No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 535 



SECRETAEY CRITCHFIELD : It was my pleasure to know both 

 of the gentlemen who have passed away within the last year, and 

 in regard to Mr. Hiester, I may say that I knew him very well. It 

 has been my privilege to meet him at a number of public gatherings, 

 and I also have had the pleasure as well as privilege of meeting him 

 repeatedly at his own home. 



JNIr. Hiester was, as has been already said, a gentleman in his in- 

 sTincts and manners, a man whom no one could know well or inti- 

 mately, without having been made better by acquaintance and asso- 

 ciation with him. 



He was a great lover of Nature, and wherever he went, he could 

 see something to admire — -the fruit and tlowers, the mountains, the 

 great gulches cut through them and the beautiful river that flowed 

 by his home were full of interest to him. He often called my atten- 

 tion to tliera and spoke of their rugged beauty. All these were pic- 

 tures that to him were worthy of special admiration and attention. 



Mr. Hie-ster was a true friend. I doubt whether I ever knew a 

 man who was more loyal and devoted to his friends than he; and 

 while he loved to attend the meetings which it was his official 

 duty to attend, on account of the opportunity it afforded him to 

 serve the generation to which he belonged, he also appreciated the 

 privilege it afforded of meeting his friends. 



As a husband and father, he was devoted and aff'ectionate. All 

 Ids thoughts seemed to embrace the good of those who belonged to 

 his household. I have been to his home since the illness of his wife, 

 which has been very severe within the past few months, and I 

 noted the tender regard he manifested for her and his constant solici- 

 tude for her comfort. Before the last meeting of the Trustees of 

 State College I called on him personally to see if he could go to 

 the meeting. I knew how much he delighted to be there, how he 

 loved his Alma Mater, and how dear to him were all her interests, 

 but he said, "Mr. Secretary, there is nothing that would give me 

 greater pleasure than to go. if all was well at home, but my duty at 

 present is here with my afflicted wife." It may be said, therefore,, 

 that he possessed that best of all traits — deep, earnest affection for- 

 those who, under God, were placed in his charge. 



I feel that in tlie death of Mr. Hiester I sustain a personal loss 

 No man who has a proper sense of duty can occupj^ a place of respon- 

 sibility without feeling the importance of having some one near at 

 hand, in whom he has confidence, to whom he can go for counsel. 

 On more occasions than one, have T gone to Mr. Hie-ster, to talk 

 over with him and get his view upon some matter of interest to the 

 Department that is under my charge, and I always found him ready 

 to lend his counsel and aid. 



It gives me pleasure to bear this testimony to the noble qualities 

 of our departed friend. 



We shall all miss him ; if we who only occasionally had the privi- 

 lege of grasping his hand and receiving his cheerful salutation, so 

 regard our loss, who can estimate the burden of grief tliat has fallen 

 like a shadow over his home, crushing the hearts of those who were, 

 near to him by tlie ties of nature and constant association, and it is. 

 most fitting that in these resolutions we express our sympathy for, 

 his loved ones left in the home that is made desolaf3 \{j. the greal- 

 loss that has come to us all. " "^ 



