CYRIL GEORGE HOPKINS 



But his writings commanded attention, and it was thru 

 these that his broader impress was made. Not to read them 

 was to omit keeping abreast of the times, for his bulletins 

 and circulars and his published papers always carried a mes- 

 sage, usually a stimulating thought. Because he was known 

 to be doing things, a bulletin by him was opened with expecta- 

 tion ; and the plain, straightforward, vigorous style in which 

 his results were presented and his theories expounded was the 

 stamp of a clear and forceful mind. 



Doctor Hopkins' career typified service in the best sense. 

 He was actuated by a desire to do something which would 

 benefit humanity, something which would endure. For he 

 was "working for the man with his coat off," as a former Sec- 

 retary of Agriculture used to say. He was not satisfied with 

 investigation for itself, but he demanded to see it crystallized 

 in action. He realized that it is not what a man knows that 

 makes him of value to the community, but rather the use he 

 can make of his knowledge in serving the human race. 



He put his knowledge to use. He was a demonstrator; to 

 an extent, a middleman in science. In some respects this was 

 his most powerful role. He was not merely a compiler, a pur- 

 veyor, but a digester and interpreter of investigation. He 

 translated the results into terms of practical farming, and he 

 demonstrated the lessons and expounded them to wide audi- 

 ences with power and with far-reaching effect. He was a vig- 

 orous advocate. 



It seems to require some master of the art of forceful 

 presentation, from time to time, to arouse the public to the full 

 meaning of what investigation is teaching — some one with 

 genius for popularizing science without distorting it, and for 

 bringing it into homely everyday use. He was such a master. 



The man who would make two blades of grass grow where 

 one grew before, if he is to be the human benefactor that Dean 

 Swift pictured him, must understand all the factors that are 

 involved and take account of the ultimate effects, or he may 



58 



