History of Alameda County, California : including its geology, topography, soil, and productions, Part 111

Author: Munro-Fraser, J. P
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Oakland, Calif. : M.W. Wood
Number of Pages: 1206

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Library and Works of Art .- There will soon be displayed in the art gallery the Pioche collection of paintings, and the paintings and sculpture given by Mr. Bacon. The first will have great value as illustrating a period of French art; the last has many works of superior merit. The library began with one thousand volumes, trans- ferred with the property of the College of California. It has since rapidly increased through gifts of Michael Reese, F. L. A. Pioche, Edmond L. Gould, President Gil- man, Sherman Day, John W. Dwinelle, Mrs, and Miss Fourgeaud, William Ash- burner, Mr. Bacon, and a host of unobtrusive friends. It can only be said to be measurably complete in the direction of scientific works, owing to the long list of periodicals which are yearly increased in number and are copiously indexed. The greatest economy of purchase has been found necessary. A fuller supply of belles lettres is greatly desired; also books on special subjects, such as political and social science, mining, mathematics, and zoology. The present yearly income of about $4,000 is from a bequest of $50,000, made by Michael Reese. The library must grow from similar accretions, large and small. Its future magnificence will depend, therefore, largely on the liberality of wealthy citizens and the grateful gifts of those who have experienced the benefits of the University. As the library is a department of the University, the property of the State, and to be hereafter made accessible to all citizens, it will be specially interesting and valuable to residents of Berkeley. It is in charge of Joseph C. Rowell, a graduate of the University. The building occu- pied by the College of Mechanics and the College of Mining is of brick, large, well built, and well lighted. The only other building of importance is a large and well- furnished gymnasium, built by A. K. P. Harmon, of Oakland, which can, if needed, be used for literary exercises. A hall for the accommodation of the athletic clubs is in contemplation.

The Grounds .- No college or university has ever before been environed by such natural beauties. Art has done more for many; as, for instance, the schools in Spain during the Arabic revival, and those of ancient Greece made memorable by the teachings of the great philosophers. But the groves of Academe sifted through with dust from the ill-kept thoroughfares of Athens, and overlooked by imposing temples

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of faultless architecture, were not half so rich in beauties and endowments, or so brilliant with foliage and color, as these not very trimly-kept grounds in which nature disports herself in almost unrestrained luxuriance. The University domain includes two hundred acres of land, most of it having a soil of surpassing richness. The west line is low down upon the plateau, the east line far up in the hills. The contour of the ground is formed by Strawberry Creek and its main branch, which issue from romantic cañons behind the buildings, and run some distance in front of them. They are bordered with oaks, laurels, willows, and the coast vegetation common to such localities. Near the angle formed by their confluence is an open space-the campus proper-used by the students for their games and alfresco exercises. The College of California has caused the property to be carefully examined by Frederick Law Olm- stead, the well-known landscape engineer, before its transfer. Mr. Olmstead wrote an elaborate treatise on the subject, copies of which are rare; and prepared a map, which has unfortunately been lost. He preferred such division and ornamentation as would preserve the natural features and flowing outlines of the place, a plan that has since been somewhat varied. The grounds were afterward laid out by William Hammond Hall, under the directions of the Regents. The design is simple, involving winding drives, with entrances on the south, north, and west, serpentine walks, and a rather sharply defined terrace for the main buildings. The grounds have also been surveyed by Professor Soulé with special reference to the water-supply. The open portions, dotted with fine specimens of live-oak, have, though untouched, a finished park-like appearance, and are gay with wild poppies, buttercups, primroses, and blue lilies through winter and spring. The improved places are filled with evergreen and decid- uous trees, shrubs, plants, and flowers from every quarter of the globe. A conserv- atory occupies one of the warmest nooks. The fields of the agricultural department are near the western entrance, and are, with their specimens of imported fruits, grains, and trees undergoing a process of experimental culture, of the greatest interest to the farmer and botanist. No modern college hås grounds like these. The German universities are usually in crowded cities, and without external attractions. The English universities have lawns that are ill-kept, and a few trees poorly cared for. The American colleges have not found it easy to cultivate handsome surroundings, on account of a severe climate and ungrateful soil. Cambridge has a lawn and trees. Yale has its elms and public green. Trinity College at Hartford has limited grounds which it is trying to improve. The New York colleges are much the same, except Cornell, which has a large domain still new. All is being done at Ann Arbor that can be done at a place so situated. The southern colleges might do more in their softer climate, but their grounds are neglected and forlorn. None are so favored in climate, universal capacity of production, and beauty of outlook as this. Art might do much to aid nature, but even without art nature was never more attractive.

