32 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



of Massachusetts. And what are they? The first class — the 

 highest class, as I understand it — is composed of those who are 

 being trained there to become stewards of great estates. There 

 arc many great estates in Europe, and the owners must have 

 men to take charge of them. These men must be trained, and 

 an Agricultural College is the place to train them. Then there 

 is another class, who understand that their business is to dig 

 and delve, and they have a place assigned them in those institu- 

 tions ; but their place is a lower one. We have neither of these 

 classes here. "We have no such great estates, requiring stewards 

 to manage them, and we have no set of men who understand 

 that their place is to dig and delve, while somebody else owns 

 the soil ; but every man is, or expects to become, an owner of 

 the soil, and carry on his farm for himself. Now, any one can 

 sec that wo have an entirely different thing to do. "We are to 

 educate men who are the owners of the soil, not men who carry 

 on estates as stewards ; and therefore the success or failure of 

 those schools cannot be taken as a standard for us. 



A few more words in regard to the position of Massachusetts. 

 All other New England States, excepting Maine, have given 

 their agricultural money to colleges. Vermont, Rhode Island, 

 Connecticut and New Hampshire have all given their agricul- 

 tural money to institutions already established, and they are to 

 have a sort of agricultural department ; that is, they will have 

 some lectures on agriculture. Massachusetts has said that shall 

 not be done in this State. She proposes to start an Agricultural 

 College ; and when you consider the position of Massachusetts, 

 and her wealth, and the means she has of building up a college, 

 it will undoubtedly be an Agricultural College worthy of New- 

 England. 



It is most difficult to decide what is to be done in this college. 

 However, the ground has been mapped out, and has been 

 mapped out in such a way that I myself feel satisfied with it ; 

 ami I accepted the presidency of this institution, believing that 

 the ground had been well mapped out, and hoping that no essen- 

 tial change would be made until the experiment should be fairly 

 tried to see if it is to be a success or not. And since I am a 

 member of the Board, and we are discussing the relation of the 

 Hoard to the college, I have to say, if I am not interfered with, 

 and if the character of the college is not changed, (and if it is 

 I shall feel my relation entirely different from what I now do,) 



