45 



of the International Congress of Plant Sciences held at Ithaca (N.Y.) 

 U.S.A. in 1925, while at the same time he was offered an honorary 

 position at the Serum Laboratories of the Veterinary and Agricultural 

 College at Copenhagen, and another at the College for Fermentation 

 Industries at Ghent. 



From the beginning of his stay at Gorssel, Beijerinck almost 

 completely isolated himself. As has already been said, he never visited 

 Delft again. Soon after his resignation the Amsterdam Academy of 

 Sciences saw him no longer at the meetings. Once he visited the 

 Agricultural College at Wageningen, where his ex-pupil Söhngen was 

 in charge of a new and extremely well-equipped Microbiological 

 Laboratory. Occasionally he went to see his friend Hugo de Vries at 

 Lunteren, not f ar from Gorssel. In vain d'Hérelle tried to call on 

 him ; but the American soil microbiologist S. A. Waksman was more 

 successful, as we have mentioned. Beijerinck, however, was not 

 forgotten by his friends at Delft. In the summer holidays several of 

 them were guests of the Beijerinck family, which after September 

 24th, 1 923 consisted only of Prof. Beijerinck and his sister Henriëtte, 

 for on that date their sister Johanna died. 



On June 14th, 1927 the golden jubilee of his doctorate was com- 

 memorated in the auditorium of the Technische Hoogeschool at 

 Delft. After some hesitation, Beijerinck decided not to attend this 

 meeting personally, since he was af raid of the fatigues of the journey. 

 On this occasion the Chairman of the Committee, Professor G. van 

 Iterson Jr. gave an address in which he offered to the Technische 

 Hoogeschool a bronze plaquette with Beijerinck's portrait, to be 

 fixed in the hall of his old laboratory in the Nieuwe Laan. The pla- 

 quette was made by Professor A. W. M. Odé. It was formally accepted 

 by the Board of Curators of the Technische Hoogeschool. Hereupon 

 Professor A. J. Kluyver, Beijerinck's successor, made a short 

 address in which Beijerinck's great merits were once more outlined. 

 For the speeches made on this occasion the reader is referred to 

 Appendix I i). 



A small deputation consisting of Dr. F. G. Waller — Beije- 

 rinck's old friend since the days of their youth in the Yeast and 

 Spirit Works — Professor van Iterson, and Professor Kluyver, 

 went to Gorssel. Here the venerable scientist became the recipiënt of 

 many compliments, and was offered a small reproduction of the pla- 

 quette, together with an album containing the names of those who had 

 offered the tribute. The Microbiological Institute of the Agricultural 

 College at Wageningen, received a similar reproduction. 



The limelight directed upon Beijerinck as a consequence of his 

 golden jubilee also revived interest amongst the general public. This 



1) A few months later also Professor A. J. J. Vandevelde held a commemorative 

 address on the occasion of the opening of the course at the College for Fermentation 

 Industries at Ghent. 



