28 IN AND OUT OF ITHACA. 



quently the entire amount of the land scrip came into 

 the full possession of Cornell University. Mr. Cornell 

 paid Genesee College the $25,000 required by the act, 

 executed his bond for $500,000 bearing seven per cent, 

 interest, in favor of the University, and in addition gave 

 two hundred and thirty acres of laud as a site for the 

 University and a University farm. 



But this was by no means all. The State of New 

 York not having any public land within its own bor- 

 ders, could not locate the scrip, and was therefore 

 obliged to sell it at the market price. Owing to the 

 great amount of the scrip thrown upon the market, the 

 price was rapidly forced down. An average price of 

 about sixty cents an acre was all that could have been 

 derived from the sale of the lands, and the endowment 

 from this source, therefore, in case the scrip had been 

 sold, would have amounted to little more than $600,000. 

 There was only one way in which a larger sum could 

 be realized. The State could sell the scrip to the 

 Trustees, who could themselves locate the land for the 

 State. An act was accordingly passed, the substance of 

 which was, that the State offered to sell the land to the 

 Trustees at thirty cents per acre, and if this offer was 

 not accepted by the Trustees, offered to sell the scrip 

 to any person or persons who would give security that 

 the profits arising from the location and sale of the 

 lands would be turned over to the State, to be added to 

 the endowment of the University. The Trustees of the 

 University were not in a condition to avail themselves 

 of the provisions of the act, and accordingly Mr. Cor- 