The Faculty .- The University's corps of professors and instructors will compare favorably in experience, attainments, dignity of character, and intellectual force, with those of the best of the Eastern colleges. Several of them were associated with the College of California; several have had experience in Eastern institutions; while to quite a number foreign study has added depth and finish of scholarship. President John Le Conte has a national reputation as a physicist. Professor Joseph Le Conte

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is accomplished in geology and its kindred branches. The works which he has pub- lished on geological science, on science in its relations to religion, his volume printed in the scientific series of the Appletons, and his numerous learned papers covering a wide variety of topics, have given him an excellent reputation among thoughtful men in this country, and have made his name known beyond the Atlantic. He was born in Georgia in 1823, and graduated in 1841 from the University of that State. After having studied at the New York College of Physicians, from which he received the degree of M. D., he practiced medicine for a short time, and then devoted himself to the study of science under Agassiz. In 1851 he became a member of the Faculty of Oglethorpe University in Georgia, first filling the chairs of Natural Science, and afterward that of Geology and Natural History. In 1856 he accepted the professor- ship of Chemistry and Geology in the University of South Carolina. This and other scientific occupations occupied his time until 1869, when he was called to the Univer- sity of California. The Le Contes are of Huguenot parentage, their ancestors having emigrated in 1665 to South Carolina, which was the home of the family until 1810, when their father moved to Georgia. Professor Kellogg is a Connecticut man by birth and education, having studied in the schools of that State, and graduated at Yale College in 1850. He afterwards spent four years at Union Theological Semi- nary, and came to California in 1855 as a Home Missionary. He was connected with the College of California from 1860 to 1869, and was one of the first four elected to chairs in the University. He has been for many years Dean of the Faculty. He is considered a ripe scholar, and thorough instructor. What he has done in the way of editing Latin classics shows him capable of much more elaborate work of that character. Professor Rising was a professor in the College of California. He was educated at Hamilton College, New York. He has studied at Heidelberg and Berlin, and been twice associated with the University at Ann Arbor, first as instructor in Chemistry and Mining Engineering, the next time as instructor in Chemistry. He has his degree of Ph. D. from Heidelberg. Professor Bunnell is accredited to Harvard. He was for some time principal of the San Francisco Latin School, from which many of his pupils found their way with credit to the University, and to leading Eastern colleges. Professor Sill is a graduate from Yale College, and for many years princi- pal of the Oakland High School, whence he was transferred to the chair which he at present occupies. He is an able instructor, and an enthusiast in his calling. West Point has furnished two members of the Faculty-Professors Welcker and Soulé. The first was for many years a professor in that institution. To sufficient scholarship he adds those qualities of culture and breeding which are deemed essential to fine military character, and which invariably win the respect of students. Professor Soulé is younger, but has had ample experience. He graduated from West Point in 1866, in the ordnance corps of the army, served a while in Alleghany City, and was after- ward assistant instructor in mathematics at his Alma Mater, until he was offered, in 1869, the position of assistant to Professor Welcker, in the Department of Military Science and Tactics. Professor Moses is one of the youngest members of the Fac- ulty. He graduated at the University of Michigan in 1870, and finished his studies at the universities of Leipzig, Berlin, and Heidelberg, taking his degree from the last. His special studies while abroad were political economy, and history as incidental

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thereto. For the purpose of prosecuting a very interesting branch of historical research, he made two summer visits, of several months' duration, to Norway and Sweden. He is a thoughtful student, and earnestly devoted to his vocation. Pro- fessor Hesse was trained in a German polytechnic school, and was early engaged as a teacher in Brown University. Subsequently he held a scientific appointment under the United States Government, and was devoting himself privately to mechanical pursuits, when he was offered a chair at the University. He is said to be a mathe- matician of rare skill, and to unite scientific attainment with great practical abilty, a union of qualities very desirable in his present position. Professor Hilgard was born in Germany, and came to America when fifteen years of age. He has resided here since, except when completing his education at a German university. After his return to the United States he was made State Geologist of Mississippi and Louis- iana, and held that place till elected to the chair of geology in the University of Michigan. The College of Agriculture needing a man at once practical and scientific, the position was tendered to Professor Hilgard, in 1874. He found the college under a cloud, which his careful administration has completely dispelled.

