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INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION.
AN ADDRESS DELIVERED BY PROF. W.
L’ROY BROUN, PRESIDENT OF THE
STATE COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE
AND MECHANIC ARTS, BEFORE
THE GEORGIA STATE AGRI
CULTURAL CONVENTION,
AT ATHENS, ON THE
13th OF AUGUST,
—1873.
On the 6th of July, 1801, Geo.
Walton, Abraham Baldwin, John
Milledge and Hugh Lawson, ac
ting as a committee of the Sena
tus Academicus of the University
of Georgia, selected the site of the
“Old College” building now
standing on the campus. It was
in that year—lßol—the Universi
ty of Georgia was founded, hav
ing been chartered by the Legis
lature in the year 1785. Thus, the
wisdom of our patriotic forefa
thers was manifested in establish
ing the State University imme
diately after the independence of
Georgia was acknowledged. ‘lt
should thcrefere,’ says the pream
ble to the charter, ‘be among the
first objects of those who wish
well to the national prosperity, to
encourage and support the prin
ciples of religion and morality;
and the first step made to effect
this object was to establish this
University.’
The plan of the College and the
course of education were model
ed after the English Colleges, as
were all institutions of learning
in this country at that tim •. Lit
erature, with the so-called disci
plinary studies, and a small modi
cum of sicnce, tilled up the time.
Science was not then taught as
now and could not be. Then, set
euce, as now recognized, had no
existence. That was the begin
ning of the 19th century; now, we
are approaching its close, and live
in a flood of light with which a
host of earnest workers have il
luminated our paths. Then, the
great agents of modern civiliza
tion were not made obedient to
num—were not made to act at his
bidding.
It was in that same year—lßol
—that Volta made his discoveries
in electricity. This University
had a history of nearly half a cen
tury before the wires, at the
command of Henry and Morse,
trembled with the transmission of
human thoughts. Since the cor
ner stone of the first College dor
mitory was laid,the entire science
of electricity has been evolved,
till it now forms an extended de
partment of human knowledge,
which, with its many and marvel.
lons applications to the wants of
modern civilization, constitutes a
profession that requires a life long
study to master.
A quarter of century after the
University was founded, Steven
son placed on the Liverpool and
Manchester Railroad the first sue
cesfril locomotive engine ever
built.
Six years of University life had
passed before Fulton propelled
by steam his little craft on the!
Hudson, and sixteen years had I
passed before the first steamer
ever crosstnJ the ocean.
Twenty classes had graduated
and finished their collegiate edu- •
cation, when, in 1824, Liebig, the :
great founder of Agricultural'
Chemistry, at the age of 21, open
ed the famous laboratory at Gies-.
sen.
Thus, we see the application of
steam to transport matter, and
electricity to tiaosjaut thought,
with all the wonderful appliea
Uoa of chemistry, to agriculture,
are contributions of science tOj
ririliaatiun made since the open- |
ingot this University,
Tims, science taught men how
to subdue ihe forces of nature.and
added new fields to the area of
THE NORCROSS ADVANCE.
BY SIMMONS, VINCENT & CO.
human konwledge. With new
knowledge came a new life to
man, a new civilization, and this
demanded a new education. Here
we have the impelling force that
resulted in establishing Industrial
Colleges, Technological and
Polytechnic Institutes, Agricul
tural Colleges and Schools of Sci
ence throughout Europe, and in
every State in this Union. All
the boasted progress of civiliza
tion of the 19th century is due
alone to progress in science.—
Hence civilization demanded that
that department of knowledge
which had so largely contributed
to its own advancement, should
form a prominent feature in the
s/s.ems of education. The tree
of knowledge had outgrown the
quadrieanial system that attempt
ed to confine the roots and spread
ing the branches in the curricu
lum of four years. The effort to
confine and compress this gigan
tic growth of the 19th century in
to this limited time, too often re
sulted in causing its advocates to
mistake a smattering of omnisci
ence’ for a liberal education. The
area of knowledge has now so ex
paaded that we regard him as best
educated who knows much of
something, and not him who
knows something of many things,
He bust succeeds in life who has
learned how to concentrate his
forces on one thing; who has
learned how to point his wedge,
and to drive it with the sharp end
foremost.
