A History of Scientific Endeavour in South Africa: A Collection of Essays Published on the Occasion of the Centenary of the Royal Society of South Africa

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A HISTORY OF

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

A collection of essays published on the occasion of the Centenary of the

Royal Society of South Africa

A. C. BROWN

3vm 1977

Published by the Royal Society of South Africa, c o The University of Cape Town

4: SET, PRINTED AKD BOL'ND IN THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA BY THE RUSTICA PRESS(PTY ) LTD e WYNBERG~ CAPE Ill

This book is dedicated to aII who have worked towards the advancement of natural science iii South Africa and to all who, in the Geld and in the laboratory, have directed their talents towards solving the manifold problems and meeting the many chaHenges encountered in the utilization and exploitation of the land and its resources for the

benefit of mankind. It records the efforts of workers in many fields who have broadened our knowledge and deepened our understanding of the South African habitat and honours those who in more recent years have laboured towards its conservation and preservation as the natural heritage of present and future generations. It is a tribute to the nameless many and the famous few who together have contributed much of the basic knowledge and research that has made possible the transformation of South Africa from the remote and little-known land of hunters and pastoralists and subsistence agriculturalists it was in the seventeenth century to the economically advanced nation that has emerged in the twentieth — one of the world's leading producers of such

minerals as asbestos, chrome, diamonds, gold, manganese, uranium and vanadium, and the leading industrial nation in Africa, in 1970 employing nearly one-fifth of its

economically active, ethnically varied population in manufacturing and construction and harnessing from its power-stations nearly three-fifths of the electrical energy generated in the continent. Many of those to whom this book is dedicated remain anonymous and unknown: some achieved recognition among their colleagues in their day; a feiv achieved wider and more lasting fame but, to the average South African, most of them today are forgotten 'back-room boys', unrewarded by just acknowledgement ol' their contributions to scientific knowledge and to our economic progress. Their story is a chapter that is missing from our recorded history. It is therefore fitting that the Royal Society of South Africa, as our senior multidisciplinary scientific society, should mark the centenary of its founding in l877 by attempting to fill, at least partially, this gap incur national history. The gap is too wide t o be filled by a single voluine and twenty authors are too few to honour all t h e scientists, amateur and professional, ranging from anthropologists and archaeologists, astronomers and botanists, to veterinarians and zoologists, who have not only added much to our expanding fund of academic learning but have also, directly and indirectly, contributed inuch to the welfare of humanity. It has been possible for the editor and the authors to review the progress of research only in their ovvn and cognate fields and to focus only on the highlights and principal characters in the complex story but, thereby, they have spared their readers the tedium that might attend a more encyclo-

paedic survey and have presented in its place a more lively and entertaining saga to be addhxl to the annals of our history.

The book is to be commended to all ~vho cherish interests in the history of science and in the accomplishments of those of our compatriots who, together with friends and colleagues from many lands, have promoted the progress of science and South

Africa.

Dr N. Diederichs State President of the Republic of South Africa

When the Council of the Royal Society of South Africa adopted my suggestion to pubhsh a book on the history of science in South Africa, to mark the hundredth anniversary of the Society, several problems were apparent. A major difficulty was that any attempt at complete coverage would lead not to a single book but to a series of volumes, v ould take many years to complete and would be beyond the means both of the Society and of most potential purchasers. The decision was therefore taken to invite, from outstanding senior scientists, the submission of essays on selected topics, to result in 'A history of scientific endeavour' rather than 'The history of scientific endeavour'. The concept of a series of essays instead of chapters would allovv the authors more freedom in selecting the ground to be covered and would encourage them to draw on their experience in expounding personal viewpoints. The problem of what fields of science to select for inclusion to some extent solved itself for, while all the authors whose essays appear here responded immediately and enthusiastically, no one could be found to write essays on the matheinatical sciences, on inorganic and theoretical chemistry or on several other branches of science. The Council was also of the opinion that the volume should to some extent rellect the activities of the Society, so that priority would be given to the biological sciences, including palaeontology, for it is these disciplines which have largely supported the Transacu'ons af the Royal Society of South Africa over the years. Nevertheless the coverage should be wide and range from medicine to geology, from marine biology to engineering, and from the earliest days at the Cape to the present decade. The authors were each asked to write between 8 000 and 10 000 vvords, to make their accounts entertaining and to a d dress theinselves to the general scientist or interested layman rather than to the specialist. When the manuscripts were submitted it was found that we had twenty-one essays in twenty-one diA'erent styles, offering twenty-one diA'erent solutions to the task of writing an historical essay. Some writers had concentrated on p a r ticular aspects of t heir fi eld, as i n deed they had been encouraged to do, while others had attempted a more complete coverage. Some had adopted a fairly light-hearted, popular style; others presented very scholarly essays, vvith long lists of references. This was, of course, to be expected from distinguished scientists and experienced writers, chosen largely for their individuality. Of greater concern was the fact that some of the manuscripts were twice the length requested, while others v ere extremely short and. omitted much important material, often on the ground that it was too well known to warrant repetition. With the full backing of Council I acted in a high-handed manner, reducing essays to the required length, adding new material to others, transferring passages from one essay to another and generally exceeding normal editorial prerogatives. The result is

that some of the essays now bear little resemblance to the original manuscripts and all have been modified to a greater or lesser extent. The choice of illustrations has also been largely my ov n. In view of aII these changes it is clear that I, rather than the individual authors, must shoulder the blame for most of the shortcomings of this book. I am also responsible for errors and omissions in the index, for it was felt that only the editor, fully acquainted with the book's contents, could prepare a balanced index,

despite his lack of indexing experience. However. the chief criticism of this book is likely to be the selection of topics for inclusion, for it has been apparent from the beginning that it would not be possible

to please everyone and that the material onutted could hll several more volumes, I et us hope that they will one day be written. In the meantime this book is overed towards the filling of a long-felt gap, a tribute to the scientists of our remarkable country who, though so I'ew in number, have achieved so much, A. C. BROwN

27 April l977

The Honorary Editor of this volume, the authors of the individual es says and the Council of the Royal Society of South Africa wish to thank the follovvi ng for their invaluable help in the preparation of this volume: Mr P. J. Lloyd Prof. E. Axehon Prof. G. N. Louw Mr 3. Luker Dr O. G. Malan Prof. D. S. Midgley Prof. J. F, Murray Mr E. R. Newbery Prof. L. O. Nicolaysen Mrs J. P. Mackie Niven Mr K. O'Donovan Dr J. J. P. Op t Hof Prof.J. Parkingtoa Prof. R. P. PlewTnan Miss P. A. Roberts Dr J. P. Rourke Prof. l. Schwartz Dr F, Schweitzer Prof. IV. R. Sic@ried Mrs S. H. Skaife Prof. A. M. Stephen Mfs P. E. Stevens Mrs A.-M. Talbot Dr J. J. Taljaard Mrs J. Terblanche Prof. A. D. Thackeray Prof. J. H. van der Merwe Prof. O. Volckman Prof. P. T. %edepohl Dr A. %hillier Prof.P. A. T. %ild Dr H. S. Wiliiams Prof. J. %interbottom Miss E. %oodgate

Mrs X. Basson Miss J. Biddies Dr Z. T. Bieniawski Mrs C. Blumenthal Prof. G. B. Bozzoli Prof. F. D. Brooks Dr L. R. P. Butler Mr D. Clark Comm. %. J. Copenhagen Prof. %. Cormack Prof. %. H. Craib Dr H. G. Denkhaus Mrs E. P. du Plessis Mr H, Eltfers Dr 3. Elswortll Prof. J. A. Y. Fairbrother Prof. %. E. Frahn Mr A. H. Fricke Prof. R. Fugue Prof. A. O. Fuller Mrs B. Giles Dr%. L Grant Dr E. N. Grindley Miss M. Gunn Mrs S. Hardman Dr F. J. He@,itt Dr P. A. Hultey Mr R. F. Hurly Mr G. B. Jack Prof J. tV. F. Juritz Mr J. A. King Mr%. M. Kinghorn Prof. G. B. Lauf

The Society's Council is indebted to the following for tutancial assistance towards the cost of publication: The University of Cape Town The Magnetic Observatory, Hermanus African Explosives and Chemical Industries Ltd

Ciba-Geigy (Pty) Ltd Sarmcol (Pty) Ltd S.A. Permanent Building Society IX

COM'ENTS Foreword from the State President, Dr >V.Diederiehs Edi toria/ Prel'ace .

viz

A ckno t1'ledgenzeats I.

PA T HFINDERS AND PIONEERS, EXPLORERS AND SCIENTISTS l487 — ]976.

By $Villiazzz J. Talbot . 2- SO ME SCIENTIFIC MATTERSIN EARLY %RITfNGS ON THE CAPE.

By Vernotr S. Forbes .

33

3. TH E QRO%'TH OF SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS IN SOUTH AFRICA.

By S.,4feiring >Yaztde and A. C. Brown

60

4. MARINE BloLQGY IN SoUTH AFRlcA.By J, H. Day INsEcTs, ARAcHNIDs AND PERIPATUs. By R. E. Lawrence 6

109

TH E HtsTDRY AND STATUs oF FEATURE ( oNsERVATloN IN SDL>TH AFRIcA. By Douglas Hey . THE GRO%'TH OF VETERINARY RESEARCH IN SOLTH AFRICA.

Bp B. C. Jansen SOME HIGHLIGHTS OF MEDICAL RESEARCH IN SOUTH AFRICA.

By John F. Brock 9. A CENTURY OF RESEARCH IV HL~IAN BIOLOGY AND PALAEO-AI THROPOLOGY

IN SDUTHERN AFRIcA. By Phzllzp V. Tobtas t0.

B O TANICAL RESEARCH IN SOUTH AFRICA IN THE TIVE">ITIETH CENTURY.

By R. A. Dyer AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH tN SOul H AFRICA: A N H I STORICAt. OVERVIE4V.

Br D. 4f. Joubert t2. O R G ANIC AND BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.

Bv Frank L. tVarren l3.

A D V ANCES IN SOPH A F RICAN VERTEBRATE PALAEO'.>ITOLOGY.

Bp Af. A. Clzater and T. H. Barry 14. SDL>H AFRlc4NGEol oGY. By S. H. Haughton

3l 8

15. TH E H I S TORY OF GEOMAGNETIC. IONOSPHERIC AND COSMIC-RAY RESEARCH

IN SDUTH AFRlcA. By A. M. Fan 8'ji/, R. 14'. Vice and P. H. Stoker 3 16. A Hl sTGRY oFP~Yslcs lw SDUTH AFRlcA. By I%alter

57

Scheer

17. METEGRGLGGY AND CLIMAToLoGY. By S. P. Jackson

388

18. AsTRGNDMYIN SGUTH AFRIcA. By R. H. Stoy 19. SOME HIGHLIGHTS OF ENGINEERING RESEARCH IN SOUTH AFRICA,

By E. A. Bunt 20. TH E AMATEUR ScIENTIsT.By A. C. Brohvt

454

21. A HlsTGRY oF THE RoYAL SoclETY oF SDUTH AFRIcA. By A. V, Hall

Notes on tile Autllors Index

501

PA~ IN D K RS AND PIONEERS, KXPI.ORKRS AND SCIENTISTS 14S7 — 1976 by % ILt.lAM J. TALBOT

The fall of the Mongol Empire in 1368, by interrupting the overland commerce between Europe and China that had Ilourished for a century, laid the fuse for the explosion of maritime activity in the ftfteenth and sixteenth centuries that ultimately led to the economic 'Europeanization' of the vvorld, The discovery of seaways whereby trade with the East might be revived became the goal of' generations of adventurers from west European ports, luring Portuguese southward along the forbidding coasts of Africa, drawing Spaniards westward across the Atlantic, and later misleading Englishmen and Dutchmen to grope through northern mists — searching vainly for a Northeast or a Northvvest Passage but unveiling fortuitously the wealth of the Arctic vvhaling grounds and avenues for trade with Muscovy and for a later fur-trade with the hinterland of Hudson's Bay. In 1492 Columbus landed in the West Indies: in 1498 Da Gama set foot in India. Thereafter Spain was jealously to monopolize and exploit Middle America and the Andean empires, vvhile Portugal vvas to monopolize trade with China and the tropical margins of southern and south-eastern Asia. In contrast, Africa was to repel European venturers, yielding only from its tropical v estern fringe unhappy slaves and a trickle of gold, ivory and melegueta pepper, and remaining until the nineteenth century an immense obstacle on the seaway to the East, to be circumvented only by a long and perilous voyage — a continent where few harbours welcomed and little trade attracted seamen, vvhere disease or hostile natives repelled intruders. For three centuries Africa vvas to be the 'Dark Continent'; even the temperate interior of its south-western corner was to remain unknown for more than 160 years after the erst Europeans set toot upon its shores. Portuguese pioneers such as Dias (1487-8), Da Gama (1497-8), and De Saldanha (1503) reconnoitred its coasts but fevv landed

until after 1595, when seamen of other nations began to follow the circum-African seavvay the Portuguese had opened and began to call at Tab/e Bay or at Mossel Bay for water.

SCIEM'IFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

Few accomplished the voyage of more than 20 000 km from north-western Europe to south-eastern Asia in less than 200 days and, in an era tvhen the arts of food preservation were limited to drying, salting and pickling, and vitamins as such were unknown, mortality among seafarers was high. %1any of the seamen were kidnapped into service and were often ilf-clad, ill-fed and in ill health even before sailing (Thunberg 1795), but a prime cause of mortality was scurvy, the aetiology of which was scarcely understood although the syndrome was known to be preventable and curable by modest rations of fresh vegetables and fruit.' Therefore the health and survival of seamen on protracted voyages vvere dependent on timely landfalls for fresh produce. On the long sea passages between Europe and the East sotne port of call was a vital need and, for such a revictualling station, there was no better situation than the southern coast of Africa, in a salubrious climate and almost at the midway intersection of the eastbound and westbound sailing routes (Talbot 1959). Nevertheless the South African coast had been bypassed by the Portuguese after the death of Viceroy Francisco d'Almeida in 1510, with more than sixty of his men, in a skirmish with the natives at Table Bay (then known as the Agoada de Saldanha). It fell to t heir later rivals to exploit its advantages — to the Dutch. English and French merchantmen who from 1601 called frequently at Table Bay for fresh water and, when by good fortune the pastoral Khoikhoi or Hottentots happened to be in the vicinity, to barter for slaughter stock. Unfortunately, as none of the natives vvere sedentary agriculturists, fresh vegetables and fruit were unobtainable. Therefore Dutch seamen repeatedly urged the Directors of the Vereettigde Oosl lnth'sche Compagnie (V.O.C.) to authorize the establishment of an agricultural settlement on the South African coast. For this purpose no other haven could rival Table Bay. There an anchorage, sheltered from the prevalent southerly swell of the South Atlantic and from the southerly winds that prevailed from October to April, adjoined a wide vale vvherein level land and deep soils could easily be irrigated during the dry summer months from perennial streams draining from the I 000 m high mountain that rose behind it. Ultimately the Directors acceded, although reluctant to incur the expense, and in 1652 the V.O.C. established the first European outpost tn southern Africa — a settlement intended to serve only as a station where ships in transit might take o n f resh tvater and p r ovisions and scurvy-stricken seamen might be hospitalized, but one destined to become the base from which an immense and then unknown hinterland was to be explored and colonized. In Table Valley, between the Leeuwenberg and the Windberg (Devil's Peak), and in sheltered sites along the eastern foot of the mountain, a wide range of vegetables, small grains and fruits vvere cultivated successfully, but plans to provide the garrison and ships vtith Ineat by b artering slaughter stock from the Khoikhoi proved ill-founded. The nomads frequented the vicinity only in late spring and early summer when the grazing was at its best. There' The value of citrus fruit in seamen s diet was observed as early as 1593 by Sir Richard Hawkins. but medical attention does not appear to have been effectively focused on the causes of scurvy until the middle of the eighteenth century. Despite the publication ot James I.ind's Treatise oa Se, C. S, 1954. The uranium industry of South Africa. Min. ind. Mag. sth Afr. 45: 203 — 21 3, MsrcrzsL, C. F. 1785, 1787.Beschreibung des Vorgebirges der Guten Hognurrg. 2 vols. Clogau: Giinther. MoFFAT, R. 1844. Missionary Labours in Southern Africa. London: Snow. MotsrrarrosN, E. C. GoDhz. 1922. Reizen in Zuid-Afrika. v, 3. Den Haag: LirLM:hoten Vereeniging. PArsasox, W. 1789. A narrative of four journeys into the c ountry of the Hottentots and Cagruriu.. . in the years l777, l778, and! 779.Lo ndon: Johnson Rootas, A. W. 1937. The pioneers in South African geology and their work. Trarrs. geol. Soc. S. Afr. Annexure, v. 39. SMrr, B. 1952, Control of insect pests. Fmg. S. Afr. 27: 164-166. Srnrrrt, A. 1939.The Diary of Dr Andrew Smith... / 8 34-l836 (edited byP. R. Kirby). (Van Riebeeck Society Publications, Nos. 20 — 21.) SvArutMAN,A. 1783. A voyage tothe Cape of Good Hope... but chiefly into the country of the Hotterrtots and Caffres.. . l 772 to /776 (translated from the Swedish original). London: Robinson. Stow, G. W. 1874. Geological notes upon Griqualand West. Q. Jl geol. Soc. Loud. 30: 582-680. TALtror, A. M. k. TALaot, W, J. 1967. Economic and envirorrmental factors in the developm ent and distribution of viticulture in South Africa. Festschrift Leopold G. Scheidl sum 60 Geburtstcrg (edited by L. Beckel u. H. Lechleitner). 297 — 310. Vienna: Berger, TALnov, W. J. 1959, Kapstadt als Weltstadt. Zum Problem der Weltstadt (edited bv J, H. Schultze) 56-82. Berlin: De Gruyter. TAt.trov, W. J. 1961. Land utilization in the arid regions of southern Africa in L. D. St amp (ed.) A History of Lund Use in Arid Regions. Paris: Ub ESCO: 299 — 331. TALtrov, W. J. 1971. South IVesterrr Cape Province (The South African fsrndscape, No. I). Johannesburg: South African Geographical Society. TttrAt., G. McC. 1897. History of South Afrrca (1725-1795). Swan Sonnenschein, London. TrttrwtrsRo, C. P. 1795. Travels in Europe, Africa, and Asia... l 7 70-l779 (translated from the Swedish original). 4 v. London: Rivington. VAeer~w, F. 1726.Beschryvinge van die Koap der Goede Hoope. Amsterdam: Van Braam en Onder de I.inden. You~ , R. B. 1908. The Life and Work oj' George William Store.London: Longmans, Green.

SOME SCKNTIFIC MATTERS IN KARI.Y WVRITINGS ON THK CAPE

by VERwor S. Foams

The variety and number of references to matters of scientific interest in the writings of early visitors to the Cape are beyond expectation. Rare and scattered in the earlier accounts, their occurrence increases progressively vvith the accretion of k nowledge in the various branches of natural philosophy and with the growth of specialization, From the random remarks of v i siting mariners, merchants, oSciais, soldiers and clerics during the first half-century of the settlement, we come to the longer and far more comprehensive general accounts of the Cape by such as P, Kolb, F. Valentyn, Abbe de la Caille and O. F. M e ntzel. There followed works, of which some were written wit h a b i a s t owards a s pecial interest, such as t hose by th e z o ologist A. Sparrman,' the botanist C. P. Thunberg and the ornithologist F. le Vaillant. With the advent of the nineteenth century an ever-increasing number of books on the Cape made their appearance, which provide a body of material too large for treatment in this essay. Accordingly the litnits of this survey are placed in the vicinity of l500, when the settlement was nearly l50 years old though this arbitrary date will not always be stnctly observed. Even within these limits there are more topics than can be compressed into the space available. Hence the matters touched upon here have been chosen by subjective selection and personal bias. When the early voyager had arrived in Table Bay, he inevitably described its majestic attendant mountains, the settlement at their feet and the governmental, economic and social aspects of its White population. He was then able to entertain his readers with an account of the appearance, language, manners and customs of the Hottentots. There often follovved a section on the beasts, birds, reptiles and ashes. Practically no attempts were made at Iirst to describe these creatures, which were

merely lists, often with the larger and more spectacular named first, such as the lion, elephant and rhinoceros. In Europe, the mental pictures of even these animals ' Also spelt 'Sparmao', particularly in the Botanical Literature (edl.

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOLTH AFRICA

we« c r ude~ since they depended upon illustrations by artists who usually had not seen the animals alive but at best worked from inadequately stuffed skins. At worst

they depended on written or verbal descriptions, from vvhich the artist built up the creatures by real or fancied resemblances to salient features of other animals, It is not surprising that very few ivild animals survived the voyage of some three months' duration, to appear in menageries in Europe, where they could be drawn by competent artists. The colonists themselves often applied the names of familiar European species to new species which they found, because these at first summed up their shape and size better than new names, which in any case first had to be invented and then become generally accepted. Very few colonists encountering the eland or gemsbok, for example, can have taken carefulnote, back in Europe, of the appearance of the elk or the chamois, after vvhich the two South African animals were named. There can have been few, il any, competent artists at the Cape at that time who were interested in drawing animals in their natural surroundings, perhaps far from Table Bay. So the

early representations of Cape aniinals were usually drawn inexpertly from skins and captive young animals, or by the methods described above. Since very few artists had ever visited the Cape, the general character of the scenery depicted in their ammal studies tended to be essentially European, with perhaps the introduction of palms to signify foreign parts. P K.olb"s original German edition of' 1719 (Dutch ed 17~7) was the first «P u blish a comprehensive list of the Cape fauna. In the Dutch edition his descriPtions of the mammals cover 45 pages, the birds 22 pages, the fishes 24 pages, and the» a « s , insects and other animals 20 pages. He was an astronomer and seems to have had no special training for, or interest in, zoology. Thus his compilation of these descriptions is particularly praiseworthy, though the impression given by writers on Kolb, right up to tl:e present day, is of criticism for inaccuracy and for the inclusion of irresponsible tales he had teen told. ]t would be just, however, to regard these lapses indulgently and to emphasize instead the debt we owe him fo r hi s i ndustry and pe~verance. Of all animals in the Cape, the greatest interest probably attaches to the discovery h«e of t" e giraffe. It is said that the first of these seen in Europe was brought to Rome bv Julius Caesar about 46 II.c. Accounts of the animal appear thereafter by writers in. or visitors to, Mediterranean countries, to which stories of their existence had Pro» bl y been brought by A r abs from A f r ica's east coast. But t hese almost fabulous tales transmitted to Western Europe through a chain o f i n t ermediaries neither conveyed a clear picture of this rather improbable creature nor engendered strong convictions that it actually existed. Its discovery in the Cape interior therefore authenticated a myth and aroused inIense interest. especially as it is the tallest and among the heaviest of living land animals. The first recorded sighting was by the party of Sergeant Jonas de la Guerre, on

2g November 1663 (Moisbergen 1916) near the Spoeg River, according to MossoP (1947), but possibly even farther south. From the tone of the report, which expresses

EARLY wRrrINGS OK TM CAPE

no surprise, it seems that giraffe had been seen previously in this district. The first recorded killings were nearly a century later, in 1760, and north of the Orange River, when J. Coetse shot two and captured a young one, which soon died. C. F. Brink in the following year described the shooting of two and the capture of a young one, also north ol the Orange River (Mossop 1935). The skin of the latter was sent to Professor

J. N. S. Allarnand, wbo had it stuffed and exhibited it at the University of Leiden (Forbes 1965). One of the other five could have provided the dried head seen by Sparrman at Cape Town in 1775-6 (Sparrman 1785, II), or it could have been an unrecorded killing. S. van Reenen shot one in 1778 (Paterson) and %ikar one in 1779

(Mossop 1935). It is uncertain whether in this same year R. J. Gordon shot two or only onc south of the Orange River (Cape Archives VC.593; Forbes 1965): but he is only known to have sent one skin to Prot'. Allamand. to be mounted for exhibition in the Cabinet of N a t ural Rarities of the Prince of Orange. It was accoinpanied

by a poor drawing of the skeleton, made by Johannes Schumacber (Le VaiIIant 1973, II). Thus at least seven of these magnificent animals had been shot by the time Franqois le Vaillant grandiloquently exclaimed. 'I was the first to kill this; with this I v as about to enrich natural history: I was about to destroy roinance, and establish truth in

my turn' (Le Vaillant 1796), This claimed priority may indeed merely have signiAed t hat he was the first of his own party to shoot one (Le Vaillant 1973, I); but h i s following words about natural history. romance and truth certainly suggest that his claiin vvas to an absolute priority. The date of this exploit ~as probably 17S3 and the place at an unascertainable distance north of t h e Orange, probablv not exceeding

200 km. Some of' his contemporaries said that the giraAe had been shot by a Coloured hunter, while Lichtenstein wrote that 'when Le Vaillant asserts that he has seen the giraAe trot, he spares me any further trouble in proving that this animal never presented itself alive before him' (Le Vaillant 1973, ll). He meant that anyone who had actually seen a giraA'e at speed could not fail to mention its singular gait, the fore-

and hind-limbs on the same side being moved simultaneously in the same direction. These old controversies are now unimportant and to Le Vaillant's lasting credit is the fact that he probably disseminated a knowledge of the giraAe more eAectively than any of his contemporaries. He provided two illustrations of the animal, with accompanying description and discussion at the end of volume Il of ' h is travels into the eastern Cape (Le Vaillant 1790'). This work, due to thc large number of translations and editions in which it appeared, enjoyed a wider circulation and a more numerous audience than those of his detractors. Because of the time, expense and eA'ort involved in shooting giraA'cs. their skins

fetched high prices and one was on sale in Cape Town in 1822 for 400 rix-dollars (Karsten 1939), at a time when 3 or 4 rix-dollars a day, together with subsistence and

lodging, was the average wage paid to 'mechanics and useful tradesmen (Thompson 1968). A rhinoceros divas killed in 1655 near the Salt River mouth, by Van Riebeeck s men. His journal records that the beast was stuck in the mud and that over a hundred

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

shots were fired at it, at point-blank range, without killing it, as many of the bullets

rebounded, So 'we had a piece hewn out of its side with axes and then, by shooting it between the ribs and into the guts, we inanaged to kill it' (Van Riebeeck I952). Cornrnander Van der Stel's coach was charged by a rhinoceros during his expedition to the copper mines in 1685 (Valentyn 197I). %hen Kolb wrote his three-page account of this creature at the Cape, the Indian

rhinoceros had long been known, while its existence in Africa had been brielly asserted by Dapper. Kolb supplies a large engraving showing it as traditionally represented, with one horn, its lower parts covered with scales and its upper parts by large plates, like the iron armour worn by horses. These imaginary trappings derive from the deep

skin folds of the Indian and Javan species. An improvement on his first, Kolb gives another and more realistic engraving depicting a two-horned species, which unfortunately shows the beast too slender and without the prehensile upper lip which is characteristic of the Black Rhinoceros. Kolb's account is probably based on hearsay, as he is believed to have travelled only as far as Caledon and Mainre. It seems to follow that, if his claim frequently to have eaten its IIesh is not false, then it can only have

been as biltong. Sixty years later, in l778, Allamand's illustration of the Cape rhinoceros is in

fact the Indian or Javan species, both of which have only a single horn and deep skinfolds (Allemand, II). This is the same plate that is used in the Dutch edition of BuIfon 8r. Daubenton's JVarunrlyke Historic (I 779). The lack of da r i ty in t he descriptions then printed arose largely from the fact that there was confusion and uncertainty regarding the characteristics of the several species in Africa and Asia. However, in

volume XVI of the above work (l785), the description and engraving of the Cape rhinoceros have at last avoided most of the misconceptions regarding its appearance. The new information is attributed to R. J. Gordon. The first scientific account of the Black Rhinoceros was by Dr Anders Sparrman, who encountered it in l775 near Kommadagga, some 60 km SSE. of Somerset East. He dissected a specimen and filled about twenty pages of his book with his findings (Sparrman I785, II). T his account also appeared in Eongl. Svenska Veren. Head. Handlingar in 1778. Voile Sparrman was engrossed in anatomizing this rhinoceros, another one abruptly charged out o f t h e b ush and pu t t o I I i ght his t ravellingcompanion, D. F . I m melman. His headlong gallop must have appeared the more ludicrous in that this handsome youth usually 'figured on horseback in a long nightgown, with a white night-cap and large wide boots'. This incident so seized Span man' s imagination that he commemorated it u pon his map with th e legend, 'Rhinoster jagt D. Immelman vluckt'. It has been said that the one-horned Indian rhinoceros gave rise to the legend of the unicorn. Be that as it may, about two centuries ago there were rumours that this creature had been seen in the Cape interior. After all, it could well be argued that the one-horned animal depicted in heraldry divas not as improbable an aniinal as the giraffe — and the existence of these had recently been proved. Sparrman tells of reports he had received of a Bushman painting of a unicorn in the basin of the Great Fish

River. The Bushmen ivere said to have described this creature as resembling a horse

37

KARI.Y WRITI'VGS ON THE CAPE

p

)if

'E j

I I

The two-horned rhinoceros of Kolb referred to in the text.

38

SCIENTIHC ENDEAVOUR IV SOUTH AFRICA

and that it was 'rare, extremely swif't of foot, furious and dangerous . Barroxv (1801) has reproduced an engraving of a unicorn's head that he saw in a cave in the same area, and told the colonists who were his guides that 5 000 rix-dollars would be paid to anyone vvho produced the original. The renegade Coenraad Buys averred that they were plentiful and Commissioner De %fist offered for one a revard of a complete

ox-wagon and twelve good oxen (Van Reenen 1937; Molsbergen 1932). Because the springbok has been chosen as the South African emblem in sport. special interest attaches to early mentions of this graceful little antelope. No description of it is recognizable in Kolb (170~-13), written when the interior plains where this animal abounded had scarcely been reached by the colonists. In 1784 it was

described and figured in Vosmaer (Part 19), where it is called 'Hartebok, genaamd Pronkbok'. He n o tes that it was first described in print as springbok by E, A. % . Zimmerman in Speciinen Zooiogiae Geographicaein 1777 followed by T. Pennant in the Hisrori' of guadrupeds (1781), ft was named Ga"elle a Bourse sur le dos by Allamand in Buffon's Hisloire 'v'arurelle, Suppl. vol. 4 in 1778, the pouch referred to being the

fold in the long glandular area in the mid-line of the back. This fold is lined with long white hair, which is exposed momentarily as the hair is raised in a conspicuous ridge as the animals leap and display (pronk). Drawings of the animal had been made at the Cape by J. R. Forster during the visit of the Eesolurion in 1775. in the closing stages of Captain Cook's second voyage, Professor Allamand acknowledges information received from R. J. Gordon, who returned to Holland in 1774 after his first visit to the Cape, where he had travelled extensively. He brought with him twelve springbok, of which only one survived the voyage to be exhibited in the menagerie of the Prince of Orange. This animal lived t here fo r t h ree years, until i t d i e d a n a ccidental death. Already the animal v as sometimes called the Trel;bok, as Vosniaer records, when they migrated to avoid the effects of drought, though the numbers involved are not mentioned. Masson described migrations of 'many hundred thousands', a f igure which his contemporary Mentzel (1944) could not credit, ascribing it to a n error in t r anslation. Massons companion, Thunberg, however, actually increased the estimate by referring to them 'arriving in troops of millions'. %hat is claimed as the last great springbok migration took place in X amaqualand in 1892 and was

graphically described by Scully (1913). Bir4s. The encyclopaedic Kolb devotes a chapter of twenty pages to the birds of the Cape and illustrates seven species. of which, hovvever, he frankly labels two as Indian birds and does not discuss them in the text, Of the five Cape birds illustrated, two particularly claim attention — the spoonbill or pelican and the Gnat- or Honeybeeeater. An engraving illustrates the spoonbill, while the text states that by the ignorant it is called the Pelican and by the inhabitants of the Cape the Snake-eater (Slangenvreeter), which he supports by saying that its diet consists of snakes, frogs, toads and other poisonous worms. In fact this name was applied to the Secretary Bird by the Hottentots and translated into Dutch by the colonists, according to Sparrman. Kofb"s figure of the Honeybee-eater has a curved beak, like one of the bee-

EARLY WRITINGS ON THE CAPE

39

eaters, whereas his text says the beak is long and straight, He gives its colour above as blue., vvith a pale shade below, and with black feathers in the vvings and tail. These colours do not fit either the bee-eaters or the Greater Honeyguide, with which he confuses his bird when he writes, 'this bird often shows the Hottentots the way where they can find honey that the wild bees have stored in cracks in the rocks'. It was only in 1777 that the Greater Honeyguide was described scientifically by A. Sparrntan in Phil. Trrrns. Rov. Soc. Lonrr. The accounts of the environment, habits and appearance of the bird are in English, followed by a two-page formal description in Latin. Some of this material is repeated in his book (vol. II). He errs, however, in describing their nests as reseinbling those of certain finches and being bottle-shaped. with the neck hanging downwards. ln fact these birds parasitize the nests ot other species. To return to Kolb, it must be remembered that there were no articles, books or illustrations to which he could refer for his facts on Cape birds. To fill his chapter he probably observed a few details for himself, garnered some particulars from other people, vvho gave him inaccurate or false information, and for the remainder depended on his own imagination. The strict rules of behaviour which now govern scientific vvriting were not then universally observed, and less opprobrium attached to the use of imaginative material. Moreover, this practice v as then the greater temptation because the deterrent fear of being found out was far less, One of'the earliest passages expressing aesthetic appreciation of a bird's appearance occurs rather surprisingly in the usually dry and factual report of F. Masson

(l 776): 'There is one bird in particular which has a wonderful effect among the green reeds; its body being a bright crimson, with black and grey wings; and by the brightness of their colours, when sitting among the reeds. they look like so many scarlet lillies: this is the Loxio orix of Linnaeus.' This divas in fact the Red Bishop Bird, now named Er~piecles orix. That sometimes flamboyant and inventive traveller and author, F. le Vaillant, whose five well-known volumes describe his travels in the Cape from 178l to 1784,

was the outstanding pioneer here in ornithology. His monumental and beautifully illustrated work Hisloir e rVarrrrelle des Oisearrx d'Afriqne (6 vols, 1796 — 1808)describes and figures 284 species in 300 coloured plates, which are copper engravings printed

in colour. Of these it has been stated that l34 species (or something less than half) are accurately. and nine imperfectly, described and illustrated South African birds. There are 71-species which he plainly states are not found in South Africa and 50 species which he claiins occur here but in fact do not, Ten species are unidentifiable, while a further ten are almost certainly artefacts (Le Vaillant 1973). According to Sundevall, these latter were aII obtained from the same Paris taxidermist, xvho was

skilled in the production of composite birds made of heads, bodies, wings and tails of difierent species. A possible explanation of their inclusion in Le V aillant's great

work is that they were shown to him as having come from the Cape, whereupo» e was led by vanity to declare that he had seen them here. Accordingly he invented and published field observations purporting to have been made by him at the Cape. All these imperf'ections, however, are outweighed by the authentic work that he published and he was indisputably the founder of South African ornithology.

SCIENTIFIC ENDKAVOI.R IK SOUTH AFRICA

AIarine Ko]b's chapter XIII. comprising 24 pages, deals mainIy with sea fish but also

life.

wit h w hales, seals, marine Crustal an d Mollusca. He treats these in his

usual rainbling, conversational style. He discusses about two dozen fish in very general terms, iAithout mentioning size, shape, colours or any other distinguishing features. Three plates illustrate this chapter but do not show at all accurately the eight species represented. It is questionable whether he would have had drawings made at the Cape for his enmmer in E urope to follow. though it is possible that he could have used dried specimens for some of thein. In either case he cannot have checked the drawings tor accuracy. It seems more likeIy that some or aH of his figures were c opied or adapted from works on other regions that sere already in print O n h i s plate illustrating the skate and the electric ray, there is also a ridiculous picture of a sea-lion, having the head and neck of a lioness, a dorsal fin, long I]ippered fore]egs and a dolphin's tail. This does nothing to stimulate confidence in his other engravings.

Kolb's Sea-lion.

La Caille (]763) describes in 160 words and two sinall engravings a fish-like creature, 19 cm ]ong. found in a dried-out state at Hout Bay. It was without scales, had a beak, a- horizontal tail-, a small fin on its-back and two at the top of its chest. This was probably the ]'oetus of a dolphin with its lower jaw missing, as can be seen in the engraving. La Cail le's book has also a fairly exact engraving of a fish 50 cm 1ong found on the beach of Table Bay. He calls it the Sunfish, and this identification is correct, its scientific name now being Ranzania rypus. Oddly enough it is printed upside down, presumably because the printer was puzzled how to place this unusua]ly shaped fish and could not consult the Abbe who died the year before his book appeared.

Freshwater fish are even less frequently mentions, because their existence was of no importance to the average traveller, who looked to the game along the river's banks, and not to the fish, to augment his food supply. Brink's journal of 1761 records that the Orange River is 'full of fish. A m ong these carp like those of the Fatherland are found' (Mossop 1947). H. J. Wikar, who trave]]ixi extensive]y along the lower Orange River between 1775 and 1779, says he saw three kinds of fish in it (Mossop 1935). 'One kind, which is almost like the white fish in the Olifants River,

EARLY WRITINGS ON THE CAPE

but with fewer bones, is really fat and tasty; the second kind has no scales and an enormous head' and reaches 3!, feet or more in length. 'Then there is a third kind resembling a small carp.' Of these the second has been identified as the Mud Barbel Clarias gariepirtus, by Mossop. Sparrman knew of only two species of river fish, ' a small kind of carp . .. and the CJprirtus goaorhJnehus about the size of an ordinary herring', which was commonly called the 'bastard springer' (Sparrrnan 1785). These have recently been identified tentatively, the carp as Sa ndelia capertsisand t he o ther as Labeo um6ratus

(Sparrman 1975). Botany. Probably the first plant from the Cape to be figured in print isProtea neriifolia, in the book by Carolus Clusius entitled ExotieorumLibri Decem(1605). Crude engravings of five Cape plants are also to be found in Part I o f the Florilegium of E. Swertius, published in Frankfort in 1612 (Reynolds 1950). Nowhere, however, is there any record of the persons responsible for providing the material illustrated. The first person known to have sent to Europe drawings and descriptions of Cape plants was the Dutch J ustus Heurnius, outward bound for the East Indies in 1624 (Karsten 1963). The vessel stopped at Table Bay to replenish supplies of water and no doubt to barter livestock from the Hottcntots. After inonths at sea in an overcrowded and underprovided vessel it must have been a great relief to get ashore, where Heurnius collected plants and made drawings and descriptions of ten species. Some time after he had reached the East Indies he sent them to his brother Otto in Leiden, who in turn passed them to J. B. Stapelius, by whose father, E. B. Stapelius, they were printed in Theoprasti Eresii de Historia Plantarum (1644). Thus e ven before the foundation of th e Cape settlement by Van Riebeeck, a few of i t s plants had been made known to botanists in Europe. Thus was initiated a recognition of the IIoraI wealth of the Cape that would grow steadily over the ensuing centuries. T he first recorded sizeable collection made here after the foundation of t h e settlement was twenty years later, in 1672, by Paul Hermann, a surgeon in the employ of the Dutch East India Co. but only a visitor to the Cape. Other assiduous collectors at this period were H. B. Oldenland, Company's Gardener, and J. A. Auge, who at a later date occupied the same position (MacOwan 1886; Hutchinson 1946). Kolb devotes a chapter of 27 pages to the Cape s indigenous plants. About four hundred species are discussed in alphabetical order, t hough none are illustrated. K olb disclaims any botanical expertise bui says that h e learnt something of t h e subject from the Company's Gardener. Johan Hartog, as well as from certain works in manuscript and print, whose authors and titles he gives. Naturally he attempts no improvement on these, and the value of the chapter lies in its compilation of hitherto scattered enumerations. The arrival in Table Bay in 1772 of the young Swede C. P. Thunberg, who later earned the sobriquet 'the Father of Cape Botany', marked the opening of a phase of intensified investigation of ou r I I o ra. He was not o nl y th e first university-trained botanist to travel here but he had enjoyed the unrivalled advantage of having studied

missionary

under the great Linnaeus at Uppsala. Linnaeus was successfully leading a movement

SCIENTlFjC ENDEAVOUR tN SOCTH AFRICA

to replace the old, cumbersome botanical names by his binomial nomenclature and he urged his pupils to scour the world for new species, Thunberg was one of those to give effect to this exhortation.

He spent the years 1772 —at5 the Cape and covered no less than 4 000 km in the course of threejourneys in the interior, These expeditions were momentous, for previous collections had been gathered by gardeners and amateurs vvho exported them to professional botanists in Europe, Thunberg not only collected with an expert

eye but also described the specimens himself, back in Sweden. In his preliminary Prodromus Plantarurn Capensis (1794-1800) and the several editions of Flora Capensis

(1807 — 20) he described in Linnaean terms some 3 100 species, all based on his own uM lecting.

His book describing his travels at the Cape (English ed. 1793 — 5) contains a mass of interesting and reliable information but is in the concise, impersonal style of Beld notes. One of the rare passages in which the author vividly expresses his botanical enthusiasm concerns also his companion, F, Masson, when they were near Heerenlogement. In my way to the Gentlemen's Hotel, I found a scarce and long-sought for plant, viz the Codon Roreni, but did not see more than one shrub of it, which however I think I never shall forget. It was one of the hottest days in summer. . . . T he bushes vve met with were covered all over with white, brittle and transparent prickles which,

+hen my fellow traveller and I suddenly fell upon them and strove which should pluck the most Aowers with our naked hands, scratched them in such a terrible manner that for several days we experienced great pain and inconvenience. The young Scots gardener, Francis Masson, made several other collecting journeys in the Cape besides two in company with T h unberg. Masson"s very considerable collections were sent to Sir Joseph Banks at the then private Royal Garden at Kew vvhere many were cultivated, besides being described and illustrated in various publications. Among these are %'. Aiton's Honus Ke~'ensis, 3 vols., 1789, and F. A. Bauer's Delineations of evotick plants cultivated in the Royal Garden at Kei >ig8'audd, which was built in Durban in 1969 at a cost of R350 000. Currents along the Natal coast, as well as the sea-bed profile, are still being studied with the assistance of this ship.

The University of Cape Tov n appointed a professor of oceanography and director of their Oceanographic Research Institute, the professors of p hysics, chemistry, geology, botany and zoology being invited to launch programmes within the Institute.

The Institute's lirst research vessel, theJohn D. Gilchrist, mas later replaced by a larger ship, the Tho»>os8. Davie. The CSIR provided a number of research assistants through SANCOR and through their help a large number of important projects have been completed. A boost has recently been given to the Institute by the appointment of P rofessor Eric Simpson, an i nternationally recognized marine geologist, to t h e directorship. At Durban an Oceanographic Research Association was formed under the leadership of Dr G. G. Campbell, with Dr David Davies as its first Director, An institute with an aquarium attached was built on the Durban sea front and has become famous

for its shark research. The Department of Ichthyology founded by Prof. 3. L. B. Smith at Rhodes University has also contributed important work to the oceanographical

programme. The Bernard Price Geophysical Research Institute was mainly interested in the geological structure of the continental shelf oA the south coast of the Republic. Largely through the eA'orts of Dr W. de Kock, Chairman of the geological subcommittee of EXCOR, the work of this Institute v;as co-ordinated with that of the Department of Geology at the University of Cape Town, leading to important results of both an academic and an applied nature. The v ork of Prof. Louis Ahrens and his team at the Department of Geochemistry of the University of Cape Town may also be mentioned in this respect. In I97>I the oceanographic work carried out within the CSIR was brought together in a National Research Institute for Oceanology sited in Stellenbosch. Prof. Eric Simpson ivas its first Director, a post v>hich has now passed to Dr Frank Anderson. Research in industry. I t has been the policy of the CSIR to persuade industry to undertake its ov n research wherever possible. Such research is frequently beyond the means of individual firms and must be organized on a group basis. In order to achieve this. the Council adopted a research association scheme, similar to that developed in the United Kingdom. To date four associations, covering the leather, paint, fish-processing and sugar-milling industries, have been formed. They a re financed by a nnual subscriptions guaranteed by the majority o f fi rm s i n t h e industries concerned, matched by an approximately equal grant from the CSIR. These industrial research associations are registered under the Companies Act as non-profit coinpanies and are managed by boards of control on ivhich the industrial contributors have majority representation. The research programmes are confined mainly to directed research problems of'common interest to member firms and to the solution of technological problems which arise in the operations of individual factories.

SCIENTIHC ENDEAVOI;R IN SOUTH APRICA

Dr S. Meiring Naude, President of the CSIR 1952-71, Scientific Adviser to Prime Minister 1971-6, Presidentof the Royal Society of South Africa 1960-1.

A fifth institute of this type, for the vvool textile industry, was later taken over by the CSIR, at the request of the South African %ool Board, as the South African Wool Textile Research Institute. An important feature of all these institutes is that they are located at universities which are situated near the main centre of the industry which

SCIENllFIC INSrITUTIONS

85

the institute serves. Thus the Fishing Industries Research Institute is on the campus of the University of Cape Town, the Leather Industries Research Institute is near Rhodes University in Grahamstown, while the Paint' and Sugar Milling Research iiistitutes are near the University of Natal in Durban. The South African Wool Textile Research Institute is near the new site of the University of Port Elizabeth. The directors of these institutes have been accorded the status of professor by the universities concerned and a close and fruitful relationship has resulted. In 1946 the CSIR received a brief from the Government to 'explore and develop

the whole Iield of medical research'. After a thorough local and overseas investigation entrusted to Prof. S. F. Oosthuizen, the Council decided not to operate its own medical research laboratories but rather to olfer financial support to existing bodies. An annual grant was consequently made to the South African Institute for Medical Research and, in addition, support given to some twenty units, groups and projects in medical schools and hospitals throughout the countrv. The Council's policy was to single out research workers who had already made notable contributions in existing institutions and to provide them with adequate facilities to continue and expand their research. In most instances the scientist continued to hold his appointment in the institution concerned but was provided with additional sta5'atid with funds for running expenses and capital equipment. In this way the CSIR was sure that the projects it supported would be led by an able research worker; on the other hand, if the project proved to be unprofitable, there was no difficulty in closing it down. In 1969 the Committee for Research in Medical Sciences developed into an autonomous Medical Research Council. The research groups taken over by this newly founded body included amoebiasis, bilharzia, anaesthetic deaths, the biological eAects of radiation, the cardio-vascular and cardio-pulmonary systems, degenerative diseases, and the problems of ageing, dental diseases, endocrinology, heart diseases, human biochemistry, nutrition, tuberculosis and virus diseases. The medical side of the National Nutrition Research Institute of the CSIR was also taken over by the MRC and renamed the National Nutritional Diseases Institute, while the Pneumoconiosis Institute became the National Research Institute for Occupational Diseases. Though this account has been brief and sketchy, it will be apparent that the authors, in common with most of their coHeagues, are very proud of the rapid growth of South Africa's scientific institutions and of the solid body of original work carried out in them. Certainly it is very doubtful whether many other countries can show a similar growth over the last fifty or sixty years, iT one takes into account the size of the population. One must, however, admit that i n s ome fields South African scientific and industrial research is still below the standard attained in the most highly developed countries in Europe and America. A sound foundation has been laid but it is now up to the young scientists of today to make proper use of the facilities and opportunities aAorded them so that the level of our scientific attainments will continue to rise.

