450 HIGHLAND AND AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



gentlemen that the labours of a College are only calculated 

 to form the occupation of early years ; but consideration of 

 the matter was delayed until it was seen what might be 

 done by the Royal Commissioners (then named to inquire 

 into the state of the Universities in Scotland) in regard to 

 the agricultural class in the College in Edinburgh. It was 

 also not known how far it might be consistent with the 

 rules or practice of the University that a Professor should 

 give a popular course of lectures beyond the walls of the 

 College. 



The subject of giving a grant to the Agricultural Chair 

 has been on several occasions under the consideration of 

 the Society. The matter was fully considered in 1862 

 when the Universities Commission was sitting, and it was 

 thought that that was a suitable opportunity to contribute 

 a sum from the funds of the Society, provided the Commis- 

 sioners would contribute from the funds at their disposal a 

 like sum. To the regret of the Directors, an unfavourable 

 reply was ultimately received from the Commissioners, in 

 consequence of the sum placed at their disposal being so 

 limited, considering the many claims they had to take 

 into consideration. At the General Meeting on i6th 

 January 1867, Sir Walter Elliot of Wolfelee brought before 

 it the better endowment of the Chair of Agriculture in the 

 University of Edinburgh. Much had been done recently 

 by the Commissioners for the Improvement of the Univer- 

 sities in Scotland, and the changes they had proposed had 

 all been agreed to, but the Chair of Agriculture had been 

 omitted. He observed that, amongst other endowments, 

 they had one in the University of Edinburgh for a chair for 

 the study of Sanscrit Literature, which had been mainly 

 endowed by the liberality of a private gentleman. He 

 could not help feeling that a Chair of Agriculture ought to 

 have found more supporters than that of Sanscrit. On Sir 

 Walter's m.otion, it was resolved to second an effort being 

 made to obtain from the Government an efficient endow- 

 ment for the Chair of Agriculture. The subject was sub- 

 .sequently fully considered by the Directors, and at the 

 General Meeting in January 1868, on the motion of Mr 



