I have been asked by a number of farmers, and also by a number of the manufacturers to call the attention of our legislators to several changes needed in our law in order to better secure all parties from imposition. As to exactly what changes must be made, if any, I feel that this should be left to the wisdom of our law-makers; but the following points should be covered, in a good law.

The quality of the fertilizers placed upon the market, should be guaranteed after they enter our State, which can only be accomplished by a more rigid system of inspection. This should be done in a manner that will not interfere with the legitimate operation of the business. The chances of suppressing fraud should be made as simple as possible, and when guilty parties are found, the penalties should be sufficiently severe to make it probable that the same parties would not attempt it again. The interests of honorable dealers should be protected as well as those of honorable purchasers, and last of all the chemist should be paid enough to live upon, and not be liable to the freaks of party passion, or to be placed in such a position as at present, where he is liable to be crushed in the legitimate discharge of his duties. If it be not too presumptuous, I think this may all be accomplished by slight modifications and additions to our present law.

There may be other items which will occur to our legislators when they give the matter their consideration, but these are the most prominent that have been brought to my notice.

To yourself, and also to the Honorable Board of Trustees of the Mississippi A. & M. College, I am under lasting obligations for favors and kindness shown to me in providing necessary apparatus, etc., for the successful execution of the law.

Respectfully submitted,

Nov. 24, 1885.

JOHN A. MYERS,

State Chemist.

LAWS OF CONGRESS RELATING TO THE COLLEGE.

AN ACT, donating public lands to the several States and Territories which may provide Colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the mechanic arts.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That there be granted to the several States, for the purposes hereinafter mentioned, an amount of public land, to be apportioned to each State a quantity equal to thirty thousand acres for each Senator and Representative in Congress to which the States are respectively entitled by the apportionment under the census of eighteen hundred and sixty. Provided, That no mineral lands shall be selected or purchased under the provisions of this Act.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the land aforesaid, after being surveyed, shall be apportioned to the several States in sec.

tions, or subdivisions of sections not less than one quarter of a section; and whenever there are public lands in a State subject to sale at private entry at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, the quantity to which said State shall be entitled shall be selected from such lands within the limits of such State; and the Secretary of the Interior is hereby directed to issue to each of the States in which there is not the quantity of public land subject to sale at private entry at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, to which said State may be entitled under the provisions of this Act, land scrip to the amount in acres for the deficiency of its distributive share; said scrip to be sold by said State, and the proceeds thereof applied to the uses and purposes prescribed in this Act, and for no other use or purpose whatever; Provided, That in no case shall any State to which land scrip may thus be issued be allowed to locate the same within the limits of any other State, or of any Territory of the United States, but their assignees may thus locate said land scrip upon any of the unappropriated lands of the United States subject to sale at private entry, at one dollar and twenty-five cents or less per acre; and provided further, that not more than one million acres shall be located by such assignees in any one of the States; and provided further, that no such location shall be made before one year from the passage of this Act.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That all the expenses of management, superintendence and taxes, from date of selection of said lands previous to their sales, and all expenses incurred in the management and disbursement of the moneys which may be received therefrom, shall be paid by the States to which they may belong, out of the Treasury of said States, so that the entire proceeds of the sale of said lands shall be applied without any diminution whatever to the purposes hereinafter mentioned.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That all moneys derived from the sale of the lands aforesaid by the States to which the lands are apportioned, and from the sales of land scrip herein before provided for, shall be invested in stocks of the United States, or of the States, or of some other safe stocks, yielding not less than five per centum upon the par value of said stocks; and that the moneys so invested shall constitute a perpetual fund, the capital of which shall remain forever undiminished (except so far as may be provided in fifth section of this Act), and the interest of which shall be inviolably appropriated by each State which may take and claim the benefit of this Act, to the endowment, support and maintenance of at least one College, where the leading object. shall be, without excluding other scientific and classical studies, and including military tactics, to teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and the mechanic arts, and in such manner as the Legislatures of the States may prescribe, in order to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and professions in life.

SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That the grant of land and land scrip hereby authorized shall be made on the following con

ditions, to which as well as to the provisions hereinbefore contained, the previous assent of the several States shall be signified by legislative acts:

1. If any portion of the fund invested as provided by the foregoing section, or any portion of the interest thereon, shall by any act or contingency be diminished lost, it shall be replaced by the State to which it belongs, so that the capital of the fund shall remain forever undiminished; and the annual interest shall be regularly applied without diminution to the purposes mentioned in the fourth section of this Act, except that a sum not exceeding ten per centum upon the amount received by any State under the provisions of this Act may be expended for the purchase of lands for sites of experimental farms whenever authorized by the respective Legislatures of said States.

2. No portion of said fund, nor interest thereon, shall be applied directly or indirectly, under any pretense whatever, to the purchase, erection, preservation or repair of any building or buildings.

3. Any State which may take and claim the benefit of the provisions of this Act, shall provide within five years at least not less than one College, as described in the fourth section of this Act, or the grant to said State shall cease; and said State shall be bound to pay the United States the amount received of any lands previously sold, and the title to purchasers under the State shall be valid.

4. An annual report shall be made regarding the progress of each College, recording any improvements and experiments made. with their costs and results, and such other matters, including State and industrial statistics, as may be supposed useful; one copy of which shall be transmitted by mail free by each to all the other Colleges which may be endowed under the provisions of this Act, and also one copy to the Secretary of the Interior.

5. When lands shall be selected from those which have been raised to double the minimum price, in consequence of railroad grants, they shall be computed to the States at the maximum. price, and the number of acres proportionally diminished.

6. No State, while in a condition of rebellion or insurrection against the Government of the United States, shall be entitled to the benefit of this Act.

7. No State shall be entitled to the benefit of this Act unless it shall express the acceptance thereof by the Legislature within two years from the date of its approval by the President.

SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That land scrip issued under the provisions of this Act shall not be subject to location until after the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.

SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That the land officers shall receive the same fees for locating land scrip issued under the provisions of this Act as are now allowed for the location of military bounty land warrants under existing laws; Provided, That maxmum compensation shall not be thereby increased.

SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That the Governors of the several States to which scrip shall be issued under this Act, shall be required to report annually to Congress all sales made of such scrip until the whole shall be disposed of, the amount received for the same, and what appropriation has been made of the proceeds.

Approved, July 2, 1865.

LAWS OF THE STATE RELATING TO THE COLLEGE. AN ACT to establish and organize Agricultural and Mechanical Colleges, and to regulate the government of same.

WHEREAS, Section 8 of Article VIII of the Constitution provides that the Legislatures shall, as soon as practicable, provide for the establishment of an Agricultural College or Colleges, and shall appropriate the two hundred and ten thousand acres of land donated to the State for the support of such a College by the Act of Congress, passed July 2, A. D., 1865, or the money or scrip, as the case may be, arising from the sale of said lands, or any lands which may hereafter be granted or appropriated for such purposes; and

WHEREAS, The State having accepted said lands and pledged its faith to appropriate the same to the endowment of said institutions of learning; therefore,

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Mississippi, That the institution known as the Alcorn University is hereby established as, and declared to be, an Agricultural College, for the education of the colored youth of the State, and to be hereafter known as the Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College of the State of Mississippi.

SEC. 2. Be it further enacted, That an Agricultural College is hereby established for the education of the white youth of the State of Mississippi, and shall be known as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of the State of Mississippi, and shall be located and organized as hereinafter provided.

SEC. 3. Be it further enacted, That the Governor of the State shall nominate and appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, nine persons for each of said Colleges to be Trustees, to serve six years, one for each of said Colleges, to be chosen from each Congressional District, and the remainder from the State at large; five of each Board of Trustees shall be chosen from practical agriculturists or mechanics, or selected from both, as may be deemed advisable. Immediately after they shall be assembled, in consequence of their first appointment, they shall be divided equally into three classes. The term of the first class shall expire two years from the date of their appointment, and the second class four years from the date of their appointment, and the third class at the expiration of six years, so that one-third may be chosen every second year; and if vacancies happen by