In former years the course of
education pursued in our old Col
leges were adopted for a limited
class. They failed to recognize
that, for the complete develop
ment of a whole people, different
courses of education should be
offered; that diversity of avocation
demanded diversity of prepara
tion. In great measure they re
fused to acknowledge, in their
system of prescribed coures, that
that education best suited for
teacher, the clergyman or I he law
yer, was not that best suited for the
merchant, the farmer or the me
chanic. Hence we repeat, with die
growth of science came the de
mand for reform—for a new edu
ration; not for a new education
to the suppression of the old, but
for a new order of education, bet
ter adapted to place the rising
generation in a harmony with the
spirit of the age ; for a new edu
cation engrafted on the old, and
supplementary thereto.
To meet this demand in Ameri
ca, the Congress of the United
States, more than ten years ago,
(July 2,1862,) passed a law grant
ing to each State a munificent do
nation of public lands to establish
a College where should be taught
science and its applications. By
establishing these Science Col
leges of Agriculture and the Me
chanic Arts, Congress gave the
means of founding institutions to
teach the subjects adapted to the
present age and to practical life;
and thereby gave expression to
the principle that he was not edu
cated tn discharge all the duties
of life, in peace and in war, who
was sent forth to battle in life
with the artillery of modern sci
ence, armed alone with the Ro
man short-sword and the Grecian
shiled.
Under the old system, College
education was often brought into
popular disfavor because it dis
carded the idea that it was its
duty to equip a man for the strug-1
gle for a livelihood —to train him
for business and for arts. Colleges J
were looked upon by many as I
places where the sons of the rich
were to be covered with the var
nish of culture, and polished into
gentlemen ; as places where they
we e to obtain that mental equip- i
ment that was rather a luxury !
than a need.
Under the broad system now
adopted by the Trustees of this i
University—a system which has
for its basis that true principle of
philosophy, that for the develop-'
ment of the State variety is need- s
ed, but for the individual, wMtfy —
thoroughly organized under phil
osophical system this University
now aims to be a place where
any one may be trained tor any ;
and every respectable path of
life, and where, at the same time,
as far as within its power, the
interest of higher leanring and
science are cared for.
The co-ordination of the Col- \
lege of Agriculture and Mechanic
Arts as an integral part of the
University, has given a complete
ness to the system by .incorpora |
ting that technical education not
antagonistic to, but supplementa
ry to the course of liberal educa
tion previously provided for.
Our State needs scientific agri
culturists —men familliar with the
application of modern science—
architects, builders, engineers,
educated mechanics, practical
chemists —men who will develop
new industries, bring to light her
rch resources, and add to her
wealth by increasing her produc
tions. And the great object of
this College is to supply that want
by giving to the young men of
the State the requisite science
training.
As far as may lie, the State Col
lege endeavors to give that sound
science-training that is Character
ic of the Scotch Universities, con
cerning which Dr. Lyon Playfair
remarked, but the other day, in
the House of Commons, that the
Scotch University taught a man
how to make a thousand a year,
and the English University how
to spend it.
Having thus alluded to the
causes that gave rise to these
Colleges of Agriculture and Me
chanic Arts, and to their especial
object in the field of education,
you may inquire how we propose
to accomplish that object--what
plans we will adopt. We h ive no
plan of our own; we are agents
of a trust, and must strictly con
form to the plan of the donors, as
expressed in the law granting the
donation.
