174 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Natural Philosophy and Civil Engineering- in Delaware College, 

 Newark, Delaware. He remained with this institution for thirty- 

 years, holding successively the chairs of matheniatics, astronomy 

 and agriculture, and was for thirteen j^ears the principal of its pre- 

 paratory department. This college suspended during the Civil War, 

 but was re-organized by him in 1867 as an Agricultural College, 

 receiving the benefits of the Morrill act. Here he remained until 

 1880, when he resigned his chair to accept that of theoretical and 

 practical agriculture in the University of Minnesota, which he held 

 until August, 1889, when he was called to his present position. 



In Minnesota, Dr. Porter inaugurated the system of Farmers' 

 Lecture Courses and Farmer's Institutes, which have since become 

 recognized as most important factors in aid of the farmer in all the 

 states of the Union. He also established there as part of the Col- 

 lege of Agriculture a "School of Agriculture," which is now doing 

 much in solving the vexed problem of agricultural education. 



His authorship is attested to by numerous and valuable bulletins 

 and treatises which he published in his ofticial capacities, a number 

 of which he had nearly finished for the Experiment Station of Mis- 

 souri and which will be a last monuinent to his industry', his skill 

 as an experimenter and his knowledge. 



Prof. Porter allied himself at once with this society as soon 

 as he come to our state, and his name appears upon our rolls 

 thereafter until two years after his removal to his last field of 

 work, at Columbia, Mo. His relation to the society was of a 

 most helpful character, as he was a constant attendant at all 

 its meetings and gave us freely the benefit of his extensive 

 knowledge. His name will be found to occupy a very promi- 

 nent place in the reports of the nine years he labored with us. 



It was the privilege of the writer to renew and strengthen 

 a friendship with him during the months of the World's Pair, 

 in 1893, as he evidently felt most at home at the headquarters 

 of horticulture from the state to which he had given so many 

 of the best years of his life. His was a most genial and kindly 

 nature, and to many of us his death came as a great personal 

 loss. We shall ever hold him in tender remembrance. 



It is a pleasure to add so good a portrait as the one accom- 

 panying this sketch to the archives of our society. Secy. 



There is a better way to water house plants than with a hand 

 watering pot, which must be held up at arms length. Have a shelf 

 higher than the benches. A pail of water placed on this shelf, with 

 a long rubber tube running from it, constitutes a syphon that will 

 save much labor. A cutoff and a nozzle can be put on the end of 

 the tube, so that the water can be controlled at will. Of course, there 

 must be some elevation to secure force enough to make a spray, but 

 the water will run in a stream if the pail is just above the height of 

 the benches. 



