The Press., 1885-07-16
WASHINGTON LETTER.

" dsHihStOu, D S, duiy lIy 1ooo.
 The convention of delegates of ugricul- tural colleges, called by Agricultural Com missioner Colman, met Wednesday in the room of the seed division of the agricultu- ral department. The room was well filled, and quite number of ladies were present. 7 Commissioner Colman stated in explain ing the call of the convention, that he thought he saw the necessity of the friends of agricultural colleges meeting together to take a reckoning. The prominent idea in the endowments granted by congress for the support of agricultural colleges,
 was that of instructing young men ID farming operations, and in the fundament- al principles of plant culture, so that they
 would learn how to realize profits Ill rals- ing crops, without diminishing the fertility of the soil The results, he said, have not
 been commensurate with public expecta- tions. Complaints have been made that comparatively few of the graduates from these colleges become farmers that they adopt other professions, and that in some
 cases they have avoided, rather than em-
 braced the cultivation of farms as a voca- tion. To 8 certain extent these views
 were true. Especially in cases where the
 maintainance of the farm is noted as tax upon the funds of the college. 1t is not surprising that graduates should avoid calling which has been demonstrated to
 them as unproftable. The commissioner
 made number of suggestions as to how
 useful knowledge might be diff'lsed by colleges. He suggested that every college should have an ample fruit garden, and
 that practical forestry might we'll receive attention from every college. In this con- dition he remarked that the period of
 xuIo ic of uo1J7n
 is still an unanswered question. On every college farm commencement should be made of planting an arboretum, which should ultimately contain at least one spec imen plant of every tree and shrub capable of enduring the climate of the locality. Practical instructions in planting and rear ing line fences would perhaps lead to a better knowledge of the necessity. of sys- tematic management in order to maintain 8 good useful hedge. While deprecating the idea that in conducting farming oper- ations on college lands the work should mainly be of an experimental character, he held that no opportunity should be lost to introduce examples of processes known to be valuable, Ieven if not generally adopt ed. He mentioned climatic influence up- on plants, and the principles governing the rotation of crops, as subjects worthy of investigation by colleges. As an exam pie of special work for certain suitable To- calities, he mentioned investigations re- lating to the cotton plant. The depart ment over which he presides, he said, af- ter having collected seeds of as many dis tinct varieties as could be found, could as- sign them to colleges in all the cotton growing states with instructions such as to
 pant them side by side, and to give them precisely similar treatment throughout their growth, and as often as semi-weekly note every detail of the progress of the young plants. This would require to be continued for 8 series of years, but, when completed, could not fail of being of much benefit to all persons engaged in the cul- ture of this crop. Plant hybridizing, and diseases of plants he mentioned as other subjects deserving their cooperative atten- hon. Millions upon millions of dollars,
 he said, are lost annually by farmers by the rayages of blights, moulds, rusts, smuts and other vegetable diseases, and agricul- tural colleges can do noble work in de- termining their causes, and prescribing their remedies. There was nothing, he said, in his judgment, which would attract the attention of the great agricultural pub- | lie to our agricultural colleges, so much as experimental work such as he had outlined. ''So far as this department is concerned, 2 said the commissioner in conclusion, Sit will cooperate most heartily, most thor oughly, with the agricultural colleges of the respective states of this nation.