The Work of the Colleges .--- It would require a large volume to analyze the scheme of the colleges, and to fully explain their work. They will here be briefly outlined. From a practical point of view they leave very little to be desired. A university can- not make a scholar. If he is malleable it can hammer him into form; if he is ductile it can draw him out; if he is pliable it can bend him into graceful outline; but it can give him no quality of which he has not already the germ. It can teach his brain to theorize if he has a brain; it can train his eye and educate his hand; it can furnish him models to imitate; it can point out errors to be avoided; it can give him material, and instruct him in its intelligent use; it can indicate the devious ways of knowledge, and show him how to walk in them without going astray; it can ground him in branches of science, and leave him to perfect himself in them as he matures. This is what the University of California is doing. . Most students come too young to be made perfect in any specialty, for perfect scholarship implies the devotion of a lifetime. The department of civil engineering cannot graduate a pupil competent to build a railroad across the Andes, but it may send from its lecture-rooms a young man, who, if he has talent and is true to it, may acquire the experience that will enable him to perform even greater feats. The College of Chemistry cannot make a Faraday, but it can give a young man the means of becoming even greater than Faraday. It is well for every one to understand that college education is the beginning of life, and not the consummation of it. The College of Chemistry is in charge of a scholar thoroughly taught, who has able assistants. It has laboratories modeled on those considered most complete in foreign universities, furnished with all necessary appli- ances for complete chemical manipulation; there are few better in the country. The scholar is taught the principles of chemistry, and made to illustrate them by his own experiments. The only expense is the trivial charge for the chemicals consumed.

College of Agriculture .- The College of Agriculture is more nearly related to the masses. Professor Hilgard is a botanist, and familiar with the growth and diseases of plants. This has enabled him to do great service to the viticulturists of the State. He is expert in the analysis of soils, and has done a great deal to enlighten farmers

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in regard to reclamation of alkaline lands, and the adaptability of certain localities to special productions. He keeps himself en rapport with the cultivators of the soil by frequent lectures in the country, the distribution of reports, and by the exhibition of specimen cereals in cases at the State and district fairs. He thinks the time is not far distant when agricultural experts will be in as great demand as mining experts. The experiments made in this department have resulted in the cordial co-operation of intelligent and progressive farmers, who are beginning to understand in what man ner science may become the handmaid of agriculture. The idea of a model farm has been abandoned as impracticable. Herein the college follows the example of Cornell and other Eastern institutions which include agriculture in their curriculum. Perfect culti- vation of the soil, safety of crops, and thoroughness of study are impossible where student labor is exclusively relied on; therefore most of the work is done by outside labor, the student looking on, and sometimes co-operating. For work out of hours he is compensated, and, if needy, to that extent aided in the completion of his col- lege course. The department has ample facilities for illustrating its theories and turning its work to practical account. Its plan contemplates finding out and explain- ing the best modes of propagating grains and economic plants. As soon as possible it will establish a botanical garden, which will not only illustrate plants of economic value, but those which are interesting to the chemist. Twelve thousand botanical specimens have been collected. Seven hundred specimens of soil have been gathered and analyzed. The texture of grain, dried plants, and fronds of flowers are shown to pupils in the lecture-room by means of a camera obscura. New varieties of wheat are constantly imported from abroad and distributed throughout the State. There is no department that has about it more life and activity that that of agriculture. Pro- fessor Hilgard is efficiently assisted in the branches of practical farming and experi- mental culture on the University grounds by Charles H. Dwinelle. Mr. Wickson lectures at intervals on dairying.

The Colleges of Mining and Mechanics .- The building occupied by the College of Mechanics and the College of Mining and Metallurgy was completed two years ago. The first is under the charge of Professor Hesse, the other under the superin- tendence of E. P. Christy. With the College of Agriculture, they stand very near to the heart of the people of the State, who are prone to look at the practical side of things. The tendency of modern instruction is in the same direction, as shown by the recent rapid increase of polytechnic schools. The course of study pursued under Professor Hesse involves a period of theoretic study, supplemented by experiments of the most practical character, which will enable the student to become a superior mechanic. Problems relating to mechanical engineering are illustrated by practical application. There is a machine shop with power, and all necessary tools, which will soon be placed in charge of a first-class mechanic, where students can be made thor- oughly acquainted with the various forms and facilities of machinery. The course includes instruction in the laws of solids, fluids, and the making of machinery of all kinds and for all purposes. The mining department teaches assaying and the methods of practical mining, by lectures, text-books, practical illustration, and visits to indus- trial works in San Francisco, and mining and metallurgical works elsewhere. It con- tains four crucible furnaces, four furnaces for cupellation, and all necessary apparatus

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for pulverizing, sampling, and reducing ores. Its students have already given good accounts of themselves in the mining districts of Arizona and Colorado. The doors of both these colleges are open to special scholars, who may wish a year's instruction without having had other academic training.