The annual income arising from
the Congressional grant must, in
accordance with the Act of Con
gress of July 2, 1862, be (I quote
from the JaAv) ‘inviolably appro
priated by each State which may
take and claim the benefits of this
Act 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 Mechanical Arts, in such man
ner as the Legislatures of the
States may respectively prescribe
in order to promote the liberal
and practical education of the
industrial classes, in the several
pursuits and professions in life.’
Tiie institution must be so organ
ized as to honorably satisfy the
conditions imposed. Its leading
object is defined by luav, and
must be, not to teach agriculture,
but to teach such branches of
learning as are related to Agri
culture and the Mechanical Arts.’
‘Militray tactics’ also must be
taught, while other scientific and
classical studies’ are not by Ihav
excluded. While there is no room
for discussion in regard to the ‘lea
ding object’ of the State College,
as defined by the act of Congress,
we find a very prevalent erro
neons opinion that the fund was
designed to establish a College
to teach Agriculture alone. The
design was, as shown by the
words of the law,quoted, far more
comprehensive and general. It
was designed to establish a Col
lege of Science, or a comprehen
sive Polytechnic institute, where
in especial prominence should be
given to such studies as are rela
ted Agriculture and the Mechan
ic Arts.
It becomes, then, pertinent to
inquire. What studies aie related
to Agriculture and the Mechanic
Arts? Among the principal stud
ies that relate to Agricul.ure may
be mentioned General Chemistry,
Physics. Applied Chemistry, Geo
logy, Analmony and Physiology,
vegetable and animal nature, Nat
ural History, including Eotany
and Zoology, with Entomology !
and Veferniary Science, Mechan
ics and domestic economy of Ag-1
riculture. Among those that re- :
late to the Mechanic Arts may be '
named Chemistry and Physics, I
Pure Mathematics, Applied!
Mathematics, Mechanical Draw
ing, Metallurgy.
1 conceive, then.ihat our object
should be, to establish in Georgia
a comprehensive Polytechnic in- j
stitute, where especial promi
nence should be given to those 1
sciences that are related to Agri-1
culture and the Mechanic Arts, ■
but which should eventually em-!
brace in its range the whole cir
cle of applied sciences; an Insti- '
tute where should be taught sci- '
ences of the most practical char- i
acter as well as of the highest :
character. A very common im
pression, we rej»eat. exists, that ;
the business of the State College i
NORCROSS, GA., WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2f. 1873.
is to teach agriculture alone;
alone; and with some the opinion
is held that Agriculture must
be taught as an art,«and not as a
science , that the student must be
taken tothefield and taught prac
tically how to hoe- and how to
plow, that this is to Constitute the
main feature in their education.
How have the advocates of such
a plan failed to understand the
broad and comprehensive views of
those founders of those schools of
science! What a magnificent
failure would be presented, should
the College abandon her func
tion of educating the brain, and
j undertake to educate the muscle
I of her students I
A great English painter was
asked with what he mixed his
paints. His reply was, “With
brains, sir, with brains.” And no
fertilizer ever produced can com
pare with brains to enrich the
soil and increase the harvests.
It is not the business of a
College to undertake to develop
manual skill, not her function
to teach handicraft, not her pro
vince to teach trades. She can
not compete in this line with the
thousands of shops and farms
that cover our land. Do you want
your son to learn to plow ? Place
him on one of the thousand farms
of our Slate and there let him ac
quire that skill that practice
alone can save—that skill which
the College ever established can
impart. Do you want him to
learn why to plow ? Send him to a
good Science College, and there
let him learn the influence of the
sunshine, of the heat rays and the
light-rays, of the dews and the
frosts, of the dissolving rains and
the absorption of soils; let him
learn the necessity of rotation,
the function of vegetable matter
in soils, the valuable constituents
of fertilizers, and how to deter
mine the relative value of com
mercial fertilizers,and cotton seed
and other manure; and thus, by
becoming familiar with the princi
ples of Physics and Chemistry,
he will know somewhat of those
laws of plant-life that constitute
the basis of all rational Agricul
ture.
