6
THE BATTALION
Gomnmceg Stadlj
1 he Engineering Branches
When this college was founded,
some thirty years ago, it was for the
purpose of “instruction in agriculture
and the mechanic arts, and the natur
al sciences connected therewith.” This
quotation, from the annual catalouge
of the institution, shows the scope of
work to be done by the school, as
originally intended. The name, “Agri
cultural and Mechanical College,” also
shows that agriculture and mechanical
engineering were supposed to be the I
main lines of work of the school. But |
the college outgrew these bounds, and
within a comparatively short time,
too. To the department of mechani
cal engineering were added in course
of time: Civil engineering, electrical
engineering, textile engineering, and
architectual engineering. This addi
tion of new departments was not by
way of experiment—it was the supply
of a demand, which, in some cases,
had been there before it could be
met.
As has been said, the department
goes well up into $14,000, more is |
asked for, so that a shop for foundry
work may be had. This may possibly i
be installed during the next year. It
is also intended to arrange the course
so that the student may receive a
greater amount of laboratory and ex- j
perimental work, so as to get better j
acquinted with the practical side of
his profession.
The American is noted for his desire
for rapid locomotion. Perhaps that ac- j
counts for the fact that over 40 per |
cent of the graduates of this school
are prospective civil engineers; for
most of the graduates of the civil en
gineering department take the course
with the intention of entering railroad j
work. This course of civil engineer- j
ing was introduced in 1887, five men
graduating from the department in the
following year. These five men have
been the beginning of a long line of
234 graduates, who left their alma
mater for the purpose of helping their
State by work in the broad field that
lies before the civil engineer. It is .
ed the authorities in 1904 to add to
this college the department of electri
cal engineering and textile engineer
ing. In point of age, they may be
called the babies of the college; but
the electrical engineering department
at least has already outgrown the
swaddling clothes, for it boasts of a
total number of 40 graduates, while
the textile department has nine. There
is no doubt, however, that both
of the departments will make a grand
success in course of time. The tex
tile department especially offers un
usual advantages, for it has a real
fully-equipped cotton mill at its dis
posal. So the student may start in
with a bale of cotton, trace it through
all the various processes, and turn out
the finished cloth. The value of this
equipment, well over $30,000, shows
that the student taking advantage of
the course will certainly not be hamp
ered by .an insufficient equipment. The
electrical engineering department ex
pects to get a new home in the near
future. This building, together with
new equipment, will necessiate an ex
penditure of about $40,000.
We have at this school another in
stance of “the extremes meeting.”
This is furnished by the combination
of the departments of drawing and of
architectual engineering. The depart-
1 neer is well needed. The indications
right at present are that the demand
for artistically as well as practically
trained builders is increasing. It is
i certain that this department of archi
tectural engineering has a great and
noble career before it. As to the de
partment of drawing, we can say that
it is working right along, hand in
hand, with the various other engineer
ing departments of our school. Modern
engineering practice lays quite a
stress on the draftsman; it even de
mands some ability for free-hand
sketching of simpler devices, and all
possible means are used here toward
meeting that demand. With this idea
of progress in mind, the drawing
book, used by the Sophomore class,
will probably be changed this year, so
as to make it more practical and up
to date. Quite a number of casts have
recently been acquired, which will be
of special benefit to the architectural
engineer.
Agriculture at A. & M.
Agriculture, as taught at this col
lege, is divided into three depart
ments: Farm Husbandry, Animal
Husbandry and Horticulture.
The farm husbandry department
is headed by Professor Alvord, with
of mechanical engineering was the
first in point of time. It graduated its
first men in 1882, twelve young men
starting out to help the world by
working in the machine shops of our
nation. This bunch of young men had
the distinction of being the only grad
uates that year, the department of ag
riculture not graduating any men at
that time. Since then a quarter of a
century has passed, and 211 young-
men have received their diplomas
from that department in the meantime.
The course has been changed recent-
]y, with a view of bringing it fully up
to the present requirements of the
profession. Although the value of the
equipment owned by the department
a fact that the department of civil
engineering, although located only in
a little corner of the Main Building,
does actually turn out more graduates
than any other department of the col
lege.
Surveying grand old Texas from
north to south, from east to west,
that old saying, “Cotton is King,”
comes to our mind; but if we then ex
amine the progress made in recent
years, along the lines of what we
might call general engineering, we
are led to supplement our first state
ment by saying: “If Cotton is King,
Electricity is Queen." It must have
been a thought like that which prompt-
ment of drawing, as such, was created
as far back as 1888. But in 1905 the
department of architectual engineer
ing was added to this college, and the
two departments were united under
one head as the department of archi
tectural engineering and drawing.
This department has as yet had only
three graduates. But that is not sur
prising at all. In a relatively young
State, as ours is, the producing
people naturally lay more stress
on the usefulness of things than
| on the beauty. And a trained
j mason or carpenter can build a house
well enough, but to build the same
house, and build it so as to satisfy the
idea of beauty, the architectural engi-
Mr. Thomas and Mr. Puckett as assist
ants. This course comprises farm
crops and management, with the differ
ent systems of drainage and irriga
tion. It is supplemented with a good
course in dairying, of which Mr.
Thomas is the head.
This department is just putting up
a new building, in which there will be
placed all the different implements
used for improved farming. These
implements are loaned to the college
by the various large implement fac
tories in the State. Such machines,
as the large improved binders and
harvesters, are set up and connected
(Continued on page 15.)