' The Paint Industries Research Institute was dissnived in 1975.

MA RI ~

B I O L O G Y IN S O U T H A F R IC A

by J. H. Dwv Early The ear l y D u t ch settlers were practical farmers, more concerned with collectors. protecting their crops from porcupines and wild pigs than with marine life and they spent their free time hunting the game on the slopes of Table Mountain. The sailors shot seals on Robben Eiland, fished for snoek and kabeljaauw, which they named after the pike and cod they had known in Holland, and collected the rock lobsters v hich were abundant in the rock pools at See Punt; but this was not science and only oddities like the queer little box-fish and the more attractive sea-shells found their way back to Europe. Jn the early eighteenth century cabinets of rarities were a great attraction at parties and the collectors in Europe commissioned seacaptains to bring back exotic specimens. The few South African shells named by Carl von Linne in his Sp'sr';a Ãa (urae of l 7 58 were from such collections. Thereafter naturalists became keen to describe new species and hunters and travellers brought back many specimens from the Cape of Good Hope and elsewhere. Specimens of big game and the beautiful llowers for which the Cape has always been fanious were the main attractions, but marine animals and plants were collected as well. Thunberg from Sweden made a famous collection of algae. He v as one of Carl Linne's brightest students and was commissioned to collect in the Dutch East Indies. But no one was allowed to go there unless he could speak Dutch so Thunberg stayed at the Cape from 1772 to l775 to learn the language and made a hne collection of marine algae for the University of Lund which was eventually identified by Papenfuss in l940. Bory and many others also collected algae for the Swedish naturalist Agard and his son, v ho both described many South A f r ican species from 1810 onwards. The South African Museum was one of the hrst to be opened outside Europe (in l825)' and it was an army doctor named Andrew Smith' who was its first director. ' See pages 60-64.

' See pages 462, 463.

MARINE BIOLOGY

He did not confine his interest to the sea but collected wherever he travelled with the

army. He even visited Moshesh in Basutoland betvveen the frequent raids on the Boer farms in the Orange Free State. On his return to the Cape he published the fIrst good

descriptions of crabs and fishes in the daily newspaper. Hovvever, he took his collections with him when he returned to England. Many other adventurous collectors and naturalists soon took his place. Harvey came from Dublin in 1835 and was one of the finest algologists of the day. He not only described many species from South Africa but also wrote and illustrated a fine monograph on American seaweeds. Franz Kutzing described many more, but unfortunately all the early descriptions were incomplete, for the life cycles of algae were not understood. About 1850 Hoffmeister shovved that there are both asexual spore-bearing plants and sexual gainete-producing plants which usually alternate in the life cycle. Between 1890 and 1900 Schmitz, working on the red algae, shovved that the gametophyte may be-reduced to sex organs borne on-the sporophyte. From then on the importance of f'emale sex organs for classification became obvious and collectors searched for fertile plants. Tyson collected for the British Museum from 1890 onwards and Holmes came to the Cape about 1900. These and other collections were vvorked up by Miss Barton in the British Museum, Schmitz and Reinhold in Germany and Setchelf in the U.S.A. South African workers then had a good basis, for further studies of life histories and classification. Meanwhile the collection and description of marine animals had been proceeding steadily. Ferdinand Krauss of Stuttgart collected along the coast between 1838 and 1840, later publishing excellent accounts of'the inarine crustacea and molluscs. He was followed by J. H. Wahlberg of the Svvedish State Museum and Wilhelm Peters of the Berlin Museum vvho collected along the wild coasts of Natal and Mozambique and later described a whole range of marine animals from worms to fishes. One must admire their courage and dedication. The latter half of the nineteenth century and the early part of the twentieth was the age of the great marine exploring expeditions. Many of them spent a fevv days in Table Bay, Algoa Bay or Port Natal on their way to the indies while others provisioned at the Cape on their way to the Antarctic. The naturalists on board all added to our knowledge of the South African fauna and Aora: Stirnpson on the U.S.S. IIIal'e, Schmarda and G r unow on the A ustrian frigate iVorarra, Ki n berg on the Swedish Eugenics and Moseley on the famous British Challenger expedition. During the three years 1874-6 the Challenger explored all the oceans of the world from shore to abyss, determining the temperature and chemical constituents of the sea-water at various depths, the nature of the sediments on the ocean bed and dredging up marine animals everywhere she went. Her collections, which were described by the famous scientists of the time, occupy forty thick volumes. Later expeditions were more specialized. The German Valdiiia explored the ocean depths and the Siidpolar investigated the Antarctic. Three British ships, the Diseoiery, the 1I'illia>u Scoresbi and the Diseorerr Il we re c ommissioned by the Colonial Olc e to study the biology of Antarctic whales and the krill upon which they feed, for it was on the shore-based whaling industry that South Georgia depended. Factory ships put

SCiENTIHC ENDEAVOUR iN SOUTH AERlCA

an end to the industry and have almost exterminated the whales so that instead the Russian and Japanese ships are now literally sucking up the densely packed swarms of krill and selling it as shriinp sausage. One of the most interesting expeditions to visit the Cape was the German Meteor expedition, sent out after the First World War. Rumour has it that a German scientist convinced his government that it could pay off the enormous war debts by extracting the tons of gold that are dissolved in the southern Atlantic. The Meteor analysed the

chemical composition of hundreds of samples of sea-water between Africa and South America. The scientists found the gold but noi an economical way of extracting it. However, they did collect much of the data which Sir George Deacon later used to deterinine the pattern of deep ocean currents in the southern oceans. This, plus the study of the Benguela and Agulhas currents by Defant and Dietrich in 1936 — 7, at last gave marine biologists a broad picture of the marine environment around South Africa. It was a basis on which we could begin to understand the fertility of our seas, the density of the plankton along the west coast and the distribution of the fauna and fora. It was the end of an epoch. European collectors and the great marine expeditions had outlined the nature of marine life around South Africa and their oceanographers had given us an understanding of the main ocean currents; it was the task of our own scientists to investigate further. Sooth African Af ter Andrew Smith left with his collection in 1837, the South African Pioneers. M use u m was neglected. A second start was made in 1855 but it was not until l895, when W. L. Sclater vvas appointed Director and a new building was erected above the Botanic Gardens, that the museum and marine biology started to develop. In the same year the Department of Agriculture decided to appoint a marine biologist to investigate the fishing potential of the Agulhas Bank. Dr John D. Gilchrist, a young man with great drive and enthusiasm, was selected for the post and he was given a small steam trawler for the vvork. It was delivered from Scotland in 1897 and named the Pieter Faure. Within the same year, Gilchrist was able to report on the great stocks of hake oA'Dassen Island and a little later he discovered rich soling grounds east of Cape Agulhas. The wealth of rock-lobsters, snoek and seals wasalready knovvn and xvith the establishment of a sound demersal fishery, commercial fishing developed rapidly. But John Gilchrist was not content merely to chart the fishinggrounds. Wherever hetook the Pieter Fatae between Saldanha Bay and Durban, he recorded sea temperatures and salinities and collected samples of plankton and the bottom fauna. Sclater made him an honorary curator of marine invertebrates at the South African Museum so that he had a place to store his specimens and a small aquarium xvas built for him at St James, so that he could study the marine fauna alive. Within the next few years Gilchrist described many new fishes, worked out the early developmental stages of some of them and gave an account of the anatomy of certain obscure invertebrates such as Phoro»is and Bala»oglossus. Part of the Pieter Faure material was sent to overseas experts and their researches were published in the volumes of Mari»e 1»vestigalio»si» South Afi~ca, When the British Association for the Advancement of Science (or British ASS as it was aA'ectionately called) met in Cape

MARINE' BIOLOGY

89

Dr J. D. F. Gilchrist.

Town in 1905, Gilchrist gave an interesting atAAiunt of the South African marine fauna and correlated its distribution with diAerences in v ater teniperatures on the east and west coasts. At this time Gilchrist was wearing two hats; he was at once an o%cer of the Department of Agriculture and a curator of the South African Museum and this led to an acrimonious squabble between the Secretary for Agriculture and the Director of the Museum for the possession of the Pieter Eaure collections. But Gilchrist's work was acclaimed and he was appointed 'supervisor of marine studies' at the South African College, which later became the University of Cape Town, and in 1907 he succeeded Arthur Dendy to the chair of Zoology. This gave Sclater a legitimate cause to force his resignation from the Museum so that a new curator of marine invertebrates could

be appointed, Gilchrist still held the two posts of Government Marine Biologist and Professor of Zoology and he now settled dovvn to research and teaching. John Stuart-Thomson joined him as a lecturer and ichthyologist, and many original descriptions of South

African fishes were published under the names of Gilchrist and Thomson. Gilchrist's enthusiasm for marine research v as infectious and tv o of his students, Cecil von Bonde

and Jan Marchand, succeeded him as Directors of Sea Fisheries.

SCiENTlHC ENDEAVOUR P SOUTH AFIUCA

In 1921 the old Pieter Fattre was replaced by the Pickle and Gilchrist took her on

expeditions as far as Lourenqo Marques and Walvis Bay. At sea he was as enthusiastic and stimulating as ever but back in Cape Town, wrapped in scienti6c thoughts, he was the epitome of an absent-ininded professor. He passed a lady he thought he knew one day and courteously raised his hat; but she was indignant. 'Surely, John, you know your own wife?' When Gilchrist vacated his post at the South African Museum, the Trustees

appointed Dr Keppel Barnard, who had been working at the Plyinouth Marine Laboratory. Trained at Cambridge in botany, zoology and geology, he had also taken courses in anthropology, ethnology, geology and law and had a sound working know-

ledge of German; a inan of many parts and an adventurer at heaN. Within a year he was off on collecting expeditions along the coasts of Natal and the even wilder coasts Later he made journeys by ox-wagon in South West Africa as far of M

ozambique.

north as the Kunene River. He was a skilled mountaineer too and pioneered several

new routes up Table Mountain where he discovered the primitive crustacean Phreatoicus,first recorded from Australia and a relict of the old Gondwanaland fauna. ln spite of his adventurous field trips Dr Barnard was a rapid ivorker in the laboratory. He catalogued the whole Pieter Fattre collection and identified the crustacea and 6shes,

many of ivhich were new. In a lifetime of research he published over two hundred scientific papers on many different animal groups and three important monographsone on fishes, one on decapod crustacea and one on molluscs.He became the Director of the Museum and the president of several scienti6c societies, yet in spite of all the honours he received Dr Barnard was the most inodest of men. I remember that when,

as Director, he took part in the jubilee celebrations of the South African Museum, far from holding the centre of the stage as was his due, little Dr Barnard stood behind a pillar and only stepped out to remind the pub6c 6gures of their lines. Marine biologists, not only within but also far beyond South Africa, owe much to the briRiant v ork of this unassuming little man. Gilchrist as a collector at sea and Dr Barnard as a taxonoinist made a fine team. With the assistance of overseas experts most of the common marine invertebrates and

6shes had been named by the 1920s. Unfortunately experts tend to be conservative and to use one well-established species name to cover two or more related species. These are the 'lumiper', but there are also 'splitters', particularly among conchologists. Major Turton of Port Alfred divas keen to find nev species and hired two Coloured men to collect seashells thrown up on the sandy beaches. He sent his material to Bartch in

America, who nained many new species but Turton did not feel these were enough so he collected more and named further new species himself. His collection, now at Oxford, contains over eighty 'species' of limpets which more recent work has reduced to sixteen, It is possibly unfair to pick on Turton and the conchologists, for Carlgren in his account of South African sea-anemones says that Pax's earlier descriptions are not worth the paper they were written on.

When Gilchrist died in 1926 two men apphed for both the posts he had held. But the posts were divided and both men were disappointed. Lancelot Hogben, a brilliant physiologist from McGill University in Montreal, was appointed to the chair of

MAR&,E BIOLOGY

L

I I

C

Dr Keppel H. Barnard, Director of the South African Museum, 1942 — 56.

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOCTH AFRICA

Zoology and Dr Cecil von Bonde, an ex-student of Gilchrist's and a senior ]ecturer, became the Director of Sea Fisheries. Von Bonde was an easy-going man but Hogben took de]ight in stirring up trouble. Von B onde quietly removed the whole pf the Zoology Department library to the aquarium at St James, which was now in his charge, and took many of Gilchrist's type specimens too. The rest Hogben threw out of thc window, declaring 'this is npt zoology'. Instead he designed the new Zoology Department at the Groote Schuur campus for physiological teaching and research and wi p fe a new textbook of zoology based largely on genetics. He concentrated on endocrine research. He and one of his studctits, Dr Zvvarensiein, showtx] that when the urine pf pregnant women divas injected into a fema]e platanna (Xenopus) it caused the release of eggs. This became the standard test for pregnancy and thousands of platannas werc exported all over the wor]d. But I am drifting away from marine biology When the 'British ASS' visited Cape Town in ] 9 29, H ogben of course knew all the fainpus scientists of the day and he invited Sir D'Arcy Thomson, Julian Huxley, J. B.S. Haldane and others to see the South African marine fauna at the St James aquarium. When Von Bpnde heard of this he decided to repay Hogben for al] his insults. It was quite a long train journey from Cape Town to St James and when Hogben's party arrived at the aquarium they found the doors locked. Von Bonde, watching from his windpw, chuckled si ith enjoyment as he watched the irate Hogben waiting on the platform for the return train to Cape Town. It is unfortunate that this and similar incidents led tp a break between the Division of Sea Fisheries and the University, which persisted long after Hpgben had been burnt in effigy by the students and had returned tp England tp continue his briffiant but turbulent career. Interest in marine biology was rekindled by a new professor, but commercial fishery research was now entirely separate. Indeed the diff'erent lines of research were diverging so rapidly that from now on it is easier to trace their development separately. South African Dr E . Becker was the first South African to make a rea]]y good co]]ix;A]go]ogists. ti on o f m a rine algae. He worked at thc Kowie between ]890 and ]9](} and his material was described by Schniitz and Reinhold in Germany, Dr Mary-Pocock of- Rhodes University also collected at the Kowie.— She was not merely a collector but worked out the life histories and finally described many species froin South African and foreign shores. I came to know her as a student and, like everyone else, l was impressed by her kindness and tremendous enthusiasm. Shc certainly established the tradition of algology at Rhodes, which was continued by Professor Isaac and more recently by Professor Stan Seagrief. Ed~y'n Isaac was a typical Welshman and he came to South Africa, in ]934, not as a botanist but to work in the Imperial Cold Storage Laboratory in Cape Tov;n. Neverthe]ess he spent his spare time identifying the algae between Lambert's Bay and Cape Point and in l937 he worked out thc distribution of the seaweeds between these two points in relation to sea temperatures. It was the first contribution to algal ecology in South Africa and the sort of vvork which Professor Alan Stephenson was doing in the Zoology Department. Sp Isaac, Stephenson and another algologist, George 'Friekie' Papenfuss. collaborated for a while although this must have been difficult as

hiAtUAE BIOLOGY

93

Friekie could not speak a word of En J~ish when he arrived from Bloemfontein. Then the war intervened. Stephenson went to Aberystwyth to write up his work, Friekie Papenfuss went to Sweden to study algology under Kylin at Lund and Isaac was left to search for suitable seaweeds to make agar. Agar of course is essential for bacteriological cultures and the world's supply came from Japan. When this was cut ofl; South Africa had to produce her own agar. Luckily Gracilaria is rich in agar and grows in profusion in Saldanha Bay: so Isaac turned his attention to the detailed study of Gracilaria. He was appointed professor of botany at Rhodes in 1940 and inoved to Cape Town in 1951. He returned to studies of algal distribution and wrote the first

account of the algae of Mozambique. Meanwhile Friekie Papenfuss was forging ahead in Sweden, He built on Schmitz's earher studies of the life cycles of red algae and described inany South African species

from his own collections and others in Sweden, including those made by Thunberg in 1772 to4775. During the war he could not obtain access to the types in the German museums and further work was held up. After the war he returned briefly to South Africa and then became a professor at Berkeley in California. His many studies on the algae of South Africa and elsewhere have earned birn recognition as the foremost phycologist in the vvorld. However, he became involved vvith studies of American and Hawaiian material and his long-awaited monograph on South African algae may never now be vvritten.

In Cape Town Richard Simons has been working on a badly needed field guide to the algae. His two assistants are determining the growth rate and productivity of the giant kelp as part of the team studying the whole kelpbed ecosystem, to be described later. At Rhodes Professor Seagrief has produced a beautifully illustrated account of the seaweeds along the Tsitsikarna coast and has prepared a check-list of South African algae as an aid to further studies. It is estimated that there are about 700 species; there are also about 500 names but as many of these are doubtful it is clear that much more taxonomic work needs to be done. Algologists, like most other botanists, regard classification as the first essential and they are keen to get on to physiological and

ecological studies. The plants included under the general term 'algae' include many groups, each as diverse as the ferns or flowering plants. The structure of the algae is relatively siniple but the pigments and storage products they contain are very diverse.

The biochemistry and physiology of the 'blue greens', the diatoms and the green, brown and red algae inust be studied before we can understand how they function in the varied environments in which they grow best. Further advances lie in these fleids. The Ecology of I n

1 931 Dr T. A. Stephenson, famous for his beautifully illustrated

Rocky Shores. monograph on British sea-anemones, was appointed to the chair of Zoology at Cape Town. He came fresh from the Great Barrier Reef Expedition and decided to investigate the distribution of the fauna and flora along the shores of South Africa in relation to the great Agulhas and Benguela currents. It was an enormous task, for the coastline is over 4 000 kilometres long, stretching from tropical to cold-temperate seas, but it was also a great opportunity. Like Gilchrist he was convinced that sea temperatures deterinine broad distribution patterns but in

SCIEM1FIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

T. A. Stephenson.

MARINE BIOLOGY

addition he wanted to investigate the effects of wave action and sand on the fauna and flora of a rocky shore and the inllueiice of desiccation on vertical zonation between

tide-marks. He and C. A. du Toit (subsequently professor at Stellenbosch) started work with Friekie Papenfuss at Still Bay and later, as his research students joined the team, they worked on both sides of the Cape Peninsula, coinparing the warm water biota in False Bay with the cold water biota on the Atlantic coast. When funds became available from the Carnegie Foundation, they sent expeditions to Port Elizabeth, East London, Durban and Port N o lloth. Their collections, identified by world experts, revealed many new species. However, Alan Stephenson was not so much concerned

with these as with the change of the dominant species from tropical to warm-t

empe rate

and cold-temperate seas and the diAerent bands of animals and plants at several tidal levels on the shore. The results of the initial surveys were very interesting but there was still much to be done before all the eA'ects of the various environmental factors could be determin&. A more intensive survey was required at 80 kin intervals aB around the coasts. Shortly before the war I joined the team to undertake this work and our first trip was to l a mbert's Bay, where I got to know some of the animals and seaweeds and Professor Stephenson's inethods. Then we made a long trip to Umhlali in Zululand and started working south. Professor Stephenson. who had had cerebral meningitis in his youthand sulfered from severe headaches ever after,could not stand the rigours of the expedition and left his young wife Anne and inyself to continue on our own. >Ye had only one tent and this caused some amused comment when we camped at Knysna. Unfortunately one of the lecturers at Stellenbosch lived there and the story spread to

Cape Town, where I became known as 'that dreadful Dr Day'. Thereafter I preferred to go on expeditions on my own in spite of my professor's opposition l It was challenging to work compl etely alone along the desolate Namaqualand coast but the diamond patrols usually carne to check any finds about drinks time. They were full of ingenious methods of smuggling and felt that collections of marine speci-

mens might be one they had not heard of before. I let them open the preserving jars in all innocence but they soon decided they preferred the smell of whisky to strong formalin. Incidentally, I never did find a diamond but they Inust have been there for Sam Collins later made a fortune by dredging just outside the breakers. All the data from the intertidal survey were analysed by Prof. Stephenson in Aberystwyth while the world was at war. It was incredible that he could concentrate on pure research at such a time but his account of the distribution of the marine fauna and IIora around South Africa in relation to ocean currents v as a classic piece of work

for which he was awarded an F.R.S. We had long decided that the survey would not be complete until it had been extended to the tropics in both the Atlantic and Indian oceans. %e put money aside for surveying the coast near Moqamedes in southern Angola and I t r i ed to get a Portuguese visa to go there after the war. The Portuguese consul in Cape Town was very polite but the visa never arrived. After the atomic bomb there was much talk about uranium and other fissile elements and maybe someone in Lisbon thought I really wanted to prospect for thorium sands. It was not until recently that Kensley and Penrith of the South A f r ican Museum worked south from M o q amedes along the

96

SC~ T l FIC ENDE~A'OUR tN SOUTH AHttCA

Skeleton Coast and reported on the change from the tropical V'est African fauna to the cold-water fauna of South IVest Africa. The Mozambique fauna was surveyed by Macnae and Kalk. Many yearsbefore, Protessor Van der Horst of %itwatersrand University had prevailed on the Portuguese to set up a small marine station on Inhaca Island and generations of students collected there in the coral reefs and the mangroves. Van der Horst concentrated on the queer acorn-worms or Enteropneusta. Bill Macnae and Margery Kalk eventually got all the collections identified and published a guide to the Inhaca fauna and flora. In it they discussed the geographic affinities of the fauna, and Dr K alk later supplemented this after collecting in northern Mozambique. Present opinion is that the fauna of southern Mozambique is subtropical with isolated tropical pockets in warm semi-enclosed bays. Adaptations to life No w that we know the distribution of shore animals we can conon the shore. centrate on the question of how they manage to exist in such a harsh environment. Some adaptations are fairly obvious from work done overseas but there are still many fascinating problems. For example, how do several species of the same genus manage to coexist on the same stretch of rocky shore; why does not the most efFicient eliminate the rest and occupy the whole areas It is a problem of considerable importance for its solution will provide us with clues as to the nature of competition on land as well as in the sea. Dr George Branch of the Liniversity of Cape Town has b~n svorking on the lirnpets, for seven species of Parelia live on the rocky shore at Kalk Bay. He finds that some of them live high on the rocks and others live at different levels lower down; some of them feed on a variety of plant foods and f'orage over quite a large area while others are restricted to a particular alga and hardly move at all; some of them are ivinter breeders and some of them are summer breeders. In broad outline they avoid competition by developing different habits — a lesson for us all! It may also be mentioned that Gerry Broekhuysen and Alee Brown, working on the gastropods of False Bay, were the first in the world to demonstrate experimentally the importance of desiccation in the zonation of intertidal rocky-shore animals. Sandy shores. If l i fe on rocky shores is harsh, life on sandy shores is even harsher and quite impossible to any except a few highiy adapted species. The sand is continually being moved by the waves so anything that cannot burrow rapidly is swept away. There is no food except what is thrown ashore and there is no shade from the sun. so that the high-tide levels I~onie extremely hot and salty when the tide falls and the sand dries out. On Natal beaches the casual visitor sees nothing except the holes ot Oeipode. the ghost crabs which come out in the cool of the evening to feed on the jetsam at the drift line. A keen observer, however, >sill also notice tiny ripples in the thin film of water left by receding waves. These are caused by the antennae of the mole crabs Emerira and experiments have shown that they use their hairy antennae as a net to catch food particles washed down the sandbanks. On Cape beaches these tropical crabs are absent but they are replaced by a few other specialized forins of life including amphipods, isopods. bivalves and a scavenging snail peculiar to South Africa.

M~

97

X i E BIOLOGY

Work is at present proceeding on the adaptations of these animals and two examples are mentioned here. Brian Kensley of the South African Museum has found that the large isopod Ti'los feeds on large seaweeds cast up at the high-tide mark. During the day it burrows down to the cool moist sand below but at night when the tide is down it comes up to feed. As low tide occurs later and later each night, Tr los must not only relate its habits to the length of the day but also to the cycle of the tides. It has developed a complicated internal clock and when the low tide occurs very early in the morning it switches over. Professor Alee Brown of the University of Cape Town has done much work on the habits, ecology and physiology of the whelk Sullia. Since it is a scavenger feeding on jellyfish, dead fish and other animals cast ashore, 8ullia, although blind, must be able to sense the presence of food from afar; it must reach its food while the sand is still moist and avoid desiccation before the sand dries out. Alee has shown by experiment that Bullia is incredibly sensitive to the minute traces of chemicals liberated from decaying flesh and that as these are washed down the beach Brrilin spreads out its greatly flattened foot like a sail so that the animal is carried up the beach by the waves. As the wash of the waves has a lateral component, scavenging snails from all over the beach rapidly congregate around any piece of carrion. As the tide falls the snails lurch dovvn the beach on their flat feet until they reach the permanent watertable where they burrow below the surface. Work on the adaptations of both Brrllia and several other animals which may be useful as indicators of pollution along the shore is proceeding. Progress in

A f t e r G i lchrist died in 1926 and Dr B arnard had published histwoin 1925 and 1927, research on fish and fisheries slowed down until a new laboratory and aquarium at Sea Point was built for the Division of Fisheries and their research vessel A was launched in 1931. At this time a new and enthusiastic ichthyologist appeared on the stage. Dr J. L. B. Smith of'the Chemistry Department of Rhodes University College, v ho had been an ardent angler since his student days in Stellenbosch, became interested in naming the fish he caught. With the help of Leo Biden's book on angling lore he became an expert on their habits and with the aid of Barnard's he soon invented a key to identify them, and then started to describe new species. 'Doc' Smith became

Ichthyology. volume

monograph

m ericana

monograph

known among anglers and trav ler skippers as the man v ho could not only name queer fish but could tell them what baits to use and where to catch them. As interesting

specimens were brought in, many scientific papers flowed from his pen. He contacted overseas specialists and the local museums at Port Elizabeth and East London and this led to an amazing discovery. Just before Christmas, 1938, a trawler skipper fishing in 40 fathoms off the mouth of the Chalumna River netted a large, oily, blue fish with queer fins and heavy scales, which he landed at the East I.ondon docks. Miss Courtenay

Latimer, v:ho was in charge of the museum, was informed but as she had no tank large enough to immerse the five-foot-long fish in f o r malin preservative, she decided to remove the viscera and flesh and fill the body with plaster of Paris for display. She sent a brief description and a sketch to Doc Smith but unfortunately he was on leave

98

SCIENTIFIC EM)FAVOUR I I SOUTH AFRICA

at the time and the letter was delayed. When it finally arrived he was excited at the resemblance to fossil coelacanth fishes which lived 200 million years ago. He checked and rechecked Miss Latiiner's sketch with hi s b o oks i n f u r ious excitement and indecision. His departure to East London to examine the specimen was delayed and he wired Miss Latimer to recover any of the viscera, which are never preserved in fossils and are thus of great anatomical interest. But in vain; they had been thrown away in the rubbish, When at last he was able to examine the speciinen he was convinced it vvas a coelacanth, one of a group of very priinitive fishes related to the Rhipidistians from which amphibians, I'eptiles, birds and mammals, including man himself, had evolved. He had betore him a living fossil which he named Laiimena chalamnae in honour of Miss Courtenay Latimer. Smith's announcement of the discovery was at first greeted with derision but later, when he published a photograph and gave details of the skull, the almost limb-like fins and the heavily arinoured scales, his diagnosis was accepted with great excitement all over the world. Scientific interest vvas centred on the 'soft parts'" vvhich would at last provide clues of the early stages in the evolution of the heart and all the other internal organs of land vertebrates. Another coelacanth must be found and preserved undamaged for dissection. But where? It seemed incredible that it lived on the commercial fishing-banks yet had remained undiscovered for so long. Some said it must be a stray froni the depths of the ocean, but Smith thought it lived in deep rocky ravines on the sides of the continental shelf, possibly in morc tropical vvaters. The war stopped further exploration and Smith's tremendous energy and enthusiasm vvere channelled into writing a monograph to include all his ncw finds, I visited him and his new wife, Margaret, just after the war and found the lounge littered with specimens and paintings, for his wife and students from the arts school had illustrated practically every species in colour. But Smith had not lost interest in the coelacauth and had already offered a reward of S IOO for a complete specimen. This he circulated as far north as Mozambique and Madagascar. He and Margaret vvere soon oA'on an expedition to northern Mozambique, collecting fishes with blasts of dynamite among the coral reefs. While there he cast envious eyes at the Comoro Islands but they were out of reach ~n the middle of the Moqambiqiie Channel. On his return trip from Beira, with many boxes of valuable specimens, the LlnionCastle liner on which he w.as travelling called in at Durban and there Smith received a radio message from Captain Hunt, the owner of a small trading ship. that he had obtained a coelacanth in the Comoros. Smith w'as furiously excited and at the same time frustrated as to how he could get to such an obscure island under French jurisdiction. It was oA the shipping routes so obviously he would need a plane. But where to get one? After fruitless enquiries he eventually contacted Dr D. F. Malan, the Prime Minister, and to his surprise and delight he was granted the use of a military plane. Smith in his book Old Eourlegs givesa graphic account ofhis liight through storms to the dangerous little landing strip where he at last saw the coelacanth all packed up in ice and preserved in formalin. But the specimen lacked a second dorsal fin and the tail w;as not the same as in the first specimen. Smith decided it was a different species. Without delay he took it back to Durban where, although he was deadly tired, he was

MARINE BIOLOGY

interviewed by crowds of excited reporters; then on to Cape Town and the Strand where he laid his find at the feet of Dr Malan, When the box was opened there were tears in his eyes and those of the guardian policeinen as he nained the second coelacanth ~Malaniaanjouunae. maybe the formalin was too strong for the policemen but there can be no doubt of Smith's great emotion. Later discoveries of many more coelacanths by Professor Millot, who organized a panel of experts to descriLe the complete anatomy of the coelacanth, showed that the d ilferences between Latimeria ehalumnae and Malm~ia anjouanoe were due to mutilations but to Smith must go the credit of 6nding the home of the coelacanths. The native fishermen of the Comoros are indifferent. 'Oh, yes,' they say, 'we catch quite a few on long lines set on deep rocky slopes around the islands but they are too oily and not good eating.' With the pubfimtion of his beautifully illustrated hook The Sea Fishes of South Africa in 1949 Smith was recognized as one of the leading ichthyologists of the world. He was made a Research Professor and a new department of Ichthyology at Rhodes -University-was-named-in*is-honour.-He-and-iMargaret Smith continued-their-researches on the fishes of the tropical Indian Ocean but young ichthyologists turned to new fields. Jubb and others worked on eels and freshwater 6shes. David Davies and the Division of Sea Fisheries concentrated on the biology of the stockfish .Merlueeius and the pilchard Sardinops, since the latter had become the basis of a very valuable industry. The pilchard or sardine industry was started at Lambert's Bay towards the end of the war, through the initiative of Mr H. Gaggins and his manager Mr Burrill, 'the king of Lambert's Bay'. With financial aid from the Fisheries Development Corporation, whose chairman was Dr S. H. Skaif'e, South Africa's beloved naturalist, it soon spread along the coast and the main catches are now made o8' Walvis Bay in South West Africa. We are not concerned here with the development of the commercial fisheries but with marine biology, if it is possible to disentangle the two. The study of pelagic 6shes such as pilchards, anchovies (Engraulis), mackerel (Seomher) and maasbankers (Traeinirus) soon led to the study of plankton on which they feed and the snoek, sea-birds and seals which feed on them in turn. Through all this ecosystem runs the thread of ocean currents, which deterinine the fertility of the v ater and the movements of plankton. fish eggs and fish. When commercial catches decline this may be due to overfishing but it may also be due to natural Iluctuations, and so many factors aÃect the recruitment rate that it is extremely diScuit to decide which is the most important in any particular year, It is well knovvn that in most, if not all. animals the heaviest mortality is in the early stages of development. In fishes it may Le due to hydrographic conditions at the time of spawning or the nature and density of plankton during the larval stages. Recent work by the Division of Sea Fisheries os the Cape Peninsula shows that upwelling which brings phytoplankton nutrients to the surface is not an overall phenomenon but occurs in isolated areas where south-easterly winds induce long tongues of cold. rich, upwelled water to dr ift out from the coast with intervening tongues of ivarmer water between them. The plankton, and presumably the feeding fish, concentrate at the interfaces between the streams. So the sea becomes patchy and successful development varies from place to place. It is a complicated study

and it will be many years yet before we can deduce from physical and chemical measure-

SCKNTIFIC & DEAVOUR PA SOLTH AFRICA

ments in one year what the natural recruitment to adult stocks should be two or three

years ahead. Developments M a r ine biology started to develop at Durban in the 1950s. Dr George ln Natal. Campbe l l , a belovixi medical practitioner, the chairman of the Univer-

sity Council of Natal and a member of the Campbell clan of sugar barons, founded the Oceanographic Research Unit. With the help of his friends and the backing of the D urban City Council he built a fine oceanarium to display the colourful tropical fishes and the great sharks that menace bathers along the Natal beaches. The idea was that the smaller tanks would provide facilities for research and the takings at the gate would provide the necessary funds. It was an instant success. Alan Siinpson, the architect, soon became chairman of the Board and David Davies returned from Scripps Institute of Oceanography to become the first Director. With his fine record as a pilot in the S.A.A.F. and a charming manner he soon became a popular figure on the radio. At this time several bathers on the Natal coasts were killed by ferocious sharks and David took up shark research and the protection of bathing beaches. He published the results in a book on Slsarks and S/>ark Attacks illustrated

with gory coloured photographs of the victims. This aroused immense public interest and as his office was staffed with pretty girls the coffers of the Oceanarium were soon filled with funds for further research. The CSIR helped and Steernan-Nielsen, vvho had invented a new radioactive carbon method for determining the productivity of phytoplankton, came to set up this new type of research in Durban. Shark taxonomists came too and the Zambezi shark Carchmimrs leucas was identified as the most dangerous man-eater. In the midst of all this David Davies was suddenly killed in a motor accident. What a tragic loss! There were some false starts and undesirable publicity in the way that John Croil Morgans, an excellent marine biologist but a most tactless man„vvas relieved of his post as the second Director, but eventually the Oceanographic Research Unit settled down again under its third Director, Dr Alan Heydorn. Current researches deal vvith the biology of' estuarine animals, to be described later, and with the taxonomy and biology of rock(-lobsters and the mussels on xvhich they feed. Harry Champion specialized on the prawns and now directs a team working on an experimental prawn farm for the Fisheries Development Corporation, Marine Pos s i bly the most important development in recent years is the study of Pollution. po llution. An international programme for the study of riverine, estuarine and marine pollution has been agreed and the CSIR has organized South Africa's contribution with funds from the Department of Planning and the Environment. Several organizations are taking part with Bill OfiA; of the National Institute for Water Research in Durban, as the co-ordinator. Many so-called pollutants occur

naturally in the sea in small concentrations; indeed low concentrations of several 'toxic' metals are essential for healthy growth. Thus the first stage in the programme is

to determine the background concentrations of these metals as well as the concentrations of petroleum products, persistent insecticides, such as D,D.T., and radioactive

MARINE BIOLOGY

101

eleinents in non-polluted estuaries and the sea and then to compare these concentrations ivith those in impact areas where the concentrations from towns and factories may be much higher. Considerable progress has been made in Natal and in the Cape, but an understanding of how and to what degree pollutants affect the physiology and productivity of the marine IIora and fauna will take many years to work out. Benthic A t th e end of the war I returned from active service in the R.A.F. to become Ecology. Pr ofessor of Zoology at the University of Cape Town. As I had lost a leg on a bombing operation I could no longer scramble over rocky shores so I decided to work on boats and extend Stephenson's ecological surveys out over the fishing-banks with the aim of relating the benthic tauna to the food of fish such as steenbras, stumpnose, red roman, hottentots and soles. However, sea-going boats, with all the necessary fishing and scientific gear, are expensive and for ten years it was net:ssarv ~ e sm a l lf ishing-boats.~ so o l t Sound that the fishermen would not

Professor JohnH. Day, Emeritus Professor of Zoology at the University of Cape Town andthe auihor of this essay.

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SCIENTIRC ENDEAVOUR 11 SOUTH AFRICA

allow us to gut their Ash on board, so this part of the programme was delayed until we got our osvn ship. But the dredging of the benthic fauna went weH. There were exciting motnents when the dredge suddenly came fast with a great sivell looming over the stern at, Mossel Bay and I was scared to dea.th when we escaped a sudden squall by riding a breaker through the narrow entrance to I ambert's Bay harbour. However, the specimens we collected from these unexplored shallows gave us the Iirst clues to the changes between the intertidal fauna and that of subirerged reefs. WVhen John Morgans used the new technique of scuba diving to st(rvey an underwater transect we were at last able to report on the changes in the fauna and llora of a rocky shore all the way down to 20 metres below low tide. Needless to say the specimens we collected kept taxonomists busy for many years. In 1958 Messrs Irvin and Johnson sold the University an old wooden trawler for the nominal sum of one pound. With a generous grant of f6 000 from the Nu%eld Foundation and materials at cost from many firms in Cape Town, the old Leeukop was transformed into the University of Cape Town's first research vessel ivhich we

appropriately named theJohn D. Gikhrisr. Equipment was begged, borrowed or stolen and after a minimum of training in Table Bay we set sail for Durban. 'We had Arthur

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The John D. Gilehris(, the University of Cape Town's first research vesseI. Photo: Peter Zoutendyk)

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Pomeroy, an ex-R.N. commander, as captain, and adventuresome members of the university staff and students as engineers, helmsmen, deckhands and cooks. All went well until we were oA Port St Johns, when the propeller shaft started to chew into the thrust block and we had to stop at sea for emergency repairs. The anchor was run out to hold her but it hung down in a thousand fathoms and the Gilchrist

drifted. Luckily the weather was calm and we limped into Durban Bay where a kind engineering firm repaired the engine at minimum cost. Meanwhile we were feted ashore by Dr George Campbell and David Davies. On the return trip we obtained exceHent dredge hauls oA'the Natal and East London coasts but a severe storm blew up as we neared Port Elizabeth. The decks were awash and the seams started opening but the pumps coped vvith this. The intake to the pumps was in the bilges below the engine-

room and eventually an orange got stuck in the pipe v hich drained the fore hold. Then the water rose and boots and shoes started Aoating round in the cabins. %e had to man the hand pump before the blockage was cleared. %'e were pleased to get into Port Elizabeth. After her first fright the Gilchrist did good work aH around the Cape, occupying

hydrographic, plankton and dredging stations on lines running out from Port Elizabeth, Cape Barracouta and Slangkop, fishing for tunny between stations or slipping into the

shelter of Plettenberg Bay for a quiet afternoon's fishing when it got too rough outside. Although many green students unjustly accused theGilchrist of rolling like a pig, many others who are now senior scientists in South Africa or abroad gained their love of the sea while taking a trick at the wheel of the old Gilcltrisr. My own on

monograph

polychaete worins, Dr Barnard's of the molluscs and Naomi Millard's recent one on hydroids all contain many records taken by the Gilchrist.

The Umversity of Cape Town now has a very seaworthy and well-equipped research vessel named the Thorttas B. Daiie, in honour of the Vice-Chancellor who

did so much to foster oceanography. Unlike the Gilchrist she has a full-time crew and the University cannot afford to keep her at sea without financial assistance. Large grants have been made by the Geological Survey so she has often been used by geologists and geophysicists to explore the nature of the earth's crust below the sea as such knowledge may lead to the discovery of oil, diamonds or other minerals. But physical

oceanographers and marine biologists have also received grants froin the South African National Committee for Oceanographic Research to chart the currents, to

investigate the propagation of wave energy and to determine the distribution of the benthic fauna across the breadth of the continental shelf. John Field has perfected a

computer technique for analysing the thousands of records. %e now know more about the fauna of the sea-bed than any country in the southern hemisphere and benthic ecologists have turned to a more ambitious programme of research. %e have long known that animals and plants do not live as isolated species but are the components of interacting ecosystems, with the energy of the sun being transferred from one to another along the food chain. Theoretically it should be possible to determine the energy budget of the whole ecosystein. This is what we want to estimate for the com-

munity of animals which live in the giant kelp beds on the west coast. The kelp (Ecklottia maxima) is commercially important and so too a re the rnussels which feed on the

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MARL~ BIOLOGY

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detritus derived from it and the rock lobsters which feed on the mussels. There are many other elements in the ecosystem but the point is that if we reap the kelp there is less food for the mussels and rock lobsters. Alternatively if we catch the rock lobsters there is less pressure on the mussel. If we understand the energy budget we can manage the ecosystem to best advantage. So a team from the Sea Fisheries Branch and the University of Cape Town under John Field is doing just this. There will be plenty of work for scuba divers, chemists and physiologists before the whole programme is

complete. Estuariae When I returned from the war to succeed Alan Stephenson as professor I Ecology. fo u nd that research funds were very limited and it was cheaper to nake an ecological survey of estuaries than to hire fishing-boats. No one had worked on South African estuaries before, for environmental conditions in estuaries are very complex. Fresh water from the river mixes with sea-water down the length of the estuary so that the salinity gradually increases; moreover it changes with the tides and ivith increases and decreases ot rainfall. Water temperatures change as well. The clean sea sands or rocks at the mouth change through sandy mud to soft mud in which the nutrients brought down from the drainage basin tend to accumulate so that fertility is high. All these factors cause very marked changes between the fauna and IIora of the sea-shore and that of an estuary, Marine algae disappear as the waves die out at the mouth and the sandbanks become covered with eel grass and salt marsh vegetation. These provide good shelter and abundant food for the highly adapted fauna. The main inhabitants are worms, amphipods and bivalves which provide lood for whelks, crabs and the young stages of prawns and fishes which later return to the sea. With such a complex environment and such a highly adapted fauna any estuary is a challenge to a biologist and in the face of increasing pollution from industry and destructive engineering developments it is urgent for us to learn how to protect these nurseries of the sea. Work started in l947. After a preliminary trip to Knysna to learn the most suitable techniques and the nature of an estuarine fauna, a party of stalf and students set out from Cape Town to select suitable estuaries for study as far north as the Zululand coast. When the inspection was over Knysna stood out as one of the few really well-developed estuaries with clear water and a rich fauna. Port St johns at the other extreme is a very poor estuary because erosion in the drainage basin of the Umzimvubu during heavy rains produces a Aood of chocolate-coloured silt which smothers everything. Richards Bay is the best of the subtropical estuaries in Zululand. St Lucia Lakes and the channel to the mouth had been a truly magnificent estuary; a real anglers' paradise, as they said. but when we first savv it the cene-farmers had had a channel cut through the marshes of the Umtolosi to reclaim the land and all the silt of the river had filled the mouth of St Lucia, with glutinous mud. The upper lakes were in a poor way, too. During every drought the salinity was so high that the fish retreated. Back in the Cape area the Lagoon at Hermanus was an excellent example of a blind e.tuary which was open to the sea only after the winter rains and in M i lnerton conditions i~ere more extreme for during the summer the upper reaches dry out to become a salt-pan. All

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SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

of these diA'erent types of estuary were studied by enthusiastic teams of staA' and students during the vacations, It was hard work hauling seine nets at night and then dissecting the ftsh until the early hours of the morning. This was necessary because the semi-digested food in flshes' stomachs soon becotnes unidentifiable. The next day might find us digging in the mud or hacking a transect through dense mangroves. But

there was fun and excitement, too. Dr Gerry Broekhuysen usually preferred watching birds to mending seine nets. We were doing this on the banks of the Breede River one day when Gerry oflered to row the boat ashore as the tide divas rising fast. We watched hitn labouring for half an hour before we reminded him that the anchor was down. One night he took out two pretty girls to collect plankton samples and brought them back like a pair of half-drowned rats. His story was that he had found a IIsh in the carburettor and had to get the girls to push the boat home along a channel full of pot-holes, However, he had obviously used half a bottle of sherry to stop them catching cold. Then Dr M i llard became famous for naming her collecting stations in St Lucia 'crocodile island' and the 'third hippo patch'. We doubted her story but we did not send her wading at these stations again, ivhich was just as well for I later saw a maneating shark basking in the shallows at 'crocodile island'. The most scandalous incident happened at Knysna. Some young men from the village, including the mayor's son, had joined our party and one morning the local policeman came to make a complaint. It appeared that Doc Smith of coelacanth fame had a cottage in Knysna which he had painted a startling blue to keep the mosquitoes away, During the night this had been splashed all over with ivhitewash and members of our party were suspected. Of course I assured the policeman that we had all been hard at work, We could see that he was still suspicious but he never did flnd out who the culprits were although mo t of the people in Knysna could have told him. Many other estuarine surveys followed, some by teams from Cape Tovvn and some from other universities. Some went as far afield as Morrumbene on the coast of Mozambique or the mouth of the Orange River and from all these grew an understanding of the factors which aflect the nature and density of an estuarine fauna. The pioneering work had been done and the original team then dispersed to take senior positions in other institutions, many of which are now doing advanced work in estuarine ecology. Work overseas and conferences in South Africa have indicated that we need quantitative studies of the estuarine flora and fauna with the ultimate aim of assessing the energy floiv through the whole estuarine ecosystem in the same way as we are working on the kelp Led ecosystem. But this is not to be done in a day, We know the dominant plants and animals that live in our estuaries. We must now study them individually and in great detail — their rates of recruitment, their tolerance to environmental conditions, how much food they consume, their biomass and their productivity, We have started with the plants which are the basis of the food chain. In Langebaan Lagoon the Sea Fisheries Branch has shown that the productivity of tl:e phytoplankton which is so important in the sea is greatly reduced in the calm shallow ivaters of the lagoon and that the nutrient concentrations in the water are low. On the other hand the seagrass Zosrera grows there profusely and possibly stores the nutrients in competition with the phytoplankton. D r G eorge Branch and his assistants have

MAlUNE BIOLOGY

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measured the productivity of Zosrera and other salt marsh plants and found that it is

very high and provides the plant detritus on which fauna depends. Similar work is being done by Professor Brian Allanson's team from Rhodes University. working in the estuarine lakes at the Wilderness. There is aii unexplored gap in the food chain at this point for foreign work has show n that there is still much to be learned about the bacteria, fungi and other inicrobes which break down dead plant materials into the f'ood which animals assimilate and that they increase the amount of protein in the

process. Work at the young University of PortElizabeth under Professor T. Erasmus seems to follow logically at this point. Dye and Furstenberg are studying the meiofauna, vvhich includes nematodes and harpacticoid copepods little larger than bacteria and protozoa. They have found enormous concentrations of meiofauna in the muds and sands of Zwartkops estuary and suggest that they carry on the process of converting plam detritus to animal Aesh.

