OF PENNSYLVANIA. 43 



had before doubted. But the result of this inauspicious 

 opening of the college was that for the first time it was not 

 filled with students, although eighty-eight were recorded 

 in the third annual catalogue, published at the close of the 

 session. 



This session will always be interesting to the students 

 of the college as being that at the close of which the first 

 class was graduated. This was also the first class that 

 graduated at an Agricultural College in the United States, 

 and they graduated upon a higher scientific educational 

 standard than is required at any other Agricultural College 

 in the world. They had completed their course in three 

 years, owing to their having entered the third class the first 

 year. In 1858, the class had fifty-five students in it, and 

 in 1861 it was reduced to seventeen, and only eleven of 

 these completed their course, passed their examination, 

 and took the degree of Bachelor of Scientific Agriculture. 

 The following are the names. 



James Miles, Jr., Erie Co.; A. C. Church, Luzerne Co.; 

 J. W. Eckman, Lebanon ; Samuel Holliday, Erie Co. ; E. 

 P. McCorrnick, Clinton Co.; M. S. Lytle, Huntingdon; 

 John N. Banks, Juniata; J. D. Isett, Huntingdon; L. C. 

 Troutman, Philadelphia; C. A. Smith, Berks; C. E. Trout- 

 man, Philadelphia. 



The present session was opened on the 19th of February, 

 1862, and is now more than half completed ; the college is 

 full, notwithstanding the disturbed state of the country, 

 and all its affairs are working more satisfactorily than 

 they have ever done before. 



CHANGE OF NAME. 



The name " Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania," 

 originated partly in a feeling that farmers might be pre- 

 judiced against the word "college" as that of a place where 

 boys only contracted idle habits, and partly with the idea of 

 founding a small institution, with a limited course of instruc- 

 tion, similar to the Agricultural Schools of Europe, which 

 are subordinate to the Agricultural Colleges there. 



But the school, on being organized, adopted a course of 

 instruction in mathematics and the natural sciences, more 



