How to Study a Brook 



Anna Botsford Comstock 



When a geologist studies a brook he pays particular attention 

 to the topography of the region which the brook drains, the area 

 which the brook has eroded, the action of the water on the soil and 

 the bed rock (what it uncovers and what it covers up), and 

 finishes by observing the delta built up by this stream as it enters 

 a pond or lake. When a zoologist studies the brook, he gives atten- 

 tion to all the animal life within the brook and near its margins. 

 When the botanist studies the brook, he gives attention to the 

 algae and aquatic plants within the water, the plants on the banks 

 of the stream and in the swamps formed by its waters, the trees 

 that find nearness to the stream a congenial abiding place and the 

 shrubs which live upon the banks. When the poet studies the 

 brook, he gives attention to its sparkling waters, the play of sun- 

 shine on its swift currents, its sweet babbling or its angry roar, its 

 mirrorlike pools which reflect the trees and the flowers growing on 



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