But while the great object of
the College is brain development,
she will also seek to impress
upon her students that important
lesson for the young men of the
South, that corner stone of our
future civilization, the dignity of
labor! Not of brain labor aiouej
but of brain labor and hand-labor
combined. She will encourage
her students to labor with their
own hands whenever it can be
profitable done, especially in the
laboratories and in planning and
conducting experiments on the
Experimental Farm. Already, in
some measure this has been done.
During the college year just pass
ed, students worked in the Chem
ical Laboratory from lour to six
hours per day.
“Labor as an incident to scien
tific investigation is never irk
some to a student. If those who
teach, cannot by their own exam
ple, and the expression of senti
ments appreciative of the noble
ness of industry, and the dignity
of intelligent labor, inspire their
pupils with just ideas, vain is the
arbitrary law that condemns them
to the drugeiy of routine labor in
the fields.”
Fears were entertained by some
that the union of the State Col
lege with the University would
exert an injurious influence on
both institutions. They argued
that the orders of education were I
incompatible, that the classical I
and industrial studen’s could not
with advantage, listen to the same
Professor and be educated in the
same halls. The experiment has
been made here for one year, and i
all recognize the fact tna« both
classes of students have reaped
marked advantages from the
union.
A separate Industrial College
has too often come to be regarded
as the “inferior college of an in
ferior caste.” Here the co-ordi
nation of the two institutions, in
stead of giving rise to social caste
has wholly destroyed what might i
have existed as separate Colleges. ■
A community of College students!
constitutes a body of young men, i
who recognize no title to aristo- j
cracy save that of scholarship.
The best scholar in the class is
their recognized leader, upon
whom they delight to bestow hon. I
ors; with them wealth or social I
position has no weight whenl
brought into comparison with
scholarship and talent.
Hence, all that was necessary
for the students of the State Col
lege to secure thi,s position in the
community of students of the
University, was to demonstrate
their scholarship. In one year
this has been most effectually
done. The diligence and perse
verance of many of the Stale
College students have given
them the first position in their
classes over all students of the
University. This has produced
the anticipated effect. Contact
of mind with mind, equality of
educational courses, superiority
of scholarship,has already demon
strated that the fears of the oppo
nents of the union were ground
less: and established the wis
dom of the co-ordination of the
Industrial Department with the
State University.
What isit that has so generally
given social superiority to the
profession of law over the occupa
tion of the farmer? Simply the
fact that the lawyers as a class,
are better educated than the far
mers, or at least, are generally
through some possible traditional
error, supposed to be. Hence, if
we wish farming to be regarded
as a profession, if we wish far
mers to occupy that position and
exercise that influence that they
are rightly entitled to, they must
be educated equally with those of
any other profession. We must,
at the same university let the
students of Law, students of Ag
riculture, and students of all the
different professions come in con
tact on the same basis of equality.
We must provide courses of edu
cation, though different in charac
ter of equal grade, and reward
them with College honors of
equal dignity.
Os the thirty-three States that
have under this grant established
Agricultural Colleges, twenty
two have associated them with
other Colleges and Universities,
as has been done in our own State.
Every consideration of economy,
thoroughness, comprehensiveness
and efficiency can be urged in fa
vor of the association. Thereby
we have avoided placing a stamp
of inferiority upon Industrial Ed
ucation and have acted in accor
dance with the convictions of the
best scientific agriculturists of
Europe, who according to Baron
Liebig, are decided in their con
victions that Agricultural Col
leges ought always to be connec
ted with institutions demoted to
other depaitments of instruction.”
Whatever may have been the
exclusive character of education
in this institution in past years, it
is no longer devoted to culture
alone. But by this co-ordination
of liberal and techinal education
it is fast becoming an engine of |
State education where a poor man
may come with as much reason as i
a rich one, and spend his time i
profitably in acquiring knowledge
and training which have a real
value in the world, and place their
possessor in a position to earn
his bread and his'standing among
men.