Other Departments .- The College of Letters, with its admirable culture, offers less opportunity for description. There is a military department organized by Pro- fessor Welcker, who has endeavored not to confine the course of study merely to tactics, but to impart information that would be valuable to the volunteer soldier and the officer when called into service. A nation of fifty million people which maintains no standing army should, he argues, receive what compensation is possible in the general diffusion of military knowledge. Professor Welcker had, for some time, the valuable assistance of Mr. Soulé, who is now Professor of civil engineering and astronomy. The military department is at present ably instructed by George C. Edwards, Professor Welcker devoting himself strictly to the department of mathemat- ics. The classical course includes instruction in Latin, Greek, and the modern languages, with elective studies. The literary course omits Greek, and gives prom- inence to the modern languages and English literature. By this means the preferences and prejudices of all are regarded. No one is compelled to a course of mere scho- lasticism, who prefers the kind of learning which he thinks will prove more avail- able in after life; while those who desire the mere accomplishments of scholarship can be fully gratified. The departments of mathematics and civil engineering are spoken of as parts of the College of Letters because they treat of science in reference to theory, and are considered essential to the curricula of all higher institutions of learn- ing. They offer their advantages to all students of the University. Military study and drill are required of all. The study of English literature is made more attractive by frequent allusion to the best current publications. Several of the affiliated colleges of the University are for convenience located in San Francisco. These are the Hastings Law College, whose fees are merely nominal, the Toland Medical School, the College of Pharmacy, the College of Dentistry. Their existence is an additional proof of the adaptability of the University to all the wants of common life.

In Conclusion .- Even this brief outline of the history and work of California's great institution of learning shows the admirable range and completeness of its plan. It needs time to consolidate its labors and to perfect its generous scheme. An existence of twelve years does not permit perfect results. Cambridge has been two hundred and fifty years in growing to its present stature from a "Freshman class of one." A working faculty of thirty, no matter how ripe in scholarship, can hardly accomplish as much as a well-equipped corps of one hundred teachers. Yet several of the University's Eastern rivals exceed that number. The institution has wrought out several problems since its organization. It has proved the co-education of the sexes possible. Young ladies have been admitted to all its classes on equal terms with young men, and have been remarkable for exceptional deportment and high class-standing. All its practical departments have been eminently successful. The school teacher, the mining expert, the druggist, the chemist, the mechanic, the farmer, can gain access to them at any time, and bring his imperfect knowledge up to any desired standard. A post-graduate course affords the earnest student an oppor-

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tunity to emulate the example of the great scholars of the world. The library is rapidly being perfected in all lines of science and literature. Museums illustrating every branch of study are large, and constantly increasing. Hard times have impaired the University's influence by diminishing the number of students from the middle classes of society, who have been its best supporters. There is every reason to believe, however, that the tide of fortune is now where it can be taken at the flood. The present members of the Board of Regents are active and sympathetic. The affairs of the institution have never been complicated by political chicanery. In accordance with this principle, recent appointments have been thoughtfully and intel- ligently made by Governor Perkins. The Faculty who have hitherto been new to one another, will gradually become more homogeneous. Systematic social intercourse, firm executive control, and the natural solidification of time, will, year by year, give greater unity and an increased momentum. The State is liberal in its annual provi- sions, and nothing seems wanting to make this great school, with its noble foundation, a power on the Pacific Coast, and a potent influence in the world.

