OURNAU7 
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). at the Post 
,larch 3, 1879. 
Published Weekly by The Rural Publishing Co. 
333 W. 30th St.. New York. Price One Dollar a Year. 
NEW YORK, JULY 0. 1921 
Commencement and Semi-Centennial of Massachusetts 
Agricultural College 
Part T. 
A FARMERS’ INSTITUTION. — Massachusetts 
lias just celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of 
her agricultural college—the farmers’ college, as 
many would have it. It is significant that the new 
plan of educational institution represented by the 
Land Grant colleges had its inception when the 
country was in the throes of civil war; significant 
learning as are related to agriculture and the me¬ 
chanic arts in order to promote the liberal and prac¬ 
tical education of the industrial classes." Again, it 
is significant that the half century of. work of one 
of the first of these colleges should come at a time 
when the country was in the throes of a more pow¬ 
erful and far-reaching world war. The semi-cen- 
press for consideration during the period of the 
Civil War, and this fact, doubtless, had its influence 
in bringing about plans for the improvement of the 
industries. Now, after 50 years of phenomenal 
growth, we are again and more forcibly confronted 
with the problem of an adequate and economical 
food supply to meet the needs of the industrial cen- 
A Happy Family on An Ohio Farm 
that Congress, seeing the need of a new system of 
education—one that would tend to develop the in¬ 
dustries—should turn aside from the consideration 
of questions of war and plan ways of building up the 
industries of peace. The Morrill act passed by 
Congress in 1S92 provided funds for the establish¬ 
ment of colleges in the different States whose cliie: 
function it should be to “teach such branches of 
tennial celebration at M. A. C. was first scheduled 
to take place in 1917, 50 years from the date of 
entrance of the first class, but because the country 
was in the midst of war the event was postponed 
until the present year, or 50 years after the gradu¬ 
ation of the first class. 
THE FOOD SUPPLY.—Without doubt the ques¬ 
tion of adequate food and clothing was beginning to 
tors, and especially those of New England. . So im¬ 
portant is the question of an ample and suitable 
supply of food for the workers in many of our great 
industries that boards of trade and chambers of 
commerce are asking what can be done to stimulate 
the business of farming in the surrounding country 
in order to better meet the needs of the industrial 
classes. With the rapid growth of the cities and 
