of animal products. He learns the principles of orchard management, small fruit culture, vegetable gardening and plant propagation, as well as the evolution of cultivated plants. A sense of the beautiful is cultivated and given expression in floriculture, to the end that more of nature's beauty shall pervade the home and its surroundings.