SELECTED PAPERS 



all times. He was the first to bring convincing proof for the bacterial 

 nature of the agent responsible for the formation of the root nodules 

 of leguminous plants. It is well known that this work has had enormous 

 beneficial consequences for agriculture, and the same holds, albeit to 

 a somewhat lesser degree, for his discovery and isolation of the aero- 

 bic nitrogen-fixing bacterium Azotobacter chroococcum. Symptomatic for 

 Beijerinck's boundless devotion to science is the fact that the latter 

 discovery was made (as appears from his diary) in 1900 on New Year's 

 Eve, i.e., at a time when the thoughts of ordinary people are accus- 

 tomed to wander in other spheres. 



On the other hand, Beijerinck was a perfect example for the na- 

 ivete signalized by Hill. Perhaps I can make this at once tangible by 

 quoting from his biography two of his statements. The first runs as 

 follows: 'A man of science does not marry.' The second was an ob- 

 servation on one of his colleagues: 'Mr. So and So gets old, he attends 

 concerts.' It is interesting to trace which factors enabled Beijerinck to 

 survive as a scientist. In 1895, some influential friends and admirers 

 succeeded in inducing the Netherlands Government to erect for Beije- 

 rinck a special laboratory at Delft, the first biological institution at 

 any institute of technology in the world. The new chair did not imply 

 any obligatory courses for students, and so Beijerinck managed to lead 

 a protected life for more than a quarter of a century. In a certain 

 period, he was not far from considering his students as mere intruders. 

 It is said that he used to ask them all the same question: 'Are you 

 interested in applied microbiology, such as fermentation industries?' 

 Independently of an affirmative or a negative reply, Beijerinck's retort 

 invariably was: 'Then I have no use for you!' It should be added that 

 the dogged individuals who were not frightened by this reception man- 

 aged to get in, and, if in addition they gave proof of a serious scientific 

 interest, they were soon introduced into Beijerinck's astoundingly rich 

 spiritual world. 



Finally, I should like to dwell for a short moment on the life of one 

 other great microbiologist, viz., on that of Sergius Winogradsky, who 

 died only some months ago at the age of 96. Any one who has read the 

 splendid biography which Dr. Waksman has devoted to the famous 

 Russian investigator will realize that there were many risks that Wino- 

 gradsky would have been lost for science. Starting as a law student in 

 Kiev, he soon changed to the natural sciences but left these too in order 



480 