Industrial or technical education presup
poses a ceiiain liberal education as its
foundation as well as an understanding of
the principles of that science involved in
the profession. ’Hie applications of science
are different from its principles. The func
tion of the Col'ege is to teach science, not
art; to teach the principles of science and
its applications to the arts. How, then,
shall agriculture be taught? That is the
itnpor ant question for us, and one full of
interest to you. Much thought has been
given to this qu'-stion here an I elsjwlii r■.
It is a new problem of alocation. The law
of Congress requires such subjects to be
taught as are related to agriculture. Acting
on the broad principle that the function of
tlie College is to edbeate, to develop, to
teach scientifii ally and not empirically, we
have tuiaug d—in oider to comply with
the law establishing this institution—for
the complete course of agriculture, these
related scientific subjects: the Chemistry
of Agriculture, the Physics of Agriculture,
the Mechanics of Agriculture, the Botany
of Agriculture, the Zoology of Agriculture,
the Economiea of Agriculture, the Gvologj
of Agriculture, and the Jurisprudence of
Agri' ulture.
In connection with this theoretical knowl
edge of principles obtained under the dif
ferent professors, an opportunity is given
special students to apply these principles
by pr ictleal applications on the Experi
mental Fann. In this manner the effort
is made, as far as practicable, with the
m aus provided, to combine theory with
practice.
But this Scientific Department of the
University is not .levoted to educating stu
dents alone for the profession of agricul
ture. T«» do this would b ■ in violation of
t' e ’a v under which the institution was
cstab i>be<L For the conditions attached'
VOL. L—NO- 18.
to the gaart require that such subjects shall
be taught as relate both to Agriculture and
Mechanic Arts. Hence so far as the means
at present permit, the authorities have un
dertaken to develop the Departments of
Agriculture, Applied Chemistry and En
gineering. Students are permitted to e'ect
any one of these courses. The whole force
of the College tends to these industrial pro
fessions. To fit young men for these and
kindred pursuits, by giving them the r•-
1 quisite training, constitutes what is called
Industrial Education.
No fears need be entertained that this
Science College will become a mere caudal
appendage to the Literary Departnn nt of
the University. The co-ordination is one
absolute quality, of equal grade of scholar
ship and equal dignity of degrees.
The complete organization of this College
embraced in its plan the dissemination of
knowledge by means of public lectures on
Agriculture in different parts of the State.
It is also included a Physical, Geological
and Mineralogical Survey .if the State. By
which all knowledge of economic and sci
entific interests concerning the resources of
the State should be collected and published,
thus illustrating the natural wealth of
Georgia. This plan will be fully developed
should the means ever be provided.
What effect on the State will be pro
duced by this character of education ? The
hope of ir’provement in the oldest and
most independent of all pursuits; in that
which though '“first among the arts in im
portance, has been the last to acknowledge
its independence on Science ” —in the pro
session of Agriculture, whose followers
cling with the most o st inate tenacity to
traditional ideas, the hope of improvement
We consider, rests mainly in the scientific
education of the youth of the present gen
eration. A young man thus trained in
science for the profession of farming will
enter upon it with enthusiasm that will
i icrease with his years; and when he su
peradds to the knowledge gained here, that
practical knowledge to be gained by expe
rience alone, we mey hope for the goner 1
adoption of that system of agriculture that
is more rational, more consis ent with the
laws of nature, and hence more productive.
T hus, each graduate will become, in time,
a local centre to disseminate among his
community what knowledge of special
value he may possess. Thus, the produc
tive capactityof the State will be increased
and its wealth largely added to.
But the College proposes not to educate
farmers alone, but also to educate young
men for other industrial professions. 'I be
great State of Georgia, an empire within
herself, demands that her young men shall
bring to light her hidden treasures and un
developed resources, and demonstrate their
value. She possesses valuable iron inter
ests, copper and other mineral interests of
great value, unused water powers whose
value is not now recognized. She possesses
the natural facilities for many industries
now unknown to our people. How shall
these Bourc » of wealth be turned to value ?
