MENDELISM 49 



13. Mendel's work was duly published, in a paper Mendel's 

 which is a model of clearness and convincing logic. J^J/bttt 

 Nevertheless, it was completely ignored. The botanist ignored 

 Nageli, with whom he corresponded, was unable to ap- 

 preciate the importance of his novel ideas. The Briinn 

 society sent out its publications to other societies and 



to libraries, but no one understandingly read Mendel's 

 account. Darwin, who of all men was most fitted to 

 make good use of it, never saw it at all. Mendel was 

 appointed Pralat, and took upon himself important 

 executive duties. In 1872 the government imposed 

 special taxes on the property of religious houses, and 

 Mendel, claiming that all should be equal in law, re- 

 sisted this injustice. The latter part of his life was 

 spent in the bitter struggle for what he considered to 

 be the- right, and he died a disappointed man, on Janu- 

 ary 6, 1884. A few years after his death the tax he had 

 resisted was removed without debate. As to his scien- 

 tific work, he died wholly unknown, though it is related 

 that he used to say hopefully, " Meine Zeit wird schon 

 kommen /" (My time will surely come!) 



14. It did come, indeed, but not until 1900, sixteen Rediscovery 

 years after he had gone. Three naturalists, De Vries, papers and 

 Correns, and Tschermak, at about the same time, re- * e "f^. of 



M en d elism 



discovered Mendel's paper and perceived its signifi- 

 cance. Professor Bateson, at the University of Cam- 

 bridge, in England, took up "Mendelism" with 

 extraordinary vigor, and became the leading exponent 

 of the subject. In many places experiments were be- 

 gun, to test the theory. It was soon found that 

 Mendel's principles were applicable not only to plants, 

 but also to animals, including man himself. Numerous 

 exceptions and difficulties were encountered, but these 

 served only to .bring to light new facts which were 



