A review of the evolution and characteristics of the emerging land grant institutions during the period from the passing of the Morrill Act in 1862 until about 1890 refutes some popular misconceptions about these institutions. Land grant institutions added new subjects to the curriculum, provided higher education for the "industrial classes," and created a new concept of the function of college in society. The discussion notes early disappointments in the demand for the new education, the expectation that new land-grant colleges would be a major force for national development after the Civil War, and how what was initially a national policy evolved into a state responsibility. One misconception about land-grant institutions concerns their uniqueness. Although similar types of grants had long been used by all levels of government for many purposes--including the founding of educational institutions--the political forces that enacted the land-grant legislation were probably as much concerned with land policy as with educational policy. In the first quarter-century of their evolution, agricultural colleges were unable to make much impact on national development, nor was there a definitive profession or science of agriculture. (Contains approximately 335 endnotes and 115 bibliographic references.) (SW)