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structor to instructor; and the differences between
these, therefore, may not become loo great.
In all this work, so thoroughly organised and so vig
orously conducted, the application to practical life is
not lost to view. Kvcn in somewhat elementary math
ematics, for instance, the problems as far as possib'e
are those which are liable to arise in the trades and the
various callings of life. In the sciences the applica
tion is constant and noticeable. Professor Hessey can
not teach botany without beginning and carrying
forward every year what the resources of his depart
ment really do not warrant, a botanical survey oi the
state; discussing its grasses, its food plants generally,
and the nature, extent, and diversity of its flora. Pro
fessor Nicholson cannot push his work in chemistry in
the class room alone, but must be the leader in beet
sugar and sugar beets, as well as in much other equally
valuable work. Professor Harbour is not content to
lecture on geology, but makes soil collections,' exam
ines, classifies and analyzes the mineral products of
the state in such lines as building stone, clays, and
cement stock. For years the department of physics kept
the meteorological records of the U. S. Kxperiment
station, which are of immense practical value to the
state at large. The department of English, with its
special course in journalism and its practice in extem
poraneous speaking and rapid writing, is developing
graduates who will be able to put pen to paper in a
vigorous, trenchant way, or to stand upon their feet
and say their say to their fellow-men without hesita
tion and with clearness and force. Literature is so
stud'od as to have the most direct and beneficent effect
upon style; the languages are taught in a vivid and
magnetic way; even philosophy takes to itself as one
of its chief excellencies the study of the child-mind,
in order that the future fathers and mothers and teach
ers and school officers of the state may be far more in
telligent as to their duties than are those of to-day.
Of the direct practical value of such work as horticult
ure, agriculture, the manual training shops, the course
in electrical and steam engineering, and the course in
ciil engineering, no question whatever arises.
It is not to be imagined for a moment, however, that
the culture-value of all this work is neglected or over
looked in the slightest degree. No one of the old
classical colleges does more, or has ever done more, to
secure this much desired end than does the academic
college of the University to-day. With all its practi
cal beneficence, the University knows better than to
deem the world a mere workshop, or to fancy that
there must always be everywhere the dust and sweat
of labor and constant toil. It believes thoroughly in
making life worth the living, in securing masterful ex
istence, in developing all the qualities that put man
in touch not only with his fellow men but with all the
divine purposes to be found in the powers of earth and
air. Those who know the University bt can bst ap
preciate the earnest, sincere, even reverent seeking
after that truth which alone can make men free, that is
constantly found within its borders.
As far as special methods of work are concerned, that
is, in the arrangement of curriculum, the University
occupies an advanced position; being in many respects
the clearly recognized leader in these lines. It has
now divided the work of the two colleges into four
great groups. Of these the main purpose or central
thought oi each is indicated by its title Classical, Lit
erary, Philosophical, English, General Scientific, Agri
cultural, Electrical and Steam Engineering, and Civil
Engineering. While it places its requirements for a
degree far beyond those of any of the Colleges of the
western stales and within easy touch of institutions
ol the very first rank, such as Cornell and Ann Arbor
it gives reasonable latitude to its students in their
choice of work. About one-half of each of the four
literary courses is made up of free electives. In the
technical courses, however, there must be less of this
by the very necessity of their purpose and aim. Hut
even in these the requirements are broad and cover
a much larger amount of general culture than is usual
in connection with such work. There is no ques
tion that a man goes out of the electrical engineering
collide as well developed intellectually, with his mental
faculties as fully alert, and with as much mental power
as he who has passed through any other course in the
two colleges. This is somewhat unusual in connection
with Industrial or Agricultural Colleges, as they have
been generally established. Hut the founders of the
University were wise enough to make requirements for
a degree in one college as nearly equivalent as possi
ble to the requirements for a degree in the other. This
action has given the industrial college unusually high
standing, although at the same time it does lessen the
number of students that have followed its courses, and
thereby in a certain sense has weakened its hold upon
popular esteem. Of course, this is simply because of
limited information as to real work of the Industrial
College. Hecause it has taken such high stand it has
necessarily maintained thus far more or less of the
necessary preparatory work which could not be secured
by those to whom it was supposed to minister (the ag
ricultural and industrial classes of the state). This
lack of appreciation of the real work of the Industrial
College and its curriculum and standards, has in the
past led to some discussion as to the desirability of
withdrawing this college from the University and locat
ing it elsewhere in the state, in order that its course
might be modeled and reduced to the standard of simi
lar colleges in other states. The good sense of the
people, however, quickened by the equally good sense
on the part of the regents in providing manual train
ing and shop work, in strengthening the courses in
agriculture and horticulture, and in promising the
School of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts the good
sense of the people has come to grasp the situation,
and all fears of a disruption of the institution disap
peared some years ago.
The practical beneficence of the University, and its
hold upon the confidence of the state, is shown by the
way in which the various state organizations cluster
about it as well as by the attitude of individuals who
arc seeking for expert, unbiased and unpurchasable
knowledge and information. For many years the State
Hoard of Agriculture has held its annual meeting at
the University, and has spread its " Corn Show " in
Grant Memorial Hall. The office of the Secretary of
the State Horticultural Society is in Nebraska Hall,
the science building; and the members of this society
come up to the campus yearly for their annual pro
gram, and for their exhibit of Nebraska fruits. The
State Historical Society has placed its library and its
collections in the basement of the new library building
where it is destined to find in the near future most
rapid growth and increasing fame. The State Dairy
man's Association turns to the chapel of the University
for its mid-winter meeting, and this organization also
makes an annual display in the Armory of the products
of Nebraska dairies. The members of the State Hec
keepers' Association, dripping with wisdom and honey,
assemble at least annually in the botanical lecture room
for the discussion of the matters of such deep interest
in their daily lives; while the State Teachers' Associa-
