New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1859-07-19
THE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE.
To ne ESisoy If Ts< " u Tribune.

To ne ESior If The y. y. Tribune
s,,. Van x,l, don ,,ess have received glowing and
rthasiasiic accounts Of the ceremonies seodng the
lv, e the c.rper.stone Of TIE ". Y. State Asrical
,nral Col,se az Ovid, n. Y, on Thursday, the tn
init
The affair was by 10 means fsilare. Allow one
who wa present however, 10 )te few points when
ssem 30 him to deserve special exception from any
general complimentary account.
The gentlemen iutru.te1 with the arrangements for
the ceremony seem 20 have quite moderated their
oxu importance and that of the occasion. They
seem 10 hay. taken fyr granted tha. It was Ia BE-
me- h,,le p,iva'. sdair and accordingly provided
eats for Dot o NO people. There were ~" on
the grouId At least The lev seats p'ovided were un-
sheltered by anv awning and iacei 10 the "es giving
IN. occupants full benefit Vt the afternoon sum-
Cu.sts who arrived The steamers we're kn1ly
All, wed the pleasure of ride to he vlage-hree
miles M ard two dowu-under scorchog sum- 10 pro-
cure their dinner at their owo expense.
A ter the usual delay. which was OF course nobodys
FAINT the procession of diynarss made its appear
arce and the performance begun according to the
The speeches were all able, and acceptable to the
who could bear hem.
Ex.Gov.rtor King spoke az length of the Inception
ana sub,eqneut history Of the institution. lie spoke
forcibly aud eloqueuty. No fault OF CO nmission
be alG 10 biz cba,ge 10 that of sny of the speakes
Bot all aud tue Governor in particular were
guilty Of serious fault Of omission, in paseiog too
whom they owe the existence of the institution, AID
theuseiyes a. NJ Board Of Trustees.
The Nes-Yo,k S,ate Agricultural College was char
tired April Is, 1873, John De.feli and others being
Trustees. Mr. Deish.ld was cnosen President and
his farm at oakland plrh sell f. the Us, of the Col
lege To Mr.. Deafed is due snd must ever belong
the credit of originated the project of an Agricultural
College to be heated in Seneca County. But when he
died IL .tober 1853, his project was buried 10 tne
same grave The farm given up, and the whols
affair totally abandoned.
No ef,rt was made by anybody anywhere for two
or tn ee years 10 revive II.
The Rev. Amos Brown, IL. ID now President Of
the Peoples College at Havana, was the first man TO
prop re reviv. II the project with view Of sscur
Ing the location Of the College at Ovid. In the Winter
OF 1856 be comne ced his labors. He visited the
T,us.e- ,heir homes snd obtained their guaranty
that he College should be located At Ovid, in case he
could con pass its resurrection.
By bis efforts = bill was worked through the Jegls-
laur- providing for the loan Of 100000 condition
of an equal som being rasei by the friends Of the
Col.g. The people nf Ovid, siimnla,ed by his zeal
aud bis example promptly subscribed and paid in the
requip amOu {.
Ibis done the Trustees met and assumed the
syement of AFFAIR.". Their first action Ia admit
dcusso on Ms to whether the College Notwithstanding
their personal guaranty should be located at OVID, or
at Sheldrske the banks OF Csyuga Lake.
The locsti D, hoSever, vas tisaly made at Ovid, as
in goOd faith u ust have been.
The zeal and the Efforts Of DR. Brown we're rewarded
by the election of apother-the Hon. Samuel Caeever
as Pr. sidept From the day Of his resignation as
Trustee no al adva have been made. The rrus-
have met aid adjourned. They have let the con-
tract for building and laid the store bat no
additional funds have been raised 10 any amount; aod
further development of the plans Of construction
ard experiment been made.
Tins decspitation Of DIR. Brown was far less disas-
trous for him than for them A President Of the
Peoples College, he has fair field for the display OF
those talents zDd that energy which might aad which
ought to, have been r. cured to THE institution.
IL was hardly far then for these speakers 10 pass
by he abors Of Dr. Brown with merely passing
notice. They surely had nothing to lose by doing him
full and ample justice
There the usual amount of claptrap laudato Of
farmers and Of their calling the most honorable
" a. we'll a. the most ancient OF al professions.
This IN nonsense Plowi aud hoelDg corn are no
con mendabe tbaa setting types, wing tim
Der. All lawful callings are equally honorable II not
tqu ally ancient
Farmers deserve no Difference ard no respect, az
such.
take Of my bat 70 no man because he drives oxen
AND the idea obnDdapty harped upon that the special
education Of to BE- farmers, is to elevate the
profession equally absurd. Farmers not TO take
rank 10 society a.0 the world farmers bat ~ men,
and men, they should not DO cobtebt with
side0, partial .ducaton, but should insist npoD broad
geoera and systematic raniog that is, if they wish
10 be men, sDd lot simply farmers. And this in sdi
ti,n TO AID IN preparation for their special pro-
fessiODal avocaoD. The planners Of thus College
will certainly II AXE a great mistake theD II they
Dcertske to make this institution anything moro
then tricty and exclusively an agricultural college.
Three years is too short time, and 5000 is too ale
money give thorough professional well a.
genera education.
Hosever, what the institution is to be, Is to be
de,tru Ded not by any plan laid down beforehand but
by the exigerces possibilities Of the future.
We have doubt that great good will accrue to ths
farmers ~ a class and 20 the whole country, even
should this experiment fail. There il often sdvan-
tage in knowing what cannot be done.
Yours, respectfully, VISDEx.
Grid, July 9, 1859.