CHANGE OF OPINION. 117 



have formed sulphate of lime similar to this South Carolina 

 deposit. A few bones are found in this phosphate of lime, which 

 are the bones of extinct animals, also, and 1 should not be sur- 

 prised if the progress of discovery should show that the phos- 

 phate of lime bed in South Carolina is equivalent to those of 

 South America, and that the phosphate itself is the result of the 

 decomposed bones, which, in the South, are preserved, to give 

 us an idea of what were the animals of those times. That is all 

 I can surmise concerning the origin of that vast deposit, and 

 there is such a similarity between the superficial deposits of 

 South America and North America, that I think this is proba- 

 ble. I have lately made an examination of our prairie, of which 

 I shall perhaps say something this evening in my lecture, and 

 have had an opportunity to compare it with the deposits of the 

 Amazon, and the similarity is so surprising, that this, to my 

 mind, is an additional reason for believing that the deposits of 

 South Carolina will prove similar to those of the Argentine Re- 

 public, and thus give a clew to this very curious material. 



I will avail myself of this opportunity to make a few remarks 

 which were suggested by what was said by the first speaker this 

 morning, who alluded to the importance of manuring and the 

 use of mercantile manures, and to the method of securing 

 farmers from imposition and affording them proper information 

 on the subject. I take this opportunity to express my opinion 

 of the importance of this college. The members of the State 

 Board of Agriculture well know that I have been one of those 

 who had no faith in an agricultural college. I have done all I 

 could to prevent its organization. I am glad I did not succeed. 

 But, gentlemen, my opposition arose from this : that I have seen 

 too much of these scattered efforts to do everything at every 

 place. I have become so well satisfied that we have a great 

 many too many institutions of the same character, that I was 

 apprehensive that the organization of an agricultural college 

 would end in giving us another college of no great importance ; 

 and if it had ended in that way, we should really have lost an 

 important means, which might have been usefully applied ; for 

 we have already five colleges, and if the Agricultural College 

 had been only another school similar to the colleges already in 

 existence, we should have had six, and we should have had 

 nothing of any very special importance. It seemed to me that 