Dr John Grindley, as Director of the Port Elizabeth Museum specialized on estuarine plankton. He first identified estuarine copepods and then became interested i'n how they maintain their position in estuaries in spite of the continuous outAow' to the sea. His experiments showed that, like all planktonic animals, they migrate towards the surtace at night and sink down again during daylight. In an estuary it is the lighter surface water that flows out to sea, while denser sea-water Aows in along the bottom with the rising tide. This would obviously help to keep the plankton in the estuary although it is not. the whole story. John Grindley's work in Richards Bay has shown that if the dow'nAow from the river is slow: and the brackish w ater remains suAiciently long in the estuary for generations of copepods to grow and reproduce, enormous numbers may develop which are important as food for young fish and prawns. In spite of the importance of plankton for the very young Ash. it is the benthic fauna and flora that provide the main f'ood in an estuary and Brian Allanson's team has been studying the feeding and physiology of the invertebrates. They concentrated first on the faintly brackish Lake Sibaya in Zululand, studying the physiology of this relict fauna, and then moved to the estuarine lakes at tl:e Wilderness. Dr Burke Hill specialized on the crabs and burrowing prawns, show ing how these dominant elements of an estuarine fauna are adapted to losv salinities during Aoods and the poor oxygen concentrations in their burrows. His recent studies both in South Africa and Australia concern the feeding habits, migrations and breeding habits of the large edible crab Scylla @errata, popularly known as the K n y sna Crab. Dr A . M c l . achlanat Port Elizabeth has studied the physiology of estuarine bivalves and measured the rate of recruitment and the growth of certain species. Further measurements of this type are essential for working out the energy budget of estuarine ecosystems. Turning to fish as the next link in the food chain, one of the most important studies was that of Dr Blaber at Rhodes. He worked on Ahabdosavgtrs liolabi. one of the most abundant bream-like Ashes in South African estuaries and he used the captive population in the closed estuary at Kleinmond to determine the numbers when first recruited from the sea, their rates of growth in the estuary and their losses by predation by Ashwating birds during the course of a year. His observations on feeding showed that while they commonly feed on Zosiera and Rupia, they do not digest these plants but

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only assimilate the diatoms that grovv on them, a very important observation for our understanding of the economy of estuaries. More recently he has continued his studies on the fishes of St Lucia. Natal has now become the Inain centre for the study of estuarine lish. Dr john Wallace, at the Oceanographic Research Institute in Durban, studied the feeding and grov th rates of several species and has now become the Director of the Port E l izabeth Museum, where he will extend his studies to Cape fishes. Sea birds and particularly waders are the end of many estuarine food chains and recent studies in Scotland have shown how very important they are in the economy of an estuary. Work in South Africa is concentrated at the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology under Professor Roy Siegfried. Two of h i s assistants are studying the feeding habits of the commonest waders in Langebaan Lagoon; the number of birds is known and nov the density of the fauna on the feeding banks is being determined and hov much an average bird eats. Of course there are many other estuarine studies in progress but space is limited and. the main facets of research leading towards a quantitative assessment of the whole ecosystem have been summarized. Epilogue. The early explorers and the great oceanic expeditions provided a framework on which our own South African pioneers could build. As the study of marine biology expanded individuals had to specialize in the taxonomy of diff'erent groups and teams v ere needed to tackle the ecology of particular environments and 6shery science became a subject on its own. Physiological and life history studies have developed more recently and conferences have stressed the need for a more quantitative approach. The aim is to concentrate on a few carefully selected ecosystems and to make a concerted eA'ort to determine the energy Row through the main elements of the fauna and Aora. The study of pollution has become urgent, while the growing population requires more and more food from the sea. To obtain this maximum yield while preserving the breeding stocks demands further research. There is no end to

research and it would be a pity if there were.

INSECTS, ARACHNIDS AND PKRIPATUS

by R. F. LzwRmcz Insects. Compared with vertebrate animals, insects are a neglected group; from the time of Andrevv Smith and his Zoology ojSourh Africa the large, conspicuous animals of the vertebrate classes attracted the notice of specialists and large monographs were devoted to the fishes, repti les, amphibia, birds and mammals. Long before any biological research vvas undertaken at the South African university colleges such monographs were being produced in the museums, where the foundations of our knowledge of the South African fauna were laid. They were almost without exception the product of the South African Museum and the Albany Museum at Grahamstown, and even here the insects and other arthropods were left to the last. It is hardly to be wondered at that the insects are so incompletely known; the insect fauna outnumbers all the other forms of terrestrial animal liTe existing on the planet. If a zoological census were to be made in South Africa of the existing fishes, amphibia, reptiles, birds and mammals v e should be able to reach a correct total for each, give or take a handful of species; but such is far from being the case with the insects, except in a minority of groups which, being of medical, veterinary or economic iinportance, have been studied intensively. In contrast, the insect faunas of European countries have received continuous attention over several centuries: these countries have also had the advantage of having

larger numbers of trained specialists to work on smaller numbers of insects. Enthusiastic laymen and gifted amateurs were numerous everywhere in Europe during the nineteenth century; the number of Anglican clergy for instance vvho have made important contributions to entomology is quite phenomenal.

The South African insect fauna, as in most other animal groups, is a far more numerous and varied one than that of Europe, This applies also to the other continents of the southern hemisphere, Australia and South America; apart from the enormous extent of the terrain involved, all are characterized by great diversity and variation of

l09

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SCIEMTTFIC ENDE4VOUR IV SOUTH AFRICA

topography and climate; the land surfaces of these great continents include deserts on the one hand and climax indigenous forests on the other, with many intergrading stages of environment and degrees of climate between these extremes. As a result of the extraordinary number and diversity of insects on these continents a curious situation has arisen. The classiflcation of the fauna has been overtaken by the onward march of population and the erosion of the environment by agriculture and pollution. This has led to a p aradoxical situation whereby species have probably become extinctbefore they could be recorded or described: thus the true number of indigenous forms can never now be completely known. The beginnings of entomology in South Africa were made by travelling collectors, most of them Scandinavian and many being pupils of the great Linnaeus, father of systematic science, who sent them out to South Africa. Thunberg (1770-3), Sparrmann

(1772 — 6) and Wahlberg (1838-45) sent many hundred of specimens back to Europe to be described bysystematic workers and some of these bear names given them by

Linnaeus himself. IVahlberg, primarily a hunter. was flnaliy killed by an elephant in 1856. but before this managed to send 5 000 specimens to Sweden to be described by

%aflengren, The history of entomology in South Africa may be dealt with somewhat summarily by dividing it into two main categories, vvith diA'erent directions and aims, which we can call the academic and the economic, Academic entomology is concerned with the descriptive and taxonomic side of often by gifted and devoted amateurs. The first studies were of such a nature and from the earliest times these have been carried out mainly at the larger museums and later at the universities and agricultural institutions, after they had set up their own departments of Various specialists wrote monographs giving taxonomic descriptions, faunal lists, keys and distributional data of large taxa such as families or whole orders of insects. While such exercises were sometimes of value to applied entomology they were more often of theoretical interest only, as they dealt with the systematic arrangement of large numbers of species. Applied entomology, on the other hand, was concerned with the obliteration or control of a single species of noxious insect often occurring in vast numbers. with destructive consequences.

entomo logy,

entomology.

Academic entomology. Systematic studies of i nsects Legan at th e South A f r ican Museum, Cape Town, with Trimen's monographs on South African butterflies, in about 1866, at the same time that the first general catalogue of South African insects was published. Louis Peringuey, also on the staA'of the South African Museum, xvas likewise an early starter with his comprehensive 'Descriptive Catalogue of the Coleoptera of South Africa', appearing in a series of papers from 1892 omvard. Since these days the frantic pace at which the descriptive and systematic aspects of entomology have grown can be gauged from the fact that in 1856 the total number of known South Af rican species of butterfly was 110, while a hundred years later almc st 7 000 had Leen recorded. It is impossible to mention here all the academic studies undertaken by South

INSECTS, ARACHVIDS AND PERIPATUS

African entomologists over the years; in most of the great insect orders taxonomic work has been incomplete and sporadic, whole families and sub-families having been neglected for one reason or another. An exception should be made of the parasitic

groups such as the lice, fleas and numerous families of biting or bloodsucking lies. The Diptera of medical importance have been well studied, examples being the Anopheline mosquitoes by B. de Meillon (1947), the mosquitoes of the Ethiopian Region by C. H. E, Hopkins (1936) and A. M. Evans (1938), the African Chironomidae by P. Freeman (1955) and the Simuliidae of the Ethiopian region by Freeman and De Meillon I',1953). Mention is made below of those groups whose taxonomy has been comprehensively presented in the form of monographs. Diptera.. A. J. Hesse's two large volumes on the Bombyliidae or hoverflies, parasitic in their larval stages on other insects, representing almost forty years of continuous work, is one of the most thorough investigations of an insect. family tnade in South

Africa; in 1969 he added a shorter monograph on the Mydaidae. H. K. Munro, the acknowledged authority on the fruit-flies (Trypetidae), has spent a lifetime on their study, culminating in his monograph of 1947, The TrJpetidae of Southerrt Africa. The Asilidae have been studied by H . O l d r oyd (1974) in his In t roduction lo the

Robberies.During the last ten years the Natal Museum at Pietermaritzburg has

become a centre for taxonomic research on Diptera. B. R. and P. Stuckenberg, with their American, British and South African colleagues, have worked on about twenty little-known families of flies. Such research is of signiflcance in view of the fact that the Diptera, besides being one of the largest of the insect orders, is also the most important from medical and veterinary aspects.

Lepitloptera: Tr i m en's initial monograph of the last century has been followed by the labours of others such as G. van Son, K. M. Pennineton and D. H, Swanepoel, while the great series on the moths of South Africa by A. J. Janse is being followed up by his colleague, L. Vari. The most recent compilation is Elliot Pinhey s cloths af Southern Africa v hich appeared in 1975. Hrmenoptera: Dr H . B r a uns, a retired doctor of m edicine, has exercised an influence on South African entomology out of all proportion to the small number of his published papers on bees and wasps, which he studied in typical Karoo country at %illowmore. Among many others to whom Brauns has imparted the benefit of his experienceare younger ivorkers such as D. J. Brothers and F. Gess, who have been inspired by his work, the latter in his studies of vvasp ecology and nest-building. Another great name is that of George Arnold of Bulawayo Museum, who laid firm foundations for the study of ants in his Formicidae of Southern Africa (1915 — 1924). His burden has been taken up by A . J. Prins, working at the Entomological Laboratories at Rosebank, and at the South African Museum. His most comprehensive work, The Ants of our ~Vational Pari.v, deals with almost half of the genera of ants found in South Africa, with distribution tables for the species. Coleoptera. Th e fundamental work of L o u is Peringuey on the South African beetle fauna has not been followed by large or comprehensive studies, although shorter

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

Dr S. H. Skaife, F.R.S.S.Af., President of the Royal Society l953 — and 5 >veil 1'nowvn for his experimental work on insects, seen working in his private laboratory.

I'ASECTS, ARACHNlDS AM3 PERIPATUS

monographs on single families, such as those of the Dytiscidae by Joyce Oner-Cooper (1965) and the Anthicidae by J. C. van Hille (1961), have appeared in South African Animal Life, which embodies the published results of the Swedish expedition to southern Africa in 1950-1, An exception must bemade however in the case of Charles Koch's researches on the Tenebrionidae, particularly on the extraordinary fauna livmg in the sand dunes of the South %est African and Kalahari deserts. His comparative studies, made after visits to deserts in other parts of Af rica and further afield, have revealed amazing adaptive responses to sandy desert conditions. Several hundred species and about 90 genera of flightless Tenebrionidae have been listed from the small 'pocket' desert of the Namib on the western coastIine of South %est Africa alone, while approximately 35 generaand 200 speciesare endemic to the region, In association with Koch, L. Schulze-Prozesky of the Transvaal Museum has produced a series of papers throvvi ng new light on the postembryonic development and morphology of these sand-dwelling Tenebrionids, as curious in their adaptations as the adults. Smaller insect groups, most of them aquatic in their developmental stages, have received attention from various workers, the Trichoptera (Caddis Ilies) by K. H .

Barnard (1934) and K. M. Scott (from 1955 onwards); the I4legaloptera (Alder flies) by Barnard (1931), the Ephemeroptera (Mayflies) and Plecoptera (Stone flies), also by Barnard (1932 and 1934), while the Mecoptera (Scorpion flies) have been more recently monographed by T. J, Londt (1972). The lower, permanently wingless insects or Apterygota, have unfortunately been largelv ignored by South African taxonomists although, as the most archaic of all insects, they are of great phylogenetic interest. A concentrated study of thrips (Thi sanoptera), a group which also consists largely of wingless 1'orms, has been niade over many years by Prof. J. C. Faure. His work has

been continued by his colleagues, E. K. Hartwig and C. Jacot-Guillarmod, and the latter has published a complete world bibliography of the T h ysanoptera, the flrst insect group in South Africa to have received such treatment. South African entomology is still in its growing stages so that it is understandable that comparatively few popular works and expositions have as yet been attempted.

A monthly series, Nature Ao(es, edited by Mrs Louisa Bolus and S. H. Skaife at Cape Town 1'rom 1924 to 1931, aimed at making entomology interesting and attractive to young people of'school age. It ranged over the whole of zoology and botany, many of the articles and illustrations being contributed by the children themselves. The most successful and complete work of this genre hovvever is Die Afrikaanse Einderensik lopedie. issued in 10 volumes and completed in 1956; 102 pages by Dr A. J Hesse were devoted to South African insects, splendidly supported by the author's 300 excellent illustrations, many of them in colour. Both A. J. Hesse and S. H. Skaife are deservedly renowned for the pen-drawings with which they illustrate their major works on insects. Gowan C. Clark' vvas an artist entomologist who p roduced a series of

papers (1940 — 64) illustrated by paintings which depict with great fldelity the developing ' See also pagm 456-457.

SCIEÃHHC EhDKAVOI:R IK SOUTH AFRICA

stages of butterQies from egg to adult and sometimes include the food plant of the caterpillar. ApIIlied or economic In applied entomology the aim of the entomologist is to control entomology. an insect pest, predator or vector, usually a single well-known species, by whatever means that has been found by trial and experiment to be effective.

One of the earliest records of the successful application of entomology to agriculture was the introduction in 1892 by a member of the Cape Parliament, Mr T. A. Louw, of the Vedalia ladybird beetle which was used to subjugate the Australian bug Dorthesia, so destructive to citrus; less successful, however, were the attempts of

Peringuey, who as a taxonomist was unquali6ed for the task, to combat theP~ylloxera parasite of vines in the south-west Cape. The appointment of the American biologist, C. P. Lounsbury, in 1895, marks the first appearance of a full-time Government ol cer in the continent of Africa to attend

to entomological matters. He has well been called the father of economic entomology in South Africa, which owes a great deal to pioneers from the New World and to the famous universities which produced them — California, Princeton, Yale and Cornell; conscientious, hard-working and competent, they set standards and ideals which left

an indelible impression on their South African disciples. It is fitting to give a roll of honour, even if incomplete, listing in order of their appointment the American ento-

mologists who have given devoted service to the Republic; C. P. Lounsbury (1895); C, W. Mally (1900); C. B. Simpson (1903); C. W. Howard (1907); W. Moore (1910); C. P. Hardenberg (1910); G. C. Haines (1912); F. W. Pettey (1914); L. B. Ripley (1921). Lounsbury said of one of them, Dr C, W. MaIly, 'a harder or more industrious entomologist this country never had' to which I can add from personal knowledge 'or a more kindly and unassuming inan'. To their influence and teaching we can attribute, at least in part, the continuous stream of South African students to universities in the United States. for training,

advanced research and refresher courses; it still continues in numbers which are greater than to those of any other country. The fight against insect pests has been mainly centred on Onderstepoort and Pretoria where the national collection of insects is also situated. In a subject of such

vast scope we can deal only briefly with some of the more important entomological problems which,over the lasteighty years,have threatened farmers, food producers and stock breeders with devastation or complete ruin. Locust Suppression: South Africa is afllicted by two species of plague locust; the smaller brown locust, Locusta pardalina. occurs in the Karoo midlands, the Orange Free State and northern parts of S.W. Africa, while the larger red locust, Eomadacris 7 fasciata, is an invader from the north, affecting Natal and the whole of the east coast. Up to 1907 remedies against locusts had been restricted to poisoning with sodium

arsenate, apart from such crude physical meaas as digging up the eggs, beating and driving the hoppers into pits where they could be killed with various poisons. C. W. Maliy in 1922 devised a fme pulverized dry arsenite of soda which could be dusted on

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115

to voetgangers by light aeroplanes. In 1923 and 1933 there were devastating outbreaks, with the entomologists fighting a losing battle, but by 1923, when J. C, Faure, Director of Locust Research at Pretoria, and B. P. Uvarov at the British Museum, independently arrived at the phase theory of locust migrations, the tide had begun to turn. According to this theory the plague locust occurred in two distinct forms, a solitary and a gregarious one, the latter being activated by densities of population rather than by genetic factors. This determined whether locusts would be found in the solitary stage or the well-known gregarious or swarming stage, and outbreaks could thus to a certain extent be predicted, Much careful work on the biology ol'the broivTI locust by J. C. Faure. C. du Plessis and their teams of young devoted co-workers,

togethervvith the use of new poisons such as dieldrin and benzine hexacloride, combined with the employment of the light aeroplane for dusting, has brought almost complete victory, although such success can be maintained only by continual vigilance, Plagle: Mu ch v ork has been carried out on the ecology and distribution of the insect vectors (mainly Siphonaptera) of Pasrcufeila Pesris, the causative agent of

bubonic plague in South Africa. The vector concerned is usually the plague flea Xenops>'I/a brasiliense, but eleven other species have been found to harbour the bacillus and one, X. dieopsis, is also the carrier of rickettsias causing murine typhus in rodents. South African fleas have been chiefly studied by G. A . H . B edford, T. Marcus, B. de!vleillon and F. G. A. M. Smith at the Tring Museum, while checklists and keys tothe fauna were made by Bedford as early as 1932. Outbreaks of plague occurred in 1914 and 1938 but were conlined to rodents; since then careful studies have been made by D. H. S. Davis on the biology and ecology of South African rodents with lists and distribution maps of the various plague-bearing species, A survey of fleas was initiated in 1938 and the national Aea collection formed and housed at the Institute for Medical Research in Johannesburg. Continuous work on South African Aeas and their hosts culminated in the magniflcent series of' checkand host-lists published by this Institute in 1966. Tserse Rr Eradication: The history of nagana disease in cattle, carried by the Ay Glossina pal(i~lipes,and its Anal extinction over large areas of Zululand and the eastern Harris's Transvaal, is one of years of disaster and despair but culminating in triumph ingenious fly-trap, introduced in 1930, was based on his field observations over a number of years on the habits and reactions of the Ay; in shape the trap was a rough hessian-covered model of an ungulate and the light reactions of the Ay caused it to enter an irreversible trap through an opening on the under side of the model. %ith 26 000 traps in action in 1933 the catches at first were colossal and hopes ran high, but after four years the fly suddenly began to increase again and the Harris trap method had to be abandoned, The work of Harris deserved greater recognition and better fortune than it has achieved; whether it attained its purpose or not it was a considerable contribution v ith at least a rational and positive approach which came very near to success. How different it was from the counsel of despair which by 1943 had culminated in the futile and ill-considered of xvholesale destruction of game animals in the bush-covered areas inhabited by the Ay in Zululand. This rightly aroused a storin of public protest, among the many eminent voices raised in denunciation being that of

camp aign

SCIENTIFiC ENDEAVOUR IN SOt."rH AFRICA

the conservationist Ernest Warren, Director of the hiatal Museum at Pietermaritzburg. In the end, D.D.T. dissolved in diesel oil proved to be the final answer, sprayed from the exhaust system of aeroplanes in the form of a dense aerosol fog; the last Ily was caught in the Hluhluwe Game Reserve in May 1953. Although surveys for adult Ilies were continued for three years, none has since been seen. This complete destruction was indeed assisted by the fact that the lly can breed only under very special conditions in relatively restricted areas, the IIy-belts, as well as by its low reproductive capacity. The insect is unique in that the female carries only

a single egg in her uterus at a time, producing only 10-20 larvae during her lifetimea much slower rate than in most insects. In the Anal result nearly 2 million hectares of excellent grazing land have been made available for cattle-farming while preserving the game and other unique animal life of the forested regions of Zululand. Termite Connol: Cl a u de Fuller, appointed as first Government entomologist in 1899, was an early pioneer of termite taxonomy in Natal, continuing the v ork of the Swedish scientist, Y. Sjostedt, while %. H . C o aton has in recent years become an international authority on African termites. After the war he built up one of the best collections in the world, second only to that of Emerson in Chicago. His extensive Iield surveys over a number of years have covered most of southern Africa; the published results of this work, embellished by excellent illustrations, have contributed greatly to our f aunistic knowledge and to th e b ionomics and distribution of t he numerous speciesof this important group, As a bonanza these surveys have revealed a nuinber of cornmensals living in termite nests which were previously unknown to science. Forest enlomofogi' and biofogieal confro/ in South Af'rica will always be associated with the name of F. T o oke, a pioneer in the use of the aeroplane lor pest-control purposes; De Havilland aircraft were used for applying powdered insecticides, such as calcium arsenate, for control of the snout beetle Goiriprerus in eucalyptus plantations. He devised a practical method of combating thrips by spacing the trees in pine forests, ivhile the defoliating emperor moth hiudaurefia was controlled by running pigs in the plantations. The Cactoblastis moth, imported from Australia for the eradication of

the ancient pest of prickly pear (Opunria), proved disappointing but later the coccineal insect Daet>fopius opuiiriae made amends, proving very elfective, especially in the dry midland Karoo, where over 700 000 morgen of the best sheep-grazing country was cleared; nearer the sea this control predator was less successful so that along much of the coastal margin the pear still remains a menace, In the thirties L. B. Ripley and his team of students at Cedara in Natal worked on the olfactory reactions of the false codling moth, Arg> roploee,on the fruit-fly, Pardafaspis, and on methods of controlling the snout beetle, Sciocius. These workers came to be known as the authoritie o n wattle pests in general, including the widespread infestations of the bag-worm, Eolochafia junodi.

F. Tooke and his colleagues, G. A. Hepburn, J. S. Taylor and R. O. Wahl, developed the use of the insecticide pentochlorophenol to combat the wood-boring beetle Hylofrnpesinfesting the woodwork of old houses in the suburbs of Cape Town,

where they bred in old pine stumps. In 1934 M. J. Oosthuizen made successful use of

INSECTS, ARACHNIDS AND PERIPATUS

fumigation methods in the eradication of insects and mites in stored grain. A fine mind in the service of South African entomology was lost by the untimely death in 1951 of G. C. Ulyett, who was in charge of the Parasite Laboratory of the Division of Entomology from 1936 to 1947. His treatise BiomrtthenMtics and Insect population problems, published posthumously in 1953, was a landmark. Supported by wide and varied reading of the relevant literature as well as by his own Reld vvork on insect populations, such as his 'Mass rearing of the wasp Chelonus texcrrtusfor the control of Karroo caterpillar', it is a r easoned critique of the biomathematical approach to growth laws and theories. While regretting that he is able to ofler only

negative criticism he maintains that, while biomathematics can provide a satisfactory method of expressing results in the simplest aspects of biological relationships, it is inadequate for dealing with the more contplex association of factors which enter into the growth of an individual or a population as a whole, and with the special problems attending the biological control of insect~sts. In the closing pages he quotes Sir James Jeans to the efl'ect that, while inanimate matter obeys implicitly the second law of thermodynamics, what we describe as life appears to succeed in evading it in varying degrees, adding that 'it seems able to evade the statistical laws of probability also'. Publications and Three leading institutions in South Africa maintain journals or have research. other means for pubhshing entomological research. The Entomological Society of Southern Africa was founded in 1938 and its journal is the chief vehicle for entomological papers; the contents of the 38 volumes which have been published to date embrace all aspects of the subject, both practical and academic, and are of a consistently high standard both in quality and

format. The Society also encourages small monographic studies embodied in a parallel series, the Memoirs, of which 13 have so far appeared. The South African Institute for Medical Research in Johannesburg commenced

its existence in 1912. Its 'Publications' dating from 1913 include a considerable amount of work on veterinary and medical entomology. A number of papers are concerned with the blood-sucking and biting flies such as the Calliphoridae (bio+Mica), Gastero-

philidae and Oestridae (sheep and horse bot-flies) by F. Zumpt, while B. de Meillon's work on the Anopheline mosquitoes and his series of studies on insects of medical importance are well known. Two works of major importance have been produced by the Institute, the one Plaguein Sour/cern Africa (1961), the flrst volume of which, by D. H. S. Davis, 8. de Meillon and F. Hardy, includes a list of the species of Reas known from southern Africa, the other entitled 7'he Arthropod parasites of vertebrates south o f the Sahara. The last-named production, edited by F. Zumpt, is in 4 volumes, the flrst dealing with

parasitic Arachnida (1961), the second (1975) with the sucking and biting lice parasitic on ntammals and birds' respectively; the third volume is concerned with the Cimicid bugs parasitic on men and bats, the biting and blood-sucking Ries, and the Reas, of which 225 species live in South Africa, most of them represented in the national ' A few species of biting lice otx:ur also on ungulate mammals.

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTHAFRICA

collection of Aeas housed at the Institute. The fourth and concluding volume is a treatise on the ticks, carriers of disease in man and domestic animals. The third and most important centre for veterinary and entomological research in Africa is the renowned laboratory at O nderstepoort.' The publications of this Veterinary Research Laboratory, commencing with the 'Reports' in 1911 and continuing as the 'Journal' in 1933, contains contributions of entomological importance by individuals and teams of workers too numerous to mention, which have become known throughout the world; among others are such fundamental studies as B. Snut's

monograph of 1931 on the sheep blowfiies of South Africa. summarizing our knowledge of this pest. Much research was devoted to th e b i ology and taxonomy of b l ood-sucking arthropods such as mosquitoes, tsetse Aies, lice, ticks and mites, and its first checklists, h ost-lists and keys to the external parasites of terrestrial vertebrates by G. A . H . Bedford appeared in 1932. These served as a starting point for the greatly amplified lists which were to be made later by F. Zutnpt and his colleagues at the Institute for

Medical Research, In addition to t hese three institutions, the national museums at Cape Town, Pretoria and Pietermaritzburg, as well as the Albany Museum at Grahamstown, each with its own journal, have traditionally made provision in their 'Annals' for a substantial number of taxonomic papers and monographs deafing with various orders of

insects. The Government

ento mological

headquarters at Pretoria, now bearing the name of the Plant Protection Research Institute, has throughout the years issued numbers of leaAets. guides and pamphlets, chieAy those of an educational nature, whAe other publications, such as the Entomology M emoirs and Bulletin of t h e A g ricultural Technical Services, provided an outlet for individual researchers at the various agricultural colleges at Elsenburg, Glen, Middelburg and Cedara in Natal. In recent years university departments with chairs of entomology for teaching and research have been established at P o tchefstroom, Pretoria, Stellenbosch, Pietermaritzburg and Graharnstovva. The Limnological Society of Southern Afric , f ounded in 1963, gives assistance in the study of aquatic fami/ies of insects by providing identification keys, faunal lists and a bibliography for the whole of Africa in its 'News Letter', continued as the more substantial 'Journal' in 1974. At the time of writing. a new departure is being planned in the form of a Text-book of scab-Saharan Enromolog v due to appear in 1981; more than half the specialist contributors will be South African entornologists, the remainder coming from Australia, the United Kingdom and the U,S.A. Bernard Smit has said somewhere that South Africans are not insect-minded; it seems to be true that many educated and mell-informed people still seem to regard insects and spiders as something essentially comical, referring to them in the language

of the nurserv by such names as 'noo-noo', 'gogga' and 'creepy-crawly'. lt does not seem too much to ask that the man in the street should take a more serious attitude to ' See pages 168-188.

INSECTS, ARACHNIDS AND PERIPATUS

insects in a land where so many suFer froin their depredations and vagaries; entomologists also deserve the moral support of the public v hich might well be educated about

the merits of the measures which are being undertaken in the services for which it pays. Of the South African workers in the field of entomology, boih native and by adoption, it can be said that there have been very few who were not conscientious and devoted or who have not deserved well of their country. Considering the great extent

of the entomological field in southern Afri , it has been as well explored and organized against sudden emergencies and outbreaks as any country in the world. Great victories have been won. The hordes of invading locusts have been halted and destroyed, immense tracts of land cleared for cultivation or made safe for animal husbandry;

bubonic plague, if noi completely mastered, has been held under control. South Africa has hitherto played a leading part in the fight against the insect., with far-reaching consequences for the entirecontinent of Africa. Plagues and pests,

however,-knoiv no political-boundaries and a great deal will now depend on ho»' far and with what success we can co-operate with the newly independent African nations to the north of the Republic's boundaries.

The Slnders. Of the four more important sub-orders of Arachnida the spiders are by far the most familiar. Although they have not attained the degree of

intelligence which is a feature of societies and community life, they are the only Arachnida to rival the insects in number and variety, in the multiplicity and complexity of the structures which they build and in the endless diversity of their functions and

habits. In keeping with the diversity and variety of its topography South Africa has an extremely rich and diversified spider fauna. If the composition of this fauna could be studied from an aeroplane it would be noted that in passing from the east to the west coast of the southern continent the population would at first be composed of spiders

which are indirectly dependent on vegetation. Two large families » ould be predoininant; firstly the Argyopidae, spinning their orb-web snares on or between shrubs and trees, and almost equal in numbers to the other families put together. The spiders of

the second family, the Thomisidae, lie in wait on flowers, leaves or grass, resembling their backgrounds in colour and form, often mimicking them with incredible fidelity. Here mimicry and concealment, for deceiving and enticing the prey» ithin reach. are theorder of the day,asiswellshown by thecuriousshape and colour of Phrsnarachne, a spider which imitates with great success a bird-dropping on a leaf.

As the observer passed west».ards, these dominant phytophilous families would be progressively replaced by freely» andering species living on the ground surface of open plains. These are hunting types such as the wolf-spiders which, like the large Afric a m r n i v ores, depend on strength and speed to pursue and capture the prey, As

the semi-arid western half of the subcontinent was approached it would be noticed that progressively more families tended to take refuge under stones, sheltering debris or in sand. Often they burrow into the soil and live a largely subterranean and nocturnal existence. Hence many of the families are characterized by flattened bodies and a reduction in the number of the eyes,

SCIENTIHC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

The linuts set by the Dr ang narh ivesten would be reach' i n t h e s and-dune covered desert of the Namib, occupying the western seaboard from the Orange River to Angola. In such places high temperatures and low humidities, combined with desert winds, are formidable desiccating agencies; plant cover such as trees and shrubs are almost non-existent and the hazards of existence are more a struggle against the excesses of the environment than the menace of predators. In response to such conditions all kinds of ingenious retreats are constructed — subterranean burrows, temporary shelters and overhangs or llaps of web-like small carpets to cover holes in the ground. Many spiders have learnt to anchor the ever-moving sand by cementing the grains with silk so that the sides of the overhangs and burrows cannot collapse; others, like the duneliving lizards, use their legs directly to burrow their way into the sand where in a very short time they disappear from view; small spiders like ArrImoxenus and Caesetirrs,

belonging to unrelated families, have a dense covering of small protecting spines and can almost be said to swim in this medium. Sicarius, a Ilattened spider vvith a hard

coriaceous i

ntegum ent, also seeks concealment in this way; common in South West

Afric , t h e same genus of spider with the same burrowing habit lives in the sandy deserts of the Argentine at about the same latitude and in eastern Brazil. The 4-lunged Mygalomorpha or trap-door spiders are extremely numerous

The large dune spider, Lerreorehestris, of the Narnih desert. (Photo: C. K. Brain)

i%SECTS, ARACHN1DS AND PEtuPATUS

121

throughout southern Africa, making subterranean retreats with endless patterns of design and structure, from straight silk-lined tubes to t hose with elaborate side

chambers, with hinged doors or simple cork-like stoppers for closing the mouth of the tube. Even the anatomy of the spider itself can be modified for such purposes, as in the curious Galeosoma in which the abdomen is cut olf tlat behind, forming a chitinous inllexible shield which is used to plug the entrance to the burrow.

The earliest reports which include spiders describe explorations of North rather than South Afric , such as J. C, Savigny's Description de I'Eggpre published in 1817. As in the case of insects the collections of spiders made in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries at the southern apex of Africa were random, specimens being sent to Europe by various traveller and collectors, where they came into the hands of a

number of diluent naturalists such as Forskil, Latreilie, Walckenaer, C. L, Koch, the three Swedes, Clerck, De Geer and Linnaeus, and the first Danish araneololpst, J. C. Fabricius, traveller and friend of Linnaeus. The German naturahst, C. L. Koch, made a greaLimpact on later South African workers with his massive series, Die Arachniden, which appeared in 16 volumes between 1836 and 1848. It was the first major work to bear the name which einbraced the whole of the newly established class Arachnida, divorcing it from any previous association with the insects. Among the 563 beautifully executed hand-coloured plates which illustrate the. volumes. some of the larger and more familiar South African species mn

be clearly recognized. Coming to more recent times, William Frederick PurceB can be regarded as the

founder of modern araneology in South Afric. He obtained his doctorate after some years of study at several German universities and was appointed First Assistant at the South African M useum, where he remained for ten years in charge of terrestrial vertebrates. He was the first zoologist in South Africa to initiate a systematic study of

spiders, giving keys as well as full descriptions of the species of many families. Before this S. Hirst, O. F. Pickard-Cambridge and particularly R. I. Pocock, at the British

Museum„had from time to time named numerous spiders which had come into their hands from interested friends in South Africa. Pocock especially was kept well supplied with novelties from Natal and Rhodesia, many being sent from Grahamstown by Dr Selmar Schonland, Professor of Botany at Rhodes University College, and

Miss D. Leppan of the farm 'Tea Fountains'. While these early papers must have been of great assistance to Purcell, ploughing a lonely furrovv at Cape Town, he would have relied far more on the classic work of

zoologist

Eugene Simon, father of araneology and the first to devise a complete taxonomic framework to accommodate the known genera and fainilies of spiders. It is embodied in the Hisfoire naturefle des Araignies (1892 — 1903), an immense undertaking in two volumes of more than 1000 pages each, with the same number of author' s

drawings in the text. It took Simon, working at the Museum National in Paris, eleven years to complete, for, at the same time as the descriptive work was in progress, Simon

had to devise a scheme of relationships; only those who have themselves wrestled with the puzzles of t axonomy can fully realize the magnitude of the task. Although it dealt only with families and genera, the survey was fundamentally that of a new, fully

122

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR I'I SOUTH AFRICA

documented classincation of the order. It has weII been called the Bible of Araneology and was of course indispensable to Purcell and the South African taxonomists who came after him. Simon travelled extensively in order to assemble the massive material required for his treatise, which embraced the spiders of the entire world. He reached South Africa in 1893 and, fortunately for Purceli and other workers, a great many new genera based on species which he found there were later to be incorporated in the Hisroire; these served as an adequate starting point for the study of the order in this continent.

South Africa is especially rich in the Mygalomorpha or 4-lunged spiders and it is not surprising that Purcell and R. W. E. Tucker, who succeeded him at the Museum, were attracted to this group, as was also J. Hewitt, who studied them in the Western Province and Transvaal. In addition Purcell made original contributions to many of the other South African families, giving useful keys and observations in most instances. Many of the new species were named in honour of the friends who collected them. Examples of husband and wife collaboration are not frequent in arachnology and it is pleasant to know that % i lliatn received active support and encouragement from Anna Purcell; very many of the specimens entered in the Museum catalogue books by Dr Purcell read 'collected by W. F. and Anna Purmll'. In America also the Peckhams

(G. %. and E. G.) worked entirely on the South African jumping spiders (Salticidae), an extremely large and ubiquitous family. Unfortunately monographs of complete families of South African spiders have seldom beenattemp ted,although R. %. E. Tucker has done this for the Drassidae and R. Smithers for the Hersiliidae. J. Hewitt and R. F. Lawrence have, over a number of years, reported on a large nutnber of new species belonging to one or other of the 31 families living in South Africa, which still, however, reInain very incompletely known. Three systematists in Europe engaged on surveys of the spider fauna of tropical Africa have included a considerable number from South Africa; foremost of these was the late Roger Lessert of Geneva, from 1915 to 1946, while P. L. J. Benoit of Tervuren, Belgium, and C. Fr. Roewer of Bremen were among the more recent contributors

between 1950 and 1970. It is regrettable that up to the present so little has been attempted with regard to the habits, life histories and ecology of the Araneid fauna. Occasional short papers and notes have appeared at various times, such as C. Akerman's three papers (1926 — 32) on snare construction in three different spiders in Natal; these and a paper on the web structure of Latrodecrus by B. Larnoral are almost the only ones of their kind. The frequently quoted observations of the two Peckhams (1889) on sexual selection in the jumping spiders (Salticidae), apply equally well to the South African representatives

of the family. A beginning has been made with exact observations in a comprehensive ecological study in 1973, by B. Lamoral, of two v eli-known maritime spiders, Desis and Amaurobioides, living between tide-marks in the Cape Peninsula. G. Newlands has recently (1975) undertaken a review of the medically important spiders of southern Africa with special reference to the violin spider (Loxosceles) and the black widow

(Lnrrodeetus). Bristowe, who studied the densities of spider populations, estimated that in Great

INSECTS) ARACHN1DS AND PERIPATt;s

123

Britain from 500000 to I 200000 spiders could be found occupying an acre of land. Such calculations have not been made for South Africa but there is probably not a great disparity in the figures for the two regions and Bristowe's estimate would at least

apply to some parts of southern Africa. The number of species which will eventually be found to inhabit the subcontinent is not easy to forecast but the list of described forms is increasing at a rapid rate. In

1922 a rough approximation put the number at I 000 known species. In 1975 this had known.

increased to I 600 and the fauna must still be very

inco mpletely

The Scorpions. The scorpions are a much smaller and more compact group than the spiders, numbering less than 200 species. They are characteristic of hot desert or sandy regions and South Africa provides ideal conditions for them. Only two of the five families of scorpions live in Africa, the Scorpionidae and Buthidae. They can be easily distinguished as, apart from having very different habits, the Cape scorpions, being great burrow-makers, have large, wide pincers, while in the Buthidae these are narrow and elongate; also the tails of the Scorpionidae are slender and rather weak, those of the Buthids strong and thick, with much larger poison vesicles, Grasset, Schaafsma and Hodgson (1946) found that the yield of v enom per scorpion was more than three times as large and ten times more toxic in the Buthid Paraburhus than in t he C a pe Scorpion Opisrhophrhabnus: the active principle in Paraburhus venom was found to be a neurotoxin, probably responsible for the few fatal cases of scorpion sting in man; a less potent principle in the venom is llaemorrhagin, which causes local necrotic lesions at the site of the injection. The same

conclusions were arrived at by Sargent (1946) in the case of North African scorpions, An antivene serum for both types of scorpion poison has been prepared at the Institute

for MedicalResearch in Johannesburg. The habits and life histories of South African scorpions have been less studied than their taxonomy although the papers on the embryology of the Capescorpion by Laurie (1890) and those by Pocock (1896) on the stridulatory organs are a refreshing exception. In the last decade a number of papers by G, Newlands and B. Lamoral have made helpful additions to our knowledge of scorpions in the fields of behaviour, structure and function. A. A l exander's valuable contributions to our k n owledge of scorpion behaviour and anatomy between 1956 and 1960 include an investigation of the stridulatory mechanisms of scorpions >i4ich fills in structural details and gives a more complete account of a process inadequately understood by previous workers.

The elaborate courtship ritual of the scorpion had been described by Fabre (1923) in his inimitable Souienirs Enroeiofogiques but until recently the actual manner of the transfer of the sperm, which took place in the darkness of a retreat, was still concealed from observers. To Anne Alexander of Rhodes University goes the honour of having given, in 1957, the first complete and satisfactory account of fertilization in a scorpion, in this case the Cape Scorpion; such a consummation had eluded naturalists for more than 100 years. There is no copulation in the scorpion since in the Arachnida there is no penis except in the case of the Harvest-spiders and some mites", instead fertilization is accomplished by the transfer of a spermatophore which is taken up by the female

124

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IY SOUTH AHIICA

?

Representative of the two families of South African scorpions. Above, the Cape Scorpion, Opisrhnphrhafmus (Scorpionidae); below, t he t h ick-tailed Parahurhus (Butbidae). (Pboto: G. '.?Iewlands)

•

•

SC1ENTIFIC EYDKAVOUR 1K SOUTH AHUCA

at the conclusion of the courtship dante.

The systematic study of scorpions in South Africa commenced with the appointment of W. F. PurceH as Assistant at the South African Museum in 1896.As his first task he undertook an exploration of the scorpion fauna, of which he eventually made an outstanding study collection. Earlier systematists such as Kraepelin, Simon and Pocock had already broken some of the ground, but PurceH (from 1898 to 1901) divas the first to prepare dichotomic tables for the fauna and to place it on a firm taxonomic

basis. In doing so the areas of distribution for the various species were de6ned. PurceH's wide learning and genial nature made him many friends, who sent him scorpions from far and wide; many of his new discoveries bear such weH-known South

African names as Leipoldt, Marloth, Brauns, Schreiner and Peringuey, his friends and scienti6c colleagues. Dr J. Hewitt, lirst at the Transvaal Museum in 1909, then at the Albany Museum

from 1912 to 1931, took up where PurceH had left off, describing new scorpions from aH parts of southern Africa. His Survey 0f the Scognon Fauna of Soufh Africa, the culmination of inore than twenty years devoted to this work, is a monograph which

stiH stands as the real starting point for a study of South Africa's scorpions. Lawrence, the next investigator, was fortunate in being able to use PurceH's magni6cent collection at the South African Museum, with its numerous types and rarities;

many of his contributions represent new species of scorpions from the Kaokoveld and Namib of South West Africa, living under desert conditions on rocky plains or sand dunes, some of them pecuHar dwarf genera such as Lisposoma and Protophthafmus. His compilation of the scoipions of southern Africa in 1955 lists 159 species, while a

survey of the Ethiopian faunal region by 8. Lamoral and S. Reynders in 1975 brings the total to 187.

The SoHfugae. The Solifugae or Sun-spiders are an order of about the same size as the scorpions. They, too, Aourish in hot, dry, semi-arid regions and are thus very well represented in southern Africa where 200 species, or inore than a quarterof the world fauna, is to be found. Many genera and species,especiaHy those inhabiting the coastal margin of South West Africa, are peculiar and endemic to the restricted area in which they occur.

Solifugae are at the same time the most fascinating and repulsive of the Arachnida. They are by far the most agile and fast-moving, being equipped with a remarkably weH-developed respiratory system of unusually large tracheal tubes and a pneumatic muscular device which perinits thoracic breathing movements such as are found in no other Arachnida.

About half the fauna is diurnal, the rest nocturnal in habit, the diurnal forms can often be seen in the heat of the day coursing restlessly between bushes and shrubs on the open veld. The swift erratic movements of the creature then resemble a fluffy seed blown along the ground at random; this gait is so typical of most members of the order that such familiar names as 'windspider' or the Afrikaansjagspinnekop are not out of

place. The North African bedouin call them by an Arab name meaning 'the old man who has lost his camels'.

INSECTS. ARACHNIDS AND PERIPATUS

127

Two aberrant and endemic genera, ChelJpus and Hexisopus, are typical desert dwellers, rather sluggish in habit and with rows of strong rake-hke spines on the legs, v ith which they dig their way into termite nests. They are found only in South Afric , for the most part in South West Africa and the Kalahari, living a largely subterranean life or hunting over soft sand where they can submerge at a moment *s notice.

t

4

A femaleSolpuga.

'The largest species have a fearsome appearance and are voracious, aggressive and pugnacious when handled: they can inspire mortal terror in the minds of indigenous peoples and have become the source of many folk-tales and fancies; it is believed, for instance, that the Rooi-man can enter a house at night and shear oA'the long hair of a woman with its enormous fang-like jaws. The aversion to the Solifugae is widespread and is based upon two well-established traits — the lightning speed of the animal and

the enormous snapping javvs, capable of drying blood, which fully compensate for the lack of poison glands, the weapons of the scorpion and spider. The taxonomic descriptions of the South African Solifugae by Purcell, Hewitt and Lawrence follow the same histotical course as those of the scorpions, in conjunction with which they have usually been studied. Many new additions were made to the

SCIE~~ C

E N D EAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

fauna during the Hrst sixty years of the century and, while Purceil made the initial descriptions from I899 to l903 and set up a large collection at the South African Museum, Hewitt's fine monograph of I919, A Short Survey of the Solifugae of South Africa, is stiH the best summary and guide to a taxonomic study of the order.

C. Fr. Roewer's comprehensive monograph of the world fauna appeared in l934 and deals with all aspects of the sub-order. It is an indispensable treatise and gives ample space to the considerable South African fauna,' his system of taxonomy, however, has not met with the agreement of most other specialists.