Shall we continue, as a people, to devote
ourselves to agri ulture akne, and almost
exclusively to one branch of agriculture ?
If we are wise, we will use every means in
our power to diversify our industries ; and
the beginning, the entering wedge to pro
duce this diversity of occupation, is this
College, set apart for special science-train
ing. In time, we may hope to send forth
from these halls a class of young men with
no ambition to become politic! ns, with no
desire nor expectation to dazzle the world
with the b illiancy of their eraiory; young
men who have been taught things, not
words, who will not rest in quiet, desir
ing to be something, but will go forth
active, earnest woi leers, who expect to
do something, and whose entire thoughts
W'll be turned in the channels of produc
tive industry; young men who will re
cognize the value of and utilize the
wea’th now annually wasted ia the uaused
water-powers of the State, who will appre
ciate the full value of the fact, that here
within a circle of ten miles around this
College, are more than twenty unproduc
tive water-powers, with an aggregate
value of n arly two thousand horse-power,
daily wasting their wealth; young men
who will bring from the bowels of the
earth her bidden treasures, and who will
ilevolop new industrial interests throughout
our State.
To be strong, to ba powerful, we must be
something more than a people devok’d to
Agriculture. No nation of agriculturists,
ever in the history of the world, has suc
cessfully competed with a nation of me
chanics. Herein consisted, as past years
demonstrated, the great weakness of the
.Southern States.
The power of a people, in peace as well as
in war, is vas ly increased by machinery.
How much effective work can a man un
aided by a machine accomplish in a day ?
The average amount is well known, and
c m be express d in exact figures. It is
equally well established that by burning ten
pounds of coal we can do a day’s work
of one man. A on of c al has stored up
for use an energy equivalent to a day’s
work of two hundred men, and by the ap
plication of science is made to do that
amount of productive labor. How, then,
shall we properly estimate the productive
capacity of that people whose annual con
sumption of coal in the various industrial
professions swells up to hundreds of thou
sands of to :s ?
The twenty-five million tons coal an
nually consumed by Great Britain in her
manufacturing industries, represents a pro
ducing population of over twelve million
men. Os the thirty-two million tons of
coal annually mined in the United States,
we may probably estimate that her pro
ductive capacity is increased by the use of I
one-third for manufacturing purposes.
Hence when we wish to conuxire the rela- .
live strength of two people, we must not
look to statistical reports and compare the
population and the agricultural products
alone. We commit a great e ror if we
omit to estimate the equivalent value of
the machinery in use. It is a fact worth
remembering, a fact that thoughtful men
should wisely consider, that the annual
consumption of ten million tons of coal—
chiefly in the Northern States—for manu
facturing purposes, represents the equiva
lent of a producing, non-consuming popu
lation of over five million of men.
But in regard to comparative productive
capacity, what do the statistics teach us ?
Os two million five hundred and twenty
establishments of manufacturing industry
in the United States, representing an ag
gregate capacity of two million three hun
dred and forty-six horse p >wer, the eleven
gout hern States have less than forty thou,
sand establishments, with a capacity of less
than three bundled horse power. Thus,
the nearly two hundred million horse power
engaged in the various manufacturing in
dustries in the Northern and Western
States, in excess over that employed in the
eleven Southern States, represents a capac
ity of production—represent a producing
non-consuming population, efficient i Ji
peace and war, of fourteen million of men .
a strength not obvious to the casual ob
server, not patent when statistics of popu
lation alone are considered.
To aid in building up our State, it is
argued, and correctly so, that we must
turn a potion of the great tide of immigia
tion now annually flowing to the North
west. But wou'd it not equally avail us to
introduce that labor that produces and
1 docs not consume; that labor that is fed
on wood and coal, instead of bread and
meat; that labor that is tractable, obedi
' ent and eminently productive ? But value
-1 less would be the introduction of machinery
without the men skilled in machines to
' make it productive. How, then, without
relying wholly on foreign importations,
shall we add to our scientific mechanics ?
