A SKETCH OF HIS LIFE 11 



fauna got in the tow net or at times by dipping came in for a good 

 deal of attention. Numerous quick dissections were made, and 

 quantities of notes and drawings. Brooks exercised little or no 

 supervision over such work, but the older men were a great help 

 to the younger. The larger manuals such as Balfour's Embry- 

 ology, and later Korschelt and Heider, were fairly thumbed. 

 The industry and "go" of Brooks 7 summer laboratories was re- 

 markable, the lamps lit in the evening, and someone frequently 

 sitting up all through the night to "follow a development." 

 Toward the end of the season, when a little perspective had been 

 acquired and mere mass and variety began to pall, a special form 

 or two was singled out as promising something in the way of new 

 results, and the path of research was thus opened up. The ma- 

 terial so collected was studied in detail during the following winter. 

 More intensive reading bearing on the problems as they became 

 defined was undertaken. Informal, short, but helpful talks about 

 the work were had with Brooks from tune to time. He would 

 examine particular preparations, quickly to be sure, or would 

 criticise figures. There was never any leading or "nursing" 

 on his part. By the end of the year, though, some grasp of the 

 methods of research had been acquired, and the following summer 

 at the seaside usually found the student able to pursue the line 

 of inquiry on which he had already started, or to strike off into 

 an associated field. 



1887-96.* No account of Professor Brooks should omit men- 

 tion of his love for plants. It is true that this interest was appar- 

 ently, to a large extent, of secondary influence as far as his pub- 

 lished work was concerned but it was very real and occupied a 

 constant place in his thoughts on the broader problems of nature. 

 The relations of the living organism to the environment were well 

 exemplified for him in the plant world. He always kept at hand 

 something of botanical interest, and would invite you into his little 

 greenhouse, or into his garden, to exhibit with pride some product 

 of his own skill. Nowhere, perhaps, was his innate sympathy for 



:> Professor Henry McE. Knower, University of Cincinnati. 



