HIS WORK FOR POSTERITY 227 



to send home some insects alive with a living cactus 

 planted in a jar. The gardener carefully potted the 

 cactus, without reference to the insects, which he de- 

 stroyed in the process, unfortunately before Linnaaus 

 had even seen them. 



The story is elsewhere more fully given. 1 Rolander 

 went with Dahlberg, who took him by Linnaeus's 

 request, to make observations on the cochineal. He 

 returned on June 29, 1756, from Surinam, having suc- 

 ceeded in sending home several of the insects, living, 

 with the cactus on which they fed. He sent to Lin- 

 naeus, who was lecturing just at that time, a cactus 

 with cochineals in a jar. The gardener opened the jar, 

 took out the plant, cleansed it from the dirt, and of 

 course from the insects, and replaced it in the jar, so 

 that the insects, though they arrived alive, were de- 

 stroyed in the garden before Linnaeus could even get a 

 sight of them ; and thus vanished all his hopes of rear- 

 ing them with advantage in the conservatory. This 

 grieved him so much that he had one of the most 

 dreadful fits of megrim (hemicrania) he ever felt. 



Rolander brought home a considerable collection of 

 various other objects, but was ungrateful enough not to 

 present his kind patron with anything, but went about 

 slandering him, as Linnaeus complains. 2 He gave his 

 West Indian plants to De Geer, who gave them to 

 Linnaeus. 



Linnaeus further enlarged the scope of his interest 

 1 Pulteney. 2 Diary. 



Q 2 



