Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1870 [PAGE 105]

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The Committee also find, that the early construction of a drill-hall is essential to the success of the Military Department. In view of these necessities, your Committee respectfully ask appropriations as follows : For walks on grounds $300 00 For drill-hall. 2,000 00 Respectfully submitted. M. C. GOLTRA, Chairman,

The report was received, and referred to the Committee on Finance. The Corresponding Secretary made the following

KEPORT:

The Second Annual Report of the Board of Trustees, already printed, exhibits about all that has been done in my department during the past year. While it is a fact, as I have heretofore said, that the office and possible duties of the Corresponding Secretary can, and ought to be, made of first and primary importance to the University, it has not been a fact practically recognized ; and whilst other departments have received some attention, and been furnished with the means to develop them, this has been left to my discretion, with the understanding that I must, above all things, be inexpensive. This, if nothing else, has been accomplished. I collected material for our first report by circulars, asking for specific details of a variety of agricultural, mechanical and scientific facts, at a trifling cost. For our Second Annual Report, I depended on the material furnished by the course of Agricultural Lectures and discussions, held at the University in January, 1869; which material was also provided at a slight expense, additional to the cost of holding the lectures and discussions. My salary, amounting to $100 the first year, and $200 the second, has not done much toward depleting the treasury. In short, I look to the economical character of my office with much more pride than I do to its efficiency. Among the cheap methods of collecting and diffusing valuable agricultural information, my attention has been specially given to agricultural lectures and discussions. Under the discretion given by the Executive Committee, the Faculty and myself arranged for three courses of lectures and discussions to be held at Champaign in the central, Centralia in the south, and Rockford in the north part of the State. A four-days* course was held at Champaign at the beginning of the winter term, from January 10th to 14th; at Centralia, January 24th to 27th ; and at Rockford, February 21st to 24th. The general result of these courses has been, I think, highly encouraging, although the attendance on some of them was not as large as could be wished. They excited a great deal of local interest among the more intelligent and progressive farmers, who expressed themselves highly pleased and profited by them. They gave a good many facts that were highly interesting not

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