40 



Fancy unbridled sometimes made him neglect well-established 

 facts, and on occasions brought him into more or less dangerous situa- 

 tions. Although Beijerinck himself was aware of ttiis, he would at 

 such a parlous moment defend his attitude by a remark like the fol- 

 lowing: "One should dare to enunciate an idea, although it still 

 remains unproven: another investigator can then refute the theory. 

 This is the way in which science advances." Fortunately this perilous 

 tendency was kept in check as a rule by his respect for the experi- 

 ment. 



It goes without saying that the way in which Beijerinck discussed 

 the various phenomena he observed lent a special lustre to them, and 

 that thereby he greatly stimulated his pupils and co-workers. 



Finally a few words may be devoted to the way in which Beije- 

 rinck wrote down the results of his investigations. This operation 

 proceeded only slowly and with great difficulty, probably owing to the 

 whirlpool of thoughts which continuously took hold of him. He was 

 never satisfied with the result, the text would berepeatedlyrewritten, 

 and after the unfortunate compositor had at last deciphered the 

 pothooks and hangers of the manuscript, he would be sure to receive 

 the proofs in a badly battered state. In one case, Beijerinck was 

 heard to say after receiving the second proof : "Now is the time to 

 interchange the columns in the tables" ! 



