It was in 1874 that Suel Foster, an Iowa nurseryman and an ardent believer in the concept of an agricultural college, encouraged the initiation of coursework in horticulture and forestry. Thus our beginnings considerably predate the Biltmore school of Dr. Schenck and the earliest concepts and admonitions of Gifford Pinchot. So impressive a heritage and so long a history should not be taken lightly by any of us now in residence for we have been preceded by others whose contributions were greater than ours, and we will be followed by yet others who may surpass all that has gone before.