STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. T5 



possessioa of a farm of 120 acres, within the limits of the city of Min- 

 neapolis. At that time, I was a stranger to the soil, a stranger to the 

 climate of this State, and a stranger also to its wants. I contented 

 myself the first year with carefully looking over the grounds and taking 

 notes. I found at the end of that season that we had a farm totally 

 unsuited for the purposes for which it was designed; there were not 

 two acres of ground in the whole 120 acres contiguous to each other, 

 of the same quality of soil; there was not one-fourth of the I2u acres 

 that would bear the weight of a horse; you could jump up and down 

 on three-fourths of it and shake the surface for a distance of fifty feet 

 around you. [Laughter.] It was either a quagmire or a sandhill. In 

 addition to this, it was unfavorably located. It was contiguous to our 

 city; it was being surrounded by the great improvements which are 

 being carried on in our rapidly growing city of Minneapolis; it was 

 being cut up by the great lines of communication between St. Paul 

 and Minneapolis, and I saw that in the course of a few years more it 

 would be totally unsuited for our wants, even though the soil was 

 suitable for our purpose. I therefore condemned it as being unfit for 

 the purpose of an experimental farm. The Board of Regents author- 

 ized me to make any selection of any farm in the State of Minnesota, 

 that I thought would be suitable for our purpose. I had in the mean- 

 time been examining diflFerent localities, and particularly the situation 

 of a farm midway between Minneapolis and St. Paul, the first pur- 

 chase embraced 155 acres and at the close of the first season we pur- 

 chased about 100 acres more. This land adjoins the new State Fair 

 Grounds, and is most conveniently located on Como Avenue. It con- 

 tains within its enclosure every variety of soil that can be found in 

 this country — from a brick clay on the one side to drifting sand on the 

 other. A portion of it is just as fine a soil as can be found on the 

 face of the globe — all that we need; and we have got just as little^ 

 poor soil as can be found within the limits of our State. We have on 

 that farm every exposure, north, south, east and west; we have lakes 

 and meadows, hills and prairies; we have everything that is desirable 

 excepting running water; but we cannot find all the advantages in 

 one place. We suppliment that deficiency by sinking a well 170 feet 

 deep and throwing water, by the use of a windmill and by power, on 

 to an elevation that enables us to distribute water over every foot of 

 ihe ground and on the top of every one of our buildings. 



This land was purchased, and two years ago this spring I took 

 possession of it and commenced the erection of our farm buildings. 



