36 AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE 



would have at once broken up in despair, but the trustees 

 of the Farm School, determined not to yield to these diffi- 

 culties, made arrangement for the admission of pupils on 

 the assumption that the building must Ite prepared for them. 

 The conditions of admission and course of instruction were 

 settled upon, and it is not a little remarkable, that at that 

 time, and under these difficulties, and relying wholly upon 

 their judgment of what the college should be, but without 

 any experience as to how it would meet the wants of the 

 Agricultural Community, the}^ laid down the general plan 

 of operation for it, which has since been followed out, and 

 is now proving successful. It was decided to carry up 

 about one-third of the building, and complete it for the 

 admission of about 100 students, leaving the other two- 

 thirds with only the basement walls up. 



PROSPECT OF FAILURE. 



At this period, such seemed to be the hopelessness of 

 completing the building that those who did not appreciate 

 the importance of doing so, nor understand the devotion of 

 the Trustees, and more especially of the building commit- 

 tee, to the cause they had espoused, did not think it ever 

 could be completed; and their policy of commencing a 

 building sufficiently large to organize an Agricultural 

 College was severely condemned, while a small school 

 with an elementary course of instruction was pointed out as 

 what could and should have been founded. To add to the 

 discouragement of the members of the Board, who were 

 determined the work should not stop, one of the most pro- 

 minent members who had labored hard for the cause from 

 the beginning resigned, but his place was supplied at the 

 next annual meeting of the delegates, September 1st, 1858. 



At the fifteenth meeting of the Board, December 8th, 1858, 

 it was resolved that the school be opened for students on 

 the 16th of February, 1859, and measures were taken to 

 apprize the people of the Commonwealth of the fact, as 

 also of the terms and form of admission. As already re- 

 marked, it had become evident that Turner and Natcher 

 would be unable to comply with the conditions of the con- 

 tract. The work of preparing the building had therefore 



