July 4, 1890.] 



SCIENCE. 



value. A series of great economic problems was forever in his 

 mind : How can these inundated lands be regained? How can 

 the broad fields of New Jersey be fertilized? How can the pot- 

 ter's art be developed from the clays of the coastal plain? How 

 can the deposits of zinc be utilized by the industries of the State, 

 and how can the great beds of iron-ore be transformed into the 

 instruments of modern civilization? And he applied the princi- 

 ples of science to these problems. Geography, geology, paleon- 

 tology, and chemistry were all made subsidiary to the leading 

 purpose of his survey. 



Science was thus made to bless mankind, and the advancement 

 of science did not lose thereby; science and industry in copart- 

 nership were each strengthened; industries of great magnitude 

 and value to the people were steadily developed; and science itself 

 steadily grew under the genius of his guidance. 



The State of New Jersey is the seat of ancient seas. From the 

 sediments therein deposited the rocks of the hills of New Jersey 

 were made. The history of New Jersey through long geologic 

 time is a history of innumerable earthquakes consequent upon the 

 upheaval and depression of its lands. At one period in its history 

 it was the scene of vast volcanic activity, when molten rocks 

 poured to the surface. Built by the sea, it has been fashioned by 

 the storm, and the waves of ocean have carved its shores with a 

 fretwork of beautiful forms. Its low shores, its coastal plains, 

 its broad valleys, and its billowy hills have been carved by rains 

 and rivers until it presents a landscape of beauty. These physi- 

 cal features of the State, which express its beauty, and record its 

 history, and reveal its structure, became one of the great studies 

 of Dr. Cook when he began the topographic survey of the State. 

 He lived to see that survey completed; and he gave to the indus- 

 tries of the land and to the science of the world the first great 

 topographic map of a State constructed on this continent. Had 

 this been his sole contribution to the knowledge of the world, it 

 would have made him worthy of high honor. 



With the increase of population in this country the ordinary 

 wells which gather the water from the surface steadily become 

 polluted, and dangerous to health and life. With the multiplica- 

 tion of manufacturing establishments, and through other agencies 

 ever on the increase, the streams become polluted, and their wa- 

 ters are freighted with disease. The supply of pure water for 

 domestic purposes to the people of the State of New Jersey early 

 attracted the attention of Dr. Cook. With profound insight into 

 the physical structure of the State, he early became convinced 

 that the hills of the highlands constituted a catchment area for 

 the waters of deep-seated rocks in the lowlands ; and that, 

 through these pervious formations outcropping above, the waters 

 were filtered and purified, and could be reached by artesian bor- 

 ing along the coast. His prophecy was fulfilled, and now the 

 beautiful towns of the region are made salubrious through the 

 genius of his scientific induction. To-day thousands of wells ex- 

 tending along our coast from New York to Florida pour out the 

 pure waters of life, and bless multitudes of people, and make 

 their homes happy. The clouds of the highlands are tributary to 

 the cottages of the coast, and the rocks deeply seated in the foun- 

 dations of the earth carry them on their way. 



Through long years of his life Dr. Cook was engaged in inves- 

 tigations relating to agricultural industries. The interests af- 

 fected by these investigations are vast, for they are at the founda- 

 tion of all prosperity. The facts and principles to be investigated 

 are multifarious and complex, relating to climate, to soil, to vege- 

 tal life and animal life, and the relations of all these to human 

 life. Science has done much for modern industries in manufac- 

 turing, in mining, in transporting, and in commerce; the hidden 

 powers of the world have been discovered and tamed ; but science 

 has done comparatively little for agriculture; and Dr. Cook was 

 one of the founders of a vast system of research, which has now 

 been established throughout the land on a comprehensive and 

 symmetric plan. Through the agency of these founders, of whom 

 Dr. Cook was one of the leaders, experiment stations have been 

 established in every State of the Union, endowed by National and 

 State grants, and the greatest army of investigators ever organ- 

 ized under the sun is now at work on the complex problems of 

 agricultural science. This was the crowning labor of a long and 



fruitful life. It has been a quiet but vigorous and efficient move- 

 ment, and the people do not realize what has been done. The 

 labors in this cause, of this beneficent friend of mankind, were 

 untiring. They were conducted among men of affairs, in the 

 seats of learning, in State legislatures, and in the National Con- 

 gress. Everywhere his benign influence was exerted and felt, 

 his counsels were taken with delight, and he became a leader of 

 men where only the wisest and best men could be led. His ap- 

 peal was to scholars and statesmen, and the counsels of the old 

 man eloquent ultimately prevailed. 



From the early history of civilization until the present time, 

 many great thinkers of the world have been constructing temples 

 of philosophy. It began with Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, and 

 this temple-building has continued through the times of St. 

 Thomas Aquinas down to Hegel, Schelling, and Fichte, and even. 

 later to the days of Herbert Spencer. These theorizing philoso- 

 phers have attempted to construct systems for the explanation of 

 all things of the universe, and to build their philosophy upon a 

 few "fundamental principles,''— postulates, presuppositions, — to 

 construct temples founded on their domes. One by one these 

 great philosophies have crumbled into dust, and we know them 

 only by their ruins. The history of civilization is marked by the 

 ruins of fallen philosophies, now most interesting to historical 

 archasology. 



In modem times another philosophy is being constructed, — the 

 great temple of science. On this structure a vast army of 

 scholars are at work through the multifarious methods of scien- 

 tific research, and they are building this temple with its founda- 

 tion on the granite base of fact. George Hammell Cook was a 

 master workman on this temple, built as it is being built out of 

 the facts and principles discovered by modem scientific research. 



I knew Dr. Cook best as a counsellor and a friend. Having 

 responsibilities thrown upon me kindred to those borne by him, I 

 was glad to seek wisdom at his feet. Honest and pure, he was 

 wise and far-seeing, and for his counsel I owe a debt of gratitude. 

 His ways were characterized by directness and simplicity, and I 

 learned to love him as a father, and be guided by him as a son. 

 And now the wise old man is gone. This fountain of wisdom 

 flows no more. The processes of time and change never cease. 

 On we go with the stream of events. Shall our lives also make 

 the world better? 



The light is from on high. 



The powers of the earth come from the heavens. 



They who have wielded these powers best are placed in the 

 firmament of history. 



The method of human progress is not through " the survival of 

 the fittest,'' for man is more than the brute. 



The agency for the progress of mankind is the influence of the 

 fittest. In all ages this has been recognized, now clearly, now 

 dimly. In harmony with its principles, those who have best 

 served humanity have been placed on high among the stars of 

 history, that the light of their immortal deeds may forever shine 

 upon the pathway of mortal men. 



George Hammell Cook is among the stars. On earth he loved 

 justice and he rendered justice; he loved the truth and he sought 

 the truth; and, dead, he lives again, the star of justice and 

 truth. O venerable friend! your counsels were wise, and your 

 example was beneficent. Shine on to illumine our way to the 

 truth and the right with the light of the knowledge of the glory 

 of God. 



LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. 



*«* Correspondents are requested to be as brief as possible. Tlie writer's name 

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The International Congress of Geologists. 



I HAVE just seen a note of Professor Lesley's in your issue of 

 June 13, in which he characterizes the statement of the May 

 Naturalist regarding the action of the committee on organization 



