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the attendance of farmers' boys as students. They clamored 

 for the reinstatement of my predecessor, and for the separa- 

 tion of the College of Agriculture, which they claimed was 

 discriminated against by Regents, Faculty and students, 

 who looked down upon agriculture as an inferior pursuit, 

 and that their boys would there be * ' educated away from the 

 farm." At every legislative session, for a number of years, 

 the agitation for separation was resumed, and in the inter- 

 vals it was advocated in tfce newspapers. For a time the 

 situation looked most discouraging, the more as I was the 

 sole representative of the college, and a stranger to the 

 people of the state. 



During the first two years no students applied for the 

 course in agriculture proper; but I gave lectures on botany 

 and mineralogy, which were lacking at the time. I also 

 delivered lectures on various technical subjects in San Fran- 

 cisco and Oakland, and tried to start Farmers' Institute 

 meetings at outside points; but these were at first very 

 thinly attended. I also announced that I would investigate 

 any questions or problems submitted to me by farmers; 

 and it may be interesting to recall the fact that thus, in 

 June, 1875, the first Experiment Station in the United 

 States was definitely established in California, the experi- 

 mental orchard having already been planted in 1873. 



Gradually these activities told upon the attitude of the 

 farmers, and I was at last invited to address some public 

 meetings of granges, where I had the opportunity to explain 

 my views and intentions. I laid special stress upon the 

 fact that they themselves were depreciating the dignity of 

 their calling by trying to keep their sons out of contact 

 with the rest of the educated professional men of the state ; 

 that there existed at the University no such snobbishness 

 as they imagined would "wean their boys from the farm,'* 

 and that they should assert, and not depreciate themselves. 

 I asked why they themselves sent so few farmers to the 

 legislature instead of lawyers and doctors. The hesitating 

 answer was that when they did send farmers to Sacramento 



