CHAPTER XX 



GROWTH AND MATURATION OF THE MICROBIOLOGIST 



In the middle of 1885 Beijerinck entered upon his post at the 

 "Nederlandsche Gist- en Spiritusfabriek". If one looks in the "Ver- 

 zamelde Geschriften" for his publications in the years 1886 and 1887 

 one may be surprised to find several papers dealing with galls, root 

 formation and the Gardenia root-disease, showing clearly that his 

 mind was still occupied with the problems which had had his full 

 interest during his stay at Wageningen. It seems probable, however, 

 that these papers dealt chiefly with observations made in that period. 



Meanwhile 1887 brought also the first microbiological paper of 

 Beijerinck, a lecture held before the "Eerste Nederlandsch Natuur- 

 en Geneeskundig Congres" at Amsterdam on the relation of f ree 

 oxygen to the vital phenomena of fermentation organisms. In this 

 paper ample proof is given that in the meantime Beijerinck had 

 made a thorough study of the historical development of the principal 

 subjects connected with fermentation phenomena. The main feature 

 of the paper, however, is the opinion that — contrary to the view then 

 prevalent — even for strictly anaerobic organisms small quantities 

 of oxygen are indispensable to maintain vital activities. 



Whoever might suppose that this first paper of an introductory 

 character would be foliowed quickly by more detailed Communica- 

 tions on the behaviour of fermentation organisms would be mistaken. 

 The year 1888 saw the appearance of a series of highly important 

 papers of a quite unexpected nature, which culminated in the ex- 

 perimental proof that a very special type of bacteria is responsible for 

 the formation of the root nodules of the Leguminosae. 



At this place we will not enter into a closer consideration of the far 

 reaching importance of this discovery ; it may suf fice to state that here 

 we have an outstanding contribution to general botany and agricultu- 

 re made in an industrial laboratory in surroundings which appear most 

 unsuitable for studies of this type. It is obvious that this result must 

 be considered as the direct outcome of Beijerinck's previous gall 

 studies, combined with his newly gained experimental abilities in the 

 bacteriological field. 



Beijerinck succeeded here, where several predecessors failed. The 

 isolation of Bacillus radicicola, as Beijerinck named the organism in 

 question, may be considered as a bacteriological master-piece for that 

 time. Yet it was performed by a practically self-taught microbiologist 



