Gregor Mendel and Hugo de Vries on the species concept

Since the year 1965, the centenary of Mendel’s original publication, a continuous stream of papers on his life and work has flown. Among these are translations as well as new editions in the original language of his famous paper of 1865/1866. Although quite a number of biographical data have thrown some more light on his private and his official life, still no conclusive answer has been given to the question why Mendel’s voice remained one crying in the wilderness, with only some faint echoes from Germany and from far-away Russia.