hives were broken up and the yield of honey, wax and waste was determined. He
anticipated that some might criticise him for destroying the colonies rather than just
harvesting a part of the honey: “I thus expect sharp criticism for having killed so
many innocent hard-working creatures. With the following explanation, I anyway
hope to receive some easement in the verdict”. Bergman stressed the importance of
avoiding overpopulation of bees in an area. The strategy that he had developed was
to select the proper number of colonies among the healthiest young colonies in
August, when the hives had achieved maximum weight. The remaining weaker
colonies and the colonies from previous year were broken up. Bergman suggested
planting trees and bushes to increase the yield of honey, and saw no reason why
beekeeping would not be suitable also in the northern provinces of Sweden.
12.3 Bergman’s Marriage
When Bergman moved in on the second floor of his laboratory building and started
to receive salary from the University, his living conditions became more comfortable. It was not until now that Bergman could consider marriage.
On September 15, 1771, Bergman married Margareta Catharina Trast, born on
July 4, 1735. Margareta was the daughter of Johan Trast, assistant vicar in Uppsala
Cathedral. Her father had died aged just 39 when Margareta was only four years old,
so Schufle’s supposition that he attended the wedding cannot be true. Margareta’s
mother died when Margareta was 17 years old, not much more is known about her.
Little is known about Mrs Bergman, and Bergman’s Swedish biographers only
priced her for taking good care of her husband, an important qualification for a wife
in the eighteenth century. It is also reported that she joined her husband on his trips
[9]. Interestingly, Bergman does not mention his marriage or any other details from
his private life in his autobiography. It is actually due to French sources, probably
based on information from Bergman’s French student Charles-André-Hector de
Virely, that we have some scarce information about Bergman’s wife [3]. Margareta
is said to have shared her husband’s interests for science, and when Bergman no
longer had time for biological research, she kept his bees (Sect. 12.2), collected
insects and grew plants. Their marriage was described as happy.
On March 5, 1773, Margareta gave birth to a son, named Torbern as his father. The
christening ceremony seems to have been rather impressive. The ceremony was held
in Uppsala Cathedral by Lars Hydrén,
3 vicar and professor in theology. The young
Torbern had nine godparents, and many of them where professors at the University.
Anders Berch (1711–1774) was professor in national economics, the first to hold such
a position in Scandinavia. University librarian and historian Berge Frodin (1718–
1783) was probably a personal friend of Bergman. Fredric Mallet was one of Bergman’s friends from the Cosmographic Society and his time as an astronomer.
3
Schufle thought that Hydrén was a physician attending the birth. This is not correct; Schufle may
have been misled by Hydrén’s doctoral title.
12.2 Bergman’s Study of Bees
191
anticipated that some might criticise him for destroying the colonies rather than just
harvesting a part of the honey: “I thus expect sharp criticism for having killed so
many innocent hard-working creatures. With the following explanation, I anyway
hope to receive some easement in the verdict”. Bergman stressed the importance of
avoiding overpopulation of bees in an area. The strategy that he had developed was
to select the proper number of colonies among the healthiest young colonies in
August, when the hives had achieved maximum weight. The remaining weaker
colonies and the colonies from previous year were broken up. Bergman suggested
planting trees and bushes to increase the yield of honey, and saw no reason why
beekeeping would not be suitable also in the northern provinces of Sweden.
12.3 Bergman’s Marriage
When Bergman moved in on the second floor of his laboratory building and started
to receive salary from the University, his living conditions became more comfortable. It was not until now that Bergman could consider marriage.
On September 15, 1771, Bergman married Margareta Catharina Trast, born on
July 4, 1735. Margareta was the daughter of Johan Trast, assistant vicar in Uppsala
Cathedral. Her father had died aged just 39 when Margareta was only four years old,
so Schufle’s supposition that he attended the wedding cannot be true. Margareta’s
mother died when Margareta was 17 years old, not much more is known about her.
Little is known about Mrs Bergman, and Bergman’s Swedish biographers only
priced her for taking good care of her husband, an important qualification for a wife
in the eighteenth century. It is also reported that she joined her husband on his trips
[9]. Interestingly, Bergman does not mention his marriage or any other details from
his private life in his autobiography. It is actually due to French sources, probably
based on information from Bergman’s French student Charles-André-Hector de
Virely, that we have some scarce information about Bergman’s wife [3]. Margareta
is said to have shared her husband’s interests for science, and when Bergman no
longer had time for biological research, she kept his bees (Sect. 12.2), collected
insects and grew plants. Their marriage was described as happy.
On March 5, 1773, Margareta gave birth to a son, named Torbern as his father. The
christening ceremony seems to have been rather impressive. The ceremony was held
in Uppsala Cathedral by Lars Hydrén,
3 vicar and professor in theology. The young
Torbern had nine godparents, and many of them where professors at the University.
Anders Berch (1711–1774) was professor in national economics, the first to hold such
a position in Scandinavia. University librarian and historian Berge Frodin (1718–
1783) was probably a personal friend of Bergman. Fredric Mallet was one of Bergman’s friends from the Cosmographic Society and his time as an astronomer.
3
Schufle thought that Hydrén was a physician attending the birth. This is not correct; Schufle may
have been misled by Hydrén’s doctoral title.
12.2 Bergman’s Study of Bees
191