The checklists and keys of Lawrence (l955) brought the faunal list to 195 known species, but since that date B. Lamoral and G. Newlands have amplified our knowledge

of both the ecology and taxonomy of the group with a number of original papers. The Harvest-spiders. The Harvest-spiders (Opiliones) are a forest-living, mainly cryptic order, hiding under debris on the forest Hoor, or, where the forests are surrounded by open country, under stones. Composed of three very diHerent sub-orders, two of them, the small primitive Cyphophthalmi and the short-

legged Laniatores, are both lucifugous, slow-moving and usually found hidden in forest humus, while many of the former also inhabit caves. The third order of Palpatores, conspicuous by their extremely long, slender legs, can often be seen during the day running swiftly over the forest carpet. Associations of species occur in the long, discontinuous chain of indigenous forest areas which extend along the coastal margin of southern Africa from the Cape to northern Zululand. Each of these areas, which in earlier times forined parts of a continuous forest belt, has its group of species which are related to, but not identical

with, those of the forest adjacent to it. Thus a sequence of related species forming an almost linear series can be traced in two genera of Laniatores, Larifuga and Larifugella,

as described in Lawrence'sBiology of the Crypric Fauna of Forests. The distribution of t h e South A f r ican harvest-spiders is of i nterest to z o o-

geographers who hold views on the theory of continental drift. The family Triaenonychidae is a prominent component of the opilionid fauna in southern Africa, South America, Austraha and New Zealand, whereas in the northern hemisphere it is nonexistent. The distribution of the family in South Africa is characterized by its abrupt disappearance at l7' S of the equator; between this latitude and the Mediterranean it is absent. Thus the relationships of the South African fauna are latitudinal rather than longitudinal, with its sister-continents of the southern heinisphere which, with Antarctica, formed the hypothetical landmass of Gondwanaland. There are practically no relationships with the Central African tropics or the temperate Mediterranean subregion at the northern extremity of the continent. Up to l937 the South African fauna was known from only a fetv species described

by H. Loman, E. Simon and a detailed and splendidly illustrated treatise by H. J. Hansen and W. Sorensen on Purcellia illustrans, the Hrst example of the interesting a nd little known sub-order of C y phophthalini to b e f o und i n South A f r i c . T h e

anatomical descriptions were made from specimens collected at Kirstenbosch by W. F. Purcell.

INSECTS, ARACHNIDS A'4D PERIPATUS

The first complete monograph of the fauna by Lawrence in 1931 established the fu11 range and extent of the fauna and provided a framework of classification for further research.H. Kauri amplified and extended the conception of the order in 1961, giving much information on ecology and distribution and bringing the number of known species to 154, a figure which has again been increased to 172 by Lawrence. Peripatus. Few animalg r oups have been the object of more keen attention than Periputus: as a biological curiosity of perennial interest it is in great demand by zoologists arriving in South Africa, who usually request to be taken immediately to a locality where specimens can be. found. The Cape Peninsula, with a larger number of species than any other local ityinthe world, has proved to be a most convenient and favoured locale for studying the animal; much of the work on its biology and taxonomy has been carried out in or near Cape Town. The interest which this relict animal has for biologists all over the world lies in the fact that it has characters in common with the annelid worms on the one hand and the Arthropoda on the other. It has been fairly aptly called a living museum of antiquities; in actual fact it offers a rather baSing combination of extremely primitive with very advanced characters, both in its structure and in its behaviour. In the development of the embryos also many species exhibit advanced features which paraHel the highly evolved development of mammals,

embryonic

Peripattts (Peripntopsis ~nose(equi)shielding its skin. (Photo: R. A. Holfiday)

130

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOliTH AFRICA

If the various groups of Arthropoda were to form a club, Periparus might reason-

ably be accepted as an honorary member. But while no Arthropod has a flexible covering of skin, Periparuswalking at top speed can stretch to twice its normal length

while decreasing its girth to almost half; free-living Aatworms (Planaria) and slugs move in a similar manner and for this reason perhapsPeripatus when fIrst discovered was thought to be a species of slug. The general appearance of the animal, with its dull velvety skin, is more like that of a caterpillar except that the sturdy legs, about hventy in number and tipped with pairs of claws, are obviously designed for walking, One of the reasons zoeiogists a]locate Periparus to the arthropod camp is that it breathesby means of simple tubes or tracheae, structures found in no group of animals other than the arthropoda, Towards the end of 1873 the Challenger expedition called at the Cape and a member of its scientifIc staff, the brilliant young Oxford zoologist, H. N. Vfoseley, used the opportunity to dissect and re-examine the anitnal, Working with specimens found near Cogill's Hotel at Wynberg, a locality which has long since

disappeared beneath a tide of macadamized roads and cotnmunity flats, Moseley demonstrated the tracheate nature of Peripatus and so established its true place in the

animal hierarchy. Tracheae serve as the hallmark of the arthropoda but those of Perp Iarusare very unusual, consisting of short, simple, unbranched tubes. In other arthropods there are a small number of spiracles while Periparus may have as many as 2 000 respiratory openings; even more important, these spiracles cotnpletely lack the quite elaborate

closing mechanisms which regulate the passage of air in suchtypical terrestrial arthropods as the insects, so preventing desiccation by loss of moisture. The animal, in order to survive, must therefore live continuously in a milieu with a high humidity level and thus becomes-the prisoner of its own limited environment. This again tends to isolation and the evolution of species v~ith a very restricted distribution. Research on South African Onychophora has been closely connected with the u niversities of Oxford and Cambridge. Just sixty years after the arrival of H. N . Moseley on board the Challenger, Dr S. M. M a nton visited South Africa to obtain Periparus material and to study the animal in its natural habitat. After exploring the

forests of' the Cape Peninsula, Knysna and the Hogsback, she embarked with several hundred each of which was carried in a separate container, on board a

specim ens,

ship which provided facilities for transport at suitable temperatures; nearly all arrived

safely at Cambridge, where they lived for three years, some producing offspring which in their turn came to sexual maturity.

The result of this excursion was a stream of papers from 1937 onwards, most of them published in the Transactions of the Royal Society of London. The series certainly represents the most important investigation that has ever been attempted of a single South African animal — research which embraces the embryology, physiology, biology and phylogeny of Periparus, ending with an analysis of its locomotory habits.

The South African representatives of the animal are now far better known than those in any other part of the world. A few of Dr Manton's researches may be mentioned. The manner in which the passage of spermatozoa to the ovarv is effectedi n Perp Iatus IIad hitherto been unknown

INSECTS, ARACHMDS AND PERIPATUS

131

or rested on surmise only; her studies have shown exactly how it t a kes place. Fertilization in many groups of invertebrates is obtained by the passage of spermatozoa through the body wall, usually as an injection by means of a muscular penis. In only tlute animals however do they pass through the body wall by their own activity, in the bed bug Cimex, the leech Clepsine and Periparus; of these Peripatus resembles Clepsine most closely. In the Onychophora there is no intromittent organ and thus no copulation: the mature male walks at random over females, other males and even juveniles, depositing

the small, white, round spermatophores (just fusible to the naked eye) on all of them. Leucocytes invade the subcutaneous region following the deposition of a spermatophore, break through the cuticle beneath it, rupturing the lower wall of the spermatophore as well. The spermatozoa swarm through the perforated cuticle into the body cavity and by their own activity reach the ovary, breaching the ovarian wall to fertilize the ova. So ends a strange and adventurous journey. The empty shell of the spermatophore remains attached to the body, closing the wound made by the entry of spermatozoa; it shrivels and dries up and at the next moult is carried away with the old cuticle. Other discoveries by Dr Manton include the follovving: the extremely long period o f gestation, in m any species thirteen months, four months longer than in m a n : moulting in the animal proceeds with great regularity at exact 14-day intervals, the skin simply splitting down the back; with equal punctuality the crumpled pellet of skin is then eaten. Periparus is an extremely clean animal, free from the external parasites which attack so many invertebrates. As in a number of other arthropods, the whole alimentary canal is provided with a thin inner hning, the peritrophic membrane, which in Periparus is evacuated once a day, together vvith all the stomach contents. In this way it gets rid at one stroke of all waste products and any harmful bacteria or micro-organisms v hich

it may have swallowed with the food: by the next day a new membrane has been grown to replace the old. Apart from the researches of S. M. Manton, which have dealt so comprehensively with the animal, Periparus wasstudied at the South African Museum by W. F. Purcell from 1897 to 1900. He made a basic contribution to the taxonomy of Peripatopsis,

extending the previous work of A. Sedgwick (1885), H. N. Moseley (1874) and F. M. Balfour (1883), defining the geographical range of the known species and adding three new ones to the faunal list. He also created a new genus, Opisrhoparus, endemic to South Africa, giving a full account of its anatomy and aSnities. A useful summary of our knowledge of the South African Onychophora has been

given by Per Brinck in South African Anima/Life (1957), and a more popular essay by R. F. Lawrence (1950) with some details of the life history not given elsewhere; both these are illustrated by superb photographs of the living animals made by R, A.

Holliday, F.R.P.S. In more recent years (1950) work on the physiology and humidity reactions of both Opisrhopalus and Penpampsis has been carried out at the University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, by D. W. Ewer, A, Alexander and E. Bursell.

THE HISTORY AND STATUS OF NATURE CONS ERVATION IN SOUTH AFRICA

by DoUmxs HFv

The terrestrial fauna and IIora of southern Africa are remarkable by any standards. Not only are they extremely rich and varied but many of the species are endemic, due primarily to the fact that for millennia this re@on has been isolated from the rest of the continent by a wide desert belt in the north and is bounded by ocean on the east and v est coasts. Estimates of the number of plant species occurring here vary between IS and 20 thousand (Rycroft 1975) and these are grouped by Acocks (l953) into no less than 7 l veld types, each with its peculiar plant and animal associations. The worldrenowned Cape Ilora is one of the five richest Iloras of the world and is characterized by the Proteaceae, Ericaceae, Restionaceae and numerous species of Iridaceae and Orchidaceae. Many of these plants occur in restricted areas, as for example the 200 species of heaths which occur in the Caledon division. Despite its rich Ilora, South Africa is poorly forested, forests covering only 0,2;:„' of the country. In the words ot an early pioneer, Max O'Rell, the country is 'scarcely more clothed than the natives who inhabit it'. Apart from isolated stands in some ravines of the 'Western Cape mountains. the indigenous forests are largely confined to the coastal belt, commencing near George and extending discontinuously eastwards into the north-eastern Transvaal. The largest and best known are the forests of the George-Knysna — Tsitsikama area, covering approximately 50000 ha. Other forests occur in the vicinity of Stutterheim, along the escarpment in Natal and Zuiuland and the north-eastern Transvaai. In the Cape and Natal, yellowwood (Podocarpusspp.) was the most importa,nt timber, being used extensively for buildings and furniture. Stinkwood (Ocotea bullata) is our traditional and most valuable furniture wood. Other trees found in these forests are black ironwood (Olea capeasi5),a heavy timber used for wagon-building, raihvay sleepers and mining: assegaai (Curtisia dentata) for the spokes of cart-wheels, and sneezewood (Ptaeroxylon obliqaum) for fencing and telegraph poles. Wit and rooi els

NATURE CONSERVATIOA

133

are used for furniture, boxwood and shuttloblocks. Other less common furniture woods

aro boekenhout (Faurea saligna), white pear (Apodrtes) and salfraanhout (Cassine). The most important timber trees in the Transvaal were the Transvaal ki aat (Pteraearpus

«galensis), tamboetie (Spirosiachys affi eana) and mingerhout (Adina galpinii), used extensively for furniture. The prime duty of the lirst Conservator of Forests, appointed in 1847, and his few rangers, was checking the exploitation of the indigenous forests. Notwithstanding their e Africa by S, H. Haughton (1917-18), but R. Broctn. who was ever an enthusiastic 'splitter', Inade it the type of a new species that he called Homo eapensis (1918). However, its possible ancestral relationship to the San or Bushmen was stressed by R. A. Dart in 1923 and by Broom in the same year. Dart based his claim on the cranial fragments which had been dug out of a Tzitzikama cave by F. W. FitzSimons and that Dart considered to be 'unquestionably Boskop in type': he believed that the evidence of Tzitzikama showed that 'Boskop Man' had preceded the 'Bush type' prehistorically in South Africa. This was the beginning of Dart's concept of a M i ddle Stone Age 'Boskop Race' that was believed to be widely dispersed and to have been ancestral to the San peoples. The theme v as further developed much later by A. Galloway in Dart's D h e elevated Boskop to a 'fundamental human racial strain'. However, researches such as those of R. Singer of the Cape Town Anatomy DepartInent and later Head of the Department of Anatomy at the University of Chicago, D. Brothwell of the British Museum (Natural History) and P. Rightmire (Binghamton, New York) undermined this concept and are considered today to have given the quietus to it. Earlier human fossils, such as those of Tuinplaas on the Springbok Flats and Ingwavuma on the KwaZulu side of the border svith Swaziland, and of Otjiseva in

epartment:

South West Africa (Namibia), may veil rellect the kind of man living in southern Africa between 25 000 and 100 000 years ago. The researches of Hertha de Villiers of the ~Vitwatersrand University have indicated that these remains are essentially of modern Homo sapiens form. If the dates that have been claimed for the Ingwavurna Border Cave by P. Beaumont, J. Vogel and R. Protsch are correct, it would seem that this essentially modern form of man had appeared in the sub-continent at an early period, perhaps as much as 100 000 years ago. This kind of early HoaIO sapienshas

been dubbed by L. H. Wells (who, along with H, B. S. Cooke and B, D. Malan, had earlier excavated the Ingwavuma Border Cave) as Homo sapiens ufer and as pmrotiegrif ornI by Tobias and De Villiers. It may give us a picture of the common ancestor of the black negroid and the yellow khoisanoid peoples, before these two broad subSaharan streams had diverged from each other. Yet earlier kinds of man have been recovered in the sub-continent. The first of these to come to light was found at Kabwe (Broken Hill) in Zambia (then Northern Rhodesia) in 1921. After being the victim of a variety of taxonomic vicissitudes at the hands of W. P. Pycraft and others, it is today most commonly regarded as representing an extinct race of Hoiuo sapiens, namely H. sapiens rhodesiertsis (although C. S. Coon and some others would regard it as a race of the extinct species H. erecrus). Another representative of this kind of man was found by Ronald Singer and K.eith Jolly in 1953 on the farm Elandsfontein, near the village of Hopefield, in the Cape Province. Like the Kabwe cranium, the Hopefield one possessed very heavy browridges, a relatively low cranial vault and a fairly strong ridge or torus in the rear or

occipital part of the cranium. It was the resemblance of these and other features to those of Neandertal skulls that led Singer (then a staA' member of the Cape Town

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOVTH AFRICA

Anatomy Department) to opine that both skulls represented African members of the Neandertal group, unlike the European Neandertals, but resembling more closely the Asian members such as the Solo men from Java, Indonesia. M. R. Drennan, however,

believed that the Hopefield cranium belonged to a separate species that he proposed to name Homo saldanensis, in order to distinguish it from the Kabwe nian that he called Homo rhodesiensis. Since 1964, many scholars in t h is f ield h ave accepted revision that placed both the K abwe and the Bernard G. Campbell's Hopefield crania into the subspecies Homo sapiens rhodesiensis. The name Homo saldanensis, like so many others littering the area of study of man's ancestors, remains as a historically interesting term which has passed into desuetude. Possibly of the same subspecies is the lov er jaw fragment from the 'Earlier Stone Age' or African Acheulian horizon in the Cave of Hearths, little more than a kilometre from the Ausrralopithecus-hearing Makapansgat Limeworks Deposit It was found in September 1947 by another member of the famous fossil-hunting Kitching family, Ben, one of the brothers of Dr James Kitching. It was studied briefly by R. A. Dart in 1948 and more extensively in 1971 by the present author, who suggested that, woefully slight as the mandibular fragment is. enough is preserved to warrant the tentative allocation of the Cave of Hearths Acheulian people to the African population known as H. sapiens rhodesiensis. Somewhat more diIIicult is the problem posed by the Florisbad cranium, found in the eye of a small spring that had penetrated the first or oldest of a succession of peat layers at Florisbad, 40 kilometres north of Bloemfontein in the Orange Free State. It was discovered in 1932 during excavations by Professor T. F. Dreyer (1886-1954)

syst ematic

of the Grey University College. The moment of discovery was apparently one of high excitement. His protege, the late A. C. Housman, told how the professor, feverishly hugging the new find to his breast, rushed to the iop of a low hill and refused to allow his students to come near, during the first surge of his emotional reaction! In some

respects the cranium resembles those of Kabwe and Hopefield: it has a prominent brow-ridge and a low cranial vault. In others, it seems to be somewhat less archaic in

morphology — such as in the slight facial hollowing, in contrast with the pufkd-out faceof Kabwe. Dreyer made the skullthetypeofa new species,Homo (Africanrhropus) hehnei (1935). He implied by this name that it belonged to a distinct species of man and even to a distinct subgenus, Afrieanrhropus (nian of Africa), which name was a year later given by H. Weinert to fossil crania from Eyasi in northern Tanzania, The specifi c name, 'heiniei', was given in h on our of C a ptain C. E gerton Helme, who financed Dreyer's excavations. This specimen, too, rang the changes of systematic appellations; until the most recent study and reconstruction, that of G. Philip Rightmire of the State University of New Y or k at Binghamton, has concluded that the Florisbad cranium, too, probably belongs to H. sapiens rhodesiensis, though it seems

to represent a somewhat later and slightly less archaic phase than do the skulls of Kabwe and Hopefield.

The picture has thus emerged of a late Middle Pleistocene to early Upper Pleistocene population of sub-Saharan Africans classified as the subspecies, H. sapiens rhodesiensis. They were seemingly derived from Homo ereerus anixstors, such as are

HUhfAN BIOIDGY AND PALAEO-ANTHROPOLOGY

now known from Tanzania, Kenya and southern Ethiopia. The rhodesiensis peoples, in turn, appear to have given rise to the proto-negriforms, such as may be represented by the Ingwavuma Border Cave remains as well as others. In the latest stage, a new

reading of the fossil evidence with the genetic evidence would support the di

chotom y

of the proto-negriforms during late Upper Pleistocene times into two main streams, one developing the distinctive features of the negroid peoples, the other assuming the characteristics of the Khoisans. The story has been patiently pieced together by the labours of many men drawn from varied backgrounds. The author is very conscious of the fact that this narrative,

by focusing only on the physical anthropological part of the tale, has of necessity neglected many who helped to write parallel and seminal chapters of the scenariomen such as the archaeologists and the geologists. Indeed, another major chapter

would be necessary if justice were to be done to Neville Jones, A. J. H. Goodwin, C. van Riet Lowe, B. D, Malan, J. Desmond Clark, R. J. Mason, R. R. Inskeep, such visitors as Miles Burkitt, the Abbe Henri Breuil and K. P, Oakley, and many more workers, professionals and others, specialists in rock art and those in l ithicultural

studies. The history of prehistory in this land has the makings of a major chronicle and it deserves to be written.

B OTAN ICAL R E S E A R C H IN SO U T H

A %M C A IN THK

TWENTIETH CENTURY

by R. A. DvER

The last comprehensive review of botany in South Africa was by E. Percy Phillips in 1930, in his sectional presidential address to the South African Association for the Advancement of Science (S,A,) under the title ' A B r ief H i storical Sketch of t he Development of Botanical Science in South A&ica and the Contribution of South Africa to Botany'. In spite of his term 'sketch' Phillips, as vvas his wont, produced a detailed chronicle of people and their publications, mainly concerning exploration and taxonomy, and omitted very little of note in the field he covered. He stressed, hovvever, that he had restricted his attention to the Phanerogams, or seed-bearing plants, and alluded to the reviews of research in mycology by I. B. Pole Evans (1916) and on bacteriology by Ethel M . D o idge (1919). Phillips predicted that in fifty years' time (i.e. about now) botany in South Al'rica would be seen to have opened a nevv chapter with the arrival of Pole Evans in 1905. It is from this prediction that the present review takes up the threads, though inevitably there must be some overlap over the first quarter of the century. Shortly predating the arrival of Illtyd Buller Pole Evans to South Africa came two other important figures, Henry Harold Welsh Pearson to the Cape and Joseph Burtt Davy to the Transvaal. Pearson, a stimulating personality &oin England, arrived to occupy the new Harry Bolus chair of botany at the S.A. College, Cape Town (U.C.T.). He soon rejuvenated this moribund department and inspired his staF and students to enthusiastic research. He opened the hitherto untouched fields of plant anatomy, embryology and the life histories of Cryptogams. His publications on the unique 8'ehii tschia mirabilis are classics of thoroughness (1906 — 10). Pearson's sectional address to the S.,A3 was on a 'National Botanical Garden' (1910). A year later Neville S. Pillans, a young botanist with an intimate knowledge of the local geography, took Pearson to see Kirstenbosch with its spectacular mountain backdrop. Pearson's reaction was immediate: 'This is the place.' The oIIicial decision

BOTAMCAL RESEARCH

Nevilie S. Pillans.

to establish the garden was made in 1913. A Board of Trustees was formed to run the afl'airs of the garden and Pearson was appointed honorary director. The t rustees founded the Botanical Society of South Africa to assist in fmancing the development of the garden. One of Pearson's flrst projects in the garden was the laying-out of a Cycad grove which still flourishes and is a focal point of interest today, Pearson occupied the director's house in the garden in 1915, but lived only a few more months to foster his ambitions before he died in November 1916. It was a tragic loss to botany in this country of his adoption. At the University of Cape Town Pearson was succeeded by David Thoday. who stayed just long enough to prove his potential in both plant physiology and taxonomy. After him came R. S. Adamson. At Kirstenbosch Pearson was succeeded by Robert Harold Compton in 1919. In the interim Pole Evans had established the Botanical

Survey Advisory Committee in 1918 and had planned a new herbarium building in Pretoria. It is unnecessary for me to go deeply into the history of Kirstenbosch, this wonderful asset to the country. both scientiflcally and as a tourist attraction, because Compton has done this admirably in a published report under the title Kirstenbosch Garden for a Ivation(1965). This includes an historical introduction by Mary AIexander Cook and a report on the garden's Golden Jubilee celebration by Hedley Brian Rycroft, the present Director. One might be led to think of K i rstenbosch as the Kew Gardens of South Africa but in function this would not be correct. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, England, grows and studies the flora of the world, often acting as a clearing-house in tranship-

ping plants of commercial importance from one part of the globe to another. Kirstenbosch and it s satellite regional gardens, on th e o t her h and, concern themselves primarily, if not exclusively, with our rich indigenous flora. In Kirstenbosch Compton

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

found his total commitment but, as he relates in his history of the gardens (1965), he had two acute disappointinents: the flrst was the opening of a new herbarium building

in Pretoria in 1923 with the title National Herbarium (the collection was actually begun by Burtt Davy in 1903 on his appointment as botanist for the Transvaal), The opening of the new building at 590 Vermeulen Street, Pretoria, by General J. C. Sinuts was given wide publicity and seemed to take some lustre from Kir stenbosch. The second disappointment was the transfer of the Bolus Herbarium from K i rstenbosch

to the campus of the University of Cape Town in 1938. This was regarded as a retrograde and catastrophic event for the status and eIIicient functioning of the National Garden. Compton's reaction was to lay the foundation of a new herbarium at Kirstenbosch and to foster research within its precincts. He made massive contributions to the

herbarium from the Cape while in offic and, after his retirement, from Swaziland. Early in 1935 Compton obtained the approval of the trustees of the Gardens to

launch a journal for the publication of the results of original research on the African flora. This Journal of South Afrtcan Botany has appeared regularly in four parts per

year, meeting a wide demand from professional and amateur botanists. After Compton's retirement, at the end of 1953, the trustees resolved that the herbariuin should

be named in his honour. An event of great importance to Kirstenbosch took place in 1956. The Director of the South African Museum, Cape Town, who found the Museum herbarium an embarrassment for space, oflered it to the Division of Botany; Pretoria, as a regional herbarium, as operates at the Albany Museum Herbarium in Grahamstown, but, soon repenting of his offer, authorized the transfer of the 118 cabinets with specimens to Kirstenbosch, to be maintained there as a separate unit. The transfer was efl'ected before the end of the year. The importance of the Museum herbarium is its wealth of type and cited specimens dating back to the collections of Ecklon, Zeyher, Drege and Pappe. At the same time the curator of the herbarium, Joyce Lewis, was given the title of Research Ollicer at Kirstenbosch, while Winsome F. Barker, curator of the herbarium since 1939, retained her authority. The library, an essential tool for research, has

been expanded by donations, exchanges and purchases and is now fairly well endowed. On the retireinent of Winsome Barker in 1972, John Rourke was promoted to the curatorship. The Proteaceae are his main Geld of research and taxonomic studies on the genera Sorocephalus and Spatalla were the subject of his M.Sc. thesis (1969) and on Leucospermum for his doctoral thesis (1972). The transfer of the S.A. Museum Herbarium to Kirstenbosch in 1956 may have

been prompted by a similar event in Pretoria three years earlier. After preliminary negotiations with the Chief of the Division of Botany„ the Director of the Transvaal Museum, Vivian FitzSimons, recommended to the Board of Trustees that the Museum herbarium should be transferred to the National Herbarium as being in the best interests of botanical research. The transfer was effected in September 1953 at a f unction a ttended by Reino Leendertz Pott, the first curator, and her s u d o r , A me l i a

(Obermeyer) Mauve. It was in May 1903 that Joseph Burtt Davy' assumed duty in Pretoria as Govern' See also pages 269 — 27l.

BOTAMCAL RESEARCH

243

ment Botanist. His task was to meet farmers, discuss the agricultural needs of the

colony, collect plants of economic importance and preserve specimens. This last function laid the foundation for the National Herbarium. To control plant diseases, which were causing serious losses in grain crops, Illtyd Buller Pole Evans was appointed as mycologist with Burtt Davy in 1905. Botany and mycology were parted in 1910 but reunited in 1913 under Pole Evans when Burtt Davy retired. Burtt Davy t'etained his interest in the Flora and published two parts of a Manua! of the Flotvering Plants and Ferns of the Transvaal with Swaziland in 1926 and 1932, in which there were many new records. Having taken over control in Pretoria in 1913, Pole Evans set about justifying

Phillips's later prognosis that here was a man of destiny. His photograph, reproduced here, rellects his strong personality; he was a better friend than an enemy, one who

expected and usually received devoted service — especiaHy from his women staff. He thought nothing of embarking on a Beld-trip at 2 a.m. if it suited his plan; he could

tramp the veld all day, recording and photographing veld types and individual-species. By 1917 he was su%ciently informed to publish a preliminary account of the Plant Geography of South Africa, illustrated by a map in colour. In 1918 Pole Evans established the Botanical Survey Advisory Committee with

himself as Director. He invited members on a regional basis to serve in an honorary capacity but provided an allowance for subsistence and transport. The foundation

members were Rudolf Marloth and Louisa Bolus, for the western and northern Cape; Selmar Schonland, eastern Cape; John %. Bews, Natal; George Potts, Orange Free S tate; together mt h A r n ol d T h eiler, Director of V e terinary Services, and C. E .

I.egatt, Conservator of Forests. Louisa Bolus resigned after a short period of oIIice to concentrate on the curatorial duties of the Bolus Herbarium and was succeeded on the committee by R. S. Adamson. The duties of the committee members were to take an active part in the botanical survey of their areas, to advise the Government on the co-ordination of botanical research throughout the country and to suggest new avenues

of research. One of the early resolutions of the committee was to publish memoirs of surveys, local IIoras, and the results of taxonomic research. From this resolve there came into being three periodical publications which are still in p r oduction: Botanical Survey

Memoirs, 1919 — (41 memoirs); Bothalia, 1921- (11 volumes, named in honour of the 6rst Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa, General Louis Botha); and Flowering Plants of South Africa, 1921-, from 1944 entitled Flo~venng Plants of Africa (from

volume 27 (1948) also published in Afrikaans as Blornplante van Afrtka) —now in its 44th volume. It was Selmar Schonland, Professor of Botany at Rhodes University and Honorary Curator of t h e A l bany M u seum Herbarium, who c ontributed the first Bo tanical Survey Memoir on the 'Phanerogamic Flora of the Divisions of Uitenhage and Port

Elizabeth' (1919) which he followed with Mem. 3 (1922) on S.A. Cyperaceae. He made his last published contribution in Bothalia 3 (1930) on the S.A. species of Rhus, in which I played a humble part by dissecting and recording countless of their small, featureless, greenish, unisexual Ilowers. Schonland it was who drew attention to the

•

•

The first Botanical Survey caravan constructed for Pole Evans, showing Pole Evans himself (second from left), F. Williams (third from left), the Hon. J. C. G. Kemp, Minister of Agriculture (fifth from left) and Selmar Schonland (seated, on extreme right).

invasion of the overgrazed Amatola Mountain by He lidtrysum argyropjtyllurn DC. (1927) and he who first warned the Government that the control of Jointed Cactus (Oprrrrria rrtrrrrrrfiaca) would cost the country millions of rands if it were not eradicated at the time — a prediction which is pro~ing distressingly true today. Schonland, a strict disciplinarian, referred to his fatnous Scottish botanical father-in-law, Peter MacOwan, as a 'Peppery Old Irishman'. His illustrious son Basil Schonland,' F.R.S., was founder and first Director of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. Rudolf Marloth, chemist by profession, botanist in his spare titne, could well be numbered among our foremost amateurs of all time, but it is doubtful whether the classification 'amateur' would be generally acceptable. His fame as a botanist is world-

wide because of hisFlora of South 4frica in 4 (6) large volumes (1913 — 32), All his more important botanical papers are mentioned by Phillips (1930), since Marloth died only two years after the review. Through an o%ciai agreement, Marloth's herbarium became State property on his death and was incorporated into the Rational Herbarium„greatly augmenting the representation of the Cape Ilora. Just as Schonland introduced me to Crrrssula, Cotyledon and RItusi so Marloth kindled an interest in Eupjrorbra w'hich eventually led to my joint a uthorship with two A m ericans, Alain White and Boyd Sloane, in two volumes on the Srrccu1errf Euphorbieae of Sourjrerrt Africa (1941). ' See pages75-7g.

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

A strong personality on the Survey Committee was John william Bews, erst professor ot botany at the N a tal U niversity College, Pietermaritzburg. He had a prodigious intellect: he was at the same time a friend and inspiration to his students.

One ol'his most brilliant students, George %. Gale, wrote a biography of Bews (1954). In this he included a bibliography of Bews's publications prepared by another of his students, who later occupied the same professorial chair, Adolf %. Bayer. Over and above his considerable personal contributions to botanical science, through Bews's students have come further outstanding contributions to the development of botany.

Bews died in 1938, when in his 54th year, 'cut os at the full tide of his maturity'. He

began his ecological publications on the vegetation of Natal just two years after his arrival from overseas and continued to add substantially to ecological hterature alinost to the end of his life, in spite of the weighty responsibility of the principalship of the University. In the light of the assessmem by Gale (joint author with fellow student R. D, Aitken of Memoir 2 of Bot. Survey, 1921), further comment here is unnecessary, except to underline the profound inliuence Bews had on the advance of' botany in South Africa.

The vegetation of the Karniesberg was described by R. S. Adamson in Botanical

Survey AfetII. 18 (1938) as his direct contribution to the series. He also published on plant geography and taxonomy and was the joint editor with T. M. Salter of the Rora of the Cape peninsala, a contribution to our botanical literature. 'The Cape as an Ancient African Rora' was the title of his sectional presidential address to the British Association for the A d vancement of Science in 1958, some years after his retirement. In building up his organization for plant science research, Pole Evans gave a warning and directive to agriculturists and botanists in his Presidential Address to the South African Association for the Advancement of Science (l920) on the 'Veld, its Resources and Dangers', Continuing his field-work between periods of administration

major

and planning, he published a 'Vegetation Map' as Memoir l5 (1936), which remained

the standard work of reference until the Veld Types of South Africa by J. P. H. Acocks (1953). After the retirement in 1939 of Pole Evans as Chief of the Division of Plant Industry, two further memoirs dealt with his expeditions to Botswana in 1937 (Mem. 21: 1948) and to Kenya in 1938 (Mern. 22: 1948). No summary of botanical progress in this period would be adequate without mention of General J. C. S muts, a close personal friend and supporter of Pole Evans. Smuts strode the veld. climbed mountains and collected botanical speciinens along his path as a measure of relaxation from the cares of local and international politics. Because of his keen interest in plants the title 'botanist' is frequently added to his many qualifications. The truth is that his prodigious memory enabIed him to store and retrieve more botanical knowledge than many a trained professional. Not unkindly he referred to me as 'little Dyer', and took a hand in my appointment to lead the Division of Botany and PIant Pathology in 1944. a fact not previously divulged. It is appropriate to mention in the same paragraph with Smuts the name of John Hutchinson, botanist at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Hutchinson, whose interests were always Africaorientated, met Smuts through Pole Evans on two expeditions before 1930. Hutchinson

BOTANICA1, RESEARCH

General J. C. Smuts on a botanical collecting trip.

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOL'R IN SOUTH AFRICA

recorded his experiences in his book, A Botanist in Sotahern Africa (1946) for vvhich

Smuts wrote an appreciative foreword and his photograph appeared as the frontispiece. %hen Smuts was ofiered an honorary doctorate by St Andrews University, he accepted on condition that Hutchinson was similarly honoured at the same ceremony in 1934. Hutchinson befriended me and assisted most South African botanists visiting Kevv up to his last days, as my witness, James Ross, the last in line. A fitting tribute to Hutchinson is expressed by Mary Gunn in an obituary published in Bothalia I I: I

(1973). E. P. Phillips had the assistance of Hutchinson during a period of research at Kew on the classification of the Proteaceae for I.he monograph in Flora Capensis 5,1: 502 (1912). Based on this experience and similar visits by other botanists, a permanent link between South African botany and Kew was negotiated by Pole Evans for a rotation of ofIicers from the Division of Botany and Plant Pathology to Kew herbarium for periods of two to three years. Inez Verdoorn was the inaugurating botanist of this rotation in 1926, since when it has functioned without interruption. Kew Gardens, internationally famous, has the largest herbarium and botanical library in the world. Our liaison oflicers have these unique f'acilities for research and, in addition, have the stimulating experience of contacts ivith the Kew staff and with visiting botanists from many other countries. On their return io South Africa our botanists are better qualified for leadership in the progress of botany in the Republic, The Botanical Survey Advisory Committee entrusted to E, P. Phillips the compilation of a record of the 'Genera of South African Flowering Plants'. This exacting task he completed as .Memoir 10 (1926).He was a great organizer of scientific conf'erences, where the fruits of his labours are not so obvious to the onlooker, but the revised edition of his 'Genera' (1951), completed some years after his retirement in 1944, is a lasting monument for all to see, It is desirable to interpolate here that both Pole Evans and Compton migrated to states outside the Republic on their retirement, Pole Evans to the beautiful mountains in the neighbourhood of Umtali, in eastern Rhodesia, and Compton to the mountains overlooking Mbabane in Swaziland. Pole Evans colfected extensively at the outset of

his residence in Rhodesia but was overtaken by a physical disability which seriously restricted his movements. His obituary. written by Mary Gunn, is in Bothalia 10: 131 (1971). On his arrival in Swaziland Compton organized an official botanical survey of the territory and published an Annotated Checl List of the Flora in 1966. His enlarged Flora of Siva=.iland (1976) is ol general interest in addition to guiding the indigenous peoples towards an appreciation of their flora. Here we must look back in t ime once more. It was Reino Leendertz Pott, a woman, who founded and became the first curator of the herbarium of the Transvaal Museum, Pretoria, in 1892. This was the dawn of a new era of a different nature. II was the beginning of '%omen's Lib' in South African botany. Harry Bolus endorsed it by introducing to botany his niece, Louisa Kensit, a classical scholar, vvho later married her cousin Frank Bolus, She vvas small, quietly spoken, but very determined. By his will, read in 1910, Harry Bo lus made Louisa the honorary curator of t h e Bolus Herbarium for liTe and left her financially independent. From this time women in

BOTANICAL RESEARCH

South African botany have been in advance of their sisters in other professions by a generation or more. One to foster the cause was again Pole Evans. He had on his young stafl' Miss Sydney Stent, later an authority on grasses, Ethel M. D o idge and Avril Bottornley, both qualified mycologists, and among the inexperienced assistants. Inez Verdoorn and

Mary Gunn. (Pole Evans maned another ofhis devoted assistants, Mary Thompson.) Pole Evans set the seal on women's lib in South African botany by inviting Louisa Bolus' to be a foundation member of the Botanical Survey Advisory Committee which she accepted, though she resigned after a short term. In the early years she encouraged a wide public interest in botany by contributing semi-popular articles to gardening journals. On the advice of Sir Joseph Hooker of Kew she devoted more and more ot her time to a study of the Mesembryanthemaceae, a large and typically South African family of succulent~lants. Helping to conflrm women's lib in botany at the Cape were Louise Guthrie, working on Ericaceae, and Augusta Vera Duthie, who made contributions on a wide spectrum of the Stellenbosch flora from 1902 onwards, while Edith Layard Stephens at the University of Cape Town became the leading authority on algae and fungi, with special reference in later years to edible and poisonous mushrooms: her counterpart in the Transvaal was Avril Bottomley. Each year these experts would be consulted at

aII hours by people rightly fearful of the possible consequences of a wrong identiflcation. A vvell-merited tribute to Edith Stephens appeared in the Journal of the Botanical

Societf of S.A. in 1968, by Enid du Plessis. Ethel M. Doidge, a team-mate of Avril Bottomley under Pole Evans from 1908,

was particularly talented in bacteriology and mycology, solving several problems of importance to agriculture. Doidge had the distinction of being appointed a member of the first Council of the University ol South Africa. She was promoted to the post of Principal Plant Pathologist in 1929, and, having no administrative ambitions or desire for further promotion, devoted herself largely to the completion of the mammoth task

of an encyclopaedic record of I 004 pages on theSouth African Fungi and Lichens.This was published as Bothalia 5 (1950), a record unlikely to be challenged for a very long time. South African botany would have been much poorer without the influence of Margaret R. Levyns. After a distinguished academic career she took up an appointment in botany under Pearson at the University of Cape Town, in 1917. She was both an inspiring lecturer and a dedicated research worker. Her Guide to the Flora of the Cape Peninsula (1929) became a textbook for her students, a revised edition of which she completed in her retirement (1966). Retirement for her in 1946 entailed a transfer from her paid senior lectureship to an honorary readership in taxonomy with research facilities at the Bolus Herbarium. Margaret Levyns was a major contributor to the Flora of the Cape Peninsula, edited by Adarnson and Salter (1951), and is certainly the inost proliflc contributor to botanical subjects included in the Standard Encyclopaedia of Soutltern A frica (NASOU Ltd). Margaret Levyns was also a leading exponent on the subject of floristic changes in geological times in the flora of South Af rica. She ' See also pages 458 and 459.

250

SCIENTIFIC EhIDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

.%4Q®' 4

8r

'i

h

,iW~a h~Y'i-

I I'

Dr Margaret Levyns, senior lecturer and later Hon. Reader in Botany at the University of Cape Tohh n, President of the Royal Society of South Africa 1962 — 1963.

highhghted the subject in her presidential address to g A,— 'Clues to the Past in the Cape Flora of Today"' (1952) — and as the first woman president of the Royal Society

of South Africa (1962) chose as the subject of her presidential address 'Migration and Origin of the Cape Flora', published in the Transactions 37: 85 (1964). Her other

research projects covered a wide range of interests, including both practical and taxonomic subjects in the families Compositae, Boraginaceae and Cyperaceae. Throughout her botanical career she enjoyed the active interest of a devoted accountant

husband. Untrained on appointment by Pole Evans in 1917, Inez Clare Verdoorn, my senior assistant when discrimination in salaries betvveen men and women existed in the public s ervice, was an inspiring, exacting colleague. She was my right hand man in t h e herbarium from the period of the First World War until she retired. When confronted with a scrappy for identification her motto was 'never say impossible' and

specim en

almost invariably she would succeed where others would cheerfully have consigned the scrap to the W.P.B, She was always at I'ull stretch to uphold and improve the i

mage

of South African botany and looks back with special pride on letters of appreciation from J. C. Smuts, Inez Verdoorn has contributed many observations new to botanical science and is eminently worthy of the honorary doctorate conferred on her by the University of Natal in 1968, Appointed as a junior assistant in the Natal Herbarium, Durban, in 1919, Helena M. L. Forbes, through her keenness and reliability, rose to take charge of the herbarium in 1940. During her career she contributed several taxonomic papers, the two most important being on the genera Psoralea and Tephrosia. A lover of plants and one-time Director of t h e K i mberley M useum, Maria Wilman, with characteristic determination. compiled a useful Preliminary Check List of the Fl Plants anti Ferns of Griqaaland West (1946). She became internationally

owering

known for her part in dispersing into agriculture seed of local hardy grasses, one of which, Eragrostis rnacrochlarnysvar. irilrnaniae (Hubb. 4 Schw.) De Winter, became widely known in the United States as Wilman Love Grass, Among women taking a leading part in plant physiology was Marguerite Gertrud Anna Henrici. She had been singled out as a bright student in Switzerland by Arnold Theiler, who appointed her to the stalf of the Veterinary Research Institute, Onderstepoort, in 1922. In 1929 she was transferred to the Division of Plant Industry under Pole Evans and took charge of the experimental station at Fauresmith, where she endeared herself to the appreciative local farmers, She contributed many publications

on the physiology of Karoo bushes and carried out

experim ents shov ing the dilferen-

tial rates of transpiration between indigenous vegetation and exotic trees. Like Henrici, Margaretha G. Mes was foremost a plant physiologist and had the distinction of being the Iirst woman botanist in South Africa to be elevated to professorial rank. This took place in 1944 at the University of Pretoria, before she was 40 years of age. When the department of botany at the I;niversity was divided in 1952,

she occupied the chair of plant physiology and biochemistry, while H. G, Schweickerdt took the chair of general botany, in which he excelled as a lecturer. Most of Mes's

researches had a practical application in agriculture. One of her early and apparently simple problems was to discover that the vast coA'ee industry depended on overhead irrigation to set and mature fruits freely. The pubhc confidence in her research ability was proven when she was able to raise su%cient funds through unoIIiciat sources to build the first phytotron in South Africa. Her research unit was subsequently named

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

the Margaretha Mes Institute for Plant Physiology and Biochemistry. She died in 1959, before the country had the benefit of her full potential. The facilities are there for othersto make use of under N. Grobbelaar, who succeeded her. Another woman who has risen to professorial rank is Miriam P. de Vos of the University of Stellenbosch. Her researches and many publications extend over the fields of cytology, anatomy and morphology and reflect a uniformly high standard of technique and observation, mainly within the family Iridaceae. The Grasses and Pastures af South Africawere described in a volume of 771 pages (Meredith 1955). The first S27 pages were devoted to a 'Guide to the Identification of the Grasses' by Lucy Chippindall, the remainder were on various aspects of pasture management by seventeen other authors. Lucy Chippindall gained her wide knowledge of grasses as a technician in the National Herbarium, Pretoria. She was induced to interrupt her domesticity in Rhodesia (as Mrs Paddy Crook) to undertake the project

on behalf of a Board of Trustees. She accomplished the task with her usual meticulous care, giving to botany and agriculture in southern Africa a reference book of great scientific and practical value. Copious illustrations are by Gertrude Laurence, Cythna Letty and other talented botanical artists. After embarking on a career in mycology in the Division of Plant Industry, Amy Jacot Guillarmod, a stimulating go-getter, transferred to a senior lectureship at Rhodes University and later into other fields of biological research. Following the publication of several articles on the ecology of the Lesotho IIora, her thesis entitled Flora of Lesotho (1971) was accepted by her old university, St Andrews, for a doctor's degree in 1967.

