certain conditions to the "endowment, support, and maintenance of at
least one college where the leading object shall be, without excluding
other scientific and classical studies, and including military tactics, to
teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and the
mechanic arts, in such a manner as the Legislature of the States may
respectively prescribe, in order to promote the liberal and practical
education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and profes-
sions of life." This grant was accepted by the General Assembly of
Maryland, and the Maryland Agricultural College was named as the
beneficiary of the grant. Thus the College became, at least in part, a
State institution. In the fall of 1914 control was taken over entirely
by the State. In 1916 the General Assembly granted a new charter to
the College and made it the Maryland State College.

In 1920, by an act of the State Legislature, the University of Mary-
land was merged with the Maryland State College, and the name of the
latter was changed to the University of Maryland.
All the property formerly held by the old University of Maryland
was turned over to the Board of Trustees of the Maryland State College,
and the name was changed to the Board of Regents of the University
of Maryland. Under this charter every power is granted necessary to
carry on an institution of higher learning and research. It provides
that the University shall receive and administer all existing grants
from the Federal Government for education and research and all future
grants which may come to the State from this source. The University
is co-educational in all its branches.

Extension and Research,
Agriculture and Home Economics.
The Extension Service is that branch of the University of Maryland,
established by Federal and State law, which is designed to assist the
farmer and his family in promoting the prosperity and welfare of agri-
culture and rural life. Its work is conducted in co-operation with the
United States Department of Agriculture.
The Extension Service is represented in each county of the State by
a county agent and in all hut a few counties by a home demonstration
agent. Through these agents and its staff of specialists, the Extension
Service comes into intimate contact with rural people and with the
problems of the farm and home.

Practically every phase of agriculture and rural home life comes
within the scope of the work undertaken by the Extension Service.
Farmers are supplied with details of crop and livestock production, and
with instructions for controlling disease and insect pests; they are en-
couraged and aided in organized effort, helped with marketing problems,
and in every way possible assisted in improving economic conditions on
the farm.
Rural women are likewise assisted in the problems of the home.
They are made acquainted with time and labor-saving devices, with
simpler and easier methods of work, with new knowledge of foods, with
new ideas about home furnishing, with practical methods of home sew-
ing and millinery construction, and with such other information as
tends to make rural home life attractive and satisfying.
For rural boys and girls, the Extension Service provides a valuable
type of instruction in agriculture and home economics through its 4-H
Club work. The instruction is incident to actual demonstrations con-
ducted by the boys and girls themselves. These demonstrations, under
supervision of the county and home demonstration agents, are the best
 
 
 
possible means of imparting to youthful minds valuable inforimation in