Book excerpt: Excerpt from Monographs on Education in the United States, Vol. 12: Agricultural Education The first agricultural college to be actually established and put in operation was that of the state of Michigan. Article 13, section II of the constitution of the state of Michigan adopted in 1850, says: The legislature shall encourage the promotion of intellectual, scientific, and agri cultural improvement; and shall as soon as practicable, pro vide for the establishment of an agricultural school. This was the first state constitution to provide for the establish ment of an agricultural school. It is noteworthy, also, that it was the first one to provide that all instruction in the dis triet schools Should be conducted in the English language. The act establishing the state agricultural college of Michi gan was passed on February 12, I855. The college was located upon a farm of Some 500 acres, situated about four miles east of the city of Lansing; buildings were erected, and the college was formally opened in May, 1847. The legislature of Maryland incorporated the next agri cultural college in 1856, which was, however, in part a pri vate institution. Some five hundred citizens of Maryland, and of the District of Columbia, together with a few from adjacent states, subscribed to a certain amount of stock, which the legislature required should be provided. The stockholders elected a board of trustees, and this body located the college upon the estate of Charles B. Calvert, Situated in Prince George county, about nine miles east of the city of Washington. The institution was opened for students in September, 1859, when Professor Joseph Henry of the Smithsonian institution, delivered a handsome oration. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.