April 24th, 1866

I, among other things, prepared stakes properly labeled, (made and labeled with my own hands) and went out with the janitor after dinner and put them down for seventy-five trees, which Maxwell is to send to-morrow for the College grounds. I did it in a driving snow-storm.

            Attend the junior exhibition in the evening and preside. The exhibition was a good one, though the class was small. The burlesque afforded a good deal of amusement. Its profanity in travestying certain hymns was its worst feature.

April 19th, 1866

Called to see Mr. Mallory about a sidewalk ordered in front of the College, of brick, which would cost us over four hundred dollars. Want to see if it can’t be prevented. Mr. Mallory is President of the Trustees of the village [sic]. Go out to the Maxwell nurseries and order trees to ornament College grounds.

There was quite an imbroglio about the junior class’ examination in optics with Dr. Towler. The Doctor marked them so low that Blackwell and Bissell, two of the best speakers in the class, were conditioned and could not speak. I finally went to Dr. Towler and asked him to put the whole class up five-tenths, which would obviate the difficulty, and he agreed to do it. Russell felt badly about it, and Blackwell was feeling terribly.

March 17, 1860

Look over grounds again with Mr. Upjohn and Mr. Douglas. Go down on the shore of the lake. Measure back to see how far the buildings ought to stand for proper effect – say 100 or 125 feet. His plan is this. We have 650 feet front; allow 200 at each side for professors’ houses – then fall back 125 feet and erect a building 250 feet long, Gothic and collegiate- and at one end (north) let the chapel come forward 700 feet, with chancel to the east, and at the south end let the library come forward in the same way and grade back so as to rise six inches in ten feet. Such is his plan. Leave the present buildings as they are and build the Chapel in its place and so also the library.

March 15, 1860

Mr. Upjohn came this evening and we took a look at the grounds. Vail and Warner took tea with us. After tea I went to Mr. Douglas’ and spent the evening there with Mr. Upjohn, who was busy sketching out a plan for our future building.

March 6, 1860

To-day Mr. Douglas called to say that he wished me not to be out of town next week, as he had engaged Mr. Upjohn to come up and see about a plan for planting our ground, and also for the chapel- its site, &c. This looks like reality; May God speed and prosper this design.

April 27, 1859

Busy planting trees.

April 21, 1859

Point out the places for the planting of the trees near the house of Mr. Douglas.

April 18, 1859

Walk. Go by chance to Smith’s and Maxwell’s nurseries. The places are marked out where the trees are to be planted. I read Downing on Landscape Gardening.

April 16, 1859

Busy showing the places where the trees are to be planted. Went to church with my wife in the afternoon. May God give me an attentive mind and true religion; may He strengthen me that I may be able to drive away wandering and fugitive though.

April 5, 1859

Busy planting trees.

April 1, 1859

Examine the earth in which the trees are planted.

March 31, 1859

The seniors are busy with planting the trees.

March 30, 1859

Dr. Towler, with the help of the senior class and Charlie McCarthy and the janitor began to plant the trees before the College.

March 26, 1859

Dr. Hale met me for the purpose of deliberating about planting of the trees on the campus. We agreed between us to plant the trees according to some system, i.e. two rows around the whole campus, with intervals of fourteen feet between them; likewise trees grouped in certain places; two rows also in front from the president’s house to that of Mr. Douglas.

March 24, 1859

I meet Dr. Hale, (who had returned from Newburyport Wednesday), about the places for planting the trees around the College.

            We find through letters from Dr. Alexander of Edinboro that we have made a mistake about the proper color of the hood;  for all hoods suitable for Doctors of Theology are always made of scarlet.  Indeed, they believed that a Doctor should not be clothed in another color.  Since, therefore, this color is a fixed sign of this degree in the Universities of Cambridge, Oxford, Durham, and both at Dublin and Queen’s Colleges in Ireland, the black silk was changed by us to red.  The violet-edged hood chosen by us remains with a margin all of black.  Dr. Alexander reports Bishop Andrews as saying that red was par excellence the Doctor’s color.