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Show BRANCH AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. I BY MISS BROWN AND THE PRINCIPAL. During the past year the Branch Normal School at Csdar City experienced a re-birth, a sort of soul's awakening, and under un-der the new name and management manage-ment the school, now as the Branch Agricultural College, ' started out on a most auspicious school year. The registration this year at the B. A. C. is larger than it was at any time during the history of the B. N. S., there being in attendance at-tendance at the present time between be-tween 275 and 300 students. Undoubtedly one feature that has attracted scores of new students stud-ents is the varied course of study offered. There are five distinct courses from any one of which a student may be graduated at the end of four yenrs of study. The courses given are: General Arts and Science, Mechanic Arts, Home Economics, Agriculture and the Commercial Course. Much stress is of course being laid on the industrial work. Over one hundred boys are registered for Agriculture in its various branches. The 'shops for work both wood and iron have been furnished with new and added equipment and are receiving their full quota of students; there being about eighty students registered reg-istered for wood work and about sixty for forge and machine. The Domestic Science department depart-ment has been greatly enlarged and improved this year, bdth in the number of courses given and in the supply of equipment with which the labratories are furnished. furn-ished. One hundred and twenty girls are availing themselves of the splendid instruction given ' in the sceince of food selection i and preparation, the science 'of ' home building and household management and the cience of personal hygiene Jjnd Home nursing. Over one hundred girls are also taking courses in Domestic Arts, where they leurn pattern drafting, plain sewing, dressmaking dress-making and art needle work. The Business Course is also very popular, especially such practical subjects as penmanship and spelling, business law and commercial arithmetic. Although special attention is paid in the B. A C. to the various vari-ous phases of industrial training, train-ing, academic work is by no means neglected. Practically every student in the institution is taking a course in English and the classes in history, mathematics, mathe-matics, German and the physical sciences are all crowded with eager, earnest students who are doing an excellent grade of work. One very beneficial innovation was made by the B. A. C. in establishing es-tablishing a winter course, for those young men whose farm work makes it impossible for them to start to school at the beginning of the school year or to remain in school until the ses sion ends in the springtime. The great value of the winter course lies in this, that the convenience of the schedule brings into school scores of young men from tho farms, whose schooling otherwise would be totally neglected. There are between fifty and sixty new students who have registered for the winter's work. Some of these are young men of thirty years of age, who have been opt of school over ten years. The age of all winter students ranges from 18 to 88. A good many of this number are young married men who are already confronted with the stern realities real-ities of making a living for the support of a family, and who have realized that the efficiently , trained man can make a better living and can make it much more easily than can the man I without training. A number of young married women have aldo registered for the winter's work i in the home economics department. depart-ment. The clinics in Veterinary Science that are held monthly on the campus at the B. A. C. are of great practical value to the farmers and Btock raisers of Southern Utah. At each of the clinics that have been held, from 100 to 200 men and boys have been in attendance, and as many as 23 cases have been handled in one day. During the last week of February Feb-ruary and the first week of March a Farmers' Roundup will bo held at the B. A. C. for all farmers and houso keepers in Southern Utah. This Roundup will be conducted by the parent institution, tho State Agricultural Agricul-tural College of Utah, and will undoubtedly prove of great material ma-terial benefij; to those who avail themselves of the opportunity by being in attendance. The material improvements already made at the B. A. C. have been many. As has already al-ready been stated the shops have been greatly enlarged and much new equipment has been added. Then the heating plant has been entirely overhauled and re-modleed,so re-modleed,so that the school build ings are now comfortably heated and ventilated. Plans are under way for extensive ex-tensive improvements to be made on the campus. Within the next week work is to be commenced on a new $3,000 barn, in which the cattle belonging belong-ing to the College will bo kept. As soon as the spring opens a dairy will be established at the College, and free demonstrations and lectures in the science of dariying will be given. With the opening of spring, developmental work will also begin on the large experiment farm, which adjoins the campus. In addition to this the College owns a dry farm of eighty acres out by the state well. Quite recently, through the untiring efforts of Pres. Widtsoe of the A. C. U. promises prom-ises of asistance were secured from the County Commissoners of Iron county, the State Experiment Exper-iment Station, the Utah State Conservation. Commissioners, and the directors of the Salt Lake Route, to the effect that they will give the B. A. C. very material assistance in making the drv farm a model one. It will readily be soen that the large increase in attendance at this school and the many mater ial improvements that are being made, destine the B. A. C. to become a large institution of learning, for everytihng is tending tend-ing towards its rapid and sub-, stantial growth. Now although an industrial school may have large experiment experi-ment farms, many spacious buildings, and well equipped shops and laboratories, yet if it has only . these and not a large, wide awake enthusiastic body of students, it in no way deserves to be called an institution of learning, for the students themselves them-selves form the heart, the life, the soul of any plan or system of education. The well trained students are also the greatest resource of wealth and progress that the state has. Now the B. A. C. is fortunate in having a large student body of eager, earnest determined young men and women who are doing an excellent grade of work. There is not another high school in the state of Utah where the students do work of the same high grade that they do at the B. A. C. This condition undoubtedly arises from the fact that the average age of the students hero is from three to five years greater than in other high schools. Our students are serious minded, ambitious voung people who have struggled with' re- sponsibility and have shared in tho strenuous work of gaining a livlihood. Now there are near 300 of thorn and it is safe to prophecy that inside of two years time fivo hundred students will bo enrolled at tho B. A. C. Then indeed will tho futuro of Southern South-ern Utah bo brilliant for she will have an army of well trained citizens to develop her resources. |