The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1880-10-27

been discovered that its hard trap makes
the finest of road metal when cemented.
1t is now carried long distances for this
purpose. The Stevens Institute is built
of it, and a visit to this school gave me
the long coveted opportunity of seeing a
little more of this remarkable college.
The Stevens Institute does but one thing
make mechanical engineers-and this
is done about equally in the lecture-room
and in the work shop-it being now al
most settled that the mechanical engineer
of the future will be mechanic as we'll
as a scholar.
New Haven is among the most beauti-
full of cities, in its residences, and in its
wide and shaded avenues. 1t might be
called The City of Elms, so numerous and
large are its elms, and so carefully trim
med and protected from its insect enc
mics. There are vistas to be seen there
such as are not often seen out of England
Yale College, like Harvard and Prince
ton, and unlike our own University, is in
a strait jacket of streets. But for the
magnificent public square on one side,
the great college would be somewhat hard
to fnd-indeed it has been compelled to
mix itself partly with the town. But it
has been prospering, erecting new build
ings and handsome ones, ard increasing
in students; but its endowments are scant
compared with those of Harvard. In
spite of Prof. Marsh's absurd (shall we
venture to call it?) claims that he found
proof of mans existence in the Tertiary,
and of Prof. Dana's meek acceptance of
Prof Marsh's statements, Yale is conser-
vatlve in its spirit not so firm as our
State University, or as Princeton, Am
herst, ETC., but is a model of orthodoxy
compared with Harvard
My special visit was to the Sheffield
Scientific School, which now has nom
inal connection with Yale College, but
was started as private enterprise, and
endowed by Mr.. Sheffield, wealthy old
gentleman still living in the city, and
eighty-seven years old. This school oc-
cupies two buildings some squares dis
tant from Yale College proper. [ had
the pleasure of meeting there, besides
others, Prof S. w. Johnston, who has
long been distinguished for his chemical
labors, especially in connection with ag-
riculture, and recently by two volumes
of the highest excellence on scientific
agriculture, one entitled, "How Crops
Feed, and the other How Crops Grow"
which books venture to recommend
to every farmer. Prof. Johnston seems
to be but little past middle life, and it is
to be hoped that he will long be spared
to teach the people. The Peabody Mu-
scum is splendid affair, but I could only
run my eye over it's tempting cases. Pro
fessor Marsh's Rocky Mountain spoils are
all here, [ suppose, but could not stop
to examine.
Connecticut having at last concluded
that State, even of her magnitude, can
subsist with only one capital, the old
State House at New Haven has been con-
verted into some sort of an art museum.
The Valley Of the Connecticut River is
very beautiful, fertile, and highly i'm
Proved-taken altogether, not surpassed
by any other, except perhaps by the Mo-
hawk Valley in New York. The Con
necticut River is bright, placid stream
of about the size of New River in Mont
gomery county, Va. flowing over a bed
Of Jurassic sandstone, and on its banks
are a succession of finely improved farms,
and towns, and villages, too numerous to
mention.
But leaving the river at Springfield
and moving off toward Boston, one sees
an anomalous state Of afairs-namely,
numerous cities and towns without any
apparent reason for their existence, there
being no mineral wealth, except granite,
but little water power, and an Indifferent
and thinly populated farming country.
The top layer of nearly the whole State
is glacial drift, which, like drift generally.
varies in quality and texture0bowlder
strewed in some places, almost pure sand
In others, pipe clay in others, and else
where mixtures in all proportions. The
farm houses were few, and none of the
best, though neat. The bulk of the coun-
try seemed to be in brush wood, with
very few stumps; presenting the appear
ance of region too poor to grow large
timber. There appeared, however, an oc-
casional forest of medium sized trees. in,
clining more to evergreens as we moved
to the northeast. White poplar and
white birch seemed most common among
deciduous trees. The proportion of cui.
tivated land seemed no larger than in
the more thinly populated parts of east
Virginia, and marvellously little of the
cleared land was TILED. Hay and pas
ture seemed to be the chief crops. In
JooJ ono oc h. voa.-1.z- r.