124 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan., 



fore, when our graduating- class goes out of the college gates 

 next commcticement it will be a part of a great concourse of 

 people more than forty thousand strong. Not far from forty- 

 five thousand young men and young women will have been 

 educated in and graduated from the land-grant colleges when 

 our next commencement has been celebrated. 



Now, I suppose you will be interested to see how far we 

 can verify or prove to you the truth of the statement that our 

 college means to start, and is starting, right down with the 

 people, and is lifting them as high as it can. My task would 

 be easier if you would come up to see us, look into the faces 

 of our instructors, shake their hands, and talk with them, if 

 you would visit our buildings and our fields, and inspect our 

 apparatus, and thus see for yourselves what we have to do 

 with. 



You have not been up, however, and I cannot be sure you 

 will come during the year. During my four years at the 

 college I believe I can count on the fingers of one hand the 

 members of this audience who have visited our institution. 

 You farmers sitting here today prove by your presence that 

 you are interested in the promotion of agriculture, and yet 

 almost on the fingers of one hand I can count the number of 

 men here who have appeared on the campus to my knowledge 

 during the last four years. 



It is not safe to presume that you will visit us immediately, 

 therefore I have done the next best thing. In addition to 

 our catalogue of last year I have put in print, so that you can 

 see it at a glance, a circular giving a kind of birdseye view of 

 our institution as a whole. On another sheet you will find 

 our faculty labeled with all their degrees, so that you can 

 become familiar with the new names, and judge from their 

 degrees what the preparation of each has been for the instruc- 

 tion he is now giving. Also I have put in print information 

 as to our short courses and special courses of study. This 

 short dairy course, for example, has been highly successful, 

 and we mean to continue it. We have erected a modern dairy 

 building, which is said to compare favorably with the best 

 dairy buildings in the country in its plan and equipment. It 

 is said that there are but few dairy buildings which can stand 

 the test of comparison with it. It is very finely adapted 

 for two things, because there are two distinct industries in 



