DE HIRSCH AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL 189 



fertile plains of southern Russia or the heavy, low, clay 

 or loam soils of Poland and of the Baltic Provinces. 



Gradually he came to feel that the first generation of 

 farmers at Woodbine would, at best, make unsatisfactory 

 progress, but that, by training the sons and daughters of 

 these farmers in the newer methods of farming and par- 

 ticularly in those most directly applicable to the sandy 

 and gravelly soils of the Coastal Plain, it might become 

 possible to extend gradually the acreage of cleared and 

 improved land and to place farming in the new colony 

 on a sound basis. His conviction thus grew stronger 

 in behalf of organizing more or less systematic training 

 in technical and theoretical agriculture. 



It is probable that the thought as to the organizing of 

 an agricultural school at Woodbine was fairly mature 

 in 1892. His contact with Dr. E. B. Voorhees, late 

 Director of the New Jersey Experiment Station, appar- 

 ently strengthened his determination to utilize to the 

 fullest extent every opportunity that might offer itself 

 in behalf of the establishment of an agricultural school. 

 In the fall of 1893 he suggested to the writer of this 

 article and to Jacob Kotinsky, another of the young 

 farmers at Woodbine, that it might be wise for them to 

 prepare themselves to enter the State Agricultural Col- 

 lege at New Brunswick. His enthusiasm and his offer 

 of moral and financial support served as a powerful 

 stimulus to both of us, even though we had been out 

 of school for some years. We applied ourselves faith- 

 fully to preparation in mathematics and in other subjects 

 required for admission to the College. 



Through the kindness of Professor Sabsovich we met 

 Dr. Voorhees in the fall of 1893 and were by him further 

 encouraged to prepare for an agricultural course at the 

 College. His clear vision permitted Professor Sabsovich 



