State Agricultural Society, has referred to the misapprehensions of 

 some who disparage the Agricultural Colleges of the country. 

 One objector, he says, was especially hilarious over the small 

 number of graduates from our Agricultural Colleges. 



" Let us look at this. The number is at present very small, but I 

 presume that no thoughtful man expected that at so early a period 

 after their establishment the number would be very large ; nor, in- 

 deed, do I expect that for some years the number will greatly in- 

 crease. In a new country like ours, those professions which pre- 

 sent the most brilliant returns, will be sought for first. Hence we 

 find that when a farmer decides to educate his son, it is not gener- 

 ally with the idea of making him a farmer. ****** 



But while I allow freely that this is the case now, I can state 

 quite as confidently that this condition of things cannot continue 

 for many years. There are those now living among us who will 

 stand among a hundred millions of citizens within the boundaries of 

 our Republic. When that day comes nay, long before this 

 present condition of things must change. The present system of 

 routine cultivation this present system of " skinning " lands and 

 then running away to soils more fruitful, in the intention of rob- 

 bing, and then running away from them in turn cannot last. 

 Men must get a subsistence on less and less land ; and they can 

 only get it by bringing to bear upon it better and better cultiva- 

 tion. ****** * ** 



But grant that the number of students devoted to agriculture is 

 small : it is not these alone whose education tells upon agriculture. 

 Even a partial course in it has great value. It was the remark of 

 a very distinguished statesman of this Commonwealth one who 

 occupied this desk as Speaker, yonder chamber as Governor, and 

 who received the suffrages of many of his countrymen for the high- 

 est office in their gift that the main thing in agricultural educa- 

 tion is to do something to make agricultural pursuits attractive. 



But suppose that no young men came forward to take agricul- 

 tural studies, the new education would still tell powerfully on agri- 

 culture. Think you, we can send out year after year as we did, 

 last year a hundred graduates from all our various departments, 

 whose powers of observation have been trained, and whose real 

 knowledge of subjects bearing on agriculture has been extended by 



