AN EXPERIMENTAL STATION. 321 



years, must make a strong mind complete master of its 

 materials. The diverse nature of the obstacles that have to 

 be passed by the farmer, and his varied surroundings through 

 life, make this manner of instruction, in his case peculiarly 

 appropriate. The increasing individuality of the Agricultural 

 College is most fitting, and seems to us a proper cause for 

 congratulation. Strength and utility are promoted, by its 

 standing apart from other schools, and pursuing with vigor, 

 persistency and courage, its peculiar course. 



The carrying forward of original, popular and interesting 

 investigations by President Clark, Prof. Goessmann, and 

 Prof. Stockbriclge have been attended with very good results. 

 The results in themselves are valuable. They have enlisted 

 the sympathy of intelligent men, and have advertised the 

 institution in the most desirable manner. The students have 

 been shown examples of enthusiastic, studious men in their 

 prime, and it has tended to diffuse throughout the College, 

 from the top to the bottom, and intermediate levels, an at- 

 mosphere of the most wholesome nature. Nothing could be 

 more conducive to awaken and stir the whole body of students, 

 give their minds while yet tender a bias towards inquiry, and 

 lend pleasure to the connecting of the exercise of the intellect 

 with the every-clay problems of life. 



We find the idea of the agricultural experimental station 

 realized, as a legitimate belonging of the Agricultural College. 

 While in a neighboring State an appeal is being made to its 

 legislature to establish such a station by grant of money, in 

 our College so much has been accomplished as to have drawn 

 from the lamented Professor Agassiz, at the Fitchburg meet- 

 ing of the Board, the remark, that the Agricultural College 

 had already secured for itself a " place among the scientific 

 institutions." The spirit is this : give us your money, not 

 for ourselves, but for assistants and apparatus, and we will 

 give you results. The praise due will appear the more obvi- 

 ous if we bear in mind the following sentence, taken from the 

 " North American Review " for October of the past year, and 

 following a reference to the highest seats of learning set up 

 in this country : " However great the knowledge of the sub- 

 ject which may be expected in a professor, he is not for a 

 moment expected to be an original investigator, and the 



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