198 AUTOBIOGRAPHY 



as a " freshwater/' " hayseed " affair. It was at 

 first far easier to convince the farmers that the 

 department was capable of becoming a great factor 

 in the uplift of their calling, than to gain the in- 

 terest of the Trustees. But the history of the last 

 ten years shows that at last they have realized the 

 value of the College of Agriculture to the welfare 

 of the people of the rural districts as well as to 

 the cause of education. 



FARM BUILDINGS 



When I went to Cornell the farm buildings con- 

 sisted of a small, dilapidated farm house and sev- 

 eral low, rambling barns, useful in a way and not 

 altogether bad, which stood close to the college 

 buildings not far from the Gorge. I spent a 

 month's rent in advance in making the house hab- 

 itable and then we moved in. About a year later 

 when I had definitely decided to remain at Cor- 

 nell, I drew from a western investment which was 

 bringing ten per cent interest, eleven hundred dol- 

 lars with which I installed modern sanitary con- 

 veniences and put this house in decent condition. 

 The University authorities agreed to charge off as 

 rent each year a stipulated amount until the total 

 sum should equal the amount advanced less the 



