FARMERS' INSTITUTES. 43 



lessen the necessity of a multiplication of the ways and means for the 

 expenditure of the people's money. 



The fact that all the higher educational interests of the State were 

 not originally placed, as the branch of the Legislature intended in 184S, 

 under the management of one governing body, I regard as unfortunate, 

 from the taxpayers' standpoint especially. I am sure that much money 

 could be saved to the people if the responsibility of its expenditure 

 could be more centralized. 



THE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. 



CAPT. E. P. ALLEN, YPSILANTI. 



An abstract of Captain Allen's witty and timely address follows: 



The medical schools train physicians, the College of Law develops 

 lawyers, the Normal Schools train teachers, the University prepares 

 men and women for mercantile pursuits, but the Agricultural College 

 takes young men and women from the farm and trains them to keep 

 the other classes from starving. Fortj-two years ago I went to college at 

 that institution. The first proposition given to me was to cut down a 

 certain white oak tree. Then we set out an apple orchard, and the 

 season being wet, we had to set it out in the mud. I mention these 

 things because, whatever other changes may have taken place in that 

 institution, its guiding principle from that day to this has been to 

 teach young men to work, and to do well whatever is to be done. Today 

 they do not set out orchards in the mud, and are more philosophic 

 and scientific both in method and instruction, but theguiding principle is 

 still the same, bringing out the entire man, body, mind and soul, and 

 training all faculties for an active, intelligent participation in the 

 world's work. Obedience to this fundamental principle has placed M. A. 

 C. at the head of the list of agricultural colleges in the Union. 



It has furnished teachers for nearly all the other agricultural col- 

 leges, and presidents for many of them. The Experiment Station, 

 whicli is one department of the College, is in the front line of the 

 stations supported by the general government. A history of the growth 

 of the institution is a guide to the advance of agricultural knowledge. 



The day of drudgery, drudgery pure and simple in farming, is passing 

 away. In that vocation, as in all others, the highest attainments do 

 not necessarily go with sixteen hours' labor and six hours' sleep. The 

 gist of agricultural teaching is how to do better work, with more time 

 left for thinking, and even for pleasure. 



There is, and can be, no warfare between our great educational in- 

 stitutions. They are all of them engaged in educating our children 

 to make them better citizens; the underlying principles of all this edu- 

 cation is liberal. We can pay for schools better than for prisons. 

 Michigan today is first in Normal Colleges, first in Agricultural Col- 

 leges and first in Universities because the men who settled this com- 

 monwealth came with a thirst for more knowledge and laid broadly and 

 wisely the foundations of our educational institutions. In the ordi- 



