George Jarvis Brush. 393 



tion, although he himself, as he sometimes a little pathetically 

 expressed it, was " doomed to turn the crank of the machine." 

 The various duties of the director of the rapidly growing 

 School, financial and administrative, were, however, fully to 

 his taste, and it can hardly be regretted that his time and 

 strength were given so fully to them. His health, on the 

 whole, was not seriously impaired as years increased, until the 

 spring of 1911, when a trouble with the heart developed which 

 from that time increasingly limited his physical activity. The 

 decline was slow and for the most part, until near the end, 

 without suffering, and on February 6th he passed gently away. 

 The great kindliness of his strong nature was never shown 

 more clearly than in the closing months of his life. In 1861 

 he was married to Harriet Silliman Trumbull, who died in 

 1910 ; three daughters survive him. 



The interest taken in minerals by Mr. Brush when a boy of 

 fifteen, was rapidly developed during his student years under 

 the stimulating influences at Munich and Freiberg. This 

 interest continued unchanged through his life, though, as has 

 been stated, the pressure of administrative work finally robbed 

 him of the opportunity for active study. He developed early 

 a remarkably keen eye for recognizing mineral species, even 

 those which were a puzzle to an ordinary mineralogist. When 

 a schoolboy with Mr. Gold he began to collect minerals, and 

 as years went on and his ability to obtain specimens by pur- 

 chase or exchange increased, he accumulated a large and very 

 valuable collection. This collection was especially notable for 

 its completeness for the purposes of scientific study and the 

 type specimens which it contained ; the history of each speci- 

 men was also recorded with the utmost care. His active work 

 as a collector, aided by that of his associates, continued till 

 1904, when he formally presented his collection, then number- 

 ing about 15,000 specimens, to the Sheffield Scientific School, 

 adding to this gift a fund of $10,000 for its maintenance and 

 increase. This collection was housed in the old building of the 

 Sheffield School until its removal to his room in the Peabody 

 Museum in 1876. Here it remained until 1904, when it was 

 placed in a room specially prepared for it in Kirtland Hall. 

 He took the greatest satisfaction in having it cared for, 

 arranged, and catalogued ; and one of the keenest pleasures of 

 his later years consisted in going over the collection and aiding 

 in the final work upon it. 



A mineralogist with so keen an eye and interest in his sub- 

 ject must of necessity have been both a teacher and investiga- 

 tor. In the former direction the influence of Professor Brush 

 was widely felt, particularly during the decade beginning with 

 1864. Many students were inspired by his enthusiasm and 

 carried the knowledge and skill acquired from him to other 



