THE SCIENTIFIC SCHOOL. 277 



Scientific School was opened for pupils. Beyond 

 the income of five thousand dollars which a liberal 

 benefactor of the College agreed to provide for a 

 limited period, there were no funds. The College 

 granted the use of a house which had been formerly 

 the President's house, and was then vacant. The 

 changes necessary to prepare this building for the 

 uses of the new School, were paid for by the Pro 

 fessors out of their private means and from the small 

 fund of the School itself, and for two years a rent for 

 the building was paid to the College. The requisite 

 apparatus and library were provided from the same 

 sources. Narrow as were these beginnings, there 

 was, from the first, evidence of vitality in the under 

 taking. A goodly number of pupils made their ap 

 pearance, and in the first class were several whose 

 names are now known on both sides of the Atlantic. 

 Of these, three are now Professors in the Scientific 

 Department of the College, Mr. Brush, Mr. John 

 son, and Mr. Brewer. 4 



Professor Silliman regarded with the liveliest inter 

 est the growing prosperity of this important branch of 

 the College, and was ever ready to cooperate in all 

 plans for its better endowment and the enlargement 

 of its means of usefulness. He had the satisfaction 

 of living to see it receive the liberal benefactions of 

 the gentleman whose name it now bears, as well 

 as the government bounty under the Agricultural 

 College Act, and numerous smaller private gifts. 

 From the small commencement, with only two Pro 

 fessors, he witnessed its transfer to a spacious and 

 commodious edifice, with a large corps of compe 

 tent Professors, and a constantly increasing body of 

 students. 



