STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 187 



needed was to get the ''steam" in the boiler. As yet there had 

 not been a dollar of money furnished to set the machine at real 

 work and they were waiting the action of the present legisla- 

 ture to forward the enterprise if such an institution was desired 

 to be established permanently here in Minnesota. 



Capt. Blakeley. What is the present status of the farm? Is 

 it run by a sort of private enterprise or maintained by means of 

 state aid? 



Prof. Porter, Our experiment station was established by the 

 department of agriculture of the university of Minnesota as a 

 part of the equipment of that college, and the farm stands 

 simply as the workshop or farm laboratory of the college of ag- 

 riculture. A place where the teachings of the text-book, class 

 room and laboratory will find their practical illustration in the 

 field, garden and stable, where young mou may become familiar 

 with all the operations of the farm. 



Two years ago this winter the legislature passed an act au- 

 thorizing and requesting the board of regents of the state uni- 

 versity, as soon as practicable after the passage of the act, 

 to establish a state agricultural experiment station, placing 

 the direction of it under that board and- appointing the profes- 

 sor of agriculture in the university as the superintendent of that 

 station, and the law stopped there; there were no funds appro- 

 priated for the purpose of setting the thing in motion. Of course 

 the university was going right along and doing this work, and 

 it was the purpose to make it an experiment station. The State 

 steps in and authorizes this work, or what answers the same 

 purpose. But the work thus far has been carried on as I say, 

 without a dollar appropriated directly from the state funds. 



Six years ago we had a farm costing us some .§8,000 perfectly 

 unfitted for the purposes for which it was designed. That was 

 sold, another farm purchased which has been converted into a 

 magnificent plant now estimated to be worth $500,000, all thor- 

 oughly equipped for a first-class agricultural station. In that 

 length of time I have been professor of agriculture, farm super- 

 intendent, farm foreman, built all the buildings, purchased all 

 the material, paid all the bills and superintended all the work 

 carried on, and this last year acted as superintendent of the 

 farmers' institutes. N'ow, then, I submit it is utterly impossible 

 for one man to do everything. If this work is to be car- 

 ried on successfully and properly, the State must come in and 

 make such appropriations for the completion of the equipment 