Here is our hope ! Here, from the halls of
’ this College of Science. Here we hope so
' to expand in all departments, so to increase
' our strength by competent professors, so to
inspire our young meh with the love of
1 science and its application, as to lay the
1 foundation of the future Arkwrights, Ste
' vensons, Armstrongs, Whitworths, and
Bessemers of the South.
' Is there no opportunity for new indus
' tries, or for a further development of the
1 old? Wi at signifies the fact that of two
thousand establishments for manufacturing
! agricultural implements in the United
States, Georgia has only ten ? AV hat is the
legitimate inference when we see Geojgia,
with her seventy thousand farms, and over
' three hundred thousand persons engaged in
Agriculture, possess ng only ten establish
-1 merits for manufacturing agricultural im
plements, while Connecticut, with one
tenth the number of persons engaged in
’ Agriculture, has four times as many manu
factories especially devoted to her agiicul
' tural interests ? Are we to continue to let
1 the iron rest in its ore-beds, to let the valu
able woods rot in the forest, and still to
pay tribute to foreign mechanics ?
Are we of the South to do nothing but
plant cotton, talk politics, and speak fine
rhetoric all the year round ; to do simply
what has been done? AVe cannot stand
still. To stand still now is to lag behind.
AVe must go forward ; we must keep pace
with the age. We must diversify our in
dustries. We must educate our young men
that tin re is a new field open before them ;
that in the I department of Applied Science
here are valued prizes to be awaided—
prizes which bring to their possessors both
riches and renown. We must educate them
to a proper regard of the honors of labor.
AVe must teach them that the world at
large holds in much higher esteem, as a
benefactor of his race, him who invents a
reaper or a cotton gin, than it does the
representative college orator of the day.
Thus, by familiarizing the minds of our
young men with the truth, that nothing
pays so well a< an obedience to the laws of
nature, that nothing is so costly as a disre
gard of its la«s, will the State gain in
power and wealth through the influence of
the science-teaching of this department of
the University.
But it is not the object of life alone to
accumulate wealth and to seek reputation.
Scientific education is valuable not alone
b"cause i* gives a man increased power to
gain a live lihood. but it is of value because
it adds to his means of happiness and his
enjoyment of life. A very large proportion
of our population will, of necessity, be en
gaged in igriculture; and in this delightful
occupation, to him who is able to appre
ciate that indescribable calm joy of a happy
countiy home, what increase of happiness
must accrue from the daily watchings of
the mysteries of plant-life? To him who
understands somewhat of the chemical and
physical laws of plant-life, who has learned
somewhat of the use of the blow-pijie and
microscope, there is not a plant in bis fields,
nor an insect that meets his eye, but may
come to lie, under his microscope a source
of interest and pleasure, ever increasing
with his years, affording him happiness
and contentment, and leading him from
the contemplation of Nature’s laws up to
Nature's God.
But it is not by teaching alone that tire
State is to derive benefit from this institu
tion. Ihe function of the college is two
fold ; the teaching of principles and the
determination of principles, by experiment
and investigation. It is expected that a
well regulated system of experiments, of a
practical character, will be undertaken on
the Experimental Farm, and questions of
[iractical importance determined thereby.
These results, together with a report of
the investigations in the Chemical Labora
tory, will be published and distributed
throughout the State. AVe di sire that the
colli-ge shall l>e in close sympathy with the
people, and especially with those devoted
to agriculture. Ihe authorities aim to make
it a People’s College! and especially a
guardian of he farmers’interests. Andas
one of the first stejis towards this, we pro
pose to have analyzed, each year, in the
Chemical Library, the principle fertilizers
offered for sale in this Stab*, and t<> furnish
the Secretary of this Society the nsuits of
these ana'yses, that they uny be published
