The L. Whitney Watkins papers contain class notes taken by Watkins during his time as a student at Michigan Agricultural College. His zoology notes contain information about the different classifications of animals and the structures that differentiate the animals. This notebook also appears to contain notes for a political economics class. Another notebook contains his notes for agricultural chemistry, which was taught by R. C. Kedzie. This class included lessons on plant biology and soil composition. He also took organic chemistry, which taught the differences between organic and inorganic chemistry, nomenclature of organic chemistry, and differences in structure between the molecules. Lastly, there is a notebook that has notes from horticulture, taught by Professor Levi R. Taft. There is a brief history of landscaping which includes descriptions of prominent historical gardens. The course also taught students about the basics of landscaping and maintaining a garden.