2 54 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



terior of his house, and still fewer were on really friendly terms with 

 him, as we ordinarily use that phrase. While he had but little to do 

 with his neighbors he never seems to have had any enemies. 



Eggert's first start in making more money than usual was at the 

 time of the great outbreak of the American Phylloxera in the vineyards 

 of Europe, destroying immense numbers of the vines and threatening 

 the entire wine and grape industry of Europe. It was finally discov- 

 ered that the American native grapes might be used as stocks upon 

 which to graft the more susceptible European varieties, so that a vine 

 was obtained which had roots of the American resistant species with 

 the top of some desirable but susceptible European species. This 

 work resulted in an immense demand for the seed of some of our native 

 species of grapes. Eggert's knowledge of botany led to his being 

 recommended as a suitable person from whom to get these seeds. For 

 at least two or three years he made a business of collecting and selling 

 them to foreign countries. The business was quite remunerative and 

 in the proper season he is said to have made several hundred dollars a 

 month in this way. He seems to have kept up his carrying of papers 

 at the same time. At first he carried them on his back, taking im- 

 mense loads in a bag slung over his shoulder. As his business grew he 

 bought a horse and wagon and still later he employed others, so that 

 at one time he conducted a considerable business of this kind. He 

 never relinquished his botanical work, and in early days he collected 

 specimens for sale to botanists and for use in colleges and schools, thus 

 making some little money. In later years his left arm and hand be- 

 came affected with a partial paralysis which he attributed to his severe 

 work in carrying such heavy weights of papers slung over that shoulder. 

 His money he invested in farms and similar property, and he suc- 

 ceeded in amassing considerable property. In his personal habits he 

 was always very frugal, his only luxury seeming to have been his botan- 

 ical collecting. In 1896 he sent to Germany for his nephew, August 

 Eggert, and turned his greenhouses over to him to run. This nephew 

 lived more or less intimately with him. Mr. Eggert was always of a 

 peculiar disposition, apparently being constantly in fear of some at- 

 tempt upon his life. He had hallucinations in which he thought every 

 one had designs upon his life, and these became worse as he grew older. 

 His mind was undoubtedly unbalanced, and on the night of April 18, 

 1904, he shot himself with a revolver. 



As mentioned above, Eggert early learned botany and collected ex- 

 tensively all of his life. He collected assiduously all around St. Louis 

 for a considerable distance, and his collection probably represented the 

 flora of this district better and more completely than any other ever 

 made. He also went on collecting trips to various parts of Missouri, 

 Illinois, Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee and Texas, and the southeast- 

 ern states. He seemed to possess a genuine love for botany, and his 



