nutrition in 1853. In 1855, he enrolled at University of Göttingen for the spring term and studied advanced analytical, organic, and agricultural chemistry under the tutelage of Friedrich Wöhler. He passed his Ph.D. examinations in 1856 and wrote his dissertation Miscellaneous Chemical Analyses on particular meteoric ores found in Mexico. In order to further study the effect of atmospheric gases on plant growth, Pugh traveled to Heidelberg University to study under Robert Bunsen. However, the lab was overcrowded and he disliked the politics and repressive nature of the university town. He left to vacation in the Jura Mountains, hiking from Switzerland into France. After arriving in Paris, he became interested in the direct assimilation of free nitrogen in the air by plants due to a controversy between two French scientists. This spurred Pugh to begin his own project in 1857 at the Rothamsted laboratory near London. This research later became Pugh's report On the Sources of Nitrogen of Vegetation, etc.. The report was widely lauded and Pugh was elected a Fellow of the London Chemical Society after presenting the report to the Royal Society in early 1859. Pugh kept a travel journal and wrote detailed letters home to family and Chester County newspapers throughout his travels in Europe. He also wrote detailed journals of his experiments and class notes. These manuscripts, including modern typescripts of the accounts, are currently housed along with his papers at the Pennsylvania State University Libraries in the Special Collections Library. Farmers' High School While Pugh was studying at the Rothamsted laboratory, he communicated with Dr. Alfred L. Elwyn of Chester County, a founder of the Farmers' High School in Centre County, Pennsylvania. Elwyn suggested that he apply for the position and request that the Board allow him a leave of absence to finish his studies in England. In February 1859, Trustee Judge Frederick Watts contacted Pugh and offered him the position of president at the Farmers' High School, as well as a stipend for purchasing laboratory equipment to bring back from Europe. Pugh's appointment officially began in February 1860 during the school's second year, however he assumed most duties as president in October 1859. Despite the numerous challenges faced by a fledgling college, especially with the Civil War disrupting its formative years, Pugh managed to establish Farmers' High School as a prominent leader in agricultural education and research. His standard duties as president included teaching,