66 MICHIGAN STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE 



serious disease than he could appreciate without actual expe- 

 rience. A little later it got hold of him. He was a sturdy, 

 pushing New Englander and fought it off bravely, keeping up 

 his work and study. One morning about 10 o'clock I came in 

 from work and found him behind the stove doing his best to 

 keep his knees from shaking, his chair from rattling, and his 

 teeth from chattering. He put up his hand imploringly and 

 said, "Don't say a word; if I ever get over this I'll never say 

 another thing about anybody, as this is the meanest disease I 

 ever saw." 



The principal work of the winter of 1858-1859 was chopping, 

 only instead of slashing it down we cut a large amount into 

 four-foot wood, which was drawn to a long shed just east of the 

 old boarding-hall. This furnished us rainy-day work or enter- 

 tainment, fiddling it up with a bucksaw. 



About a dozen of us remained through the spring vacation 

 doing chores, cutting wood, etc., and four of us were able to 

 recall in the Lincoln campaign that we had been rail splitters. 

 A pleasant event of this vacation was our invitation to and 

 attendance at the marriage of our Professor Tracy to Miss 

 Sessions, professor of mathematics of the Michigan Female 

 Seminary, of which I shall speak later. 



The summer of 1859 the College can fairly reckon as its 

 first year in which the production of farm crops and garden 

 truck was the principal work of the students. All of the ordinary 

 farm crops were raised and the quality and quantity compared 

 favorably with those of the best farms in this vicinity. The 

 garden in variety, quality, and quantity was by far the best 

 up to this date and added greatly to the pleasure, comfort, and 

 economy of living at the College. 



The late Professor Prentiss of Cornell, who was a classmate, 

 had the superintendence of the garden and directed the work in 

 the afternoon, and it was my pleasure to assist him by having 

 charge in the forenoon. 



