Even the winebottles froze in the grocers' windows, often with fan- 

 tastic results. 



I settled down to work, as I had never worked before; I had an 

 enormous task before me and very little time in which to accomplish 

 it. At first, I had no thought of taking a degree, but letters from Dr. 

 McCosh, Sloane and Libbey represented it as imperative and I resolved 

 to make the attempt, though it did not seem possible, and so, until 

 the following May, I worked fifteen or sixteen hours a day, eight or 

 nine of them over a microscope. It was, I think, my early training at 

 home that enabled me to hold out under such a strain, for I always 

 had my Sunday rest and returned to work on Monday morning "like 

 a giant refreshed." 



By the rules of the University, I should have to be examined in a 

 major subject {Haiiptfach) and two minor subjects (Nebenfdcher) 

 and also present a dissertation on some piece of original research. The 

 dissertation would be provided for, if I could finish enough of the 

 study of Calberla's great material. For the major subject, I would offer 

 zoology and for one of the minors palaeontology, but the second minor 

 presented a problem. As I was working and hoping for a geological 

 appointment at Princeton, it would have seemed natural for me to 

 take up geology in Europe. But in London and in Heidelberg, at that 

 time, geology meant microscopic petrology, which would have been of 

 little service in the work I should have to do at home. Nevertheless, 

 had time permitted, I should have been only too glad to take the 

 course in petrology, especially as Rosenbusch, professor of geology in 

 Heidelberg, was one of the great masters of that subject and students 

 came to him from all parts of the world, our own Professor Smyth 

 among them. 



I finally selected botany as my second minor, since I had already done 

 considerable work in this science in Princeton and in London. As 

 Gegenbaur was a professor in the Faculty of Medicine and I a candi- 

 date for the Ph. D., he could not examine me or report upon my thesis, 

 but merely give me a certificate of steady and successful work in his 

 laboratory. I therefore registered in the courses in zoology and palaeon- 

 tology by Professor Biitschli, who was extremely kind and helpful to 

 me. When I told him that I meant to offer palaeontology as a Neben- 

 fach, he laughed and said: "I shall have to examine you and it will be 

 rather a farce, for you know more of that subject than I do." The work 

 in botany, I proposed to concentrate in the second semester, attending 

 the lectures and laboratory instruction of Professor Pfitzer. 