THE CALIFORNIA INSTITUTION FOR THE DEAF, AND DUMB, AND THE BLIND .- Was founded in 1860. It was then under the auspices of a Board of Lady Managers, presided over by Mrs. P. B. Clark. By subscription they effected the purchase of a lot on Spark Street, between Mission and Howard Streets, San Francisco. A timely appropriation from the convening Legislature enabled them to complete two brick buildings on the site, and to remove there some ten pupils from Tehama Street, where a school had been carried on for some months previously in a rented house. At that time the purpose of the school was not as well understood as it is to-day, and it verged upon the condition of a poor-house, with faint attempts at the education of the deaf thrown in. Besides, the public credit, consequent upon the war, was at a low ebb. Donations had to be depended upon, but the energy of the originators was equal to the need. The school grew in strength and numbers. From a single pupil at the Tehama Street House, in 1860, the school increased to fifty in 1866, and the ques- tion of its accommodations became a serious one, as it could be seen that the build- ings were outgrown, and their living and school facilities were taxed to the utmost." Just at this time there arrived from New York a new Principal, Prof. Warring Wilk- inson. Two Principals-Mrs. Clark and a Mr. Francis-had preceeded him, but this time the selection by the Board was a most fortunate one, for Mr. Wilkinson brought rare qualifications from ten years' preparation at the New York Institution. In the Legislature, convened the following winter, Mr. Wilkinson had a bill introduced ask- ing for an appropriation for a new building, to be erected on a new site. It was passed, and a commission was appointed to find the desired location. The Kearney farm-the present site, and situated in Berkeley, four miles north of Oakland-was chosen, and wisely so, as time proved. The tract consists of one hundred and thirty acres, eighty of which are hill land, used as a pasture. The rest is devoted to sites and tillage. Clear and pure water can be tapped anywhere under the foothills. A good soil, healthful climate, and fine outlook approve the wisdom of the commission. The specifications of the new building called for an edifice of blue-stone masonry, and, three stories, with a frontage of one hundred and ninety-two feet and a depth of

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one hundred and forty-eight feet. The style was Gothic. The plans were such as would overcome the difficulty of housing the different sexes and classes. The four corners of the edifice answered the purpose of four institutions. The dining-room was in the center and the chapel above it. Beyond a court on each side of the dining- room were school-rooms. The ground was broken July 29, 1867. The foundation- stone was laid on the 26th of September, with appropriate ceremony, a feature of which was an ode by Bret Harte. Except with a hitch, occasioned by the great earthquake of 1868, which battered down some parts of the walls, and entailed an additional expense of $9,000, the work so progressed that the building was ready for occupation in the fall of 1869. The cost of the structure was $149,000, including the incidental expenses. The land, $12, 100. The San Francisco property put in the market realized $34,000. The school then opened with ninety-six pupils, and under most favorable auspices. But it had hardly begun with the sixth year of its new existence when a great misfortune befell it. That was the destruction by fire of the beautiful building, on the evening of the 17th of January, 1875. The cause of the calamity could never be ascertained. The fire began in the roof above the kitchen chimney, and, as a strong east wind was prevailing, made such rapid headway that the children were in danger. But no lives were lost, and prompt assistance from the neighbors saved the children from the exposure of a drizzling night. A blow so sud- den and overwhelming almost paralyzed the friends of the institution. But the Board of Directors was on the ground before the light of the fire had died away. At the meeting called the next day arrangements were at once made to open the school again as soon as possible. Extensions were made to an outlying building at an expense of $27,000, for which twenty-seven gentlemen loaned $1,000 each. On the 27th of April the school again opened. A period followed of personal discomfort and danger to health consequent on crowding one hundred and twenty-five persons- pupils and employés-in straightened quarters, which, however, was borne with com- mendable patience. Meantime the mind of the Principal was busy with the ques- tion of the plans for new buildings. With experience of the past and emulation for the success of the future, Mr. Wilkinson spent the two years prior to the meeting of the next Legislature in studying plans and systems, and consulting authorities. A journey through the country, in the vacation, was undertaken for these purposes. The outcome was an elaborate report in favor of the segregate system, in which the following reasons were set forth: 1. Comparative safety from fire. One house may burn up without endangering the whole block. 2. The isolation of the sexes, and also of the classes. 3. A check to epidemics. The abetting tendency of the wicked pupils may also be checked. 4. It affords opportunity for grading the pupils and regulating their association. 5. It is one step nearer to the family. 6. It affords facilities for indefinite enlargement. 7. It is cheaper. The report received the Board's ratification, and the plans were forthwith ready on paper against the meeting of the Legislature. There $110,000 were voted for two "Homes." The following spring foundations were laid. In the fall of 1878 the buildings were occupied. They were designed for the housing of the pupils only. In them are alcoves for the large pupils and dormitories for the small ones, besides sitting-room, reception-room, apart- ments for the teachers and the matrons, basement for playing, and bathing, and all

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History of Alameda County, California : including its geology, topography, soil, and productions, Part 111

Author: Munro-Fraser, J. P Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Oakland, Calif. : M.W. Wood Number of Pages: 1206

Author: Munro-Fraser, J. P
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Oakland, Calif. : M.W. Wood
Number of Pages: 1206