10 



career was dubious about his intellectual capacities, thinking he was a 

 dunce because he had some difficulty in learning the tenses of French 

 verbs. It later became apparent that he could profit considerable from 

 study, and he usually was second or third in class. 



At first his health was very indifferent. When 13 years old, attacks 

 of f ever confined him frequently to bed. When he was 14 he showed 

 signs of heart weakness. After this age his health improved a great 

 deal. 



In 1866, in connection with a competition instituted by the "Hol- 

 landsche Maatschappij van Landbouw" i), of which the well-known 

 J. H. Krelage, then was president, he began to make a herbarium of 

 150 kinds of plants found in the surroundings of Haarlem. Only 

 young people under the age of 16 were allowed to compete; each 

 plant had to be given its Dutch and Latin names, and the date 

 and place of finding had to be stated. The first attempt was a failure ; 

 the plants were not well dried, and some became mouldy, so that 

 he had to start again. The second effort failed likewise, and Mar- 

 TiNUS was totally disheartened. But, after his mother had encouraged 

 him, he began anew, and this time he mastered the technique. He be- 

 gan to take pleasure in it, and said: "Whether I get a prize or not 

 does not matter, but Fll stick to botany". Nobody guessed then how 

 much truth this statement contained. 



The collection was sent in, and the 15-years-old Martinus obtained 

 the first prize; consisting of the silver medal of the "Hollandsche 

 Maatschappij van Landbouw", with his name engraved in it, and also 

 the valuable "Flora van Nederland" by C. A. J. A. Oudemans, with 

 atlas. 



') Netherlands Agricultural Society. 