A product of the Division of Botany and Pathology (hived oA from Plant Industry) was Patricia Klesser, whose initial research concerned Inainly virus diseases of leguminous plants. Later, under the Horticultural Research Institute, Roodeplaat, she worked on virus diseasesthreatening the Rose industry. Her signal success in this field has earned world-wide recognition. Gwendoline Joyce Lewis, Curator of the Herbarium of the South African Museum and later research oIIIcer in the Cornpton Herbarium, died suddenly on 11 April 1967. She had specialized on the classification of several genera in the family Iridaceae and was nearing the completion of a monograph on G/adiolusat the time of her death. In this tragic situation it was indeed fortunate that the experienced botanist Amelia (Obermeyer) Mauve was available to continue the work and, arit the collaboration of T. T. Barnard, to complete it. The lIevision of the South African species o f Gladiolus

of over 316 pages, largely illustrated by Joyce Lewis herself, appeared in November 1972. Amelia (Obermeyer) Mauve, who succeeded Reino Leendertz Pott as Curator of the Transvaal Museum Herbarium, joined the Botanical Research Institute after raising a family. She has done sterling service on a wide variety of subjects. With all her versatility she has yet specialized on water plants and Liliaceae. She has been invaluable in contributing these families for the tivo volumes of the Genera of South African Flo i«ering Plants (1975, 1976). Although Edna Plumstead is intimately involved in Palaeontology, her name may not be omitted from this review. Palaeontology is included in the constitution of the

BOTANICAL RESEARCH

253

South African Association of Botanists (SAAB), ivhich enjoys reIIected prestige by her membership. She has earned international standing in her subject, particularly for her researches into the classification of plant fossils from Antarctica. IVhen Iirst appointed to the Division of Botany and Plant Pathology by Pole Evans in 1916, Mary Gunn knew little about books and nothing about botany. Her inherent love of books soon became evident, however, with the result that she was entrusted with the duty of building up a comprehensive collection of reference books on botany, pathology and allied interests. Over the years, by purchase, exchange and gifts she built up a botanical library second to none in Africa. Endowed vvith a phenomenal memory, she absorbed what she read by day and ol'ten far into the night. She has long since been accepted as an authority on Africana and has assisted innumerable

researchers to such an extent that seldom have so. many owed so much to just one. The fragmentation of the library, many books on mycology and the bulk on horti-

culture being extracted because of a departmental reorganization, was a personal tragedy for Mary Gunn. But as some consolation and as a lasting tribute to her, the vastly valuable botanical library was named the Mary Gunn Library in 1970 and in 1976 she was awarded the Bolus Medal by the South African Botanical Society. Now that Louisa Bolus is no longer with us, Mary Gunn has a further distinction among botanists in driving the oldest vintage car, taking off in a cloud of smoke and using nearly as much oil as petrol. I have said suScient to illustrate the invaluable contributions made by women to the advance of South African botany in the past three-quarters of a century. But there are many more who crowd about me for recognition, including Marie Vogts on the

Proteaceae, Frances M. Leighton (Isaac), Elsie Esterhuysen, Eily E. A. Archibald (Gledhill), Kathleen Gordon-Gray. Olive Hilliard, Esme Hennessy and others. All achieved what they have done by their individual abihties and devotion to the profession. Yet their status went unrecorded at the International Conference on %omen's Lib held at the 1820 Settlers Memorial in Grahamstown in 1975. It. is all the more reason for paying tribute to them now. Having followed the history of the contribution by women to our botany nearly to the present time, it is necessary to revert to the footsteps ol'Pole Evans for another lead. John F. V. Phillips, who contributed a thesis on 'Forest Succession and Ecology in the Knysna Region' as Mem. 14 of Bor. Surv. (1931), became a member of the Botanical Survey Advisory Committee shortly thereal'ter. He made a major contribution to South African botany after the end of the First %'orid %ar, when, as professor of botany at the University of Witwatersrand, he engendered in his students, including inany ex-servicemen, great enthusiasm for ecological research and the conservation of the veld by improved farming methods. He has continued to propound this doctrine, as evidence his presidential address to S,,A, on 'Ecological Aspects of International Development South of the Sahara: South Africa's Potential Contribution by the turn

of the Century' (1969). After Hews at Natal University, Pietermaritzburg, there followed in his footsteps one of his bright students, Adolf % . Bayer, not unnaturally also with a leaning to

ecology. This interest formed the background for his sectional presidential address to

254

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

SaA3 in 1942. on 'The Thornveld Trees: a note on Plant Adaptation'. Bayer attracted and inspired able students, and the staA' of the Botanical Research Institute (BRI), past and present, are his hving testimonials, H. P. van der SchijA; of the I;niversity of Pretoria, is another former head of a departznent of botany who encouraged a wide selection of research projects among the students of' the faculty; in fact all the universities have active departments of botany. During the 'middle' period of the century, from about 1935 to the present time, John H. P. Acocks has been collecting extensively, recording species and mapping the distribution of veld types. Although his field-work was far from complete at the time, it was decided in 1950 to publish his classifications, conclusions and warnings, illustrated by coloured maps as Mezzz.28 of Bot. SIzrv. (1953), under the title 'Veld Types of South Africa'. The demand for a reprint of the meznoir became so insistent that D. J. B. Killick, himself an author of' two Mezzzoirs, 32 (1959); 34 (1963), undertook the task at th e Botanical Research Institute. Among other responsibilities, it entailed the updating of the nomenclature, an exacting duty in itself, It vvas a constructive decision to include 104 photographs to illustrate the separate veld

types. These carefully selected pictures greatly enhance the value and impact of Mam. 40 (1975). %'ith the expansion of the Botanical Survey Section of BRI, additional .'lfezzzoirs have gone to press and more are in an advanced stage of preparation. In the eyes of some, the ecological investigations of yesterday are inadequate and emphasis is now directed to a study on the ground of every detail of the whole ecosystem. Another field of research fostered by Pole Evans in his early administration was the serious wastage through disease in the fruit-export industry. By degrees the major problems in this now m u l t i-million-rand industry were solved. From among the

successful young researchers emerged J. E. van der Plank, who is unique in being the only South African holding doctorates in both botany and chemistry. In the reconstructed Division of Botany and Plant Pathology, he not only prevented the collapse of the potato industry during the First World War by multiplying disease-free stock in hot arid areas under irrigation, but placed the local seed-potato industry on a sound footing by breeding cultivars suitable for different environmental conditions. In recent years he has published three books overseas: one on Plant Disease Epidezzzics(1963): the second on Disease Resistanceizz Plants(1968); and the third on Prizzciples o f Plant

Iafecriozz(1975), all of svhich have a lively world-wide circulation. By special invitation he has undertaken lecture fellowships in Aznerica and Australia. Is there a saying about

prophets in their own land 7 A. P. D. McClean, another member of the Division of Botany and Plant Pathology, who had virus research experience in the sugar-cane industry (under H. H. Story, F.R.S.), later devoted himself to citrus. In this field his methodical and painstaking research gained international recognition. In recent years there has been great progress in research on crop viruses, fungi, algae and other groups of lower plant life in various agricultural institutes throughout the country, enough to occupy another chapter. J. H. Day has mentioned the marine algae,' but in addition it may be recorded that S. C. Seagrief and S. A. Troughton have

pubhshed a guide to the literature on South African Marine Algae in J. S. Afr. Bot. ' See pages 92-93.

BOTAMCAL RESEARCH

255

' fe

%. J. Liitjeharms, Emeritus Professor of Botany, Universityof C' ape Town, President of the Royal Society of South Africa 1966-i967.

SCIENTIFIC ENDKAVOLR IN SOUTH AFRICA

39: 95 (1973). Fungi, and more particularly soil fungi, have been the main fleld of research of %. J. Lutjeharms. Most of the results had a practical application. His presidential address to the Royal Society of South Africa was on the position of 'Fungi inModern Science' (1967). 8, J. Cholnoky and M. 1. Claasen have made extensive contributions to our knowledge of freshv ater algae and have laid foundations for further research. It was Eduard Meine van Zinderen Bakker vvho put South Africa on the international map of palynology, the study of poflen. This was one of his main interests before being appointed to the chair of botany at the University of the Orange Free State in 1963. His knowledge and results, with the assistance of Miss J. A. Coetzee, were so convincing that the CSIR awarded him substantial flnancialassistanceand eventually established a research unit at the University. Here has been built up a world-wide collection of modern pollen for comparison with fossil pollen. An estimate of the age

of the oldest fossil pollen so far collected in Africa south of the Sahara is about 52 000 years, i.e, from the Pleistocene in Quaternary times. The palynological data of this period supports the geological and other evidence that there have been alternating

cycles of warm and dry, wet and cold, climatic conditions. The pollen records prove that the climatic changes caused major migrations of vegetation ty'pes and that the ebb and flow of the vegetation caused dynamic changes in the floral components of the vegetation, including the multiphcation of species. One of Van Zinderen Bakker's most exacting undertakings, of international importance, was the planning, direction and publication of the results of a comprehensive scientifIc expedition to Marion and Prince Edward Islands, 1965 — 6. The report covering the biological and geological

aspects of the islands was published in a tome of 427 pages (1971) which has reached all corners of the globe. E. P. Phillips (1931) focused attention on several of the leading amateurs in botany of last century and early twentieth, including such famous names as Harry Bolus,

Alice Pegler, George Flanagan, John Muir, Ernest Galpin, and even Rudolf Marloth would have qualified on an unremunerated basis. Few would quibble in granting T. M. S alter' pride of place among amateur botanists after those mentioned by Phillips, but in doing so one must comply with-Salter's personal insistence to correspondents that he should be addressed as Capt. T. M. Salter R.N., Retired. He found a haven at the Bolus Herbarium with Louisa Bolus, a classical scholar like himself. He v as joint author of the first of a continuous series of articles from volume 1 in the J. S. Afr. Bor. entitled 'Plantae Novae Africanae, ex Africa semper aliquid noviPliny', a slogan which still holds good. His monograph on the large and diIIIcult genus Oxalis is a model of care and perception, His special characteristics are discerned in the Flora of the Cupe Peninsula (1951) to which he was a major contributor and joint editor with R. S. Adamson.

A man of very different temperament was Gilbert %. Reynolds, optician by profession, who, frustrated by not being given a positive identiflcation of what he regarded as a conunon Aloe, turned all his Australian determination and enthusiasm

in 1935 to rectifying the position. He covered several hundred thousand miles through ' See also pages 458 and 460.

BOTAVICAL RESEARCH

the length and breadth of Africa and Madagascar, mainly at his own expense, and in consequence occasionally falling into th e ' red' at th e bank, to gather specimens, information and photographs of aloes. After contributing many preliminary papers to the J. 5. Afr. Bot. he gathered all his material into two monumental volumes, one on the Aloes of South Africa (1950) and the other on the Aloes of Tropical Africa and >Madagascar (1966), the latter successfully published in his last few days. On the sponsorship of R. H. Compton, Reynolds was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Cape Town in 1952. Alain White, a wealthy American, and his compatriot. Boyd Sloane, neither of whom had a personal knowledge of Africa, enhsted the help of forty collaborators to produce a monograph of the Stapelieae in three large volumes (1937'I, a high percentage of these succulent species being indigenous in southern Africa. On the completion of these volumes, White applied himsell' to a similar treatinent of the genus Euphorhia. He found Ma rloth's mantle on my shoulders, which explains my joint authorship with White and Sloane of the two volumes on the Succuleat Euplrorbieae of Southern Africa (1941). The name of Hans Herre is a legend in the world of succulent plants. While in charge of the garden of the botanical department of the University of Stellenbosch, he had under cultivation, and largely collected by himself, the most representative collection of succulents in the country. He had the unique distinction of being the first

~ Aaa~

W ~~ ~

i+~~ ~ »

8 elwitschia niirabilis in the Narmb Desert, vtith Hans Herre in thebackground.

SCIENTIHC ENDEAVOUR tN SOUTH AFRtCA

to grow the fabulous IVe/»itsc/n'a ntirabi/is froin seed in 1928 to seed in the University glasshouse twenty-three years later. After his retirement, Herre devoted hiinself to

recording his knowledge of the typically South African family Mesembryanthemaceae and, with the use of outstanding colour illustrations by M. M. Page and B. O. Carter

loaned from the Bolus Herbarium, published an excellent monograph in 1971. The Ericas of South Al'rica have attracted the interest of botanists, horticulturists, amateurs and artists from the earliest days of exploration. It is not surprising that several people in modern titnes should wish to keep the interest alive. In his retirement H. A. Baker made the study of Erica his abiding hobby: Irma von Below independently

embarked on a beautifully executed collection of paintings: E. G. H. Oliver, botanist stationed at the BRI unit at Stellenbosch, was engaged on a botanical inonograph of the genus.%'hat more sensible than for these workers to pool their resources and, with Fay Anderson adding further illustrations, to give to science and the public the splendid Ericas in Sout/tern Africa (1967). A selection of these paintings exhibited by Oliver earned a gold medal av ard by the Royal Horticultural Society in London.

Ion Williams, an engineer by profession, was in a position to retire from this occupation early and to devote his critical faculties to botany. After a number of years of intensive study he produced a thesis on the genus Leacadentlron (Proteaceae), for which he was avvarded a doctorate at the University of Cape Town. The monograph

was published by the Bolus Herbarium in 1972, He is now engaged on a study of the typically Cape minor genera of Rutaceae. A small book on the Equip/tJ tic Orc/tids of Sottt/tertt Africa (1972) is the outcome of many years of study by E. R. Harrison, living in Natal. He had the professional guidance of E. Schelpe, which gives to the work greater authority and at the same time provided Schelpe with valuable specimens and accurate distribution records. Larry Leach, with a foot in both South Africa and Rhodesia, has contributed many scientific artides on the succulent Euphorbieae and Stapelieae to various journals, including the J. S. Afr, Bot. and Botha/ia. Great credit is due to Eve Palmer (Jenkins), author of the text, and Norah Pitman, artist, for the three comprehensive volumes on the Trees of Southern Africa (1972). It is an encyclopaedic treatise for the completion ol' vvhich Eve Palmer enjoyed the facilities of the BRI and the personal guidance of the Director, L, E. Codd. There are over 2 170 pages of text and illustrations and 65 pages of' bibliography and index. It is with enjoyment that I record the inscription in my personal copy — 'thank you for help, encouragement, laughter and gossip, Eve'. It is no less true in botany than in any other subject that one good illustration is often more expressive than a host of words. It is Iitting, therefore, that artists whose drawings illustrate major botanical works of our time, should also be remembered.

It is a Iield in which women predominate. Phillips (1931) recorded the classical w ork of Harry Bolus on Orchids and the Floras of Medley %'ood and Marloth, which feature illustrations by M i l l icent Franks and Ethel Ma y D i xie respectively. The prestige publication F/o»ering P/ants of (S) Africa, launched in 1921 with the paintings of Katldeen Lansdell, is now in its 44th volume. Artists who have contributed to its high standard include Mary Maude Page, through loans from the Bolus Herbarium, Stella

BOTANICAL RESEARCH

Gower (Louw), Cythna Letty (Forssrnan), M. E. Connell (Betty Stutterheim), Edith K. Burges (Metherell), Rhona Brown (Collett), Fay Anderson (Geary-Cooke), and Peter R. O. Bally in Nairobi. By far the largest number of plates are by Cythna Letty, executed during two long periods of public service. Her W'Id Flo«'ers of the Transvaal (1962) has received world-wide acclaim and was the main factor in the av ard to her of an honorary LL.D. by the University of the %itwatersrand in 1974. She held an exhibition of her paintings under the auspices of the Royal Horticultural Society in London and contributed to several other exhibitions of botanical art in England and Anlefica. Mary Maytharn Kidd published a volume on lKild Floi«ers of the Cape Peninsula (1950), and Elsie Garrett Rice teamed with R. H. Compton in II 'ild Floi«ers of the Cape of Good Hope (1951). Auriol B atten and Hertha Bokelmann had the close m-operation of botanists in their excellent publication IVild Flo«'ers of the Eastern Cape Province (1966) and t)iey also illustrated a handbook of the Fio«ering Plants of the Tsitsikama Forest and Coastal A'ational Park (1967). Maim Hulme added to these the illustrations of IFild Floi«ers of v'atal in 1954, as also Barbara Jeppe (1975), and a volume devoted to plants of the Natal Coastal Region by Janet Gibson appeared in the same year. The beautifully executed and scientilically accurate paintings of Erica by Irma von Below (Ker) and Fay Anderson have been mentioned earlier and were

augmented by a few from the brush of Cythna Letty (1967). M. M. Page's work, also mentioned earlier, is again prominent, supplemented by paintings by Beatrice Orchard Carter, in the Mesembryanthemaceae by Hans Herre (1971). These were drawn many years earlier under the critical eve of Louisa Bolus. Another very fine addition to our botanical literature is I~'estern Cape Sandvetd Fto«ers by Hilda M ason, A.R.C.H., with text by Enid d u Plessis (1972). These works portray a comprehensive crosssection of our exceptionally rich and beautiful flora, %hen I accepted the invitation to write this essay on botanical research in South Africa, I realized that much of inodern botany had progressed beyond my comprehension. I had no preconceived idea of what to say about modern trends and I find myself just where I vvas at the outset. I cannot see the wood for the trees, Recently the BRI has moved into the fields of comparative anatomy and cyto-

genetics under the control of Roger Ellis. This should complement the primarily morphological and anatomical studies at the universities of Pretoria and Stellenbosch, the differentiation studies using tissue culture at the University of Natal (Pietermaritzburg), ultra-structure at the University of N a tal ( D urban) and embryology at the University of Port Elizabeth. The electron microscope assists researchers in various

fields and the scanning microscope is especially useful in morphological studies. It was inevitable that the computer would be employed in attempts to rationalize taxonomy. Thc Honorary Secretary of the Royal Society of South Africa, A. V. Hall, was one of the first to make a serious effort to demonstrate the practical application of computer assistance in his thesis on Eulophia published in supplementary vol. 5 of the

J. S. Afr. Bot. (1965), Numerical methods were used to increase the precision of certain of his operations. Hall explains that in his studies of aggregates of species that were difficult to divide and rank by usual methods, Fishers discriminant functions were used

260

SCIENTIFIC EYDEAVOI."R IY SOUTH AFRICA

io show the m u l t iple-character distinctness of groups partly resolved in scatter

diagrams. To find the optimal grouping of similar taxa, a dendrogram was prepared, based on comparisons of 93 characters using an electronic digital computer. Since then he has contributed articles to Ta mn an d t he Bolus Herbarium Records on data-

banking for taxonomic collections (1972). The first step taken at BRI towards data-banking was the adoption of a degree

system for recording locality records (1971). This was followed by the compilation of an index to all localities within southern Africa. In 1975 a beginning was made with the data-banking of the estimated .,' million herbarium specimens, nearly 20000 garden records, 46 000 books and 500 botanical journals. As I wrote these words a circular from the Systematics Association arrived on my desk under the title Biological Identtftcatiott by Computers, edited at the British Museum. The circular states that 'until recently, the identification of biological specimens was

typically a skill held by a few individuals, gained after years of practice. Since the early 1960's, however, automatic methods of i dentification have been developed, their

purpose being to make identification easier — or indeed simply feasible — for those to whom identification of specimens is a means and not an end in itself.' IVill an auto-

matic method be practical in the light of'what Hall has said and where 16 000-18 000 species are concerned, as we have in southern Af'rica, and where the demand for plant

identifications from the BRI alone, for practical economic reasons, and not merely as a mental exercise, runs into thousands per annum'? Time will tell. The most modern advance in plant ecology is through the technique ol' remote sensing. This is the interpretation of 'photograptuc' or image records relayed from satellites in orbit or from low-level sensors. The technique is applicable in two main directions: (a) primary inventory of vegetation as it exists at the time of recording. This can be applied to detect conditions at various inagnifications, ranging from vegetation types covering large areas to small sample plots. (b) continuous monitoring to record changing conditions. This is for the evaluation of changes in vegetation and habitat over a period of time. The changes may be the result of difierent methods of land use by man or the results of natural processes of environmental origin, such as drought and fire. These techniques can provide data for nore efficient planning of land use in the long term and for more eScient development of human resources. Although the full potential of the satellite imagery is yet to be assessed, the results so far obtained prove the feasibility of'using it by simple and readily available means. The programme at the BRI is under the direction of Denzil Edwards, who operates in close liaison w ith CSIR, which receives its data from the primary receiving station in the United States. Before 1905 botanical institutions followed either of two main systems of nomenclature. It was clear that progress would be seriously handicapped until a single system was accepted and followed. In 1905 the first International Botanical Conference was held in Vienna at which rules of procedure in plant taxonomy were drafted for universal compliance. To keep pace with modern developments international botanical conferences are held at five-yearly intervals to cover the full range of botanical disciplines and to include plenary sessions for nomenclature. In 1951 Taxott was established to

BOTA51CAL RESEARCH

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R. A. Dyer, Di~o r of the Botanical Research Institute 1944-63 and the author of this essay.

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SCIEN EIFIC ENDEAVOUR IV SOUTH AFRICA

record the news and views of taxonpmists throughout the world and as a medium fpt the decisions and resolutions adopted at the plenary sessions of the internatjpnal conferences. South Africa is represented on the nomenclatural committees for Spetma

tophyta by D. J. B. KIHjck (BRI), for Fungi and Lichens by K. T. van Warmelo (Plant Protection) and for Pteridophyta by E. A. Schelpe (Bolus Herbarium, UCT). In spjte of a trickle of nomenclatural changes which disturb foresters, horticulturists, amateur

and professional botanists alike, steady progress is being made towards a universal and stable nomenclature, In 1951, an informal tneeting was held at Kew where a few botanists from di fferent countries who were specially interested in the botany of tropical Africa met to discuss their mutual interests and problems. This resulted in the formation of the Associatjon

pour L'Etude Taxonomique de la Flore d'Afrique Tropicale, or AETFAT. Although this association was f'ounded primarily in the interests of tropical African botany, np objection was raised to botanists in southern Africa becoming members and enjpyjng the benefits of intercommunication. The association holds f'our-yearly conferences and has given impetus to the preparation of floras for the diA'erent territories. The publjca tion of the Flora of Southern Africa, to replace the Flora Capensis, was begun in 1963 vvjth vol. 26 of' the full series. In the words of' the reviewer in Ke ir Bulletin 19: 224 (1964-5), 'All botanists v ill vvelcotne this first volume ol the new and ambitious Flor~ of Southern Africa'. The area covered includes the Republic of South Africa. South

West Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho and recently Botswana. It is therefore complementary to the Flora Zantbesiaca and the Conspectus Rorae Angolensis and with them provides a complete Aoristic review of the whole area south of the Congo and Tanzania, whose

Aorae are also in course of preparation and publication. Volume I of the Flora of Southern Africa appeared in 1966; 13 in 1970, 16, pt 1 in 1975 and 26 in 1963. A futther two volumes are in press and several others are to follow. The publications mentioned earlier, on Oxalis, Aloe, Gladiolus, Frica, Proteaceae and Nesembryanthemaceae are all indirect contributions towards the Aora project. When the time cones to w;rite on orchids the Introduction to them by E. A, C. L. E Schelpe (1966) will be a solid foundation from vvhjch to vvork.

In Septemb er 1960 a group of young (female) teclmicians in the National Herba-

rium, Pretoria, received permission to issue a monthly newsletter under the title Hurb Bug. It was designed to stimulate interest in the functioning of' the Institute and tp

foster good fellowship among members of staff. It had a rewarding life of three years to September 1963. Before its closure a newsletter with a more scientific and nationvvjde interest was issued by J. P. Jesspp and E. G. H . O l iver, then students at the University of C ape Town, under the title Foram Botanicum. It was launched in December 1962 and distributed free from Kirstenbosch. Enid du Plessis, with characteristic gusto, rendered invaluable assistance from 1967 to 1974. Jessop withdrew jn 1970. It is now a BRI responsibility. Until the sixties the scientific needs of botanists for intercommunication were largely met within the constitution of the South African Association for the Advancement of Science, which holds annual congresses, but the bonds were loosening. Plant

physiologists, with O. A. 51. Lewis(UCT). J. A, de Bruyn (Univ. Stell.), C. F. Cress-

SQrM1CAL RESEARCH

well (Univ. Wits.), J. G. C. Small (UPE) to the fore, hived off'as an autonomous body. In this atmosphere other botanists felt the need for a society to foster the aspirations of botanists as a whole at the professional level. The formation of the Joint Council for Scienti6c Societies gave impetus to this trend, With the support of H. P. van der SchijA'(Univ. Pret.), B. de Winter (BRI) took the initiative and arranged a meeting of botanists to take place in Bloemfontein in 1968 for the discussion of future policies. The outcome was the birth of the South African Association of Botanists (SAAB) in 1972, when L. E. Codd (Director of BRI) was elected first President and B. de Winter Hon. Secretary, To this Association plant physiologists soon amalgamated. Forum Botanicum was adopted as the o5cial mouthpiece of SAAB, vvhich has made it possible for botanists both here and abroad to keep informed of local projects in all disciplines. Fomrn aoramcum has thus become an essential service for co-ordinated progress. SAAB exists to promote and uphold the status ef this profession and to do all

things which may be desirable for the attainment of these objects. The following branches of botany are of equal status within the Association: cytogenetics, ecology, morphology, palaeo-botany, physiology and systematics, remembering that the correct

identification of a plant is the master key to its known history and properties. The following regions are represented on the Council of SAAB — northern and southern Transvaal, Orange Free State, Natal, eastern and south-western Cape. There is, therefore, little difference in the aims and objects of SAAB, 1972. and those of the Botanical Survey Advisory Committee of 1918 under Pole Evans. This then makes the founding of SAAB an appropriate event at which to tnake my bow.

Just a last glance over my shoulder — when the Union Buildings were being built

The Gilbert Reynolds hfentorial Gate at the 'Rational Botanic Gardens in Pretoria. The National Herbarium of the Botanical Research institute is in the background.

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFIUCA

on Meintjes Kop on the outskirts of Pretoria after 1910, the Division of Botany and

plant pathology occupied the Meintjes farm residence at the foot of the hill in about 4 ha of ground. The suburbs of Pretoria were thinly populated; Colbyn was open veld and was still the habitat of the remarkable window plant LiIIIops lesliei. With the passing of time the National Herbarium outgrew itself threefold, expanding into passages, storerooms and converted garages and there was no space for a botanical garden. Eventually a suitable site for a botanic garden was negotiated with the University of Pretoria near the CSlR and Brummeria. The opening ceremony is recorded in Bothalia 7: 391 (1960). Then followed the planning and frustrating delays in building a new herbarium in the inviting surroundings of the garden. The BRl was eventually able to move into its new accommodation in September 1972: the official opening by the Minister of Agriculture, the Hon. Hendrik Schoeman. was celebrated in July 1973. This was the last o%cial function presided over by Leslie Codd, before handing over the reins of BRI to Bernard de Winter. A glimpse of these two important figures in S.A. botany may be had in their respective sectional presidential addresses to S.,A, in 1958 and 1968, 'Experimental Techniques and Plant Taxonomy' and 'Plant Taxonomy Today'. The latter address was delivered at and in the heyday of Maputo (Lourenqo Marques). Hovv political pressures vvill inffuence future botanical progress in Africa it is itnpossible to predict but, as alv ays, one must endeavour to travel

hopefully.

AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH IN SOUTH AFRICA: AN HISTORICAL OVKRVIK%'

by D. M. JoUBERT

Agricultural research in South Africa vuas pioneered by Commander Jan van Riebeeck (1884) when he ordered experimental plantings of wheat, oats and barley to be made at 't Ronde Bosje within three years of his arrival at the Cape in 1652. The success of his trials gave support to the creation in 1657 of fourteen so-called 'Free Burghers', which enterprise heralded a farming industry at the southern tip of the African continent. Developments during the next 200 years were not particularly conducive to scientific investigation of matters agricultural, Farming was primarily a way of life, its economy being very largely self-supporting. Not that agriculture was devoid of problems: for want of know-how the odds against successful farming practice were probably greater then than they are today. But losses suffered by the individual, oAen farming in isolation because he preferred such seclusion, mattered little to the Government of the day. It required epidemics, particularly the devastating phylloxera in the Cape vineyards of 1886 and the equally destructive rinderpest among livestock farther north a decade later, to impress upon politicians the need for science and its most important tool, research, in agriculture. It was not mere chance, therefore, that an agricultural school was established under F. Blersh at Stellenbosch in 1887 and continued to exist until 1898 when it was transferred to Elsenburg, thenceforth controlled by the Department of Agriculture. In the meantime Arnold Theiler, a Swiss immigrant and trained veterinarian. had arrived in the Transvaal and in 1896 the Government of the South African Republic directed his services to the combating of rinderpest — the beginning of indeed a worldrenowned exercise in scientific endeavour which is fully discussed elsewhere in this

volume.'

The urgency for applying research results to practical agriculture was first recog' See pages l64-I9l.

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SCIENTIFIC ENDFAVOVR IN SOVTH AFRICA

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Coarnhoop, the granary recently restored by the Simon van der Stel Foundation, situated near the Liesbeeck River in Mowbray, Cape, where the erst 'Free Burghers' were settled in l657.

nized by the deciduous fruit grovt ers of the western Cape region. In l 893 they persuaded their Government to send a successful farmer, one Piet Cilliers of %ellington, to California to collect such ittformation as then existed with a ~siew to its possible use in local agriculture. Later this procedure was adopted also with regard to sheep- and

wool-farming, the expert knowledge in that case deriving from Australia. The cessation of hostilities in the Transvaal and Orange Free State Republics at the turn of the century brought significant change also for agriculture in this country. Departments of Agriculture were established in all four colonies, the Transvaal cornmencing its research in 1903 with the appointment of an agrostologist and a botanist for the specific purpose of studying the cultivation and utilization, as well as the pests and diseases, of indigenous plants. An additional early assignment was the combating

of rust in coffee, which then seriously addicted production both in the northern Transvaal and along the Katai coast. During this period the need for South Africans to train overseas in order to add substance to future research became especially apparent. Consequently, with financial support of the governments of the Cape Colony, Orange Free State and Transvaal, during the years l904 to 1909 a small band of young graduates left for Britain, the United States and Canada in order to further their training in several branches of

agricultura science. On their return it was these men in particular who laid the foundations for both education and research; in many respects they were also the architects of a central Department of Agriculture which came into being in 191 I, within a year

AGRtCULTURAL RESEARCH

after Union. From the outset, the following branches of the agricultural industry were singled out for very specialized attention: veterinary research and veterinary services;

sheep and wool services and the breeding of small stock; dairying, both its husbandry and technology; entomology; agrostology and botany; plant pathology; pedology; tobacco and cotton cultivation; viticulture; chemical services: and dryland farniing, which in fact meant rain-fed crop production. From this modest, albeit very practicallyoriented, beginning grew in time one of the largest scientiltc institutions on the African continent, namely the Department of A g r icultural Technical Services (Farmi»g i»

South Africa, 1960). Undoubtedly the establishing of Colleges of Agriculture (Elsenburg, 1898; Cedara, 1906; Potchefstroom, 1909; Grootfontein, 1911; Glen, 1919) gave considerable impetus to the scientific investigation of agricultural problems. Indeed, through lack of suitable textbooks and a complete absence of applicable research results, lecturers at these institutions were themselves obliged to delve into the depths of the

unknown. Furthermore. many early paperswhich derived from such sources and were initially published in the Jour»af of the Depart»tent of Agriculture and later in Farming i» Soutlt Africa today rank among the classics of agricultural science (Joubert 1969). However, despite their many notable achievements, the Colleges of Agriculture, with their two-year diploma training, could not entirely meet the country's rapidly grov ing needs for qualiiimi manpower. Hence Faculties of A griculture, providing higher academic education on a sound scientiltc basis, came into being simultaneously

The Grootfontein College of Agriculture, established in 191I in the heart of theKaroo and its woolfarming industry.

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

The Elsenburg College of Agriculture, established in 1898.

in 1917 at the Victoria College (later the University of Stellenbosch) and the Transvaal University College (later the University of Pretoria), At the scientific level these institutions then understandably took the lead, their research efforts cul.minating in a nuinber of textbooks on various aspects of agricultural science which appeared during the following two decades (Pienaar, Leppan). ln time these Faculties became increasingly involved in the research activities of the Department of Agr.'culture, indeed to such an extent that in 1940 they were formally incorporated into the latter body. The teaching stalf, though academically responsible to the respective universities, became full-tiine civil servants, with research commitments alongside their teaching duties, When Faculties of Agriculture were established later at the Universities of Natal (1948) and the Orange Free State (1958), similar circumstances prevailed. Only after a Committee

of Enquiry appointed by the Minister of Planning (Brink 1970) made a recommendation against the systein, were the Faculties of Agriculture granted autonomy equal to that of other university faculties. On the other hand the teaching of agriculture to Black students at the University of Fort Hare, hrst simply as a subject in the Faculty of Science but since 1970 on a multidisciplinary basis in its newly created Faculty of Agriculture, was never controlled by outside bodies. Animal An i m a l s cientists in South A f r i ca were quick to r e c ognize the inherent Science. qualities of our unique heritage of indigenous farm animals, without failing to realize their obvious shortcomings when compared with the highly productive breeds of' the northern hemisphere. Crossbreeding, with a view also to ultimately

AGRICULTLRAL RESET,RCH

creating new genotypes in which so-called 'hardiness' (i.e. features conducive to adaptation) is combined with the superior performing ability of exotics, divas therefore accorded high priority in early research programmes. The success of such ventures is undeniable: the Bonsmara breed of cattle evolved by Professor J. C. Bonsrna at the Mara Research Station in the northern Transvaal, the Dohne Research Station in the eastern Cape. the Dormer Sheep produced at the Stellenbosch — Elsenburg College of' Agriculture in the Cape, and the now extremely numerous Dorper breed of mutton sheep which has no equal in the dry subtropiiw. In addition to these creations there were also a number of outstanding early research projects, the results of which today rank with the most important scientific contributions to international animal production: Dr L. L . Roux's Sex physiology of sheep {1936), Prof. F. N. Bonsma's Factors inPaencing the growth and developtnent of latnbs (1939), J. C. B onsma's Breeding cattle for increased adapt abilityto tropical and subtropical environnients, and Dr J. F.

Burger's Sex physiology of pigs (1952), to single out vvhat might be considered the four

best-known contributions. In South Af rica the role of breeding was patently overemphasized ever since superior bloodstock was first imported from Europe to both augment and ostensibly 'improve' the local fartn animal population. Only comparatively recently divas the overriding inAuence of nutrition realized: to some degree following the dramatic demonstration of the effects of aphosphorosis on the performance of ranch cattle by Theiler (1913), but considerably more so after the true significance of winter nutritional depressions prevalent in so many parts of the country was clearly revealed (Joubert 1954). Unquestionably significant, however. was the effect of the ensuing basic and applied research on the profitable utilization by ruminants of low-grade roughages when supplemented with relatively inexpensive non-protein nitrogenous feeds balanced

with carbohydrates. Particularly in the application and commercialization of these advances, South Af ricans took the lead (Kreft 1963, Van der Merwe 1967). consequently stimulating animal scientists working at many institutions to delve deeper into the nutrition of farm stock, Above all. attention was directed towards problems peculiar to the tropical and subtropical regions of the southern hemisphere. Such efforts encouraged also the integration of scientific principles into the so-called 'Formula Feed Industry', which by then had begun to assume gigantic proportions (Van der vferwe 1971). Moreover, through their employing increasing numbers of scientists, this branch of agribusiness seriously accepted research as an integral part of its pursuit. In the area of animal science South Afric p r o vides opportunity for research on a very wide front, ranging from highly intensive systems to practically the limits of' extensive methods of husbandry. Dairying, as well as pig and poultry production, has followed much the same lines as are to be found in all developed and also many developing countries of the world. The entrepreneur, indeed, has come to rely increasingly on formulated feeds compounded in terms of information derived f'rom chemical analysis and biological evaluation. Here highly skilled animal nutritionists, working in close association ivith biochemists and incorporating the services of a computer, have become absolutely indispensable. Likevise, in b reeding proy'ammes, highly

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SCIENTIFIC &lDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AnttCA

employed

sophisticated techniques, which include performance and progeny testing, are but very often involving also the use of proven genetically superior parent material coupled with comparatively new' innovations, such as artificial insemination and parentage determination with the aid of blood-group studies. The latter method was

first propounded in South Africa by Prof. D. R. OsterhoA'(1966). Broadly speaking, researchers active in this area have much information at thejr

disposal which derives from overseas sources and their task is largely one of applyjng such knowledge to conditions peculiar to the South African agricultural scene. This does not preclude substantial experimentation on their part. however. With regard to extensive livestock farming, the problems are perhaps of a more localized nature and therefore call for a greater degree of originality. Examples are to be found in the occurrence of possibly congenital, habitual abortion amongst Angora goats (Van Rensburg 1971), the breeding of a meat-type goat out of the available indigenous genetic material (Joubert 1973), and the development of strains of Karaku) sheep which breed true in respect of pelt type and colour, the latter being a field jn

which South Africans have proved themselves remarkably successful (Nel 1967). The beef industry on the other hand has profited greatly from the work referred to previously on adaptation and breed creation. along with never knowledge on the supplementation of natural pastures. For many years, in I'act until a comparatively recent collapse of prices on the world market. wool was, after gold, the major earner of foreign revenue for South

Afric. The high priority accorded to wool research may therefore be readily understood. A pioneer in this field was Prot. J. E. Duerden of Grahamstown, whose qualjty standards (Duerden 1929) earned him international recognition. 6'hile in later years wool research was shifted to Middelburg„Cape, in tiine a South AfricanWool Textile Research Institute was established to ensure that research is not confined to problems revolving around the production of animal fi bres but would include also those problems encountered during the manufacturing processes, Conscious of the diversity and intricacy of the couiitry's animal industry, coupled with an obvious need for directives on the part of the State in formulating policy, Bonsma and Joubert (1957) embarked on their Factors iifk ie»ci»g the regio»alis»rio»

of livestock/ prod»clio» i» So»rh Africa. Based largely on results of research available to them and guided by accepted agro-ecological principles. their survey has not only stood the test of time but has served also as a model for similar endeavours elsewhere in the world (McDowell 1972). Developments in the livestock industry over the past sixty years necessitated the creation of an Animal and Dairy Science Research Institute at Irene outside Pretoria to deal mainly with research problems clearly identified as 'national', both in their magnitude and importance. Those considered on the other hand to be n ore 'local' in terms of their implication and application are dealt with by the research personnel of the regional organizations of the Department of Agricultural Technical Services. But. as was previously indicated. certain areas of research are being increasingly recognized as the domain of the private, mainly manufacturing, sector. The need for co-ordination of research eA'orts therefore hardly requires elaboration.

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SCIENTIFIC E'ADEAVOUR JN SOL"rH AFRiCA

Pasture In s eparable from achievements in respect of animal science in a predomiScience. nantly pastoral country such as South Africa, are the exploits in the area of

grazing management and pasture technology. On account of the widespread overrating of the value of South African pastures, and in consequence their overexploitation, a special pasture research service was created in l934. Attention divas

focused initially on the principles of natural veld management and in order to include as wide a range as possible of distinctly different veld types, pasture research stations v ere established in various agro-ecological regions. This action by the Department of Agriculture was responsible for the rapid accumulation of information on the eff'ect ol grazing pressure on pasture quality in terms of both botanical composition and feed value. An outstanding sequel to these developments was the survey by J. P. H. Acocks (l975) of the veld types ol' South Africa, a unique contribution to pasture science. Once the principles underlying sound pasture husbandry were knov n and physiologically explained, more elaborate approaches to the subject came to the fore, the one with probably the greatest impact being the controlled selective grazing system of pasture management. However, in the face of growing intensification of agriculture, attention was increasingly devoted also to the possibilities and problems of established pastures. Whilst initially much was to be gained from experiences in the temperate regions of the world. it soon becatne apparent that the tropics and subtropics posed many p roblemspeculiar to themselves. But greatly to our advantage was the vast range of'grass species indigenous to the African continent, a large number of which possessed undoubted potential, The favourable re'ults achieved with, itt ter alia, Cetteltrttseiliaris, Eragrostis cttr ntla and I'ettttisetittn elattdesti>tant did in fact not confine enthusiasm for their use to this country. Indeed. along with various other grasses of South African origin, they have proved themselves extremely useful in many subtropical regions of the world. Lnquestionably the classical contribution to the literature on pasture science in the subcontinent is The grasses attdltastttresof Soatlt Africa, edited by Meredith (l955). This voluine, containing among its chapters an outstanding guide to the identification of gramineous species in South Africa by Lucy K. A. Chippendall, has in fact attained the status of a rare collector's piece. Oeaology and Shortly aAer the establishment of Union in l9IO, the well-known vitiVitlculture. cul t u r i s t. Dr A. 1 . Perold, who had then just returned from abroad, commenced in earnest to study the diverse factors determining the quality of products of the vine. The eff'ect of his monumental research and aff subsequent work conducted at the Oenological and Viticultural Research Institute at Stellenbosch is evident today in the exceptional characteristics of table grapes and wines and spirits produced in the Western Cape. However, in this regard the very excellent contribution of scientists employed by'the K.W.V. in Paarl should never be overlooked. Certainly outstanding in this respect are the achievements of Dr C. J. G. Niehaus, the renov ned expert on the production and maturing of sherries, which have earned international praise for the end product.

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773

Pomology and M ean w h i l e fruit culture in various parts of the country had become Fruit Technology. pr ogressively more important and by the 1920s it became apparent that expansion of the industry was impossible without a stable

export market. The latter in turn demanded quality products derived from sound pomological practice. On the one hand research was required on problems concerning the planting, pruning and fertilizing of fruit trees; on the other hand quality maintenance in transport and storage had to be investigated, For the dual purpose a Fruit Research Station (later knovvn as the Fruit and Fruit Technology Research Institute) was established at Stellenbosch, which institution has won considerable recognition also for the wide range of new cultivars of deciduous fruit which plant breeders, including such prominent personalities as P. A. L. Steyn, produced over the years. Concurrently the citrus and subtropical fruit i n dustry expanded apace. With regard to the former, premature deterioration of t rees due to viral disease factors

emphasized the necessity of teamwork in eAorts to solve the inlricacies of such biological problems. The effect of pathogens propagated by insect vectors on the reciprocal action between rootstock and scion, and hence on the occurrence of diseases such as ring blotch and black spot, supports the argument; more so if one considers the

probability that climate, soil and moisture conditions also play their part. Pioneers in this field of inyestigation were Dr A. P. D. McClean, a virologist, and Prof. P. C. J. Oberholzer, an horticulturist. About the same time Prof. 8. J. Dippenaar, then head of Plant Pathology and Microbiology at the University of Pretoria, was beginning to overcome the problem of concentric ring blotch in citrus. Clearly the establishment of a Citrus and Subtropical Fruit Research Institute at Nelspruit was a dire necessity at an early stage of the Department of A griculture's involvement in the industry concerned. However, at several large citrus estates independent research facilities were also created and their contribution to the furthering of citriculture in South Africa should never be forgotten. One of the most outstanding, and no doubt colourful, individuals concerned with these developments was Dr P. J.

Quin, who for manv years directed the aA'airs of the world-renowned Consolidated Citrus Estates Limited at Zebediela in the northern Transvaal. Horticulture. Being favoured vvith a wide range of climatic regions, South African horticulturists are enabled to produce a large variety of vegetable crops all the year round. But the inevitable consequence is an unusually wide spectrum of research required in respect of' pest and disease control, fertilizer and moisture needs and, above all, suitable cultivars. Besides giving consideration to consumer preference in terms of size and quality of the product, the plant breeder always endeavours to incorporate heritable traits which will make for adaptability to a particular climate and resistance to the prevailing disease complex. In this respect especially the Horticultural Research Institute at Roodeplaat, outside Pretoria, has made very significant advances, plant breeder T. G. la G. Joubert having recently been singularly honoured for the twenty-one cultivars produced by him in s ome thirty years of painstaking research. Among the successesare new cultivars of tomato, sweet potato, green bean

and garden pea, cauliAower and onion.

SCIENTIFIC EYDEAVOUR P SOUTH AFRICA

y••

4

>i i

A

'Id'ing,named The J.S. Marais 8 Bui a eafter the first Professor of Agronomy at the University of Stelienhoscb, svhich has housed part of its Faculty of Agriculture since l952.

Included in the work of th e H o r ticultural Research Institute is fl oriculture, a branch of agriculture with an annual gross turnover which now exceeds R10 million. Besides ample opportunity in the sphere of breeding, employing inter alia the incoin' digeno genous genetic material increased intensification of production bl range of in parable methods demands increased attention by plant physiologists and phytopathologists. The indications are that international recognition in the latter fields is certain to follow in the not distant future. Agronomy. Fi e ld husbandry is responsible for close on half' the total agricultural income of the Republic. However, the need for incessant and continuously intensilted investigation into the multifarious problems of both dryland and irrigated crop production d t was rea ealized ize when a centralized Department of Agriculture wasftrst conceived. Research on wheat culture, pioneered by the highly esteemed Prof. J. H. Neethling of S tellenbosch, was doubtless responsible for South A f r ica gradual y becoming self-suScient in respect of its requirements of this staple grain. But a very significant ft con tribut ory ory factor was a chanae in the pattern of production in recent h' h causeda consptcuou . n. picuous shift from the winter-rainfall region to the eastern years which Orange Free State and Transvaal. This alone promoted a host of new challenges to nt breeders, along with their colleagues specializing in a wide range a gronomists andpl an ree t d - i p ines; l i nes a challenge indeed which currently is being co-ordinated by of supporting t scip

AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH

the Institute of C rops and Pastures of the Department of A gricultural Technical

Services. Research on maize, by far our major crop, can be traced back to the Potchefstroom College of Agriculture where planned experiments were initiated under the guidance of G. J. Bosman, a later principal of that institution. Advanced scientific breeding programmes ivhich provided the basis for hybrid maize production was 6rst embarked upon by Dr A. R . Saunders, an agricultural scientist of great talent and versatility who in later years played a prominent role in the establishment of new Faculties of Agriculture in the Universities of Natal and the Orange Free State, Other prominent personalities, the first primarily a plant geneticist and the second a strongly biometric-

ally biased agronomist, were Prof. F. X. Laubscher, in later years of the, University of Stellenbosch, and Prof, D. G. Haylett, who for more than three decades lectured at the University of Pretoria. The dramatic increase in maize production in South Africa — from 0,78 million tons in 1910-to 2,63 million tons in 1950, and a subsequent 5,8'i,' annual increase resulting in national yields exceeding 10 million tons — is the result of many closely interrelated factors and scientific achievements. Included among the latter are the widescale introduction of hybrid maize cultivars, increased and improved use of arti6cial fertilizers, inechanized methods of production, more intensi6ed and certainly more eA'ective pest and disease control and, perhaps most important of all, continuously improved cultural practices. The research inputs to achieve such successes have been considerable. Besides substantial demands on Departmental institutions such as the Plant Protection Research Institute, Soil and Irrigation Research Institute and Division of Agricultural Engineering — all situated in and around Pretoria — the private sector has made notable contributions, particularly in the area of plant breeding, pest control

and soil fertility. Insight into the contributions of the latter sector is provided by the ad hoc reports and regiilar publications of the Fertiliser Society of South Africa, a body responsible for co-ordinating a significant volume of research on behalf of its

member companies. The account given in regard to wheat and maize is largely paralleled by the history of other field crops grown in South A f rica, the impact of science at present being greater than ever before. The research unit created to support and develop for example the local potato industry comprises plant breeders, entomologists, plant pathologists, soil scientists and agronomists. At i t s headquarters, situated at th e R o odeplaat Research Station of the Transvaal Region (Department of A g ricultural Technical Services), a unique collection of genetic material has been assembled and for some time the release of new cultivars has been an established reality. The ultimate object is to inake South Africa independent of seed potato imports, while preventing widespread viral infestation of the crop. A South African scientist of great distinction in this regard is Dr J. E. van der Plank, Besides being the author of three internationally famed textbooks on plant pathology, he has to his credit outstanding new potato cultivars which

are now grown commercially on a significant scale. Similar developments are also in progress in the case of cotton, sorghum, oil seeds and various leguminous crops, ivhilst in the case of tobacco the Tobacco Research

SCIEWTIIlC Ml M A VOUR IV SO&I'H AFRICA

Institute — an independent institution within the Department of Agricultural Technical Services situated near Rustenburg and established in 1953 — is responsible for the research requirements of that multimiHion rand industry.

