Tmm mummmicmm mMM jo^uiRNRi. 



647 



Swammerdam did not only study the 

 life of the honey-bee, but also that of 

 other insects, and likewise he declared 

 the maternity' of the ant. 



These were great discoveries which 

 revealed to man the great secret of 

 higlier insect life, and initiated man- 

 kind into the motherly character of 

 their societies, which support no mon- 

 archical government, but motherly 

 republics, and immense public cra- 

 dles, from which each colony in due 

 time sends forth a new nation. But 

 how did Swammerdam make known 

 to the world his great discoveries ? 

 This proved a precipice on which his 

 life and being was dashed to pieces. 



Young, and without academic di- 

 ploma nor friends, he lived secluded 

 in his cabinet of study, not only during 

 his times of study, but also later ; he 

 was destitute of means to publish his 

 great works of discoveries. The pro- 

 fessors of the University at Leyden 

 were against him, and laughed at the 

 idea of a novice and simple student 

 making such discoveries, which had 

 thus far baffled the skill of his superi- 

 ors, and theyscorned the idea of him 

 arising on a level with them, or rather 

 above them. 



His father left him in a critical con- 

 dition, and without any means, and 

 had it not been for the sympathy of 

 his friends he would have "been unable 

 to carry his great work to perfection. 



Swammerdam at last resolved to go 

 to Paris to demonstrate and make 

 known his discoveries, and in the midst 

 of a society of learned naturalists, 

 whom the great traveler, Thevenot, a 

 Frenchman, had called together at 

 Issy, At this time the Grand Duke of 

 Toscona called him to Florence, but 

 the misfortune of Galileo prevented 

 his journey into Italy, however ; in 

 France was no safety for him, for the 

 Mistiker Morin was burned alive at 

 Paris tliat year— 16t)4. 



At^ the age of 32, through over- 

 exertion and sorrow, he fell into occa- 

 sional (its of melancholy, which hast- 

 ened him to any early grave. His 

 eyesight failed in l(j67, while he pre- 

 pared a manuscript pn metamorphose 

 of insect life for publication. This 

 work alone should have immortalized 

 him to the after world, but it hurried 

 him into the great danger of starva- 

 tion. His father denied him all aid 

 and help, and received him not even 

 in his home. A wealthy friend had 

 formerly urged him to come and share 

 a home with him, but when Swammer- 

 dam reminded him of this, the friend 

 had no recollections of such an oflfer. 

 Misfortune after misfortune befell him, 

 poor and sick he wandered in the 

 streets of Amsterdam, not even know- 

 ing where to deposit his documents of 

 research and discoveries for safety, to 



say nothing of a roof to shelter him ; 

 and the last and greatest misfortune 

 befell him — th(^ ruin of his country, 

 even the ground under his feet was to 

 give away from under him. 



It was the year of l(i72, when Hol- 

 land fell a prey to the French invasion 

 by Louis XIV, This country had thus 

 far no blessing in store for Swammer- 

 dam, but it was the birth-place of a 

 natural philiosopher and great dis- 

 coverer, and common sense and an 

 asylum of deep thinking, and now his 

 country is first swallowed up by 

 French invasion, and next by water. 



It seems that Swammerdam could 

 live no longer in this world, and at tlie 

 age of 3b he began to hasten to his 

 end, when one day, perchance, a book 

 fell into his hand, seemingly written 

 by a woman's hand, and the tender 

 words went to his heart, comforting 

 him to some extent. This work was 

 written by Lady Barigno, poor and 

 needy as Swammerdam was, and he 

 resolved at once to undertake a pil- 

 grimage to Holstein, in Germany, 

 where this lady resided ; after he had 

 seen the mysterious woman, he felt 

 somewhat consoled, and resolved to 

 quit his labors. 



