EDITORIAL. 403 



by private contributions $40,000, and thereby became the recipient 

 of a loan of a like amount from the State. A large farm was ac- 

 quired at Ovid, a building erected to accommodate 150 students, and 

 the doors opened December 5, 1860. The outbreak of the Civil War 

 and other causes led to its suspension in April, 1861, and to its for- 

 mal close in the following year. 



Upon the passage of the original Morrill Act efforts were made to 

 reopen the institution with the aid of a portion of the federal land 

 grant to the State, but without success. Instead the legislature ac- 

 cepted an offer from Mr. Ezra Cornell of $500,000 and 200 acres of 

 •land with farm buildings in case the land grant should be devoted to 

 an institution to be located at Ithaca, N. Y. Subsequently Mr. 

 Cornell made an additional gift of $200,000, and the net result was the 

 organization of Cornell University, with its college of agriculture. 



The incorporation of the Maryland Agricultural College in 1856 

 is of interest, as this is the first institution of the sort still in exist- 

 ence to be established by voluntary contributions. Funds to the 

 extent of about $50,000 were secured in this way from about five hun- 

 dred residents of Maryland and a few nonresidents participating as 

 stockholders. Land and buildings were acquired, and after three 

 years of maintenance as a private enterprise state aid was enlisted. 



The history of the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, now 

 the Pennsylvania State College, is not dissimilar. Contributions of 

 200 acres of land and $25,000, of which $10,000 was pledged by the 

 State Agricultural Society and $10,000 by General James Irvin, and 

 $5,000 bequeathed under the will of Mr. Elliott Cresson, were ob- 

 tained and a like sum then granted by the state legislature. Subse- 

 quently other gifts were made as the condition to additional state 

 aid. 



With the passage of the Morrill Act the Federal Government be- 

 came the chief sponsor of collegiate education in agriculture. The 

 location of the colleges provided for led to much competition among 

 communities, as a result of which many private contributions, mainly 

 in the form of sites and funds for buildings, were made. 



Meanwhile the need for experimental work in agriculture had 

 begun to be realized, and in addition to what could be undertaken in 

 a voluntary way by the colleges of agriculture, efforts were put forth 

 to establish research organizations. In Connecticut in particular, 

 following the earnest advocacy in 1873 of Professors Atwater and 

 Johnson, attempts were made for several years to secure an appro- 

 priation from the State for the establishment of an experiment sta- 

 tion. The project made many warm and enthusiastic friends but, as 

 might have been expected, the great mass of the farmers took little 

 interest in the enterprise. AVlien it had become apparent that it 