The one iield crop which has never been the concern of the public sector is sugarcane. TraditionaHy both its research and development are the responsibility of the South African Sugar Association, whose exceHent facilities at Mount Edgecornbe on the Natal north coast have kept the institute very much in the forefront of scientific achievement over the years. Soil EIIi ci e nt chemical services are sine a qua non for sound agriculturally oriented Science. research. Traditionally such services have been closely aHied with soil studies,

the underlying principles of which derive mainly from chemistry, physics and geology. Early recognition of the need for a comprehensive soil survey ol South Africa as a foHow-up to existing geological maps similar to that compiled by Dr A. L. du Toit in 1926 is therefore easily understood. This subject was pioneered bv Dr C. R. van der Merwe (1940) with his classical Soil groups and sub-groups of South APica, the first stage of an exercise which is being increasingly pursued by the Soil and Irrigation

Research Institute. However, soil scientists have incessantly branched olf to explore the nutrient requirements of field crops in relation to the extant mineral status of diA'erent soils. The contribution of men such as Professors I. de V . M a lherbe of SteHenbosch, J. J. Theron of Pretoria and E. R. Orchard of Natal. both directly to the agricultural industry or indirectly throug)i their academic labours, is therefore likewise considerable. The first-nanied of the trio was also the author of the internationally

acclaimed textbook, Soil ferrilitr (Malherbe 1964). Plant T he cl i m a te of the southern subcontinent, though encouraging the cultivaProtection. ti on of a wide variety ot economically useful plants and favouring many branches of livestock production, is inducive also to a unique disease complex. The veterinary facet of the situation is dealt v ith separately in this volume; hence some elaboration is required on the extent to which such conditions have reoeived the attention of plant pathologists, microbiologists and entomologists. Research in this broad field began in 1905, but was narrowed down to Plant Pathology and Mycology under Dr I . B . P ole-Evans, of botanical fame, ivhen the Department of Agriculture came into being in 1911. An early achievement was the successful eradication of citrus canker, thanks to the eA'orts of Dr Ethel Doidge, a bacteriologist working with the Division and author of the monumental work entitled The South African fungi and lirkens (Doidge 1950). SVorking in close collaboration initially with this scientist was Dr P. A. van der Byl. who applied himself mainly to the study of various fungus diseases important to South African agriculture. The results of his work are contained in a handbook on plant diseases which for many years constituted the most important publication on the subject for both students and practitioners (Van der Byl 1928). Undoubtedly his most illustrious student, who later also succeeded him as Professor of Plant Pathology and Microbiology at SteHenbosch, was

Dr S. J. du Plessis, author of a book on diseases of the vine (Du Plessis 1947) and a

AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH

plant pathologist of considerable achievement. Increasing attention is being given to root diseases. At an early stage it was realized that exceptional local conditions cause the behaviour of such disease organisms to differ markedly froin that of similar pathogens elsewhere in the world. The problem is aggravated by monocultural practices with major crops such as wheat and maize, and therefore involves research into crop rotation as a practical means of reducing losses. It was in the latter context that the lupin made its introduction into western Cape wheat production, a practice which, however, did not fuHy stand the test of time. Yet the role which legumes potentially have to play. both for reasons of crop rotation and their rluzobial nitrogen fixation properties, remains valid and important. A broad approach, aimed at ensuring the permanent utilization of soils without severe drainage of their inherent fertility„emphasizes the importance of soil micro-

biology. Much valuable ~vork has already been carried out on the effect of carbonnitrogen ratios on the production potential of soils~ c o n ditions within the rhizosphere, including the microbial complex surrounding the plant root, on the ultimate crop yield. Another facet of importance is the incidence and availability of m icro-

elements known to be vitally important to plants generally and microbes specificaHy. Attention has also been focused on manganese, zinc, cobalt, copper and other suchlike

deficiencies in soil which are rellected in the physiology and yield capacity of crops, as are such deficiencies in the feed ingested by farm livestock rellected by disease symptoms. Entomological research in relation to farming problems dates back also to the inception of a Department of Agriculture in 1911. Much of the emhusiasm generated among scientists during the formative years of the Division of Entomology stems from the devastation caused periodically to crops and pastures by locusts. Undisputed leader in this latter field was Prof. J. C. Faure of Pretoria, whose original researches on swarm

formation in the brown locust (Faure 1932) brought hiin international fame. The research of Faure and his colleagues on locust control in southern Africa were farreaching and to this day agricultural production throughout the subcontinent owes a great debt of gratitude to these pioneers. Attention to the enormity of the situation faced by entomologists was first drawn by Dr C. K. Brain in his Insect pests uid rheir control in South Africa (Brain 1929). The taxonomy, which since that date has grown beyond recognition, is kept up to date

by the Plant Protection Research Institute. but economic entomology remains a primary conunitment not only of that institution but also of the several entomologists employed by regional organizations and other research institutes of the Department of Agricultural Technic~i Services. Understandably the ravages caused by fruit Ilies (Ceraiiris capitaia and Pterandus rosa) received particular attention, v ith little success,

however, until Dr A. C. Myburgh( 1961) of Stellenbosch first demonstrated elfective control with I ebaycid".

Agricultural Agricultural science in South Africa owes its gro~~A in large measure Economics. to sound farming economics. Although, conversely, a healthy economy could not h ave developed without i n cessant inputs of

s c ience and

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

technology, from the outset the agricultural economist was considered part of the team which guided the industry to greater achievements. An important contribution towards directing the thinking of academics at an early stage along these lines was the Agricultural developntent of arid and senu'-arid regions(Leppan 1928). In fact, though at the time of writing his book a professor of agronomy at the Transvaal University College, Professor Leppan soon afterwards became the first head of an independent Department of Agricultural Economics at that institution.

)I il

I

ilill iijll

lilll •

((

I

ly. (

The new building of the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Pretoria,

In the field of economic research, essentially one person comes to mind: Prof. F. R. Tomlinson of'Pretoria. Not only was his insight into the underlying biological environrnent more complete than that of any of his predecessors or contemporaries but it also included a deep-rooted sociological understanding impressed upon him no doubt by his mentor, Prof. J. F. W . G r osskopf, during his formative years at Stellenbosch. Such inspiration an d c o l laboration conceived furthermore the a m bitious Agroeconomic .survey (Dept. Agriculture 1947), a project brought to fruition thanks to the dedicated teamwork of both colleagues and students of the above-mentioned pioneers of agricultural economics in South Africa. Professor Tomlinson, more so than anyone else, helped to pave the way also for the entry of agrarian extension into the arena of agricultural science by way of

AGRICULTUtt.4L RESEARCH

279

purposeful research. His proteges at the start of this development at the University of Pretoria during the late 1950s were Prof. F. F. H. Koibe and Dr K. E. O'. Penzhorn. Publications anil A m ajor event in the history of the agriculture in this country was Associations. the pu b l i cation of the first number of theSouth African Journal of

Agricuftural Science in March 1958. Until that time local agricultural scientists in the main published their findings either in departmental 51cmoirs and Bulletins or in journals of lesser scientific repute such as Earming in South Africa. Only on rare occasions did they venture outside those media and seldom vvere overseas journals supported. Viewed in retrospect. this no doubt caused the loss of inuch potentially valuable material of prestige both to researchers and to South Africa, On the other hand, the enthusiasm for the aforementioned new journal exceeded all expectations and within a decade it became i to divide it into four independent, though afflliate, journals: Agroanimalia for the animal sciences; Agrochemo-

mperative

physica for soil. chemical and physical sciences; Agroplanrae for the plant sciences; and Phitophilacrica for plant protection sciences and microbiology. Simultaneously a series of so-called Technical Communications was instituted to cater for contributions of a more applied nature and essentially local importance. There can be little doubt that these moves, initiated by less than a handful of dedicated research workers, promptly gained for agriculture a prominent place in the ranks of South African scientific documentation. A second event of importance was the founding of agriculturally oriented scientific societies during the 1960s. At the time only two disciplines had olfered such a facility to members of its profession, the South African Veterinary Association (1919) and the Entomological Society of Southern Africa (1937). After the establishment of a Soil Science Society of Southern Africa in 1953, others tollowed rapidly: South African Society of Animal Production (1961), Agricultural Economics Society of South Africa

(1961), South African Society of Plant Pathology and Microbiology (1962), South African Institute of Agricultural Engineers (1964), South African Institute for Agricultural Extension (1966), South African Society of Dairy Technology (1966), Grass-

land Society of Southern Africa (1966), South African Institute of Forestry (1968) and South African Society of Crop Production (1971). Since 1971 these societies (excepting the Entomological Society) have loosely linked themselves together by means of a Liaison Committee for Professional Societies Concerned with Agriculture, which body aff'ords affiliation with the 3oint Council of Scientific Societies for the member societies

who so wish. Besides creating an opportunity for agricultural scientists in southern Africa to meet regularly and hence for an interchange of both information and ideas, the above societies convincingly brought to the fore the contribution rendered by the agribusiness sector towards the furthering of agricultural science. Although understandably much

of the research undertaken by such enterprises is largely product oriented and therefore profit motivated, thanks to their employing large numbers of highly qualif ied scientists it is by no means devoid of substance. Many papers published in the oIIlcial journals of the above scientific societies bear abundant testimony to this.

280

SCIENT1FIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

International Co-operation and exchange of research results and scientific expertise Co-operation. in the field of agriculture has also been maintained at the international level over many years. Through the Department of Agricultural Technical Services, South Africa continues to be a meinber,inter alia, of the International Oflice of Epizootic Diseases(OIE). the International Seed Testing Association (ISTA), the International Dairying Federation (IDF) and the International Wine OIIice (OIV). Moreover, many local professional societies have long been affiliated to their international counterparts. For example, the South African Society of Animal Production was a founder member of the World Association of Animal Production. In the southern African context, agriculture has always figured prominently in areas of scientific liaison. Even prior to the establishment, during the immediate postWorld War I I p e r iod, of the Commission de Cooperation Tecltnitlue pour I'Afritlue (CCTA) and a Conseil Scietttt ftque pour l Afrique du Sud (CSA), there existed both formal and informal channels through which co-operation and communication were effected. There was fruitful partnership especially in the areas of animal health and locust control, in the latter case by way of the Pan-African Locust Bureau of the l930s

(Joubert l97l, l972, l973). Outstanding in this regard has been South Africa's continued role in the Southern African Regional Commission for the Conservation and Utilisation of the Soil (SARCCUS), not only as a member country but also in providing a headquarters and adtninistrative facilities. In addition, since the inception of

SARCCUS in l952, all four secretaries-general to the Commission (Dr J, C, Ross, E, D. Adler, Dr D. M . J oubert, and A. B. Bridgens) have been South Africans, the post itself being sponsored by the South African Government. No doubt through their sustained efforts this organization, in contrast Io so many other scientihc and technical institutions in Africa, has been able to survive the incessant political changes which have occurred since the early sixties. Operating through its ten standing committees (Soil Science, Animal Health, Animal Production, P lant P r oduction, P l ant P r otection, F o restry, H y d rology, Conservation and Land Use Planning, Nature Conservation, Wildlife Utilisation and Management, and Education and Extension), SARCCUS has affectively acted as a g o-between for the exchange of research results, The constitution of SA RCCU S

implicitly propounds also the periodic interchange of scientists, a resolution ~which has played a decisive role in the establishment of scientific institutions elsewhere in the SARCCUS region, which includes Angola and Cabinda, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Rhodesia, Sho Tome and Principe, South Africa, Soutli % est Africa and Swaziland. Should future political developments allow such co-operation between c ountries in Af rica as we firmly believe necessary for the common good of all it s peoples, the experience gained through this channel wiII no doubt prove to be invaluable. Fortunately, thanks to the energy and enthusiasm of Dr J. % . Rowland, the successes achieved over the first eighteen years of its existence was fully documented on behalf of SARCCUS in a book entitled The conservation ideal (Rowiand l974). Notwithstanding the contributions to agricultural science and technology by the private sector and Faculties of Agriculture attached to South African universities, it is still the Department of Agricultural Technical Services, and to some extent also the

AGRICVLTURAL RESEARCH

Department of Agricultural Economics and Marketing, which exert the greatest impact on agricultural research. The larger of the latter Government Departments directs its research along two main avenues: First there are eleven national research institutes, some of which (e.g. the Tobacco Research Institute) promote a speciftc agricultural product, vvhile others (e.g. the Animal and Dairy Science Research Institute) cater for the requirements of a heterogeneous and undoubtedly intricate industry'. The Institute for Crops and Pastures at present co-ordinates research but in future will be responsible also for the control of several major projects carried out in various agro-ecological

regions. The second avenue embraces six regional organizations: Eastern Cape (Queens-

town). Highveld (Potchefstroom), Karoo (Middelburg, Cape), Natal (Pietermaritzburg), Orange Free State (Glen), Transvaal (Pretoria) and %inter Rainfall Region (Stellenbosch). Each of these is equipped with several research stations and experimental farms, along with their full complement of professional. technical, administra-

tive and farm personnel, and is held responsible for a research programme confortning with the most urgent requirements of its region. Agricultural research in South Africa today is mission oriented. This does not imply that fundamental research is neglected. On the contrary, most agricultural problems requiring to be investigated have very fundamental facets to be solved ftrst. But what has to be carefully scrutinized is the relative importance of any proposed project; its priority, in other words, in relation to the great diversity of comtnitments

with which agricultural science in this country is necessarily confronted. Research furthermore, lying at the root of agricultural development, must be strictly in keeping with the principle of optimal utihzation of natural resources, to which principles the Ministry of Agriculture and all its member departments are irrevocably dedicated. This encompasses judicious employment of soil and vegetation but without retrogression of the available resources, in order to ensure an agreeable standard of living for those who labour on the land.

REFERENCES AcocKs, J. P. H. 1975. Veld types of Sottth Africa, 2nd ed. Ment. Bot. Sttrv. S. Afr. No. 40. BovsMA, F.N. 1939. Factors influencing the growth and development oflambs, vith specialreference to cross-breedingof Merino sheep forfat-lamb production in South Africa. U niv.Pretoria. Publ. Ser, l, Agric. No. 48. BoNsMA, F.N. 4 JounsnT, D. M. 1957. Factors intluencing the regionalisation of'livestock production in South Africa. Sci. Bull. Deit. Agric. S. Afr. No. 380. Bowssut, J. C. 1949. Breeding cMtle for increased adaptability to tropical and subtropical environments. J. agric, Sci. Catnb. 39: 204 —21. 2 BR~N, C. K, 1929. insect ttests and their control in South Africa. Cape Town: Nasionale Pets. BRtztc, C. v, n. M. (Voots.) 1970. Verslag ran die kontitee van ondersoek na die tuiste van die Fakulteite van Landbouen Veeartsenykunde. Pretoria: D ept Beplanmng. Bunosn, J.F. 1952. Sex physiology of pigs. Ondersteltoort.J.ret.Jtes.Suppl.N o. 2. Dst Att~ or A o n tcmTLwE, 1947, Agro~onomic survey of the Union. Pemph. (Econ. Ser. 34), No. 270. Dotoos ETHEL M, 1950. The South African fungi and lichens.Bothalia 5, Du PLessts, S. J. 1947. 1Vingerdsiektes in S.A.Stellenbosch: Pro Ecclesia.

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AHUCA

Dt. Torr, A. L. I9Ã. Geology of South Africa.Edinburgh. Duattnzw, J. E. 1929. Standards of thickness and crimps in Merino grease wools,J. Text, Ind. 20; T93-T100. Farming in South Africa, 1960. Union festival number.Fing. S. Afr. 36: I — 240. Fnt~z, J. C. 1932.The phases of locusts in South Africa. Bul/. Ent. Res. 23 (3), Joutrzttr, D. M, 1954. The inliuence of winternutritional depressions on the grovrth, reproduction and producti'on of cattle. J. agric. Sri, Canib. 44: 5-66. Jouazar, D. M. 1969. Landboupublikasies: met besondere vemysing na vretenskaplike dokumentasie. S, Afr. Bib, 37 (I): 20-28. Jotwzttr, D. M. 1971. 'SARCCUS'. The Southern African Re>annal Commission for the Conservation and Utilisation of the Soil. Suppk Sy>np. slat. Resources. in stn. Afr. (3-4 Dec. 1971). Johannesburg. Joutrzttz, D. M. 1972. Skakeling in Suider-Afrikadeur middel van SARCCUS, Tegnikon21 (3): 13-16 JouazRt', D. M. 1973a. Goats in the animal agriculture of southern Africa. Z. Tier.iichtg. Zuchtgsbio/. 90: 245-262. JouazRT, D. M. 1973b. The contribution of SARCCUS to development and co-operation in Southern Africa. S. Afr. J. Afr. Affairs 3: I — 6. KRzFr, H. lV. 1963. Feeding urea to cattle. Proc, S. Afi. Soc. Anim. Prod.2: 43-44. (See also Digest of research on area and rumirra>rt' nutririon,1958. Wilmington, Delaware: Du Pont de Nemotrrs.) LzvvAvr, H. D. 1928. The agricultural development of and and semi-arid regions, rvith special reference to South Africa.South Africa: Central Ne«s Agency. Leven', H. D. (ed.) South African Agricultural Series.South Africa. Central Neivs Agency, M~ nz, I , nz V. 1964. Soil fertility, 5th ed. London: Oxford Lniversity Press. McDou'zu., R. E. 1972. improvement of livestock production in «arm countries.San Francisco: XV. H, Freeman. Mzttzntttt, D. (ed.) 1955. The grasses and pastures of Sour/i Africa. South Africa: Central News Agency. Mvtrt;RGH, A, C. 1961. Lebaycid" as a cover spray for fruitlly control. S. Afr. J, agric. Sci. 4: 615-621. Nrt., J. E. 1967, Genetic studies in Karakulsheep. Ann. Univ. Stellenbosch42 (Serie A), No. 3. OsrzrtHovv, D. R. 1966. Recent developments in blood-croup studies in domestic animals.Proc. S. Afi'. Soc. Ani»r. Prod. 5: 174 — 185. Przvr~, E. C, (ed.) Die Voortrekkerreeks Afrikaanse Ha>rdboeke.Stellenbosch: Pro Ecclesia. Roux, L L. 1936. Sex physiology of sheep.Onderstepoorr J. vet. Sri. 6: 465 — 717, Rooms , J. 0>, 1974. Tire conservation ideal. Pretoria: SARCCUS. THztLza, A., 1913. Facts and theories about Styfsiekteand Lamsiekte. 2nd Rep. Div. ver. Res. 7. VAi oztt Bvz, P. A. 1928.Planrsiektes: healoorsaak en bestryding. Kaapstad: Nasionale Pers. VA>' Dztt ME>tv', C. R. 1940. Soil groups andsub-groups of South Africa. Sci. Bull. Dept. Agric. S. Afr. No. 231. VAN DER MERvvz, J. A. 1971. A retrospect, introspect and prospect of the formula feed industry in relation to aninra/ prod>re/ion progress and pro»rotion.D.Sc.(Agric.) thesis, Lniv. Pretoria. Vwtuoztt MzRwwx, P. K. 1967. Protein in relation to animal production in South Africa. Proc. S. Afr. Soc. Anim. Prod.6: 31&2. V>ttr RKMButtG, S. J. 1971. Reproductive physiologyand endocrinology of normal and habitually aborting Angora goats. Onderstepoort J. vet. Res. 38: I — 62. Vav RtzazzcK, J, 1884.Dagverhaal van Jan van Riebeeck, decl l. Utrecht: Kemink >5r Zn.

ORGANIC AND SIOI.OGICAL CHKAIISTRV IN SOUI'HKRN AFRICA

by FRANv. L WAttRE>

History can only be an interpretation of what has been recorded or remembered.

The significance of the more recent scientific studies can be assessed later in relation to further developments; but earlier activities should be recorded now while still within living memory. The scientific literature pertinent to this history of the development of organic and biological chemistry in southern Africa has been ransacked for facts; and an attempt has been made to put these into a living situation by a careful perusal of the theory and techniques prevailing at any particular time, and from information

kindly supplied by others or known to the author.' %orking conditions and personalities have been included so as to interpret better the mood of the times. There had to be a certain selection of topics „and omissions of subjects must be attributed to limitations of both space and to the author's outlook and not to any judgment of relative values.

The history of organic and biological chemistry in southern Africa differs from that in other parts of the world only in emphasis. It may be divided into three distinct epochs: firstly the period ol interest in medicinal herbs and the early exploratory phytochemical studies: secondly the war period followed by an era when structures were based on the interpretation of chemical reactions, and finally the modern period from about 1955 when advanced theoretical concepts and sophisticated electronic circuits allowed the arrangement of the atoms in the molecule to be determined by physical

methods. These periods naturally overlap, ' Reference is made where possible to reviev s, followed by a list of names of persons for references therein to research carried out in southern Africa. The purpose is to allow perspective in assessment and avoid long lists of isolated studies. Names menuoned in the text without dates are intended to give credit to the individuals concerned; and the full reference is then to the review of the subject. Allusions in brackets [ 1 are made to some significant advances elsewhere to give a world-setting to this account: but the classical references are omitted — F. L. W.

283

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SCIEVIIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

Early Days. Considering the rich and diverse IIora of the Cape, it is not surprising that Hendrich B. Oldenland, a Dane who took charge of the Dutch East India

Company Gardens in Cape Town under Simon van der Stel (1679-99), collected and grew medicinal herbs, or that his successor Jan Hartog compiled the Codex H'ilsenii, Dr Pappe's List of South African 1ndigenous Plants used as Remedies by Colonists in

the Cape of Good Hopewas published in 1847 (Juritz 1905). The interest in the chetnical aspect of our Aora, however, dates from the time of Dr Rudolf Marloth (1855-1931), a young chemist from Berlin, who came to the Cape in 1883 in search of a cure for his chest trouble: chemistry earned him his living and his botanical hobby brought him fame. On the day of his arrival he climbed Table Mountain and started his herbarium

of South African plants which ultimately housed 20000 specimen sheets and culminated in his great work, the four volumes of The I'tora of South APica, Ki th his chemical qualiftcations and botanical interests it is natural that we find amongst his 93 publications observations on the functions of anthocyanins in 1906 [the ftrst pure anthocyanin was prepared by Willstatter 1913], ethereal oils, and vegetable products

(Harms 1933). Marloth was succeeded as Senior Government Chemist by Dr F. C. Juritz (18641945), who held the post from 1889 to 1925. He reported on the toxicity to man of

several plants and made commendable contributions by isolating some toxic principles and concentrates (Juritz 1923),' He realized the signilicance of identifying toxic plants as well as the hidden potential of'active principles; and he drew attention to the urgency

for organized chemical research in the Cape Colony (Juritz 1905a, 1905b, 1914, 1915). Academic interest in the chetnistry of plants in southern Africa began when

Marloth was appointed Professor of Chetnistry (1889-92) at the Victoria College (now the University of Stellenbosch), This post was later occupied (1903-40) by B. de St J. van der Riet, who was born in Swellendam in 1867 (d. 1952). He was a founder member of the South African Association for the Advancement of Science and of the Cape

Chemical Society. The inAuence of both Marloth, under whom he had studied, and Juritz is seen in his electing to work on natural products — the isolation of essential oils from plants. He was an enthusiastic researcher but unf'ortunately left us no publications.

The expansion of the Cape Colony between 1700 and 1800, the occupation of the Eastern Cape by the 1820 Settlers and the Great Trek by the Boers frotn the Cape, which started in 1832, had by the end of the nineteenth century led to extensive farming of previously uncultivated lands,. and to the privations experienced by the pioneers were added new diseases of their animals due to toxic plants. Information on these

stock poisons in the Transvaal is embodied in the early Reports of the Director of Veterinary Services. Systematic studies, however, started at the Onderstepoort Veteri-

nary College, founded in 1908 with Sir Arnold Theiler as Director and a group of graduates who brought sotne experience from Europe to the problems of South Africa.

Douw G. Steyn, Head of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology (1926-44) ' Colour tests for the glycoside fromAcohanthera veaenata(1902), an alkaloid frotn Buphaae distica(1903-$), tannin from Ftephantorrhira elephatttitta (190$), prussic acid from Dtttrarphotecaspp. (1914), and toxic principles fromHaemattthusspp. (190$, 1914), Meliaathas comosas (1914), Ban:tea ralahales(1914) and Urginea capt tata(1923).

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SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

(later Professor of Pharmacology, University of Pretoria) (1946-63); Claude Riming-

ton (1931 — 7); H. L. de Waal, who had worked with Professors Bertrand (Paris) and H. Willance (Munich) and who was to become a Professor at the University of Pretoria; and Claude Marais. Rimington made valuable contributions during his short stay at Onderstepoort and successfully extracted cyanoglycosides in 1935: dimethylketene

cyanhydrin glycoside (CH,),C = C(CN)O.C,H»O, from .acacia srolonifera, and acetone cyanhydrin (CH~),C(CN).O.C~H»O, from Dimorphothecaspecies. The more complex structures had to await other techniques. The porphyrinurea outbreak in Pietermaritzburg in 1935 directed research to porphyrins and a story is told that urine splashed on the whitevvashed walls at Onderstepoort showed red coloured rings — the staA may then have been witnessing thin layer chromatography. The identification of toxic plants causing specific diseases was frequently a major

task involving botanist, chemist and veterinarian. On occasion a whole area had first to be surveyed botanically and the frequency of the animals grazing individual specimens then ascertained by observation through field glasses. Suitable test animals had to be used to assay suspected plants, the crude extracts and f i n all the purified substance. The chemical aspect was a challenging problein since the nature of the toxic substance was unknown, and when a pure substance was isolated it had to be sacrificed for pharmacological testing. When I first met Dr H . L . de Waal the latter had just 'donated' 100 grams of his purified alkaloid, as the only test animal used was the horse. Dr Douw Steyn, a dedicated scientist and kindly family man with penetrating eyes and radiating enthusiasm, who visited prisons on Sunday afternoons, pioneered the

toxicological studies. By 1926 he had screened about 300 plants and established the toxicity of 150 species in 34 families. Parallel with these invaIuable practical studies, a considerable body of information on plants was fortunately being collected, before it began to disappear, from the folklore of the San (Bushinan), the Khoi (Hottentots), the Bantu and European settlers.

This has been recorded by D. G. Steyn (1934), C. A. Sniith (1966) and extensively by Watt 8" Breyerbrandwyk (1932, 1962), Collection of plant material in those days had to be made over vast areas. De Waal relates that he and Douw Steyn left Pretoria on Kruger Day (the temperature being 35 =C) to arrive in Franklin in the snow, and then after 10-12 days' touring in the Eastern Cape had only collected five Senecio spmies. Yet in three years he had isolated seven alkaloids: retrorsine, isatidine, senecionine, pterophine, platyphylline, rosmarinine and sceleratine from eight species, and remarks: 'Those were the days: 1938-1941 were wonderfuI days for me with beautiful crystalline alkaloids.' To appreciate the work carried out at that time we should reinember that the onIy analytical instruments in the chemical laboratory were the refractometer and polariineter, that molecular weights (molar mass!) were determined by boiling point devation. melting point depression and vapour pressure measurements, and that 0,2 g of material was required for the analysis of carbon and hydrogen and for nitrogen as a separate determination. Organic microanaiysis using 3 mg [Pregl 1912] was not practised generally until 1930. Further, cork and rubber bungs were used to connect apparatus, and large-scale extractions were carried out in t i n -lined copper vessels

ORGANIC AND BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY

EV

4q~ i%

nv

Tin-lined copper Soxhlet Apparatus used for the extraction of alkaloids at the Natal University CoHege in the 1940s.

(Soxhlets). Dr %. S. Rapson, writing with regard to his pioneering academic studies at the University of Cape Town, relates: 'For ultra violet work we used a Hilgar Quartz spectrograph in conjunction with an old Sector photometer. Electrical heating equipment took over after the war. The art of cork boring was soon lost. Few laboratories had access to professional glass blowers, .. . I n r etrospect it's astonishing what we

288

SCIENTIFIC ENDKAVOI.II IN SOUTH AFRICA

achieved by melting point analysis as sole criterion of purity.' They did, judging from the Ph.D. theses which vvere presented at Cape Tow~: C. J. Molteno 1939 and Helen M . Swartz l943, on vitamins A and D i n

f ish oils; and R. G . Shuttlcworth l 9 4 l ,

D. H. S. Horn l948, and J. R. Nunn l948, on

synthesseof alicyclic and conjugated

systems. The conditions at the University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, were similar, but in addition the Department of Chemistry was responsible f' or the gas making: cracking of light diesel oil; and the extraction of alkaloids was done in large porcelain basins. Nevertheless structures of alkaloids were determined during this period.'

%'ar Years Th e outbreak of hostilities necessitated the local production of products (1939-45). n o r m ally i m ported, substitutes for t hese, or e n tirely new p r o ducts. Research was started i m mediately at N a t i onal C hemical Pr oducts, Germiston, for the production of glycerol from the fermentation of molasses. The team

included Dr J. A. Viljoen, Dr E. Bcyers, Dr G. W. perold, B. Ballantyne, E, Martin and J. Shuda, Catalytic conversion of alcohol on a large scale was carried out, at African Explosives, Modderfontein, to produce acetone for the safe processing of tetryl, The non-availability of acetic acid led H. Schauder of'Port Elizabeth to produce lactic acid as a substitute for the contrpl pf the pH in the tanning of leather. Under the auspices of the Industrial Development Corporation, lanoline was separated from the wool wash liquors, in the absence of any centrifuges, by the addition of traces of ether

(W. S. Rapson, F. H. H. Valentin and F, L. Warren), Tartaric acid was extracted from argol (potassium hydrogen tartrate) f'rom grape skins in the Cape. The Wartime Research Committee sponsored two o rganic projects at N a tal University College, Pietermaritzburg — the production of acetic acid and of rubber, The non-availability of acetylene for other than lighting in mines dictated the production of acetaldehvde by the dehydrogenation of alcohol for the manufacture of acetic acid. The cuprous oxide catalyst was made in the railway workshops in Pietermaritzburg (CuO ~ C usO at I 200 'C) and the pilot plant erected at Natal Cane By-Products, Merebank, just south of D u r ban. This involved the eerie experience of travelling through the black-out. Starting up the plant was also frightening: the alcohol iII the catalyst chamber at 300 'C generated hydrogen, and the now doubled volume caused a flow back, followed by a surge forward sp that the whole plant rocked until it settled to an even Aow. The presence of the Factory Manager, Mr England, during those moments was reassuring. The fmal overall conversion was 82; f rom ethanol to acetic acid. Rubber was obtained from Euphorbia species, E. Iirucalli being selected as being the most abundant and easiest of access in the Valley of a Thousand Hills. The whofe processing of the latex had to be done with circumspection owing to the danger of severe blistering of the skin and damage to the eyes; even the vapour of thc latex from E. irigens is an irritant and the tree itself is avoided by the Africans. The tappers werc paid by the volume of latex collected, but only after checking the density as they had a tendency to dilute it with natural waters. 'The addition of latex to alcohol separated

rubber from resin in yields of I lb and 4 lb per gallon respectively, ' See pages 294-298.

289

ORGAM C AN D BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY

One other project, underlaken in collaboration between Dr Genton of Nestle's Factory and Natal University College, was the synthesis of vanillin. Eugenol from Zanzibar clove oil was isomerized in the presence of alkali to isoeugenol which, still in alkaline solution, was percolated down porcelain pipes against a stream of ozone: CsH,Oa CH,.CH = CH., Eugenol

CrH70a.CH = CH.CH 3 Isoeugenol

C7HQOa CHO Vanillin

hnmediate None of the war projects vvas continued after the end of hostilities but some Post-%Var experience had been gained. Bits and pieces of pilot plant were used to Period. exp a nd the Department of Chemistry in Natal into that of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, and this led later to a Department of Chemical Engineering, separate from that of Cftemistry and Chemical Technology. Applied research was to receive a stimulus from various new research laboratories set up by the

Iron and Steel -Corporation (ISCOR), African Explosives and Chemical -Industries (AE & CI), the South Af'rican Oil from Coal Corporation (SASOL) and the Anglo American Corporation (AA). Basic research in organic chemistry was also a recognized part of these undertakings. The scope of the research by the Department of Research and Process Development of ISCOR from the time of setting up the new laboratory (1945-6l) is succinctly presented by the then Research Director, Dr T. J. W.

Jorden (l96l), and refers to the work of G. W. Perold and H. L. de%aal, among others. The isolation of organic constituents not previously found in coal tar, the identification of substances expected to occur by using appropriate reagents and identifying the derivatives, and the reactions of new derivatives broke new ground. The chemistry of indene and coumarone and their co-polymerization helped to make possible the marketing of these polymers for floor tiles and binders. The chemistry of benzthiophene, phenyl-acetylene, and iso-oxazolidines is illustrative of' the fundamental studies in this

laboratory,

Indene

Coumarone

Ben zthiophene P henylacetylene I s ooxazotidine

Type

The nevv laboratories at AE &, CI. with Dr F . L . C l ark as Director, included research projects on insecticides, pherornones, herbicides from Trochypogon speciosus, algacides and the production of biuret, 2NH,.CO.NH, ~ N H s CO.NH.CO.N H, The AA research laboratories later sponsored at N PRL the condensation of formaldehyde with anacardol obtained from cashew nut oil, which project was exploited industrially. The growth of these giant industries and their associated research undertakings were post-war ventures. Some interesting industries had a longer history in the production of organic chemicals: Natal Cane By-Products was producing alcohol and

290

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

r

I

Professor H. L. de waal.

ether, while National Chemical Products produced several solvents. Smaller but historically interesting was May's Vinegar Factory, Pietermaritzburg, which changed after the death (c, 1948) of Mrs May, who gave the author her only chemistry books,' the titles and dates of which may tell of a long established business. A Hungarian refugee produced mint oil at M uden (Natal) by steam distilling Mitcham mint using an old steam tractor for his steam supply. The project failed on the death of M r B o gio, because the mint had to be free from weeds and ther- were no peasants in Natal. The imports of mint oil were then estimated at f500000'annum. Both ventures received freeanal yticaladvice from the Department of Chemistry in Natal. ' Treatise on Phartnacology by Samuel Frederick Gray (I 828), a Plan of a Coarse of Chemical Lectttres by I. Milner (I788), Eletnents of Agricultural Chentistry by Sir Humphrey Davy(I802) and

Historyof Chemistry by Thomas Thompson (I830).

ORGANIC AND BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY

National Chemical At t h e beginning of 1945 I was seconded to the Department Research Laboratories. of Commerce and Industries in Pretoria as adviser to the Industrial Adviser, Dr F. J, de Villiers. The major task was to draw up plans for a national chemical research laboratory as distinct from that of the Division of Chemical Services. When it was decided to set up a new and separate council for scientific and industrial research, this plan was submitted by Dr De Villiers to the newly appointed president, Dr B. S. J. Schonland, who accepted the division of the laboratory into three sections but considered the sum of f.l0 000 per annum for the chemical library excessive and the need for a chemical engineering laboratory as

unproven. The first Director (1947-58) of the National Chemical Research Laboratories (NCRL) was Dr %. S. Rapson, an organic chemist whose broad interests at the University of Cape Town had included fundamental studies on cyclo-octatetrene and applied research on fish oils. Temporary laboratories were set up in the old Mint in Pretoria, while more spacious-accommodation-was built at-Scientia.-Dr D. A. Sutton

headed the organic group (1949 — 56), vvhich included R. R. Amdt, C. E. Garbers, D. R. N unn, A. M . S tephen (later professors at the Rand Afrikaans University, University of Stellenbosch, Rhodes University and the University of Cape Tovvn

respectively), D. H. S. Horn (later CSIRO„Melbourne) and P. R. Enslin (later Director of NCRL), After only ten years Sutton could report, in 1956, that projects currently under investigation were connected with plant principles poisonous to domestic stock, vitamin A, seaweed carbohydrates, wattle wood, pilchard oil, wool wax, plant cuticles including cane wax, animal phosphatides, cancer chemistry,

Fischer Tropsch — hydrocarbons, and autoxidation and polymerization reactions. Significant activities in some of these fields are considered in a later section of this history. Natal University In 1946 universities had to cater for large numbers of returned College. soldiers; and to illustrate the probletns arising: the Department of Chemistry at Natal University College, Pietermaritzburg, had to accommodate 200 students in laboratories designed for 60 and which by then were

underequipped. Additional evening classes v ereessential, until 'temporary' huts could be erected for undergraduate laboratories. Burette stands vere knocked up with

dothes-pegs and the shortage of chemicals was met by improvisations. These included the distillation of O.-pinene from the contents of an old tin labelled 'Bench Polish in pure Canadian u.-pinene' and using this as the starting material for the syntheses of

camphor by the Honours class. Bench space for organic research was made available by accommodating the standard equipment on galleries supported on the roof crossbeams. The post-graduate classes during the next four or five years largely consisted of mature ex-servicemen who were friendly, co-operative and dedicated, working well into the night. An ex-R.N. radar oflicer, E. C. L eisegang (later Head of the

Department of Chemistry, University of Cape Tov n), designed a single beam infra-red spectrometer which was built in a small Faculty workshop, The Principal of Natal University, Dr E. G. Malherbe, who on an occasion visited the research laboratories near midnight. was ever a source of encouragernent.

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOLrtt IN SOUTH AFRICA

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Dr W. S .Rapson, for many yeats Director of the '4ational Chemical Laboratory; President of the Royal Society of South Africa l964 — I965.

ORGANIC AND BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY

Libraries and The library facilities in southern Africa in the early days were often ScientiIIc poor . A l t h ough the Natal University College was founded in 1909, the Liaison. chemistry library was started only in 1940 with a generous gift of American chemical journals from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and other publications by contributions from local industries, for example, Beilsteen's Handbuch der organischenChemic, which had to be i during the war by way of Sweden. At the U n iversity of Cape Town, founded in 1829, Chemical Abstracts were in a basement until 1967, when a separate Science library was opened. The liood of specialist journals after the war accentuated library di%culties in spite of'

mported

increased grants. However, the setting up of the Library and Information Servicesat the CSIR, which oAers a rapid service by research proliles from magnetic tapes of abstracts, was a major contribution to research. Credit goes to D. G. K i n gwell, a physicist from Rhodes University, who has headed this from its beginnings in 1947. In addition, the South African Chemical Institute has aided research by drawing attention to activities-in the various centres by its Journal, its annual congresses, the first of which was in Durban, and by its promotion of visiting scientists. The Period The change in emphasis during the last twenty years has been brought 1955 — 76. ab o u t b y t h e i n t r o d uction of p h y sical methods of i n s trumentation.

Although inassspectrometry had been used effectively by the oil industry for the analysis of petroleum products in the 50s, the exhibition of a mass spectrometer at the symposium on Natural Products (IUPAC) in M elbourne in l960 was viewed with new interest as offering wide application in organic chemistry. Since then the routine application of mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry has made the determination of structure a theoretical exercise on computerized data from physical equipment. In addition, X-ray analysis of a single crystal in the hands of experts can be applied to determine complex structures and is a reasonably rapid method for simple molecules. The early studies in this field in southern Africa were carried out by Professor R. W, James' of the University of Cape Town in the 30s and today three centres are equipped for X-ray analysis: CSIR, Pretoria (Dr G. Galf-

ner), the University ol' Natal, Durban (Dr M. Laing) and the University of Cape Tov n (Dr R. L. Nassirnbeni). In addition the improved and varied chromatographic techniques as well as sephadex filtration for the separation of small quantities from complex mixtures has opened new Iields for investigati o . Some of the successes of this period are treated below. The Story of

The continuation of this history by reviewing separately some

Diehapezuluincymose particular projects can well be introduced by the story behind (Gifb) aar). the word 'Gifblaar': it tells of an early anil signillcant contribution. The active principle of Di e hapetalum cymosum (Gifblaar), one of the plants most toxic to cattle, was elusive. Studies were made at the Imperial Institute, London, in l902, by Steyn and by Rimington. De Wad, vvho was assigned the problem when he arrived at Onderstepoort, relates how after about ' See pages378 and 379.

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH .4FRIC4

a year he had isolated not the principle but rhombic sulphur (from hydrogen sulphide used during the method tried fo r extraction), so t hey celebrated with a

g l ass of

whisky or brandy — an experience not uncommon to natural products chemists, but lesser persons don't celebrate! Finally Marais isolated this extremely toxic substance

cymonate (Marais otassium

i.e.0,5 m g fora 2 kg rabbit)as p (lethal dose I in 4 million;

1943) and identi6ed it later (M arais 1944) as potassium Auoracetate. Rivett (1953) followed up this commendable work with the synthesis of Auorocitric acid, shoxvn by him, in collaboration with Sir Rudolf Peters and his co-workers (Peters et al. 1953), to be identical with enzymatically synthesized Auorotricarboxylic acid. The totdcity to

animals and to higher plants is accordingly attributed to the blocking of the Krebs cycle; but El' ' k G r o bbelaar (1972), using carbon-14 labelled compounds, have shovvn that Auorocitric acid is not formed in D. cvntosttm. Marais predicted in 1944

the discovery of valuable products for use as ordinary poisons and perhaps as insecticides based on Auorine; and this has been realized. The Alkaloids. [Morphine was isolated by Seguin in 1804; vegetable bases with physiological action called alkaloids by Meisner in 1818. The Arst synthesis of an alkaloid, coniine, was by Ladenburg in 1886; Pictet's synthesis of nicotine came in 1904; Robinson's biosynthesis concept dates from 1917.] The academic study of

alkaloids in southern Africa was pioneered by Professor M. M. Rindl at the University COHege of the Orange Free State, Bloemfontein. He had isolated anabasine from A'icotiana glauca, and an alkaloid of melting point 214-215, from a gummy extract from Strychnos henttingsii. When 1 ntet him in 1941 he was, to use his own phrase,

'keeping a stiA' upper lip' against paralysis and asked us to continue the project. The commission led in 1965 to the isolation of henningsamine, henningsoline and an alkaloid, m.p. 214-215', which we called rindline:

I

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Henningsamine

Henningsoline Siemann et at. I965

Seneciospecies were early recognized as responsible for horse staggers and poisoning of cattle, and for the bread poisoning in the Mossel Bay-George area reported in 1933. Arnold Theiler had noted in 1918 that the cirrhosis of the fiver produced by Crotalaria dura resembled that observed in dunsiekte (Seneciosis) in horses, Today we know that the active principles of the Senecio and Crotalaria species are pyrrolizidine alkaloids. The pioneer studies of extraction and structure were carried out by Dr H. de Waal at Onderstepoort, as mentioned previously. The early studies in Natal were

ORGANIC AND IIIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY

greatly assisted by C. A. Stnith (Chris), editor of The Farmer, tvho had previously been with the Division of Botany and at the Kew Herbarium. In spite of the similarity of dried specintens he tvould declare a new species whilst collecting with us, e.g. S. hygrophy/us C. A. Smith was not S. adnarus; and he was thrilled when the former gave a new alkaloid, hygrophylline, not present in the latter. He used to tnutter about loose living among the Senecioswhen similar alkaloid mixtures were reported. This

botanical-chemical relationship stitnulated the lifelong study of the pyrrolizidine alkaloids which may be summarized asfollows: The structure of rosmarinecine, the Itrst trihydroxy necine base, was elucidated by Margaret F. Richardson in 1943. [G. P. Menshikov's structure of heliotridane dates from )938; R. Adams and E. F. Rogers, at II)inois, elucidated the structure of retronecine in )941.] This was followed in 1949 and 1950 by the first structures for necic acids, retronecic, isatinecic, senecic and integerranecic acids, and the enunciation of the general carbon skeleton for the necic acids (M. Kropman); two other acids

namely

isolated in Kata), namely hygrophyllinecic acid (Schlosser) and isolinecic acid (Coucourkis Et, Gordon-Gray 1970) and ten necic acids isolated elsewhere are only variously oxygenated forms of this adipic skeleton. The first macrocyclic pyrrolizidine alkaloid structures determined showing features associated with toxicity and the general carbon skeleton of tile C tp necic acids: CH I3 CH3.CH.=C.CHpCH.C(OH) C HP )I CO CO I 0 QCHg H

lsatidine, X = OH

(Retrorsine N~-oxide)

Seneclonlne, X = H (cls) Integerramine, X = H (trans)

CH3 I

CH3.CH C CH2-CH-C(QH)LH~Q H

IQ

CQ I

H

LCH,

Rosmarinine, R = OH Platypltylline, R = H Non-toxic type alkaloid

Toxic type alkaloid

C

C l

C-C- C- C — C- C r

COOH CO 0

I

R

CO CH)O

I

COOH

C C I C — C-C-C — C-C I

COOH [Mat tocks (London) 19681 ICulvenor (Melbourne) I 9691 Toxic metabolite

CQ OH

Carbon skeleton of acids (l950) Carbon skeleton of sceleratinic, sceleranecic and swazinecic acids

296

SCIENT'IFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

The carbon-14 labelled senecic has shown that the basic and acid moieties are synthesized separately in the plant. (Warren, 1965, 1966, 1970 and references. therein for all the above studies.) These alkaloids are now known to be antimitotic and operate as alkylating agents by way of the dehydropyrrolizines EA. R. Mattocks. London ]968; C. C. j. Culvenor, Melbourne 1969] (Warren 1970 for references). The carbon skeleton of sceleranecic acid (A. Wiechers) and isoswazinecic acid (Gordon-Gray k Wells 1974) is an interesting modification. The determination of the mode of union of the bases and acids in 1950 (Leisegang) gave the first complete macrocyclic structures of th e p y rrolizidine alkaloids: senecionine, integerramine, retrorsine, trans-retrorsine, rosmarinine and platyphylline, and the first alkaloid structures elucidated in South Africa, whilst since then the structures of hygrophylline, sceleratine, isoline, bisline and swazine have been added. T he deterinination of the absolute structure of heliotridane (Warren 8; Vo n Klemperer 1958) is the basis of the absolute structures of the other necine bases. The structure of isatinecine as retrornecine N-oxide and hence the structure of isatidine in 1949 (Leisegang) led to finding that the St.necio alkaloids existed mainly as N-oxides (Koekemoer); and from this followed the reductive method of isolation which increased yields sometimes as much as 20 times. Two novel sulphur-containing pyrrolizidine alkaloids, cassipourine from Cassipourea gutttmijlua and gerrardine from C. ge rrardii were isolated by Winifred G. Wright. She had already seen 61 summers when she registered with us for the degree of Ph.o, and since leaving the Imperial College in 1914 had published research on the association of acids from experiments perf'orined 'on the kitchen stove'. Gerrardine showed activity against Salmonella species but it was too toxic to warrant further study as an antibiotic. ~S S S — Sa la

la /

S

It

S

Cassipotirine {Cooks et al. 1967)

Gerrardine (Wright et al. I967)

The alkaloids of the Amaryllidaceae came to our attention as a result of reported arrow poisons (Watt 4 Breyer-Brandwijk 1932). Representative structures which were determined, namely krigenamine, haemanthamine, epihaemanthidine and brunsvigine are shown below together with the skeleton for the (9 )-forms, and hence also the ( — )-forms, of the crinane group determined from rotation studies. The absolute configuration of 13 alkaloids of the Amaryllidaceae followed (see Wildrnan 1969). The recently determined structure of brunsvigine was by X-ray, and the absolute configuration ascertained by conversion to a related alkaloid — this is illustrative of the application of inodern procedures,

ORGANIC AND BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY

CH3N COO 3

.-OH

0

(

0

-OH H

Ktigenamine ex uterine krigeii Garbutt et al, 1962

Brunsvigine ex Bnutsvigia caoperii

Clark et al. 1975

R4

-

N

R3

(+)-Crinane absoluteconf igur ation1960 R' R' R* Rx H aemanthatnine OC H , H OH H ex .V. kr i g eii19$6 E pihaemanthidine H OCH, OH OH ex H. n a talensis 1960 Alkaloids of the Amatyllidaceae, CSIR-NPRU, University of Natal

OCH3 0

OCH3

RO

I

CH30~ ~

0 BC~ O

OH

'OCH3

New hasubanan alkaloid, R = C H 3 ex Slaphania abbyssineca Van Wyk 8r, Wiechers 1974 Pretoria University

N-Demethyimesembrenoi ex Sceletttnt strictwn

Kruger 8c Amdt 1974 Rand Afrikaans University

298

SCKNTIFIC ENDEhVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

An excursion into Eau»'olfe species in southern Africa was dictated when the Indian species yielded reserpine, which had sedative and hypnotic eA'ects of a peculiar type including blood pressure reduction. Rau»'oljia natalensisgave reserpine and ajmaline (Schuler et al. 1956), but the yield was small and the tree unsuited for exploitation.

