26 PEOCEEDINQS OP THE 



and had been obtained by his grandfather (Herr Peter Bagge) from 

 Linnaeus. The papers consist of the documents received by order 

 of " The Secret Committee " of the State Council of Sweden, in 

 1761, signed by Judge Olivecreutz, respecting the pearl-fishery 

 and particularly the claim of the Archiater and Knight Carl 

 Linnaeus to produce genuine pearls by impregnating mussels. 



This interesting series of documents begins with a letter from 

 the Archiater Linnaeus to Colonel Baron Funck, dated 6th Feb. 

 1761, stating that he " possessed the Art" of impregnating mussels, 

 and that lie offered to make known the secret for the public 

 benefit and use on condition that the State would give him a 

 suitable reward. A subcommittee was evidently appointed to 

 confer with Linnaeus, and on the 27th July 1761, to quote the 

 manuscript, " the said Archiater appeared before the deputies, 

 when he verbally explained bis Art." There are in all 15 docu- 

 ments in the book, being records of various meetings, reports of 

 the deputies to the " Secret Committee," lists of Linnaeus's claims 

 for recognition by the State, and finally the report of the Secret 

 Committee approving of the " Art " of the Archiater and recom- 

 mending that a reward of 12,000 dollars * silver money should be 

 given. At one of the meetings Linnaeus produced certain mussel- 

 shells which he had operated on by his secret method, and 9 genuine 

 pearls which he had produced " as a token and proof of the truth 

 of the Art." These were taken by the Chairman of the Committee 

 to the crown-jeweller Berg, who, after remonstrating ineffec- 

 tually on the iniquity of spoiling such gems, cut them in half, 

 and declared, the Chairman tells us, that they were exactly like 

 ordinary pearls. 



There is some evidence that Linnaeus was ennobled on account 

 of these discoveries in regard to pearl-formation, and the date 

 (1761) certainly coincides, but it does not appear that he was 

 ever awarded the 12,000 silver dollars i-ecommended by the 

 " Secret Committee." On the other hand, the secret was bought 

 for 6000 dollars, in Sept. 1762, as appears from another manu- 

 script volume in our library (labelled " Pearl Fisheries : Linnaeus 

 MS."), by a Gothenburg merchant, Peter Bagge, the grandfather 

 of the J, P. Bagge mentioned above. And we learn that the King, 

 Adolph Frederick, gave a patent, dated Sept. 7th, 1762, authoi-iz- 

 ing Bagge to practise the Art without interference or competition. 



Throughout the MS. "true copy "of Linnaeus's communications 

 and the reports of the " Secret Committee," whenever we seem to 

 be coming to close quarters with the actual modus operandi the 

 text breaks abruptly into roA^s of dots and an annoying reference 

 to certain other papers labelled A. to H., which are not to be 

 found in the volume. So that although these manuscripts in the 

 first volume afford interesting glimpses of Linnaeus's doings and 

 modes of thought, they give absolutely no information as to his 



* The Daler in question was equivalent to about 18 pence, so the sura 

 stated would be nearly .£1000. 