He would gladly have led the life of 

 a hermit, to live henceforth for God 

 only, and he resolved to sell his cabi- 

 net, his life-long work of research and 

 discoveries, Init could find no pur- 

 chaser in Holland nor France. Now 

 sick and disgusted with all mankind, 

 he retired to a secluded spot in 1680, 

 and never went out ; for five years he 

 lived in destitution and want, aud in a 

 melancholy fit ordered all his valuable 

 manuscripts burned, and, at the age 

 of 43, Death, :is a welcome guest, came 

 at last for his deliverance. 



What was the cause of this great 

 man's earlj' death ? Deep searching 

 for knowledge, and the sudden revela- 

 tion of the mysteries of nature befell 

 him unawares with amazement, and 

 when others on his pathway advanced, 

 ascribing to insects a heart and soul, 

 Svvammerdam became stunned and 

 frightened, and began to stand still 

 and doubt, and felt that the knowledge 

 which had led him into the channel of 

 discover}-, would lead him to some- 

 thing extraordinarily great, which he 

 did not desire to see, and he should 

 not see it, for his eyes were already 

 blinded with the dazzling brilliancy of 

 the era of perfection in apiculture. 



But the treasury of this profound 

 thinker and great discoverer was made 

 known many years after his decease 

 (in 1737), though the publishing of his 

 work entitled "the Bible of Nature," 

 in which we see Swammerdam in the 

 light of his glory, with which science 

 and art has endowed a true scholar 

 worthy of praise. 



CONVENTIONS. 



!^u;;Ke!<itii»ii« as to tlic Pluec or 

 Itlveiiiig for the International. 



Written fur the American Bee Jounuil 



BY ERNEST R. ROOT. 



At the Bee-Keepers' Convention at 

 Plum Bay, N. Y., we had a pleasant 

 time. The entire shores of the most 

 beautiful Lake George were covered 

 with historic reminiscences. Moun- 

 tains rise abruiJtly out of the water,and 

 the scenery round about is indescrib- 

 ably beautiful. The water is clear — so 

 clear indeed, that objects can be seen 

 sometimes 40 feet beneath the surface. 

 At the point (Plum Bay) where the 

 bee-keepers camped, there is said to 

 be a man-of-war sunk. It lies in a 

 depth of 40 feet of water, and yet I 

 am assured that, on favorable days, its 

 hulk can be quite distinctly seen. 



At one end of the lake is Fort 

 William Henry Hotel, on the spot 

 of the old fort of that name, and, at 

 the other end, Ticonderoga. Near by 

 are two or three celebrated battle- 

 fields. 



I have taken pains to mention some 

 of the natural attractions of Lake 

 George, and now then, to my point: 



Two first-class bee-keepers, Messrs. 

 Andrews and Loekhart, own several 

 cottages and a considerable portion of 

 the shore bordering on the southeast. 

 They are very anxious that this camp 

 of bee-keepers should be an annual 

 affair. As it is situated between the 

 New England bee-keepers and the 

 New York State bee-keepers, and is 

 easy of access to some of the most ex- 

 tensive bee-men in the world. 



Still further, while we were in camp 

 this time, we were discussing as to 

 whether this might not be a very de- 

 sirable location for the International 

 Bee-Association, to be held the year 

 after the meeting at Keokuk, Iowa, 

 uamelj', during the winter of 1891-92. 

 Along with the natural attractions, it 

 is right in the centre (if we except 

 California) of the most extensive bee- 

 country in the world. Not many miles 

 avva3' are bee-keepers owning their 300 

 and 400 colonies. Then there are 

 Messrs. Elwood, Hetheriugton, Hoff- 

 man, Tunicliflf, Larabee, Martin, 

 Manum, Crane, L. C. Root. Knicker- 

 bocker, Loekhart and Andrews, and a 

 good many others that are entensive 

 bee-keepers. As it is one of the poli- 

 cies of the International Association to 

 migrate, I merely suggest that it might 

 be well to consider the advisability of 

 holding our next International on the 



