ous grains, grasses, vegetables and fruits, with the hope that the final results might add to the experimental knowledge of the cultivators of the soil."
The "correspondence committee" made a report, recommending two gentlemen for the presidency, and two professorships-physics and mathematics. The minutes show that the recommendations were adopted, but nothing further, at this meeting, was done toward organizing a faculty.
An executive committee of three, to transact necessary business during the interim of the regular meetings of the board, was appointed, and instructed to prepare plans and specifications for a farm-house and a barn ; enclose 160 acres, and have it broken; survey and plat the farm; secure plans and specifications for a college building, and to perfect the title of all transfers and donations to the college.
One of the first acts of the trustees, at the regular January meeting in 1860, was to declare it inexpedient now to elect a president of the college. This action was taken very reluctantly, the trustees believing that this action postponed that officer's election at the farthest one year. Could they have known then that eight harvests would come before the president would be elected, it would have seemed as if the enterprise were abandoned by its fathers. A great civil war was to be fought and brought to a favorable issue; vast social problems, which had waited years for solution, would be solved; a race would be emancipated from bondage-all this would take place before the doors of the industrial college would open.
Mr. Coffin resigned, and Peter Melendy was elected to fill the vacancy. Trustee Gaines was appointed farm agent, to carry on the improvements to be made the coming year. The kitchen part of the farm-house and a barn were ordered to be built this spring.
At the session of the Legislature in 1860 the enemies of the college made a strong effort to secure the repeal of the act providing for its establishment. The committee were directed to inquire into the expediency of repealing an act providing for the establishment of the agricultural college. The majority report was strongly against the repeal, characterizing the proposed step as unwise, unjust and clearly inexpedient. The minority of the committee submitted, with their report, a bill repealing the act by which the college was established. Time must be gained or else, as the friends of the college saw, the House was disposed to vote for the repealing bill. The chairman of the committee on agriculture, Hon. B. F. Gue, arose and moved that the bill be laid on the table, for the present, as its opponents were not quite ready to act upon it. The motion seemed reasonable, and prevailed. About two weeks later an effort was made to take the bill from the table, but the friends of the college were not ready yet, and raised the point that where objection was made it required a two-thirds vote to call the bill up. The speaker sustained the point, and as the friends of the college never got ready during the session to take up the bill, and its opponents were never able to get a two-thirds vote, it has rested there in quietness from that date to this.
The friends of the college, well satisfied that they had barely saved their embryo institution from destruction, made no effort during the remainder of the session to secure an appropriation for a college building, but decided to wait for a more auspicious occasion.
All the meetings of the board previous to January 5, 1861, were held at Des Moines. Now for the first time the trustees met on the college farm at the farm-house. It was decided to rent the farm and apply the proceeds to improvements. Mr. W. H. Fitzpatrick