AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION IN SCANDINAVIAN COUNTRIES. 613 



from the fact that it was ready to receive pupils nearly 50 years before 

 the constituency for whose beuefit the school was established availed 

 themselves of its facilities. The school was founded through the gen- 

 erosity of a Danish major-general, J. F. Classen (who died in 1792). 

 His will contained a clause providing for the establishment of a semi- 

 nary or agricultural institute for the benefit of "good subjects" of the 

 farming class, where fundamental agricultural principles were to be 

 taught during a course of from 3 to 4 years. The scholars were to have 

 free rooms and board, and also the necessary cloth (wadmol) and mus- 

 lin for wearing apparel. They were to be elected from the different 

 parts of the country, on recommendation of the county magistrates. 

 The agricultural society was asked to select a person who should fit 

 himself for the professorship in agriculture at this school through 3 

 years' of travel in foreign countries. In 171)3, a surveyor, Mr. Olufsen, 

 was elected to the position; and he traveled through most of the Euro- 

 pean countries during the following years. On his return to Denmark 

 he at once proceeded, in conjunction with the board of regents of the 

 school and the State agricultural society, to carefully plan, build, and 

 equip the school at Niisgaard, on the island of Falster, located in a 

 beautiful region peculiarly well adapted for the purpose in view. The 

 school was ready for occupancy in the summer of 1800, being the first 

 of its kind in Denmark, and, as far as is known, in the world. (The 

 agricultural school at Hofwyl, Switzerland, was founded in 1806.) 

 Only one pupil presented himself, however, and the school could not be 

 opened. "The farmers did not believe that anything could be gained 

 by going to a school to learn how to run a farm." Two years later, no 

 farmers' sons having applied for admission, the school was opened to 

 other than farmers 1 sons. The equipment of the school was greatly 

 strengthened by the addition of a farm of about 40 acres; and ex- 

 perimental plats, a botanical garden, fish ponds, orchards, etc., were 

 planned and laid out. But in spite of all efforts no pupils could be 

 induced to take advantage of the opportunities offered, and Professor 

 Olufsen went to Copenhagen, where he met with considerable success 

 as a lecturer on agricultural economics at the Classen Library. The 

 school building, with the farm, was rented for a number of years, and 

 later was operated as an experimental farm for studying problems in 

 breeding horses, cattle, sheep, and swine. 



With the development of the natural sciences and the gradual awak- 

 ening of the European farming classes in the second quarter of this 

 century, the time finally came when the school could be opened, pupils 

 presenting themselves in 1849 through the efforts of leading patriotic 

 Danish gentlemen. Since this time it has been in operation and has 

 been regularly frequented by the limited number of students which can 

 be accommodated. The course of study laid out covers two years, 9 

 students being admitted each year, or 18 in all. The total number of 

 students that have gone through the school up to date is 431. 



