THE BATTALION WEDNESDAY, JULY 7, 1976 Page 9 'he fir st 100 College of Agriculture had rough start By JOHN ADAMS Contributor midst today’s progressive ag- Itural programs at Texas A & M, it Difficult to imagine the College of liculture ever experiencing near iltnemberment due to the rough Editions and mismanagement. I ay’s agricultural instruction, re- H ch and extension service would le flabbergasted the early Icators and students of the A&M lege. Alter the opening of the college in ber, 1876, President T. S. iliright, unfamiliar with “agrieul- ra! and mechanical endeavors, m entrated on a course curriculum 1 d on “elective studies with the ifsics as its great central idea. ” Lit- \ /as done to foster an agricultural ram, outside the small college !en and the president pet tur- I With the wholesale resignation of Bfaculty in November, 1879, and lappointment of Colonel John G. niios as president, the agricultural se of study was finally fully in- ed. In a report by Colonel James i July 1, 1880 he said of the early pge instruction: “instead of larizing the study of agricul- horticulture, stock-breeding ■the mechanic arts, and thus fos- Dig a juster appreciation of the Mitv and importance of those 2 |at industrial pursuits the college & sedulously cultivated a senti- 'n! antagonistic to the develop- /■t of these branches of study. It f in spirit and in fact, as far as jHBimstances permitted, a strictly jrary college, top-grafted with a ■nger prominent military fea- rlonel James began at once to rent a viable agriculture pro- @n. In order to obtain some idea of s type of work conducted on the icM farm along the Brazos, James Bested a full report from Captain ■Cellner, Farm Superintendent, diner’s first annual report was an e opener! I “On July 11th, 1879, I ar- |[ived at the College, and went to work with the laborers to Dive some fodder and hay. A Born crop was not made last The A&M Farm, 1890, as seen from the top floor of Old Main, looking eastward. year. There was only a small area under plow, and the place over-run with weeds. In the fall I sowed some se venty acres in wheat, rye, bar ley and oats. The frost at Christmas 1879, killed nearly all of it. Only 5V2 acres of oats I have harvested, which had rusted badly. The rye, being also badly rusted, I plowed under, and I now have a fine field of millet on the rye land. I planted potatoes very early, before Christmas, be cause the seed potatoes re ceived from Philadelphia took the dry rot. The frost March 13th (when the potatoes bloomed fine), cut them down, and we only harvested two barrels of small potatoes, which were consumed at the mess hall. Of corn I planted 9 varieti es, of which the “Golden,” from Pulaski Illinois, seems to be the most promising. His corn was sent here by his ex cellency, Governor O. M. Roberts. The corn was partly killed by the frost 13th of March, and rotted afterwards in the ground. Two-thirds of the corn I had to replant, causing extra labor. Of cotton I planted seven acres, which does not promise much, but will pay for the labor expended. Causes are poor soil and weedy lands. The College owns three mules and two breeding sows, six shoats and three little ones. These animals (the hogs) I purchased from the money re ceived from the sale of garden seeds to the professors of the College. Kellner, as a result of the poor 1879-1880 season, commented, “With all your plowing and subsoil ing you must have a basis to grow your crops from, and this is manure. (The soil at the A. and M. farm is the poorest in Texas.) Artificial fertiliz ers are very nice, convenient to handle; but they do not at present justify the purchase.” Little did he know then, that the heavy clay consistency of the soil was the prime cause of his problems. In time this was overcome. Professor C. C. Georgeson was selected as the head of the “Depart ment of Agriculture and Horticul ture” by James in mid-1880. His main objective was to establish daily lectures in agriculture and farm management. Freshman for the first time, in late 1880 studied courses related to agriculture. Labs were es tablished, the dairy herds enlarged, new land cleared and the college farm fenced. President James’ insistence on a well organized progressive agricul tural program set the mood for Texas A&M’s agricultural endeavors. r rant aids top students * A Tews A&M University educa- liiil researchers have been gdc-d a $60,000 federal grant to |gifted students with career de- ions, announced U.S. Rep. Olin (ague said the Department of alth, Education and Welfare the grant to Texas A&M to fort a project involving students :M Consolidated High School illege Station, lirected by Drs. Christopher lan and William Nash, educa- psychologists, the project will the high school identify gifted ;nts and help them in career de- . ls - lash and Borman’s procedures ic carefully viewed by HEW for de application as a career edu- on model in other cases, said the 1 am very pleased with this grant apse of its efforts to encourage r\ted young people to make cou pons to our society, Teague ittalion Classified 845-2611 A&M Consolidated students will go through three phases in this pro gram. They will spend a full quarter in the counseling laboratories at Texas A&M’s Educational Psychology De partment exploring various career options. They then work in a de partment on campus with a professor in a chosen field to gain first-hand knowledge of the discipline. Third- phase activities include an intern ship in a business in the community or in a job-related area of interest. SAVE A BUNDLE” Remember the old, Cash and Carry, money saving trick? 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