202 GENERAL HISTORY. 



the duties of the office. In the autumn of 1863 T. C. Abbot was chosen to 

 the presidency of the institution. 



J. C. Holmes held the position of professor of horticulture but a short 

 time, and upon his retirement he also vacated the office of secretary, which 

 position was temporarily filled till the appointment of Sanford Howard to 

 that position in February, 1864. 



In 1861 the Legislature enacted an amendatory law providing for transfer- 

 ring the control of the college to a Board of Agriculture, and pending its 

 enactment a joint resolution was passed postponing the opening of the col- 

 lege till March 20. David Carpenter of Lenawee county, Justus Gage of 

 Cass, Philo Parsons of Wayne, H. G. Wells of Kalamazoo, Silas A. Yerkes 

 of Kent, and Charles Rich of Lapeer were named in the act as the first 

 members of the board. 



Prior to the spring of 1869 the practice prevailed of conferring the presi- 

 dency of the board upon the governor, who is, ex-officio, a member; but from 

 this time forward the practice was changed, and Judge Hezekiah G. Wells 

 was elected to the position, which he held continuously till his retirement 

 from the board in 1883, in consequence of age and infirmity. 



In July, 1833, an act of Congress donated to each State and Territory 

 thirty thousand acres of land for each of its senators and representatives in 

 Congress, as an endowment for one or more agricultural colleges in each. 

 Under this act Michigan has received 235,673.37 acres. 



The selection and sale of these lands was committed to the State land 

 office, and the State became sponsor for the payment of interest upon the 

 amount actually sold, at the rate of seven per. centum per annum, the princi- 

 pal remaining in the hands of the State as a perpetual endowment fund. 



The college ornamental grounds and greenhouse were entered in 1875 in 

 competition for the award of the orchard committee of the State Pomological 

 Society. The committee's report contains so full a description of these that 

 it is given entire: — 



The ornamental grounds, with which alone we had to do, contain the col- 

 lege buildings, dwellings of the faculty, greenhouse, and apiary, extending 

 over about sixty acres. The soil is very sandy in spots, but its general char- 

 acter is hea\^ clay, necessitating underdraining. The surface is quite roll- 

 ing, requiring considerable grading in places to maintain the polished surface 

 admired in grounds so limited and devoted entirely to the frequented walks and 

 drives of a public institution. 



Along the southern and southwestern boundary flows the Red Cedar river, 

 having in its greater part steep banks deeply draped with a very large variety 

 of native trees, shrubs and vines. Much of this native vesture remains in its 

 wild beauty; and here may be found, of trees, within a short walk, three 

 species of poplar, three of ash, also ironwood, silver-leaf maple, red-leaf maple, 

 sugar maple, sycamore, black walnut, five species of oak, two of wild cherry, 

 three of elm; also whitewood, white pine, beech, basswood, Kentucky coffee, 

 pepperidge, hackberry, mulberry, sassafras, hickory and butternut. The 

 shrubbery includes the hop tree, bladder nut, wild plum, prickly ask, stag- 

 horn, sumach, wahoo, two species of spireas, two of wild rose, three of haw- 

 thorn; also serviceberry, witch hazel, wild gooseberry, wild currant, elder, 

 viburnum, button bush, huckleberry, blueberry, spicebush, hazelnut, blue 

 beech, six varieties of willow and four of dogwood. 



Among the vines we notice wild grapes, green-briars, wild cucumber, moon- 



