SIGNIFICANCE OF HIS WORK 



I have thought to consider briefly the broader aspects of 

 Doctor Hopkins' career as illustrating the qualities and re- 

 quirements of experiment station work and some of the lessons 

 which his activity affords. This may be done under three 

 general heads : first, his work as an investigator — the example 

 of concentration, of work shaped and guided in accordance 

 with a clear purpose and a broad fundamental idea ; second, 

 his work as an interpreter and demonstrator of investigation — 

 an expounder of the results of science in popular form ; and 

 finally, as a product of both, the forceful illustrations he gave 

 of the application of science to the most practical operations 

 of agriculture and the far-reaching conviction he aroused in its 

 usefulness. 



Doctor Hopkins' guiding purpose may be found in the 

 Biblical command that, as wisdom is the principal thing, 

 "therefore get wisdom and with all thy getting get understand- 

 ing." Aye, this is the chiefest aim of all, for understanding 

 is the basis of reason and intelligence, and without these what 

 we designate as plain common sense loses its force and reli- 

 ability. First and always he sought wisdom and the under- 

 standing of things, to direct him in his search and to safeguard 

 him in interpretation. 



One of the most important lessons which the past quarter 

 of a century has impressed upon this country is that agricul- 

 ture is just as susceptible of investigation and of understand- 

 ing in all its processes as is engineering or medicine or any 

 other form of human activity, and that thorogoing research is 

 the most effective means for determining safe and sane 

 methods for its advancement. 



Doctor Hopkins' career was an example of the truth of this. 

 He never doubted the power of science to benefit agriculture 

 in practical ways. His first interest in it was in its applica- 

 tions, the use to which he could put it in solving practical 

 everyday questions or in leading to a clear comprehension of 

 their meaning. He did not hesitate to make these applications 



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