SterolstNew formula for steroids developed by Rosenheim, King 8t, Wieland, 1932]. (a) As starting Inaterials for syntheses The synthesis of steroidal hormones has been, with the exception of equihnin, which was synthesized in 1939, front naturaHy occurring phytosterols. The discovery of the 'wonder drug' cortisone by Reichstein st,Kendall in 1937 pointed to sarmentp genin from Strophantus sarrnentosusas the natural starting material as this contained

an hydroxyl group at C. A brief survey with Prof. A. W. Bayer, of the University of Natal, at Richards Bay, gave small quantities of'a Strophantus species only; but, the interest it had engendered led to the investigation of diosgenin from T'estudenaria s>lvatiea growing in the Intingwe forest in Zululand, IIrst as a M.Sc. project, then at AE 8t, CI Research Laboratories. The first collection of the plant material from the forest was made with Dr H. H. K eppler (AE 8'c CI) and presented us with a problem quite unrelated to organic chemistry. Our host, the forestry oIIlcer, had phoned at

2 a.m. to say the car had gone into a donga, and we offered to go to fetch him. This necessitated waking his wife to explain to us hohv to get to him — but she slept soundly

with a gun under her pillow, a tray against the door and a 'tame' baboon as watchdog. The material available was suflicient and the extraction satisfactory but the commercial project foundered on the overall cost structure of obtaining diosgenin (R24t'kg). However, the academic study of the structure of steroids has been more successful.

(b) Sapogenins The toxic material in Cestrurnspecies which had been suggested as the cause of the 'Chase Val/ey' disease in cattle in Natal hvas identified as gitogenin and digitogenin (Canham 4, Warren 1950): and the structure of the latter was corrected (Warren g Canham 1954). A similar sapogenin agapanthogenin was isolated from Agapanthus species (T. Stephen 1956).

IID o„,

HD

Il

R' G ito g eni n H Digitogenin H Agapanthogenin OH

R'"' H OH H

(e) Bufadienolides Recent investigations at NCRL on toxic plants have led to the isolation of bufadienolides, which were originally associated with toad poisons, as the name implies,

ORGANIC AND BIOLOGICAL CH&1ISTRY

The bufadienolides from Homerirr and Aforea species which are responsible for 'tulp poisoning' (Van 4Vyk 8c. Enslin 1969),Cotyledon Ivallichii associated with 'krimpsiekte' (Van Wyk 1975), andMetianrhus comosus (Anderson 4 Koekemoer 1969. Koekemoer er al. 1971) are set out below. The assigned formulae follow from physical data; but signifrcantly the structure of cotyledoside is partially argued from the known toxicity of the compound as a bufadienolide vvhich therefore had to have certain features, It is

this overall picture which is emerging conceptually vvith regard to compounds of biological interest and on which the synthesis of pharmacological compounds pivots. 0

OH H0 OAc 1.2-EpoxVscillirosidine, R = H I,2-Epoxy-12-scillirosidine, R = OH Horror l'0 species

R=

H , a n d R = OH

Moreo species

0 0 Sugar

Oll

It Cotyiedoside Corylrd'on ~"allichii

at Rr R' Mcliantbugenin CHO H H 15,16wpoxidc CHO OAc I 5, I 6-epoxide CHO Melianthusigenin CH. , OAc H Melionrtuis comosus

R' OH H H OH

300

SCIENTIFIC ~ D E AVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

(d) Modified steroids The synthesis of steroidal analogues of unnatural configuration are being studied by Dr J. R. Bull and his collaborators at the National Chemical Research Laboratory of the CSIR. They have already reported on the total synthesis of analogues of testosterone and p rogesterone with t h e 9-methyl-19-nor-9,10-skeleton (Bull, F l oo r 8 t,

Tuinman 1975) using novel reactions.

p Testosterone analogue, R Pro~ c r one analogue, R

= =

OH CO.CH,

Terltenes. It was as a result of a discussion with Professor Van der Riet that Rivett (1971) undertook the study of the solid steam distillate from Asparagus thunbergianus and characterized a new tricyclinai which existed along with borneol.

One of the first excursions into terpene structures in southern Africa was concerned with the resins from Euphorbiu species, obtained initially as by-products from

the isolation of rubber during the war, and which contained euphol, euphorbol and tirumHol. The lengthy nature of the determination of' structures during the period 1946 — 54 is well illustrated by the study of euphol. It was the subject of 15 research papers (see Jones 8r, Haisall 1955) from Pietermaritzburg, Glasgow, Ziirich, London and Paris. The molecular structure was ducidated only after each separate grouping had been determined by chemical reactions, whilst that of the basic skeleton necessitated drastic dehydrogenation using selenium at 300 'C for 30 hours to give 1.2,8trimethylphenanthrene in 0,5 ~', yield. [Ruzicka's 'The Isoprene Rule and the Biogenesis of Terpenes' was published in 1953.] The structures were significant in that they diAered from the triterpene in lanoline, namely lanosterol, which is the precursor of both the sterols and the cucurbitans.

ORGANIC AND BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY

pp

HO

8

HO

Euphol, R

= R =

Lanostero)

H (Barton 1954]

Tiruealiol C. Notes on the active principles of some South African plants.Chem. News126; 67-70. KEERLER, H. H. 1957, Isolation and constitution of rnollisacacidin, a leucocyandin from the heartwood of Acacia tnoliissima.J. Chem. Soc.: 2721-2724. KOEREMGER, J. M., AvnERsow, L, A, P. & PAcHLER, K. G. R. 1971. The chemistry of Afelianthus

eomosusVahl. Pt V: Two novel bufadienolides from root bark. J. S. Afr. Chem. Inst. 24: 75-86. KRUGER, P. E. J. & AavuT, R. R. 1974. Minor alkaloids from Seeletunt strictum: The stmcture of

N-dimethylmesenbrenol and N-dimethylmcsembranol. J. S.Afr. Chem. Inst. 24: 235 —37. 2 KRLoER, P. E. J. & PERoLD, G. W. 1970, Conocarpin, a leucodendron type metaboliteof Leucosperma eonocarpodendron(L.). J. Chem. Soe. (C): 2127 —133. 2 LA>TE, D. & GLOTTNER, E, 1971. The Cucurbitacins, a group of tetracyclic triterpenes.Fortsehritte Chemic organisehen Naturstoffe. 29: 307 —62. 3 Refetences therein to Bull, J, R., Enslin, P. R., Herbstein, F. S., Holzapfel, C. W., Joubert, T. J., Norton, K. B., Rhem, S., Rimington, C., Rivett, D. E. A. & Wessels, J. H. LETcHER, R. M., Naauto, L. R. M. & GUMtao, I. T. 1972. Chemical constitutes Mmbritaceae. Pt 2: Substituted Phenanthtene, 9:10-dihydro-phenathrene and a substituted bibenzyl from the heartwood of Combretum molle.J. Chem. Soc.Perkin I: 206 = 210. Meatus, J. S. C. 1943. The isolation of the toxic principle potassium cyTnonate from gifblaar, IJichapetaltun eymosiutn(Hook) Engl. OnderstepoortJ. Vet. Sck Animal, Indust. Ig (I & 2): 203, 206. MARAfs, J. S. C. 1944. MonoAuoroacetic acid, the toxic principle of gifblaarDiehapetaium epntosutn

(Hook) Engl., Idem20 (I): 67-74. MttTtc, M. 1958. South African Pilchard Oils, VII: Isolation and structure of octadecatetraenoic acid. Biochem.J. 6$: 692-695. PELTER, A., AMENECHI, P. I., WARREv, R. & HARPER, S. H. 1969. The structures of two proantho-

cyanidins fromJulbernada flobiflora. J. Chen>. Soe.(C): 2572-2579. Ptutatsk, J, R, 1970. Selective liquid ion-exchanges. II. Derivatives of Salicylaldoxime.J. S.Afr. Chem, Inst. 23: 129-135; and reference therein to Cleryman, A. L., Garbutt, D. C. F, & Pachter, K.G. R. PERoLo, G. W., BETLts, P. & Howtuto, A. S. 1973a. Metabolites of Protoaceae. Part VII. Lacticolorin, a phenolic glycoside ester and other metabolites ofP. Iacticolor.J. Chem. Soe. Perkins I: 638 —43. 6 PERoLn,G. W'., BETLts, P. & HowxRD, A. S. 1973b. Occurrence of (+)-D-allose in Nature. Rubropilosin and pilorubrosin from P. rubrophilosa,J. Chem. Soe, Perkin I: 643-649. PERoLu, G. W. & HoERttvs, B. J. 1974. (S)-2-Hydroxycuparene-1,2,2-trimethylcyclopentyl-o-cresol and 3,4'-ethylene-bis-phenol from liverwort Marchantia polymorpha.J. Chem. Soc. PerkinI: 32. PERoLD, G. W. & OLRtssov, G. 1969. Photolysis of frullanolide. Tetrahedron Letters; 3871 — 3873, PERoLD, G. W, & PxcHLER, K, 1964. The constitution of leucodrin. Proc. Chem. Soe.: 62; and reference to W. S. Rapson. PETERs, R. A., WxRELtw, R. W., THolm, L. C. & RtvETT, D. 1953. Fluoracetate poisoning: Comparison of Auorocitric acid svith enzymatically synthesised Auoro-tricarboxylic acid.Nature (London) IYI: 1111. RALL, G. J.H., BRLVR, A. J. & EttGELRRECHT, J. P. I972. Neorautanenia pterocarpans: Pterocarpanoid

constituents of the root bark of Neorautanenia eduies.J. S. Afr. Chem. Inst. 25: 25 — 30. R>LL. G. J. H., EvoELRREcHT, J. P. & Btunv., A. J. 1971. The Chemistry of Neorautanenia edulis...

a new pterocarpinfrom the root bark. J.S.Afr.Chetn.Inst.24 :56-60. RRan, F. L. & HEwmr, P. H, 1968. The identiAcation of the sex pheromone of the false codling moth.Chem. Cotnm.: 792; 793. READ, J. S., HEwrrr, P. H., WxRREtt, F. L. & MYBERG, A. C. 1974. Isolation of the sex pheromone of the moth Argyroploee leueotreta. J, Insect. Physiol. 20: 441 — 450. RtvETT, D. E. A. 1953. The synthesis of monoAuorcitric acid. J. Chem.Soe.: 3710-3711. RtvETT, D. E. A. 1956. The polymerisation of oils. S. Afr. Ind. Chetm'st 10: 197 — 199,and references therein to Clingman, A. L., Sutton, D. A. & Rivett, D. E. A. RtvETT, D. E. A. 1976. Naturally occurring 9,13wpoxylabdanes. Chemsa: pp. 7-12, and reference therein to G. A. Eagle, G. Gafner, E. -R. Caplan, K. Naidu & D. E. A. Rivett. RLwn, S. & WxRREw, F. L. 1976. Evidence for a pheromone in the South African Rock Lobster, Jasus lalandii (H. Milne Edwards). Trans, roy. Soe.S. Afr. 42 (I): 6.

ORGANIC AND BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY

ScHULEa, B.O. & Wtutarw, F. L. 1956.Rounolfiaalkaloids. Reserpine and ajmaline from R. natalensis. J. Chem.Soc,: 215 — 216. SHtaLav, I. M. 1974. University of Rhodesia. M.Phil. Thesis Su.K, M. H. & HAHN, H. H. 1954. South African Pilchard Oils: Hexadeca-6,9,12,15-tetraenoic acid. BiocheneJ. S7: 582 —87. 5 SMnmrttoea, T. M., VLeooAAtt, R. & De WAAt., H. L. 1971. Tephrosin: A new Ilavone fromTephrosia polysfachoides.J. 5, Afr, Chem. Inst. 24: 1-12. SMALaattGHt, T. M., VLsooAAtt, R. & Waaatt, J. C. 1975. Flamnoids from Tephrosia. Vill. The structure of elongatin, an isoAavanoid from Tephrosia elongata. Tetrahedron31; 2297-2301. SMrrH, C. A. 1966.'Common Namesof South African Plants.' Ed. E. P. Phillips & Estelle von Hoepen. Gov. Printer. Pretoria. Svtt HZN, A. M. & Scots a, E. A. C. L. E. 1964. Plant polysaccharide gum structures in relation to the taxonomic alnnities of their species of origin. S.Afr. Ind. Chemist: 12 —5,1 Svrenaw,T. 1956.The Saponins. Pt IV:Saponins and sapogenins. Agapanthogenin, a new sapogenin from Agapanthusspecies. J. Chem.Soc.: 1167-1169. Svrvw, D, G, 1934.'The Toxicology of Plants in South Africa, together with a consideration of poi sonous foodstulfs and fungi.' Central Nevvs Agency Ltd., South Africa. Surrot, D. A. 1956. Revievvs from the Division of Organic Chemistry, N.C.R.L,, C.S.I.R. S. Afr. Ind. Chemist IO: 197. SUTToN, D. A., Dttexns, S. E. & Wsm, Uttsut.~. 1972. Evaluation of I-fluoro-2-nitro-trimethylammonium-benzene iodide, a protein solubilising agent.Biochetn.J. 130: 589-595. VAN Wvtc, A. J. 1975. The chemistry of Cotyledon u'allichii Hair. Part Ill: Partial constitution of cotyledonside, a novel bufadienolide. J. S.A fr. Chem. Soc. 28: 281 —83. 2 VAN Wvv, A. J. & ENstsu, P. R. 1969. Bufadienolides from Iridaceae. J. S.Afr. Chem. Inst. 22: 566570. VAw Wvk, A. J. & WtEcnrtts, A. 1974. The constitution of a new hasubanan ester-ketal alkaloid from Stephonia ahhyssinica. J. S. AP, Chem. Inst. 27: 95 — 97. VLKGGAAR, R., SHE.BERGER, T. M. &. VAN nr'N BHtG, A. J. 1975. Flavonoids from Tephrosia.The

structure of multijugin and multijuginol. Tetrahedron 31; 2571 —573. 2 WAttaaN, F. L. 1955. Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids. Fortsclrritte der Chemic organischen iVaturstoffe 12: 198 — 269, 24: 329-406. Reference to Natal Group; L. J. Dry, M. J. Koekemoer, S. M. H. Christie, M. Kropman, L. Novellie, E. C. Leisegang & Margaret F. Richardson. Pretoria Group: H, L. de Waal, A. Crous, C. F. Garbers, D. F. Louw, T. P. Pretorius, W. J, Serfontein &, J. Tiedt. WAttttEN, F. L. 1966. Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids. Fortschritte der Chemic organischen IVoturstoffe 24: 329-406, Reference to R. G. Cooks, H. L. de Waal, C. G. Gordon&ray, C, A. Hughes, Marjorie von Kiemperer, E. C. Leisegang, R. Letcher, D. Morgan, F. D. Schlosser, B. O. G. Schuler, F. L. Warren, A. Wiechers, Winifred G. Wright. WARREN, F. L. 1970. Senecio alkaloids. The Allaloids, Academic Press (London) 12: 246-332. References therein. WARREN, F. L 1969, The sex-pheromones of insects. J. S. Afr. Chem. Inst. 22: S150-S154. WARREN, F. L & CANHAM, P. A. S. 1954. The structure of digitogenin. Chem. & Ind.: 727. WAttaEN, F. L, VALEwnN, F., Bt;TroN, HAzet. &, GoooAu., G. 1945. 'Report on Acetaldehyde and Acetic Acid from Ethanol' under the auspices of the Director of War-time Research, Union of South Africa. WArr, J. M. & BaEvHt-BttANov'tsK, M. G. 1932. 'The Medicinal and Poisonous Plants of Southern Africa.' E. S. I.ivingston(London) Second Edition 1962: 'The Aledicinal and Poisonous Plants of Southern ond Extern Africa. WHtvcuvr, J. %1. 1967. South African Pilchard Oils. VI: The isolation and structure of docohexaenoic acid. Biochent.J. 67: 60-64. WHrrcuvr, J. M. & Surrow, D, A. 1956. South African Pilchard Oils. V. Isolation and structure of an eicoapentaenoicacid. Biochene J.63:469-475. WOMAN, W. C, 1969. The Amaryllidaceae alkaloids. Tlte Alkaloids 11: 307 — 406and references therein to A. N. Bates, J. K, Cooke, D. F. C. Garbutt, J. Graham, Joan Goosen, P. W. Jelfs, Moyra Poynton, M. E. Thompson, F, L. Warren & Winifred G. Wright. WRIGHT, W. G. & WARREN, F. L. 1967. Rhizophoraceae Alkaloids. Part II. Gerrardine. J. Chetn. Soc.; 284-285.

ADVANCES IN SOUTH AFRICAN VERTEBRATE P ALAKO M ' O L O G Y

by M. A. Ct.t~vERand T. H. BARRY

Palaeontology, the study of the fossilized remains of animals and plants, can trace its beginnings to the time of the ancient Greeks, but the study of fossil vertebrates was first placed on a scientific basis by Cuvier, the noted French anatomist, at the end of the eighteenth century. It may come as a surprise to many South Africans, to whom the term 'palaeontology' is sometimes almost synonymous with the great dinosaur skeletons mounted in over~ mu s e ums, that their country has yielded many of the world's most important fossils, and that the familiar dry Karoo has been compared with the seven wonders of the world by a leading United States scientist because of its abundant and varied wealth of extinct animal remains. The Karoo System, or Karoo Formation as it is now known, is a succession of rock layers covering roughly two-thirds of South Africa's total surface area. It extends from Calvinia in the west to East London and the Transkei coast in the east, and from Laingsburg in the south to Vereeniging in the north, and is capped by the mighty Drakensberg basalts. These rocks represent consohdated sediments that accumulated between 250 and 190 million years ago, in what was then a l os-lying and graduaiiy subsiding basin„surrounded on several sides by higher ground. The oldest of the Karqp strata were formed during and immediately after a great ice age, v hen much of southern Africa was covered by glaciers. and the rocks, ivhen examined today, show evidence of the rigorous conditions which prevailed during their genesis. This period is known as the Dwyka, and is followed by a series of rocks, the Ecca, which indicate that warmer conditions had settled in, containing as they do abundant remains of fossil plantsand in its upper layers evidence of South Africa's first terrestrial vertebrates. Following on the Ecca. and formed from about 240 nullion years ago, is the Beaufort Series, and in these rocks are found the hist concentrations of Karoo fossils. The Beaufort

rocks indicate in the main a marshy environment, with inany ponds, meandering streams and periodic Iloodings, and the fossilized remains of the animals which are 318

VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY

319

collectedtoday were formed aftercarcasseshad been washed into quietpoolsofwater, where the bones were covered over in fine silt or mud,

The Karoo is remarkable in that for a period of about 50 million years, during the last part of the Permian period and the whole of the Triassic period, this pattern of sedimentation continued largely unbroken to form the entire Beaufort and succeeding Stormberg Series, a thickness, when expressed as a complete vertical column, of many thousands of metres. Throughout this vast succession of rock strata, fossils of animals are found in abundance and illustrate clearly the evolutionary and faunal changes which took place through the tens of millions of years that the Karoo basin

supported them as living animals.

Fossil-rich Karoo strata near Tarkastad.

The importance of the Karoo succession lies largely in the fact that besides being

virtually unbroken it represents nearly the only large body of non-marine sediments to be formed during the upper Permian and much of the Triassic in such a way as to include the remains of land animals as fossils. Much of our knowledge of the evolution of several major groups, for which these periods of time were critical, is therefore based

on what has been discovered in the ordinary-looking rocks of the South African interior. This unusual wealth in South Africa's rocks, equivalent in its way to the diamonds and gold in other geological formations, was to remain unsuspected for many years after the arrival of the first settlers, but after 1830 fossils began to figure in the observations of the Iledgling scientilic community. In what may be the Iirst published account

of South Af'rican geology (1830), Dr George Thorn, a Scottish minister at Tulbagh, mentioned that a Mr Enislie of Cape Town was the first to find fossils in South Africa, at the Keizie baths behind Cogman's Kloof, in 1804. These specimens were probably

320

SCIENTIHC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUrH AFRICA

of Bokkeveld (Devonian) age, as were the ones which Thorn himself later collected. What happened to Thorn's collection is a matter for conjecture, but that he was aware of the huge scope of the Cape's geology and palaeontology is evident from a passage in his paper, stating that the districts of Worcester, Clanwilliam, Swellendam„George and Beaufort West were 'the most interesting parts which lay open the evidence of an ancient ocean, or of a great aqueous catastrophe which has left in letters of stone the traces of a former world, so that the persevering observer, with an ordinary share of intelligence, may read and understand'.

The fortunes of South African palaeontology have been, in early days particularly, very closely linked with those of geology, and men such as Dr Thorn found that the recording of fossil IInds, although based sometimes on the crudest of determinations, was an important part of the description and interpretation of what was a new and in many ways unique geological succession. A feature common to both IIelds, too, is the

role played in each by amateurs who, sometimes at considerable personal expense and with little prospect of material reward, succeeded in bringing to fight many aspects of South Africa's distant past, In palaeontology, particularly, a succession of men from

all walks of life have played vital roles in laying the foundations of our knowledge of the extinct animals that inhabited this country millions of years ago. The development of South African vertebrate palaeontology, in particular Karoo palaeontology, took place in the main independently of studies on the Devonian and Cretaceous invertebrate animal groups, and has very little relationship with the growth

of Quaternary palaeontology in this country. These disciplines deserve a treatment separate from one covering the history of studies on the Permian and Triassic reptiles of the South African Karoo, and are not dealt with here. The earliest published record of a vertebrate fossiI from southern Africa is the account given by C. H. Crisbrook in l83l , in the South African Quarterly Journal, of a fossil tooth seen by him in I827 in the home of Mr Baird, formerly magistrate (landdrost) of Beaufort West, Crisbrook and Baird had subsequently located the spot where the tooth had originally been found, and at this locality, about 40 km from Beaufort West and probably in the catchment area of the Salt River, the remains of two large skeletons were found, but there is no record of what happened to these the fruits of the first palaeontological collecting trip into the Karoo. In the same volume of the Sotah African Quarterly Jourrial mention is Inade on page 121, under the heading Acquisitions, of 'Specimens of fossil bones of a large

specim ens,

Mammiferous Animal, from the Karoo; presented by the Rev. Dr Adamson'. Again, there is today no trace of these specimens. In l865 the F r enchman Gervais described the ftrst specimen of Me sosaurus lenuidens, found by the collector Alexis Verreaux in the hut of a Griqua near Kimberley more than thirty years previously. The specimen, now in t h e M u seum National d'Histoire Nature]le, Paris, consists of the well-preserved skeleton of a small reptile

in a IIat shale slab — used by the Griqua as the lid for a pot. However, these isolated discoveries were mere scratchings in the surface of an immense fossil record. It was left to a remarkable man, Andrew Geddes Bain,' to dravv ' Sec aIso pages 47I-473.

VERTEBRATE PALAEONTOt.OGY

321

the attention of the scientific world to the wealth of unique fossil reptiles buried in the rocks of the dry and dusty Karoo.

Bain had earned a considerable reputation as an explorer and road-builder when, in 1837 and at the age of 40, he developed a deep interest in geology after reading *

Lyell s Principles of Ceo/ogy. At that time Bain was engaged in the construction of the Queen's Road leading north from Grahamstown, and he started paying keen attention to the rock formations which the road and its cuttings passed through. It was not until 1838, however, that Bain found his first fossil specimens in the vicinity of Fort Beaufort, where he was rewarded with the skull of an animal with only two large teeth in the

upper jaw — this became Bain's 'Bidental'. After this success Bain's collection of Karoo fossils grevv rapidly, and he was soon obliged to hire a roon in Grahamstovvn to house

them. Bain recognized the importance of the specimens he was finding, but could find no institution in the country vvilling to take them over for proper care and study, and he consequently resolved to send them to the Geological Society of London. Before he did so, in 1844, his friends in Grahamstown persuaded him to hold a temporary exhibition of the fossils in Grahamstown, and it was as a result of this that Bain became acquainted saith the medical practitioner Dr O'. G. Atherstone. Atherstone's meeting with Bain inspired a lasting interest in the geology and fossils of South Africa — he later became the man to identify South Africa's first diamond — and subsequently the two men worked together closely in their efforts at unravelling the country's geological history. In England Bain's 1'ossils aroused immediate widespread interest among leading scientists such as Richard Owen and T. H. Huxley. Owen's first description of a part of Bain's original consignment appeared in 1845, together with part of a letter sent by Bain to the Geological Society in 1844 describing the geology of'the country from which the fossils ivere obtained. It was immediately apparent that Bain's fossils represented a completely new order of reptiles, and Bain was given every encouragement to collect as many more specimens as possible and to send them to England for examination. In a letter to Bain's London agent. H. %arburton, President of the Geological Society, wrote in 1845 ot the first scientific account given of Bain's specimens; '%'hen the papers were read, all praised the sagacity of Mr Bain in discovering the peculiarity of structure in these reptiles. Not one in ten thousand persons, in the situation of Mr B ain, and

with his limited opportunities of information, ivould have made such a discovery. Mr Ovven's paper was deservedly admired for the clear inanner in v hich he traced the various analogies ot the new reptile to Crocodile, Plesiosourus, Turtle, Lizard and Serpent, and no man's discovery ever had more justice done to it than the discovery

of Mr Bain.' Bain s consignments were sent to the Geological Society of London, but were later, together with specimens sent by Atherstone, transferred to the British Museum. where they are today.

That Bain, South Africa's first fossil enthusiast, sometimes met vvith a reaction from friends and colleagues which is not unknown today, is shown by a letter from Charles Bell, Surveyor General at the Cape, to Sir John Herschel in 1851: '.. . a b out

322

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

the year 1840 he seeins to have taken a regular course of reading through all that he could collect on the subject and began to pocket stones at a rate which amazed, and

indeed considerably amused, his friends, and I suspect strongly aroused some anxious thoughts in the niinds of those more nearly connected with him. But undisturbed by

senseless quizzing or serious remonstrance, he steadily pursued his course, searching, collecting and comparing... . ' L ater in the same letter, Bell described how Bain received news about his fossils from London: '... To his great surprise he opened an autograph letter from the President of the most gratifying nature — backed by a token

of his wealth which every man, woman and child on the Frontier could understandnamely, the balance of the Wollaston Fund (that year $20) and a donation of K200 by Her Majesty's Government. . . . T h e honour done was ample, and the remittances

neutraiised all remarks as to his having sacrificed his time and the means of his

family

for what hard-headed utilitarians might still have called empty honour. Mr Warburton said more; he told him he had no doubt whatever that this collection would realise a

liberal price to the discoverer, and he encouraged him, of course, to go on.' So Bain, the eccentric road-builder, became Bain, the lauded pioneer of South African geology and palaeontology. After Bain's public encouragement from eminent figures in England, collections of Karoo fossils grew apace, as did the number of scientiIIc papers describing them. Today we know that chief among the fossils found in these rocks are those belonging to an extinct order, the Therapsida or mammal-like reptiles, transitional between

primitive reptiles and the Iirst true niannnal. Also found are fossils of Pareiasauria, survivors into Karoo times of ancient stem reptiles, and of the great class Archosauria,

of which living descendants are birds and crocodiles and which includes the much publicized dinosaurs, The fossils of the Karoo, as they are known today, are critical to an understanding of the evolution and relationships of living back-boned animals,

but a century or more ago they were a brand-new puzzle to be solved by the young science of palaeontology, Owen and Huxley, the leading anatomists of their time, were adherents of the theory that mammals had evolved from amphibian ancestors independently of reptiles,

and the full significance of the new Soutlr African finds at Iirst escaped them. In 1870, h owever, the American palaeontologist E. D. C ope obtained a good skull of t h e dicynodont Lp.srrosaurus. a mammal-like reptile very common in certain Karoo strata,

and was able to show several mammalian features in it, and by 1884 even Owen held that the living Australian monotremes might be descended from the extinct South African reptiles. The fossils collected by Bain and other amateurs were, almost as a matter of course, dispatched to England for study by eminent scientists, and all the early published accounts are based on speciinens in England. For instance, fossil bones discovered in 1853 at Harrismith by J. M. Orpen were sent to Owen, who described them as .Vassospondylus carinatus, the first dinosaur to be recognized from outside Europe. However,

the growth of museums in South Africa' resulted in an increasing number of specimens being retained in the country — although many of these were probably considered See pages 60-65.

VERTEttRATE PALAEONTOLOGY

unworthy of export anyway. The oldest Karoo fossils in the South African Museum date back to 1857, but it was not until 1879 that the 6rst person was appointed to a

scientific position in South Africa on the strength of a small degree of palaeontological knowledge. This distinction feH to H, W. Oakley, when he joined the stafF of the South African Museum. Oak1ey, too, undertook the ftrst o5ciai fossil coHecting trip, to the Beaufort %est district in 1881, but with only a single specitnen recorded from this trip it appears that the party met tvith but limited success. That the South African Museum was nevertheless aware of the importance of Karoo fossils is evident from their setting aside funds in 1882 for the services of

Thomas Bain (son ofA. G, Bain), vvho had collected specimens for the British Museum. Although mention is made in the Museum records of numerous specimens (7 cases with over 200 specimens) collected under the agreement, Bain for some reason undertook only a single collecting trip (in 1883) and none of the specimens can today be located in the collection.

After the untimely death in 1884 of H. %. Oakley, there was a quiet period in South African palaeontology until 1889, when Professor H. G. Seeley. F.R,S., visited the country to study specimens in local museums and to examine Karoo fossil locahties at lirst hand. Seeley was the lirst experienced palaeontoiogist to visit South Africa.

H. G. Seeley, the tirst palaeontotogist to visit South Africa to study the reptile fossils of the Karoo.

SCIENTIFlC ENDEAVOt.R IN SOUTH ARUCA

He had, in London, become well acquainted with the British Museum's collections

of South African fossil reptiles, which by now were realized to be somehow connected with a reptile-mammal transition. In fact, after a journey through the Karoo. Seeley

specim ens he had seen would

went so far as to suggest that some of the more advanced

eventually prove to be true mammals — actually more than seventy years were to pass before the first Triassic mammal was discovered in South At'rica.

Seeley was fortunate in having Thomas Bain accompany him as guide across the Karoo, and was able to make a representative collection of fossils, including t~vo good pareiasaur skeletons (one now mounted in the B r itish Museum) and an excellent cynodont skeleton which he later described as the type of Cynognarhus crater onotus. Besides this new material, the trip provided the geologically trained Seeley with the opportunity of follovving the sequence of Karoo stra&, and he was able, in 1892, to publish a geological interpretation of the succession in which the fossil-bearing rocks were divided into a number of zones, characterized by the types of reptile fossils found in them. This was the lirst of several proposals, the most recent being a 1970 one, for

subdivision of the Karoo beds on a similar basis. Seeley's trip also resulted in

meetings

with Atherstone and Dr D. R. K annemeyer, the latter a Burghersdorp doctor and a keen and able collector, and he returned to England vvith a number of specimens loaned

from South African museums for study and description. Seeley published several important papers on these Karoo reptiles, adding considerably to the existing know-

ledge of the group. 1895 vvas an important year for South African palaeontology. Firstly, the Geological Commission of the Cape of Good Hope was established, ivith its headquarters at the South African Museum, and secondly, G. S, Corstorphine, geologist of the

Commission and professor at the South African College, Cape To~m, was put in charge of the geological collections, including the fossils, of the South African Museum. Thirdly, E. H. C. Schavartz, also of the Geological Commission, started field-work in the Beaufort West district and found, among other specimens, three pareiasaurs which he oAered to prepare for study. Over the next couple of years a number of specimens found by the Geological Survey were, under agreement, deposited in the South African

Museum which, by the early 1900s, boasted a fair-sized collection of fossil reptiles, including several important types. Up to this stage all important research on Karoo reptiles had been undertaken by

overseas specialists, notably Owen, Huxley and Seeley, and nearly all this pioneering work was based on collections in London. However, by the early part of the present century several new collections were grow ing in South Africa itself, and, most important, there were noiv men in the country with the training and experience to study these fossils and the formations in which they occurred. WVhile early collectors sent most of their finds to overseas institutions. specimens collected by A. Brown and Albert Higgins in Alivval North, A. W. Putterill in Harrismith and several others now found their way into South African institutions. The material of Brown and Higgins is now in the South African Museum, Cape Town, while most of PutteriII's specimens went to the National Museum, Bloeinfontein, and the Transvaal Museum in Pretoria. The Rev. J. H. Whaits. an Anghcan clergyman,

VERTEBRATE PAI.AEONIOLOGY

collected many important specimens from the Prince Albert, Beaul'ort West and Graaff'-Reinet districts, while Mr W. van der Byl, a farmer in the Prince Albert district, was responsible for important ffnds from his area; both collections are in the South African Museum, In 1897 there arrived in Cape Town the man who was to change the face of South African palaeontology. Robert Broom, a medical doctor intensely interested in fossil

mammal-like reptiles, had come to South Africa expressly to study these Karoo reptiles in the hope of tracing the origin of the great class Matnmalia from reptilian ancestors. In Australia Broom had studied primitive monotremes and marsupials with a view to discovering their relationships with true mammals, but it soon became evident to him that the answers to such questions lay with the South African mammal-like reptiles which Owen and Seeley had brought to the world's attention. For many years Broom practised medicine in country towns, including Pearston in the Karoo. and spent all his spare time collecting and studying fossils. His first

mammal-like reptile paper appeared in l897 and marked the bey'nning of a seemingly

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Robert Broom, for balf a century South Africa's leading palaeontologist.

326

SCIEN'ITHC ENDEAVOUR IN SOPH AFRICA

endless Aow of contributions to Karoo palaeontology. The impact ivhich Broom made on this field was a tremendous one: for several years he was virtually the only person in the country studying collections in museums and in private hands, and where a

lesser man might have been daunted by the prospect of dealing single-handed with what was clearly one of the world's most extensive fossil-bearing formations, Broom seems to have met the challenge with boundless energy and enthusiasm. Stimulating

all with v horn he came into contact, Broom laid the foundations of palaeontology as a science in South Africa.

Broom was appointed Professor of Geology and Zoology at Stellenbosch University in 1903, and in 1905 he became Honorary Keeper of fossil vertebrates at the South African Museum, In the same year Broom published a classification of the Karoo system which for the first time set out clearly the nature of the various fossil-bearing zones of the Beaufort Series and which, with modifications, is still the basis of Beaufort zonation today. In 1909, w:bile visiting London, he met Professor H. F. Osborn of the American Museum of Natural History, New York, who persuaded him to pay a short visit to New York to examine the then problematical fossil reptiit: group, the Pelycosauria. Broom was able to show that these aniinals were, as the American authority Cope had earlier suggested, related to, but more primitive than, the South African mammal-like reptiles. During a subsequent visit to L o n don, this time in 1913 to deliver the Royal Society's Croonian Lecture, Broom negotiated the sale of an important collection of South African Karoo fossils in his possession to the American Museum. This collection consisted largely of specimens collected by the Rev. Mr %baits for the South African Museum, which had been forwarded to Broom for identification, and because of this, Broom had his association with the South African Museum terminated. However, his controversial step resulted in the arrival in America of a very significant and representative collection of South African fossils, w here they formed the nucleus of a great deal of the research on the origin of mammals that has taken place in that country. 1911 marked the arrival in South Af rica of S. H. Haughion, a newly qualified

geologist from Cambridge. Haughton took up the post of Geologist/Paiaeontologist at the South African Museum. his appointinent together with that of' E. C. N, van Hoepen in 1910at the Transvaal Museum marking the beginning of officially supported palaeontology in the country. Haughton served at the South African Museum until 1920, when he joined the staF of the Geological Survey, but he remained associated v ith the Museum until 1933, when he left to take up the post of D irector of t h e Geological Survey in Pretoria. Describing his early years at the South African Museum, Haughton (1962) mentions the 'Palaeontology Department . . . a shed made of wood and galvanized iron, cold in winter and hot in summer; this became the office and workshop of the "rooinek" who anived to succeed A. R. E. Walker . . . ' , as well as his very happy association with A. %. Rogers and A. L. du Toit, both of the Geological Survey o%ces in the grounds of the South African Museum. Fieldivork was no easy matter in those early days: 'I

used a donkey waggon as my inoveable headquarters, conducting my searches on foot by day, after receiving permission from sometimes suspicious land-owners to look

VERTEBRATE PALAEONTOLOGY

327

for "versteende bene" and to remove such as l discovered: and finding enjoyment in the evenings sitting around a camp-fire in the unbehevable stillness of the Karroo, listening to my Coloured cook and Coloured donkey-driver discussing the events of the day and the prospects for the morrow. *

Dr E. C. N. van Hoepen.

328

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

Haughton published descriptions of a wide range of new Karoo reptiles and ampihbians. A major contribution was his 1924 paper, 'The fauna and stratigraphy of the Stormberg Series', a synthesis of new and previously known Upper Triassic Karoo animals seen in their geological setting — still a reference work today. In 1913 the first of a series ol papers by E. C, N. van Hoepen appeared. Van

Hoepen's papers were based largely on material collected by A. W. Putterill and sent first to the Transvaal Museum and, later, to the National Museuin, Bloemfontein. As Director of the National Museum, Van Hoepen was, after Haughton's transfer to the Geological Survey in 1920, the only inuseum-employed palaeontologist in the country. Van Hoepen paid strict attention to the minutest detail in his material, and his published descriptions were probably by and large the niost exhaustive of his time; by

choosing well-preserved and prepared speciniens for study, he vvas able to make a genuine contribution to knowledge of new and previously known forms. An important

paper, appearing in 1934, contained a radical new classification of the numerous dicynodont species then known: although not all his proposals have stood the test of time, several of the new rankings in this classification are acceptable today. ln the meantime the English palaeontologist, D. M . S . W a tson, had become interested in the reptiles of the Karoo, and in 1912 was able to visit South Africa to collect in the field and to examine museum collections. Watson was to become one of the ablest palaeontologists of his time. l n hi s studies on K aroo reptiles he made

masterlyuse of his knowledge of comparative and functional anatomy, as vvell as of classification and evolution theory, and his papers include some of the 6nest ever

pubfished in this 6eld. Between them, Broom, Watson, Haughton and Van Hoepen were responsible for a very significant amount of descriptive and interpretative vvork in the first two decades

of this century, and this period may be regarded as a new fiowering of Karoo palaeontology, with much of the work taking place in South Africa itself. The course of science does not aivvays run smooth, and the early years of South African palaeontology were not without their tensions and confiicts, Van Hoepen,

while Director of the National Museum in Bloemfontein, enjoyed a degree of infiuence in Government circles, and used this to promote the National Museuin as the centre of palaeontological research in South Africa. The South African Museum, fearing the loss of its fossil collections and funds to conduct palaeontological research, reacted by appointing, in 1927, a young graduate from Stellenbosch University, L. D. Boonstra, to the post of A ssistant in Palaeontology which had been vacant since 1921. Van Hoepen strongly opposed this, and the Government would agree to Boonstra's appointrnent for a three-year period only, with the matter to be reviewed again after the expiry

of the period. Boonstra's first years as a palaeontologist were difficult ones. As a result of Van Hoepen's infiuence in high quarters, he was permitted to conduct research only on certain specified fossils already in the Museum. and was even forbidden to undertake field-work in the Karoo. Both Boonstra and the Museum authorities were naturally less than happy about these restrictions, and it was not many months before the new palaeontologist was out in the G raaff-Reinet district, in de6ance of his 'terms of

VERTEBRATE PALAEONTOLOGY

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L. D. Boonstra with almost completed reconstruction of Karoo reptiles.

reference'. A series of confrontations with Van Hoepen followed, and it was not until several years had passed that Boonstra's post was made a permanent one, and he was given olftcial freedom to collect where and when he saw ftt. During this diScult ti me t he South A f r ican M useum received povverl'ul support f ro m th e D i rector o f t h e Geologic S u r vey and the Department of Mines.

During the 1930s Broom, Boonstra and Van Hoepen were the only South Africans engaged in palaeontological research. Boonstra, realizing the importance of becoming acquainted at erst hand with the original type collections of Karoo fossils which had started accumulating in overseas institutions from the time of their discovery in 1838, undertook a two-year study trip during 1933 and 1934 to examine these collections in museums in Europe, Britain and the United States. As a result of this trip a series of papers appeared containing much new information about specimens which in many cases had not featured in the literature since their original descriptions decades earlier.

330

SClENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOL~ A F RICA

Boonstra's trip took place before the days of readily obtained travel grants, and

he received no salary or financial support from the Museum during his absence. Moreover, one of the first reactions to his published work (much ef it based on re-examined foreign material) was a scathing attack by Broom in 1936, in which he was accused not

only of scientific incompetence but also of damaging type specimens by his methods of preparation. The latter very serious allegation was settled privately between Boonstra, Broom and the institution involved and Boonstra never retaliated publicly, contenting

himself with comments such as the following, concerning a specimen described by Broom: 'The whole condition of the skull once again showed that it is impossible to d evelop a skull i n t h e m o r ning and describe it i n t h e afternoon, as D r B r o om undoubtedly attempted to do; the result has been the ruination of what would other-

wise have been a perfect skull' (Boonstra 1938). Certainly during the 1930s, ivith three such apparently incompatible scientists comprising nearly the total of palaeontologists in the country, the study of fossils inust

have been anything but dull. Broom continued to dominate the South African palaeontological scene up to the time of his death in 1951. His later work refiected much of his new interest in the fossil hominids that were being discovered in the Transvaal and northern Cape, but his fiow of contributions to Karoo palaeontology continued unabated. Broom's book /Lfan0iiallike reptiles of South Africa, published in 1932, was a milestone and has not been superseded by any camparable work. Broom's Munma/-like repti!es drev' together under one cover everything that was known at that time of the Karoo's mammal-like repules,

and set out the basic sequence that could be traced froin pr imi tivereptiles to advanced mammal-like reptiles and finally to early mammals.

Broom's interest in the Karoo was all-embracing, andas is rejected in the nature of his work, when viewed as a whole. 5;o fossil group, however insignificant or poorly represented, escaped his keen attention and the animals he described ranged from the large, cumbersome Dinocephalia of the early part of the Karoo to the tiny, highly

specialized fctidosauria of the uppermost Stormberg Series, Only one group which is today knovvn from Karoo rocks does not have a Broom fingerprint on it — the first true mammals, specimens of which were first discovered in the 1960s, more than ten years after Broom's death. Thus it was due to Broom more than to any other single person that by the end of the first quarter of the present century a comprehensive picture of South Africa's remarkable fossil reptile record could be put into a world

perspective. As travel between the countries of the world became easier and more rapid, and South Africa became increasingly accessible to countries in the north, so a growing number of scientists made trips to the Karoo, ever growing in importance in palaeontological studies. Several of these visitors undertook fairly extensive field trips and made important collections. Thus Watson's visit was followed by that of Von Huene, the prominent TUbingen palaeontologist. Von Huene was accompanied by Haughton on his excursion into the field, which resulted in a sizeable collection for the Institut fiir

Geologic und Pal'aontologie in Tiibingen. Von Huene himself published important papers on Karoo reptiles, describing several new forms and placing emphasis on

VERTEBRATE PALAEONTOLOGY

331

environtnental and faunistic aspects. A great advance was thc appearance in 1925 of Yon Huene's map of the Karoo's zones, incorporating much of what had been proposed

in this respect by Broom, watson and Haughton. A. S. Romer. then of Chicago University, was another well-known Iigure to spend several months tramping across the Karoo in search of its fossils. Romer arrived in 1929, accompanied by the almost legendary collector Paul C. Miller, clearly expecting to make a Sne haul. Hov ever, it was not long before they were experiencing some of the harsh realities of Karoo collecting. In Romer's words: 'The ftrst day Miller found a good prospect and next morning started optimistically to excavate his hnd, But when he returned to camp that evening he was quite despondent. He had broken the point olf his favourite pick, had

broken a cold chisel and had made no impression on the rock. The blue-gray mudstone in which the bones are imbedded is so hard that it is only where a skull or skeleton is tveathering out on a liat surface and the rock is largely disintegrated that it is possible to do anything with it. In a number of cases we found good specimens only to leave them in position when we realized that we could not dislodge them without using high explosives which would merely reduce the bone as well as the rock to scrap' (Romer

1930). In 1928, 1931 and 1933 collections were made by J. Schroder and G. Grossarth for the Palarontologisches Institut der Alte Akadetnie in Munich, and this material was

described in a series of papers between 1934 and 1937 by F. Broili and J. Schroder. A feature of Broili and Schroder's work is the importance they attached to the proper

Excavating a aewlv discovered Triassic mammal-like reptile.

