Heads Of Agricultural Colleges

Uur agricultura! wllojfo, writos a eorrespondeiit of Tlie Rural New Yorker, have boon t&akiug ver y moderate progresa during the six to sixteen yonrs lince they have been res.cotivcly organizad, ïlic act ot' 1872 grantlax a largo fuiul in lands to the overal States for the equipiuent of these colleges, shoukl justly mark nu era iu agricultura! progrow. lis purpose was to luy the foundation ot' ttcifiitific untl practical schools oí" agricultura and tho luecluuiiu u-t3. Tlie Uw is cutitlod, "An act douating public land 10 the several I tutes and terri tortea whicb niay provide colleges tut the bonutit of agricultura and nioebauical avis." The fouitit sectioii of thu act declares tliat the "leading objeci" of these colleges sliall be "to teach guch branches ol learuiug as are relutel to agriculturas and the mechanic arts." lt is perfeetly plain tbat thu framers of thu law inLeiided liase s iMMutl, aud ïiot uü goueral schooU liowever uiuch jjeuoi-al tli lrenilcuia of theso collojjes podsodrf, it auca nol and oiuuot atouo for a vraul of tho soocial kuowlodo rcqulred ïor tlie mauagemeot of histitutious dcvotcd "to teaching such brauclies of luariiing a.4 ara related to agricultura und tliu ineclianic ans." ïtós wad so obviou3 at tlie lirst glaiice tliat no ony coukl come to any otiier conclusión uuiesi the wish "bocamo lUther to the thoUjfht." Yet all of theso institutioua -vrero organized by the ai)pointmunt of presiden ts in total ditrugard of tUc spirit and letter of the Uw - by placiuj a puiely literary mui, having uo knwledge of, and geuerally uol, oven any Uulo for, rural pursuiu, at the litad lo direct tlie teacning of scientüic aud practical agriculture aud thoniochanic arta. The ícsult lias been that the great in:isi of studeuts, nine out of ten, havo pursued precisely the suiuo studies - and uo otner - as they wculd at any literary school beforo tlie organizatiou of these oolieo ïhis rutio is too small for tho Micbiguii and Massaclmsetu colleges; but lariie enough to meet Uio f acts of alt the rest. lt may not be amiss here to ahow how widely thcy have deviated irom the inteutiou of the franiers of the law, by quotiu a paragraph froiu the speecu of seoatof Morrill, the author of the bill, iu advocaliiig iw passage. He certainly ought to know wnat wiia iuLeuded by the law which he iutroduced. Answeriug tho objection tUat tliey would ooiiipoiü with the collu-es now existiug, he says : "Our prescut literary colleges ueed havu uo more jealousy of agiicultural colleges than a porcclaiu manufacturer would of an non louudry. Tncy move iu separate sphere, without coiupetitioiu Ta larmer and niecu.mic require separata schools and appropriate literature, quite as uiuch as auy of the so-calicd professious. Ya ueed careful, ejtact aud sysiematic X'egistratiou of uxperinieiits. We ueed to test the natura! capaoility of the sous, and the power of Uiliereut fertilizers; the rcialive value ot' differeut grasses lor ilesli, fat, and luilk-giviug purposes; tlie coiuparative value of graai, roois, hay, peas, carrots. potalocs, tuiuips iu pouuu of beef, porie, or muttou; plovymg aa wt-11 as Uraiuage; Lnceds olauiuuls; reinodios lor tuo po tato üisease, aud lor all tho tribes oi' iusects destructiva to crops." Wliut couuicuaucu uocs tliis give to a general education m theso colleges 't lie says : "l'he larmer and. luoulkuiic requiio special schools aud appropriate litcrature," but tue pivsitLcuts of tüose colleges, uttcny disregaraiug the iaw, turn mem imo ordiuary intrary coiieges, iu wmch uiue-ienlhs of tue stuucuLs are e.iucated without auy reioreuei; to agricuuure, aud uuvu 110 iutenuoii ol pursuiu it. Aud inc ilorril Tin iuteiJded lo bo as special iu relatiou to agriculture aud tho mcchanic arts as tue West Jfoiut ooaJuinv to uiilitary science,