332

sCIENTIFIC Eh1)EAVOUR IN SOUFII AFRICA

4(

~

'

The fossil is removed, encased in a protective plaster jacket.

preparation of their material, and from this point of view the Munich collection must in the l 930s have ranked with the best in the world, The specimens were systematically described in very l'ull detail, and figured both as they appeared in the natural condition, and then in reconstructed form. Today it is still a pleasure to have to refer to the work of these German palaeontologists, and sobering to reffect that at that time no South African institute possessed the means of preparing its own specimens in a remotely comparable manner — a factor which inevitably affected the quality of local work. Boonstra's tvork during the period l 930 to l 9 70 was in its nature altogether difFerent from that of the seemingly ubiquitous Broom. The weight of Boonstra's con-

tribution lies in his revisions of selected reptile groups and he placed more emphasis on faunal relationships in Karoo times than did Broom. To certain reptile groups, such as the Cynodontia, he paid only Aeeting attention, while to others, such as the Dinocephalia and Pareiasauria, he devoted almost a lifetime of work. Boonstra soon realized that in order to trace the origins and relationships of the reptile fauna as represented in the Karoo it was necessary to find out more about the earliest representatives, in particular those of the Tapinocephalus zone, the oldest fossil-bearing zone of' the Karoo's Beaufort Series. One of the reasons for the poor understanding of these early animals lies in the nature of the Tapirtocephalnszone itself'. Outcrops of this age are restricted to some of the most featureless parts of the Karoo, and fossils are invariably preserved in notoriously intractable mudstone matrix. Extraction of'a specimen in both

333

VERTEBRATE PALAEOVi TOLOGY

the Beld and in the laboratory is tnany times nore laborious than in the case of specimens from other zones, and with the hmited preparation facilities available in

South Africa at the time it was small wonder that most of the detailed anatomical work on Karoo reptiles was founded on fossils from strata more amenable to chisel and

needle. Kith characteristic application and rare dedication Boonstra undertook what was to become the major task of his career — the morphology, relationships and origins of the earliest Karoo reptiles. By the time of his retirement in the early 1970s, the South African Museum possessed the finest and most comprehensive collection of Tapinocephalus zone fossils anywhere, and Boonstra had provided detailed reviews of every group that formed part of the earliest invasion of land animals into southern Africa. Visits to institutions in Russia had enabled him to draw significant comparisons with northern ancestors of the Karoo animals, and his views on the origins of the South

African forms have been largely substantiated by subsequent work. A feature of Boonstra's work was the attention he paid to details of the postcranial anatomy and locomotor apparatus of the animals he studied — he was one of those palaeontologists who, not content with classifying their fossils, tried to hnd out what they looked like, and how they moved when alive. A product of this interest of' Boonstra's is the series of life-sized reconstructions of early Karoo reptiles in the public galleries of the South

African Museum. The most remarkable private collection of Karoo fossils is the Rubidge collection,

Cy, '

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'RUSIOCE -BAZOO J

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P. 0S K,h P. C I E S tg STONE ~

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S. H. Rubidge, outside the building housing his collection of fossil Karoo reptiles,

334

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOI.% IN SOUTH AFIUCA

housed on the farm Wellwood in the GraafI'-Reinet district.' In 1934 when looking for fossil specimens to satisfy the curiosity of his daughter, S. H. Rubidge found the front part of a large, toothed skull — later to be described by Broom as the type of a new gorgonopsian. His new interest drove him to spend as much of his spare time as possible scrambling over rock exposures in search of' more specimens, and with Wellwood situated in the centre of an extremely rich fossil-bearing area, he soon had the beginnings of a promising collection, He was further encouraged by Broom, who began to visit the farm regularly to examine recent finds and describe any new species in scientific pubhcations. Broom's readily given credit for Rubidge's achievements acted as further inspiration, and soon Rubidge was in turn encouraging others, notably the roadbuilder C. J. Kitching and his sons, to spend their leisure time in the hills hunting for 'fossil heads', Today one of these sons, Dr J. W. Kitching. is a renovvned collector and palaeontologist in his own right — the curiosity of one little girl has indeed had farreaching consequences. By the time of his death in 1970, Rubidge had built up a

comprehensive collection of fossils from the Graaff'-Reinet area; it is today important to any student of Permian and Triassic reptiles and its specimens have added largely to our knowledge of the evolution of many reptile groups. By the end of W orld War I I t h e South African Museum in Cape Town, the Transvaal M useuin in Pretoria, the. National Museum in Bloemfontein and the Albany Museum in Grahamstown held the country's most important public collections of Karoo reptiles, and were the centres, to varying degrees, of South Africa's palaeontological research. In 1945, however, a Johannesburg benefactor, Dr Bernard Prim, donated to the University of the Witwatersrand the sum of f2 000, for collecting and storing important fossil n i ateria. A C o m mittee on Palaeontology was formed to administer this fund and later in the year J. W. Kitching, returned from army service, was appointed as technical assistant and immediately undertook collecting work in the Graaff-Reinet area, where he had previously hunted specimens for Rubidge. With a field-worker as talented and enthusiastic as Kitching, the university was assured of a continual supply of'material from the field. Broom, then associated with the Transvaal Museum, published accounts of new types in the collection, and Dr Price was so impressed by-the grovving number of-specimens brought in by Kitching and, later, his brother Ben, that he undertook to increase the scope of the project to include also Pleistocene fossils from, particularly, the Makapansgat localities. Thus was formed the Bernard Price Foundation, which operated until 1948, vvhen Dr Price died. Through a bequest from Dr Price the Foundation was reconstituted in 1949 as the Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research. In the same year, after Professor D. M. S . Watson had carefully gone over the new collection and pointed out the need for a qualified palaeontologist to carry out research on the material, Dr A. S. Brink, who had recently obtained his Ph.D. at the U niversity of L o ndon under Watson, was appointed Scientific Omcer. In 1951 S. H. Haughton, associated with the Institution from its early days, became Honorary Scientific Director, and a new journal, Palaeonrologia Africana, devoted entirely to the publication of palaeontological research articles, was instituted in 1953. The articles appearing in this journal illustrate the growth of ' See also page 460.

VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY

335

Dr James O'. Kitching, South Africa's best-kookie collector of fossils, with fossilized skulls.

the Institute f'rom its small beginnings in a pair of wooden hutments to the prominent position it enjoys today. %hile the l950s witnessed the rapid growth of'the Witwatersrand's new palaeontological centre, a net hgure was emery'ng in the same field, A. WV. Cromipto, working first at the National Museum and then as Director of the South African Museum, was interested especially in the higher mammal-like reptiles and the question of the origin of true mammals. Crompton's first major works in this field concerned two specimens in the National Museum described briefly by Broom years earlier and regarded as being close to the reptile,'mammal boundary. Crompton prepared out these specimens, which he named Dia nItrogrtarhtrs„and fo und several very im p ortant osteological features in the skull vvhich seemed to shovv that the animals were 'borderline' cases, lying almost exactly between mammal-like reptiles and early mammals. Crompton's subsequent studies on cynodonts and other advanced maminal-like reptiles added substantially to existing knov ledge ol these animals, and by focusing attention on to the functional changes in the skull and jaws involved in a reptile,'maminal transition. he was able to add a new approach to an old problem. ln I964 Crompton left South A f r ica to take up t he D i r ectorship of the Ya le Peabody Museum in the United States of America but maintained his interest in South African fossil reptiles. While in S o uth A f r ica and after his move to A m erica, he

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

organized collecting expeditions to the somewhat neglecu:d Red Beds of the Upper Triassic Stormberg Series, and he was able to suppleinent with new finds what v as then known of advanced mainmal-like reptiles, early crocodiles and early dinosaurs. Some of the discoveries resulting from these expeditions v ere of considerable importance. They include the finding of two of'the world's earliest known true mammals, later described as Eryrhrorherium and Mega=-osrrodon, and well-preserved skulls and skeletons of one of the most primitive known ornithischian dinosaurs, Hererodontosaurus. Today, palaeontological investigation in this country has diversified into new areas of research, and changed its emphasis in several important respects. While the description of new species and genera still forms an important part of modern palaeontology, attention is increasingly being given to previously described taxa in order to test their validity in the light of more recent criteria. Significant in this connection is the importance attached today to the proper preparation of all specimens studied. With increasing

funds for the purchase of modern preparation equipment, and the employment of suitably trained technicians, preparation techniques at most palaeontological research institutes rank with the best in other parts of the world, and there is now no excuse for

a research worker to publish a description of a new type based on an incompletely prepared specimen. Whereas it was possible forty years ago for Broom to write in a single-page contribution that a specimen was 'manifestly' the type of a new species, it is now required of an author that a complete description of the new form be given, together with adequate illustrations and photographs and a full d iscussion of its

affinities with related species. As a result, mere announcements of new types have been largely replaced by revisions of existing groups. where the description of new species is coupled with reviews of previously described, related forms. This latest period of what might be called consolidation has resulted in a welcome refinement of existing knowledge of Karoo palaeontology and has paved the way for a variety of new research approaches, Thus, in taxonomic work. the availability of wellpreserved specimens has made it possible to select Inore meaningful criteria for the establishment of improved classifications of several groups of Karoo reptiles. Similarly, carefully prepared fossil material has formed the basis of'increasingly detailed functional studies. For- instance,-where acid has been used to free fossil bones from the surrounding rock matrix, minute structural features such as muscle scars and nerve foramina are revealed and permit fairly detailed reconstructions of soft tissues such as muscles, nerves, cartilage and blood vessels, and attempts are now being made to compare various fossil animals not only in terms of their bone structure but also in terms of their functional characteristics. Forty years ago, with researchers relying chiefiy on haminer-and-chisel techniques, such studies were, specially in the case of small or delicate specimens, often nothing more than palaeontological pipe-dreams. During the last decade or two, a new significance has been added to studies on the Karoo and its fossils following a revolution in geological thinking. There is now an alinost coniplete acceptance by geologists of the theory of continental drift. according to which the southern continents were during Palaeozoic and early Mesozoic times joined together as a single supercontinent, and the distribution of fossils throughout which areas, now tong the world has become extremely important in d

eter mining

VKRTEBRATE PALRKONTOLOGY

337

separate, were once closely joined and when these various parts eventually parted company. While fossil reptiles similar to those of the Karoo have been knov n from India for many years, and Rvere described from China in the l930s, subsequent discoveries in South America and, most recently, Antarctica and new parts of India and China have added considerably to an emerging pattern of world-wide Permian and Triassic reptile and amphibian distribution. None of the new fossil-bearing localities compares in extent or completeness mth the Karoo and it is against the South African fossil record that the new, more restricted finds must be compared. The unil'ying effect that the 'drift' theories of geology have had on palaeontology throughout the world can be seen in the greatly increased number of foreign 'globetrotting' palaeontologists undertaking active research on Karoo subjects. South Africa is of course not alone in experiencing increased interest in its palaeontological resources, but the uniqueness of the Karoo sedimentological succession places an added responsi-

bility on those studying its fossil record, for it is largely through their achievements that a fuller understanding of ancient events in other parts of the world can be reached. Today, therefore, it is diIIicult to i d entify a specific South Al'rican school of palaeontology and perhaps undesirable to attempt such an identification. Palaeontology has, from its earliest beginnings, been an international study, simply because animals are notoriously disregardful of a n y bu t n a tural, geographic boundaries. Moreover, 200 million years ago, during Karoo times, many of the present continental boundaries were not in existence, and it is the lot of the vertebrate palaeontologist that

the original geographical range of the Triassic fossil group he might be studying may now be divided among four difierent continents. So it is that the Karoo animals, unique and puzzling when first discovered, have now become almost cosmopolitan in their knovvn distribution and the South African worker finds that he must compare his specimens ivith fossils from, perhaps, a coalfield in India, an Antarctic mountain surrounded by glaciers, or a remote locality deep within China. South African palaeonto-

logy is world palaeontology, and the research workers in this country who are involved in it have an important duty to ensure that the unique heritage in their charge is never threatened by neglect but preserved, recorded and ultimately reconstructed to serve as a standard world guide to the extinct animals of the Permian and Triassic ages.

REFERENCES Besides records and files in the South African Museum, the following sources have been drawn from freely in compilation of this history of South African vertebrate

palaeon tology:

Boo~ssaA, L. D. 1935. Die versamelings van fossielc as basis van die palaenntologiese siudie. S. Afr. J. Sci. 32: 330 — 340. Boor sraA, L. D. 1969. The fauna of the Tapiuocephalusmnc (Beaufort Beds of the Karoo). Auu. S. Afr, Mus. 56: 1 — 73, Baoovt. R. 1932. Mammal-like reptiles of South Africa. 8'itherby, London. Cooks, H. B, S. 1960. The first fifteen years of the Bernard Price Institute for Paiaeontological Research. Pal. Afr. 7; 1-4.

333

SCIENTIHC ENDEAVOUR I".V SOUTH AHttCA

~t >rtrrow, S. H, 1932. The Rubidge collection of fossil Karoo vertebrates.Pal. Afr. 9: 1-17. HAvomoi, S. H. 1962. Fifty years of geology in parts of Africa. Proc. Geol. Soc. S. Afr, ti4: viiiKXlu

RQBERTs,A. 1948. Historical account of Robert Broom and his labours in the interests of science, ln Royal Society of South Africa. Robert Broo»> Con»nen>orative volume: 5-15. Cape Town: Royal Society of South Africa. Special publication. RooEas, A. W. 1937. The pioneers in South African Geology and their work. Trans. geol.Soc. S. Afr. Anneaure to volume 39. Special publication. Summm, R. F. H. 1975. A history of the South African Al»seat», 1825 — 1976.Cape Town: Balkema

SOUTH AFRICAN GKOI.OGY

by S. H. HxUcHroi

in South African Geology, covering oneers

The fullest account of the work of the pi

the period to the formation of the Geological Society of South Africa in 1895, was written by the late Dr A. %V. Rogers and divas published by that Society as an Annexure

to Volume XXXIX of its Transactions, a work of l30 pages of text with a 9-page Index. The first paragraph of that contribution reads as follows: 'Thousands of years before the white man set foot on the shores of South Africa, the natives had sought for stone vvhich they used as they found, or I'ashioned with some sort of tool, Boulders

from gravels, chert from the%hite Band, jaspery rocks from Griqualand %est, hornstones from under the dolerite kranzes in the Karroo and hard silcrete f'rom the Kalahari were favourite stones for their purposes. %hen at a later date the haernatites of Blink Klip near Postmasbiirg, of Mooikopje or of Donkerpoort in the Transvaal v ere dug for their decorative value, the copper ores of the Limpopo Valley, Palabora and other places, and the tin ores of Rooiberg for their metals the advance in technical

ability must have been considerable. but of the people our knowledge is still small, and of' their speculations nothing at all.' The search for minerals by the %hites began soon after the advent of the Dutch East India Company's settlement at the Fort in Cape Town and in l685 Simon van der Stel divas authorized by the Company to investigate the mineral resources of an area

in Narnaqualand from which natives had brought in specimens of copper. He commanded a well-equipped expedition, reaching the Koperberg„and took six months to return to Cape Town, vvithout loss. However, he reported that, in spite of its apparent mineral richness, the difliculties of the country were too great for profitable mining to be undertaken. During the earlier half of the nineteenth century, various naturalists from Europe undertook collecting journeys in various parts of the Cape Province and. more or less incidentally, mentioned various local occurrences of rocks and minerals in written

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

reports, including determinations of minerals sent by them to overseas experts. Of the pioneers permanently resident in South Africa who devoted themselves to the acquisition of geological information in the first half ol the nineteenth century, prior to the initiation of the Geological Society of South Africa, the most outstanding was Andrew Geddes Bain,' who carne to South Africa in 1820. Bain's discoveries and papers written by him, as «veil as the descriptions of the reptilian remains by O««en, aroused considerable interest in Great Britain and led to the suggestion that he might produce a'geological map of the Cape Colony *. However, in spite of strong support

of the idea of appointing Bain as the head of a new 'Geological Survey of the Cape Colony' he «vas not so honoured. Nevertheless, in 1854 Andrew Wyley «vas seconded from the Geological Survey of Ireland to undertake oflicial work in the Colony, a post that he occupied until 1859. During these five years Wyley «vrote several reports that «vere 'laid before Parliament' which, in Rogers's opinion, have never been appreciated at their true worth. These reports were mainly concerned «vith mineral deposits — the copper-lead ores of the Maitland mines near Port Elizabeth, gold at Smithfield in the O.F.S., coals of the Stormberg, and copper in Namaqualand (the last including a short account of the

general geology of the area). A report «vritten in 1859 carries a long appendix entitled 'Notes of a journey in two directions across the Colony', «vhich ends with a 'Table of Formations' ranging from the 'Tertiary' down to the granites and greenstones. He also produced a geological map of the Colony on a scale of 8 miles to the inch with a number of «veil-drawn sections. This map is in the South African Museum in Cape To«vn. The third of the most prominent geological contributors in this period of South Africa's history was Dr P. C. Sutherland,' a medical man who emigrated to Durban at the end of 1853. The Natal Government appointed him as Government Geologist in March 1854 and, two years later, he was appointed as Surveyor-General for Natal. His interests, until his death in l900, were wide. In 1865. folio«ving the conclusions of the Blanfords that the Talchir boulder-bed in India was of glacial origin, he attributed the D«vyka breccias of Natal to the same cause; and in 1870 a paper by him on these

conclusions was read to the Geological Society of I.ondon. He also recognized tbe future importance of the Natal coalfleld and described th- igneous rocks of the Insiz«va mountain. In his work on the 'Pioneers' Rogers described at sotne length the investigations

made by the South African-born Dr R. N. Rubidge and by t«vo other workers of international repute — George William Stow, and E. J. Dunn. Sto«v investigated in great detail the geology of the area north of the Orange River;n the Free State and Griqualand West and was employed, for very short periods, in the role of G overnment Geologist by each of these two territories. He also studied the Bushmen in great detail.

Unfortunately, his written reports were exceedingly verbose, detailed and somewhat repetitive; but, according to Rogers, «vere it not for these faults, he could «vefl be ranked with A. G. Bain as a 'father of South African geology'. The work of Edward J. Dunn, an Australian whose geological maps have 'played an important part in ' See pages 47I-473. ' See also page I9.

GEOLOGY

furthering the knowledge of South African geology', began with observations made in

mberley.Rogers

1871 when visiting the newly discovered diamondiferous field of Ki

devoted nearly ten pages of his Pioneer paper to a description of Dunn's achievements in a wide field, partly obtained while in the employment of the Cape government and partly in the Transvaal and Orange Free State. In 1886 he urged the value of systematic geological survey work. Some of Dunn's work was criticized by his contemporary John Shaw, a geologist from Glasgow University who in 1876 became Professor of Physical Science at the South African College in Cape Town after spending a feav years as a schoolmaster, first at Colesberg and then at the S.A. College School. The permanent interest of governments in South Africa in geological studies

began in 1895. when the Cape of Good Hope Legislature appointed a Geological Commission with Dr G. S. Corstorphine as Director and A. %. Rogers and E. H. L. Schwarz as Field Geologists. Two years later, in 1897, the South African Republic (Transvaal) appointed Dr G. A. F. Molengraafl (who paid his first visit to the country

in 1890) as State Geologist: and in 1899 the geological survey of Natal and Zululand was officially begun by Mr William Anderson. Molengraafl's ollicial duties carne to an end with the Anglo-Boer %Var: but he maintained his interests in South African geology and finally. conjointly with Dr A. L. Hall and Dr L, T. Nel, he produced the description of the 'Vredefort Dome' area that was published in 1925 by the Royal Society of Amsterdam.

The Geological Society of South Africa owes its formation, in 1895, to the energetic efl'orts of David Draper (1859 — 1929) who, before he was 20 years old, visited the new diamond-fields of Kimberley and later the goldfields of Lydenburg, Barberton, and the %itwatersrand and the Natal coalfields. He wrote many papers. For many years he was interested in diamond mining in Brazil, but returned to South Africa in 1923, to devote his time to prospecting for platinum and in recording the history of diamond discoveries and of Johannesburg's water supply. The Geological Society of South Africa has perpetuated his memory by the annual award of a Draper Medal. In the first Annual Report of the Geological Cominission of the Cape of Good Hope the Chairman, the Rt. Hon. J. X. Merriman, wrote: 'It will be seen that the main object of the Commission has been to carry on the systematic observation and study of the geology of the Colony with a view to eventually reproducing all the information thus obtained in the form of a thoroughly reliable map. It will also be evident that whenever Government has directed attention to matters of a inore immediately economic iinport. the co-operation and advice of the Commission have been at once * forthcoming. The policy thus indicated will guide the Commission in its future work. In this report the progress attained vvas listed by Dr Corstorphine under the major

heads ol'(A.) General Mapping; (B.) Economic Questions (subdivided into (a) Coal and (b) %ater); (C.) Specimens: (D.) Bibliography, and (E.) Economic Statistics; and

rime

this subdivision is still more or less accepted as standard. The p objective has been the production of geological maps, the material for which must depend on detailed field work and the study of o utcrops and rock exposures made by human efl'orts. R ogers once expressed to the writer an observation made to him b y o n e o f h i s Cambridge teachers — McKenny Hughes — that 'to be a g ood geologist you m u st

SCIENTIHC ENDEKVOUR IN SOUTH AHUCA.

remember the three fundamentals, which are observe, observe and observe. Recording of observations may, if you so desire, be followed by a statement of conclusions derived from them.' For the field geologist, adherence to this teaching meant the spending of several months annually in foot traverses for the study of rock exposures and, prior to the advent and more general use of motor transport, in shifting a camp site from point to point with the assistance of spans of oxen or of donkeys. After the formation of the Union of South Africa in 1910, the oIIicial geologists of the Transvaal and of the Cape Colony were combined into the Union Geological Survey under the directorship of H. Kynaston; but Rogers (who was made Assistant Director to the Survey, to become Director after Kynaston's retirement ) and Du Toit retained their offices in the South African Museum grounds. The present writer arrived in Cape Town from England in Septeinber 1911, to assume the post of GeologistPalaeontologist on the Museum staA' and had the inestimable advantage of learning

something of what they knevv of South African geology from these two friendly and knowledgeable mentors. In those early years, too, Dr Robert Broom, prior to 1913, was nominally Honorary Curator of fossil reptiles at the Museum and introduced the writer to the study of the vertebrate fOssils of the Karroo system, a study which. froin that time onwards, has been one of the most interesting facets of a long career. Until about 1920 the only university authorized to award degrees in geology was the University of the Cape of Good Hope (later to become the University of South Africa), but the actual teaching of the subject was carried on in one or other of its constituent colleges. Of these, the first to achieve independent university status were the South African College in Cape Town (the Umversity of Cape Town) and the Victoria College at SteBenbosch (the University of Stellenbosch). This change of status was followed by the conversion of th e colleges in Johannesburg, Grahamstown,

Pretoria, Natal, Bloemfontein and Potchefstroom into universities and — much laterby the formation of the Rand Afrikaans University in Johannesburg. Each of these bodies instituted its own Department of Geology, headed by a professor, and each attracted a number of post-graduate students as the years passed. The application of apartheid, or separate development, has led to the formation of several black universities, but thus far very little-in the-way of geological research has beni associated with them. By the end of the First World War. South Africa's mining activity was mainly concentrated on the production of coal. gold and diamonds. However, the activity that followed discoveries of important deposits of other minerals in areas such as the Bushveld Igneous Complex ('pl atinum,ron i ore and chrome ore in particular ), in Griqualand West (especially manganese and iron ores), of coastal diamonds (north and south of the Orange River mouth), of the auriferous horizons of the Witwatersrand deposits by extensive drilling to the east, south and south-west of the Witwatersrand proper, and of the occurrence of uranium ores in these deposits, all led to a tremendous activity on behalf of established and new mining companies and groups of companies, their acceptance of the importance of geological studies in their investigations and the value of the einployment of university-trained geologists for the prosecution of these studies. In later years, the sparsely inhabited areas of the north-western Cape, such as

343

GEOLOGY

the Kenhardt and Namaqualand divisions, have been shown to be the homes ol much

mineral weahh apart from the old-established copper mines of the Springbok area, and considerable geological exploration is called for in these areas and is being undertaken. Paralleling this increase in the employtnent of geologists by ntining and prospecting organizations there has been an increase in the numbers in the etnploy of governmental bodies, especially of the Geological Survey branch of the Department of Mines. Although the first objective of this Survey remains the production of geological maps — bi-dimensional and tri-dimensional — of the areas with which it is presently concerned (the Republic of South Africa, South West Africa, and certain areas on the Antarctic continent) it has had to keep abreast of at least some of the specialized subthe development of divisions of the science of geology such as petrology,

mineralogy,

underground vvater supplies, the modes of occurrence of mineral deposits, geophysics (particularly tectonic history), geochemistry and palaeontology. It has an extensive

library of geological literature, the use of which is available to all interested searchers. The Survey maintains close association with workers in the appropriate departments of the universities and with the geological work undertaken by Government-sponsored bodies such as the CSIR, the Atomic Energy Board. SOEKOR, and SASOL. Its

Dr S. H. Haughton, F.R.S., the author of this essay and President of the Royal Society of South Africa 1955-l956.

SCIENTIHC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

results are made known to the public either through its own various series of publications or as individual papers accepted by one or other of appropriate scientilic periodicals published in South Africa or overseas. Publication of any such paper written by a member of the Survey staff requires the approval of the Minister of Mines. The Geology of Th e geologic history of the southern African area can be traced back Southern Africa. to A r c h aeozoic (earliest Precambrian) times by t h e p resence of igneous and metamorphic rocks (some of which are ol' undoubted sedimentary origin) which, in the Barberton area for example, have been assessed as having been formed at a time slightly before three thousand Inillion years ago as the earhest components of a craton. In the southern African areas in which those earliest

cratonie rocks are exposed — such as the Barberton mountain land and central and southern Rhodesia — there are belts of undoubted sedimentary rocks, associated with those of' igneous origin, that have yielded evidence of the presence of primitive living organisms that inhabited the waters in which the sediments formed in what is known as Swaziland times. The full geographic distribution of these earliest formed rocks in southern Africa is not accurately known because of later coverings and of vertical, and

lateral, movements of the early 'crust': but such partially sedimentary formations such as the Kheis of the west, the Messina of the Limpopo area, and the Pongola of the east are of great age and may be only a little younger than the Swaziland rocks. None of these sediments — apart from those of the Swaziland succession — have thus far yielded identiIIable fossils, and their relative ages are, apart fro m stratigraphical relationships, determined by study of the radioactive contents of the igneous rocks which are associated with them as intercalations or intrusives. Considerable numbers of age determinations on 'Archaeozoic' rocks have been made, numbers that are being increased annually. As an example may be cited the L;mpopo area, where ages vary from 3 432 million years (for Sand River gneissespossibly older than the Messina subgroup) close to 2 500 million years (for various intrusive pegmatites), with intrusive granites and the Bandolierkop granulites placed at about 2 700 million years. Possibly correlatable in point of time with the rocks assigned to the Swaziland system of the type Barberton area is the succession known in the Li mpopo valley, which cuts the northern Transvaal and southern Rhodesia. On the Transvaal side of the river the succession has been named 'the Messina formation' and consists of metasediments which include quartzite, magnetite quartzites, marbles and talc-silicate rocks which have been granitized in varying degrees and so intricately folded with granitic rocks that it has not been possible as yet to establish a consistent stratigraphical succession Ivithin them. Associated with these metasediments are differentiated sheet-like intrusions of both acidic and basic igneous rocks and an apparently concordant younger granite (the Singelele granite). In the Messina area there is also a post-tectonic Bulai granite. Similar rocks are found north of the Limpopo in the southern part of Rhodesia, forming part of the 'Messina belt' which is the central, highly deformed part of an orogenic belt that has an ENE, trend, extending from Botswana eastwards. In the south-eastern Transvaal, northern Natal, Zululand and Swaziland are a

GEOLOGY

number of occurrences ofsediments and igneous rocks which have been grouped together as the Pongola system. They are intruded by the so-caHed 64 granite. Their

exact correlation, in age, with the Swaziland system has not been exactly determined. Isotope deterininations suggest correlation of the 64 granite and the 'Old Granite' of the Transvaal on which the Witwatersrand Triad rocks lie; so that the Pongola rocks pre-date the rocks of this Triad. The Pongola succession has been divided into a lower

(Insuzi) series of volcanics, quartzites and some phyHites and an upper (Mozaan) series of thick quartzites and shales and some conglomerates. In the western Transvaal-Mafeking area are several longitudinal belts of sediments and lavas, bordered by an intrusive granite„known as the Kraaipan series and striking

N — Swith high dips. Within the area bounded by the longitude of Prieska in the east and the Atlantic coast on the west and the latitude of Vanrhynsdorp in the south and 23 30'S in the north the oldest sedimentary and volcanic rocks have been grouped into the Kheis system. The granites vvhich bound them are intrusive. The system has been broadly subdivided into the succession, from below upwards, of Marydale, Kaaien, and WHgenhoutdrift series,' but more recent detailed mapping has resulted in further subdivision. Although the relationship between the Kheis beds and the granites and gneisses is of the same general nature as that between the Svvaziland rocks and the granites of the Transvaal there is no proof of the synchroneity of deposition of the

Kheis and Swaziland successions. Within the Transvaal area, the best-known and most widely distributed of the post-Swaziland successions, using a now somewhat antiquated terminology, is the sowalled Witwatersrand Triad, consisting of. in order of deposition, the Dominion

Reef 'system', the Witwatersrand 'system' and the Ventersdorp 'system' — members of which have been intensively studied because of their economic importanoe, particularly concerning their gold and uranium contems. These three are preserved in post-granite basins, the first and last of the 'systems' being for the most part composed of mainly

acidic igneous rocks. Intensive drilling foHowed by mining operations has proved an extension of the Witwatersrand and Ventersdorp successions below a cover of later rocks to the west, south-west and south of the Transvaal outcrops of the Witwaiersrand area into the northern half of' the Orange Free State south of the Vaal River. Because ol its importance economically the succession in this '%'itwatersrand Triad' is better known in detail than is that of any other in South Africa, The number of descriptive papers dealing with it is enormous and is being added to in appreciable numbers

annually. Outcrops of the Witwatersrand system occur in four areas of the southern Transvaal, the Witwatersrand proper, the Heidelberg area, the Parys — Vredefort area, and

the Klerksdorp-Ventersdorp area: but intensive driHiag — originally based on geophysical evidence — extended the area in vvhich the system occurs well into the northern half of the Orange Free State.

The Dominion Reef succession commenced v ith the deposition of a few hundred feet of conglomerates, grits, arkoses and quartzites, with interbedded auriferous horizons, in a basin in the granitic surface of the south-western part of the Transvaal

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

f ollowed by some l 000 m of v o lcanic rocks that constitute the major part of t h e succession, By the time of onset of the Witwatersrand deposition (with the Hospital

Hill group as its basal metnber) the depression had been extended northwards, southwards and eastwards to become a fairly well-defined elongated closed basin whose longer axis was aligned in a SW — NEdirection approximately. The floor of this basin was depressed unevenly and in it were deposited the 8 000 m of rocks named the %itvvatersrand succession — consisung mainly of shallow-water deposits varying from conglomerates to shales. Tectonic movements of the floor took place locally, particularly in the %itwatersrand area proper, so that disconformities are common especially in the upper half of the succession, Throughout the whole succession there are but two periods of volcanic activity — those v hich gave rise to the 3eppestown amygdaloid and

the Bird Reef amygdaloid, u hich are each somewhat local in their extent, Because of its gold and uranium contents, the upper half of the Witwatersrand succession (divided into a lower Main — Bird 'series' and an upper Kimberley — Elsburg 'series') has been more intensively studied than the rocks of the lower half; but in each the local succes-

sions are well described and intensively subdivided. Various suggestions have been made regarding the climatic conditions existing in the deposition area of the Witwatersrand rocks, ranging from glacial at the one extreme to desertic and arid on the other. The lithological heterogeneity suggests variations in the intensity of the transporting agents — rivers for the most part; and there is abundant evidence of the cutting of channels into semi-consolidated material,

of the later deposition of debris within these channels and of its winnowing by wave action close to the shorelines of the basin. It has been argued, by Brock and Pretorius in the first place, that uplifts of the granitic Iloor during the deposition of the Witwatersrand succession in the Rand basin proper were paralleled by uplifts of segments of the basin's rim to result in the formation of the granite dome immediately north of this basin, of the Devon 'dome' east of the main basin, of the granitic mass north of Klerksdorp, and of the De Bron 'horst' in the O.F.S. gold6elds. The phenomenon of the Vredefort dome is of interest. Here a mass of pre-%itwatersrand granite, some 40 km in diameter, is covered on its eastern,

northern and western sides by a ring of steeply dipping Witwatersrand sediments, some of which are auriferous, while the overlying Ventersdorp lavas seem to display no dips. This led the authors cited to conclude that the uplift of the 'dome' began in Lower Witwatersrand times to provide a local shoreline and a local source for the pebbles (and gold) of the U pper Witwatersrand conglomerate lenses, and that the succeeding Ventersdorp rocks occupied a circular trough that surrounded the uplifted

and disturbed older rocks. The third major member of the Triad is known as the Ventersdorp 'system' and consists mainly of volcanics although the full succession carries some economically important groups of sediments. The 'system' shows variable relationships with the earlier rocks and extends over wider areas than do the members of the %itwatersrand

'system'. At places the Ventersdorp rocks lie directly on pre-Dominion Reef granites; at others they lie unconformably upon Dominion Reef rocks or on Witwatersrand sediments; while at others the passage from %itwatersrand to Ventersdorp appears to

347 be approximately conformable. The volcanics of the Ventersdorp are both acidic and basic in composition and consist for the most part of Ilows from fissure eruptions but

also include explosion types. The next sedimentary episode was that in which, in various parts of southern Africa, rocks of the Transvaal system and its presumed equivalents were formed, rocks which rest unconformably on all the earlier ones.

The earliest deposition took place in a depression stretching now from near Sabie to Potgietersrus in the northern Transvaal and consisted of clastics and volcanics that were once included in a 'Wolkberg system' but are now considered to be the basal beds of the Transvaal system overlain conformably by the Black Reef series. The presence of lava IIows in this series is duplicated in the Black Reef beds of the Vryburg area and probably in the A l lanridge — Bothaville area of the O.F.S. The local depressions in which this deposition occurred became more widespread and a sea invaded a large area extending from the T r ansvaal Drakensberg to the Langebcrg in the present Kalahari and meridionally f rom at l east the O range River t o t h e n o rth-central Transvaal and the south-eastern part of Botswana. The waters of this sea were at first shallow and in them were deposited the sandstones, grits, pebble beds and shales ol' the Black Reefseries. This sea deepened, and over the whole area the clastics of the Black Reef vvere overlain with shaly beds that were foHowed by the thick succession of mainly dolornitic and calcareous sediments that in the Transvaal is known as the Dolomite series and in the west as the Campbell Rand series, It carries locally bands of chert, dark carbonaceous shale, and clastic quartzite; in the north-eastern, northern and western areas the

upper part of the succession becomes ferruginous and is composed mainly of banded ironstones with which are associated seams of ferruginous asbestos (amosite) or blue

soda asbestos (crocidolite). Certain horizons are characterized by the presence of stromatolitic algal structures; while there is evidence of medusoid animals iwith ten appendages living in the waters from which chemical precipitation was occurring. Physical and chemical conditions of formation of the series as a whole were clearly not constant nor identical over the whole basin of deposition. In this connection may be cited the more intensive precipitation of iron-bearing or soda-bearing deposits late in Dolomite times in the northern and western parts of the sea and their absence from the southern areas.

Over much of the Transvaal area formation of the dolomite sequence was followed by a period of emergence during which there was erosion and the formation of chert breccias and chert-bearing conglomerates that initiated the thick succession of clastic deposits with some intercalated lavas that constitute the Pretoria series, In the Griqualand %est area, the so-named Banded Ironstone stage is now considered to be the

upper stage of the Dolomite (Campbell Rand) series and the overlying Gamagara sediments as the lowest local stage of the Pretoria series. The two successions here are

separated by sedimentary and collapse breccias. In the Transvaal, the sediments of the Pretoria series are several thousand feet thick and consist of argillaceous material with intercalated prominent and widespread bands of quartzitic sandstones which show evidence of shallow-water deposition

SCIENIIHC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AHUCA

(false-bedding, ripple marks and sun-cracks). In Griqualand West, the sediments are Iiner in grain and include more chemical precipitates. There was one glacial interlude giving rise to the Ongeluk iillite in Griqualand West and isolated patches of similar rock in the Transvaal. Intercalated volcanicity is evidenced by the thick Ongeluk lavas overlying this tillite, and by the Machadodorp tulfs (Magaliesberg stage), the Dullstroom volcanics, and the 'Rooiberg felsites'. This volmnicity appears to be the initial inanifestation of the intense magmatic activity that culminated in the various phases of the Bushveld igneous complex in the Transvaal and the Great Dyke of Rhodesia, with their satellite intrusions in the Orange Free State and elsewhere. It has been suggested by some investigators that the igneous activity displayed in the Bushveld area and in the allied Vredefort ring complex was primarily caused by impact from extra-terrestrial sources. Confining attention for the moment to this central area. it is clear that the completion of the Bushveld igneous episode must have been followed by a prolonged period of uplift and erosion and the forination of a surface of wide extent on which were laid down local successions of sediments and volcanic rocks. The absence ot fossils renders correhtion of t h e predominantly arenaceous and rudaceous sediments hazardous.

They, and the accompanying lavas, have been grouped as the Waterberg system (including the Loskop series) in the Transvaal and Botswana, the Umkondo system in S.E. Rhodesia, the Sijarira series in N .W. Rhodesia and the Matsap system in Griqualand West. It seems possible that the lava IIows in the Loskop beds of the central Transvaal, the thick lavas underlying Waterberg sediments in the Soutpansberg area, those in the Umkondo succession, and the Hartley Hill (M atsap) volcanics of Griqualand West may all represent more or less contemporaneous volcanicity. Within this central area there is a prolonged sedimentary hiatus between the rocks formed by the post-Waterberg igneous activity and those deposited at the onset of Karroo times

(Dwyka). In the area lying south-west. west and north-west of the central basin of southern Africa, a considerable number of formations of post-Kheis age have been studied, named and described and some age determinations have been made on igneous rocks associated with them. The iiiterrelationships of more or less local outcrops of unfossiliferous pre-Damara rocks over this large area still require complete elucidation in spite of the comparatively few age-determinations on igneous rocks intruded into them. The oldest presumably post-Kheis rocks in South West Africa are probably those in the north-western area that have been named the Abbabis system and the unassociated Huab series. The latter has been intruded by the Fransfontein granite which

yielded, according to Clilford et al., an age of I 700 + 60 m.y. Overlying the Huab rocks in an inlier is the Khoabendus formation, also intruded by granite whose age

is cited as I 10®1 360 m.y, These ages are all younger than that usually assigned to the Bushveld igneous complex that is intrusive into the Transvaal system; and, if the age-determinations on igneous intrusives can be accepted as indicative of the actual time of intrusion, there is no evidence in the peripheral area surrounding the central craton of any sedimentation that can be co-eval with either the Witwatersrand or Transvaal sedimentation.

349 Within the cratonic area the completion of the Bushveld igneous episode must have been follovved by a prolonged period of uplift and erosion which resulted in the formation of a surface of which the hypabyssal rocks of the Bushveld complex formed a part in the Transvaal area. On this surface of wide extent t.here is preserved evidence, in parts of the Transvaal, in Rhodesia, in Botswana and in Griqualand West, of a period of sedimentation and volcanism, and inter-systetnatic crustal movements. The resulting rocks have been grouped as the Waterberg system (including the Loskop series) in parts of the Transvaal and Botsvvana, the Umkondo system in S.E. Rhodesia and the Matsap system in Griqualand West. It is tempting to consider that the various lava Aows, some of considerable thickness, associated with the sediments so-named in the various areas give evidence of more o r l ess contemporaneous volcanicity. Within the Transvaal area there is evidence of folding during Waterberg times, while the Matsap succession is strongly folded along axes that run in a northerly direction from the Prieska area. Certain alkaline intrusive masses, such as those of the Pilansberg, the Glenover complex, and possibly the kimberlite of the Premier mine, appear

to be of post-Waterberg age. In the area of South West Africa south of the Darnara system and north ot the Orange River a number of 'systems' and 'series' of post-Khcis, pre-Damara age have been described, but exact correlations of these with the successions of post-Transvaal, pre-Karroo age in the inland cratonic area are still uncertain. Prominent among them is a succession of acid and mafic lavas, tuA's, sandstones and conglomerates that Range in l912 designated Konkip system lying unconformably upon what was then known as the 'Fundamental Complex'. Beetz in l922 divided this succession into three groups which he called, in ascending order, Kunjas series. Sinclair series and Auborus series; but later detailed mapping Ied Martin to separate a Nagatis series — composed ol lavas,

quartz porphyries, agglomerates and ignimbrites, vvith occasional thick basal phyllitic schists from the bottom of the Kunjas rocks which are themselves mainly of sediments deposited in irregular, partly disconnected basins. The Sinclair beds appear to be disconformable upon the Nagatis and consist of a basal 600 m or more of conglomerates and sandstones vvith interbedded felsic lavas and tuAs follovved by a thick succession of lava Aows capped by coarse conglomerates vnth intercalated amygdaloidal lavas (the Guperas member). Both the Ku njas and Sinclair successions have been invaded by discordant bodies of granite and quartz porphyry. These intrusions ar- all pre-Auborus. The next major episode in the Namaqualand area was dilkrential uplift which brought the Kheis rocks and the associated granites and gneisses into the zone of weathering and denudation and the formation of a N-S hinge zone on whose vvestern side were deposited the Stinkfontein sediments derived from higher ground to the east and along which the Richtersveld suite of igneous rocks with their associated intrusions into the Stinkfontein sediments were injected. If contemporaneity of the various sedimentary groups known as the Cango (S.W.

Cape), Malmesbury (W. Cape), Gariep (Namaqualand and Namaland), and Damara (Damaraland) be accepted, the next important tectonic event was the formation of a geosynclinal trough whose axis was more or less paraAel to the south-western and

350

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUl H AFRICA

western shores of the present sub-continent and which, on the western side, extended at least as far north as the mouth of the present Congo River. In Damaraland a branch of the geosynclinal axis ran north-eastwards in a direction parallel to a hne of crustal

weakness along which folding and faulting had affected the pre-Damara rocks. On its northern side this branch of the eugeosynchne was bordered by a chain of islands, beyond which there was a miogeosynclinal depression. Deposits in the, latter are known as the Outjo facies, those in the main depression in this region as the Sxvakop facies. The maximum thickness of beds of the Outjo I'acies is 14 000 m in the Kaokoveld area and of the Swakop facies l7000 m in the %indhoek district. The eugeosynclinal deposits have undergone considerable thermal metamorphism which, at its maximum, led to the formation of 'red granite' from rocks ol' the basal Nosib series and of the 'Salem granite' from rocks of the Khomas series. The thick succession of dolomitic rocks that occurs in the middle series of the Damara system contains one or more bands of tillite — the Chuos tillite. The Swakop beds are more strongly folded and metamorphosed than those of the Outjo facies. In the coastal area from Liideritzbucht southwards to Port Nolloth, lying to the west of the Stinkfontein beds and their presumed equivalent is a succession of sediments and volcanics to which the name Gariep system has been given. The succession is clearly a geosynclinal one,- with its components derived mainly from the east. In the type area of the Richtersveld, the Gariep beds have been subdivided into a basal Black Hills series (schist, quartzites, grits, limestone and a possible tiilite), a Hilda series (grits, arkose, conglomerate, schist, limestone, with a possible tillite), and a top Holgat series (schist, graywacke, quartzite and arkose). Associated with the succession is a Grootderm series (volcanics and sediments) which Martin considers to have been thrust from the vvest over the younger members of the Gariep. In the Luderitzbucht area, Martin equated the Grootderm series with his volcanic and sedimentary 'Marmora beds' which are overlain by a transgressive Bogenfels formation, equated by him with the Hilda series. Rocks estitnated to be of the same age as the Damara and Gariep outcrop from the Vanrhynsdorp area southwards to the Cape Peninsula area and then eastvvards along the coastal strip as far as the Cango area and form the Malmesbury beds (called the Cango beds in the east). They consist of quartzitic rocks, graywackes, phyllitic argillaceous rocks and some sporadic limestones, with minor acid and basic intrusives. In the western sections the rocks have been considerably folded mainly along axes directed to the NW or N N W ; i n the southern belt the latest fold axes tend to be parallel to those of the later Cape folds. In the area between George and Saldanha Bay these sediments have been intruded by the Cape granites, which have given radiometric ages varying from 610 m.y. to 500 m.y. These intrusions are considered to be late tectonic with respect to the Malmesbury succession; if this be so, correlation of the Malmesbury sequence with those of the Damara and Gariep successions is acxeptable, and a late Precambrian age can be assigned to them. In Namaqualand the folded Gariep beds are followed by the Numees deposits, and in the southern foreland of the Damara geosynclinal belt Tsumis strata are overlain by the Buschmannsklippe group of rocks, Both the Numees and Buschrnannsklippe

GEOLOGY

351

successions are characterized by the presence of glacial and glaciomarine deposits, indicative of a cold period that probably began prior to, and continued after, Numees

times in the Namaqualand area. The last sedimentary episode in the western peripheral area in late Precambrian and early Palaeozoic times was the deposition on an apparently fairly stable platform of the succession of sediments grouped as the Nama system, divided from below upwards into the Kuibis, Schwarzkalk, Schwarzrand and Fish River series. The type area is the southern part of S,W. Africa (Namaland); both to the east and south of it facies changes occur. The Kuibis beds have yielded fossils from several areas: some of these appear to be comparable with certain elements of the late Precambrian Ediacara

beds of South Australia. There is evidence in beds belonging to or just above the Kuibis series in the Klein Karas mountains of local glacial conditions. Of post-Nama age is a line of acidic plutons which runs in a north-easterly direction

frotn the coast south of Alexander Bay (Swartbank) through the Kuboos massif, Tatasberg and Aiais to Bremen in S.W. Africa. The post-Waterberg intrusive episode in the central shield and the deposition of the Nama beds along its vvestern and south-western periphery were followed by a long break in sedimentation. The land-surl'ace of post-Nama times must, generally, have sloped southwards to become bordered on its south by w hat D u T oi t c alled the

'Sarnfrau Geosyncline' in which were deposited the succession of sediments called the 'Cape system' which app-ar to range in age from the Ordovician to somewhere in the Carboniferous. The shoreline of the area of deposition, in South Africa, ran in an irregular fashion from at least the Vanrhynsdorp area in the west to the Hlabisa area of Natal in the east. In this depression were first deposited the mainly arenaceous sediments of the Table Mountain series which, in the west, increase in thickness southwards and, along their southern outcrops. markedly towards the east. In the western

area the arenaceous succession is interrupted by a glacial band followed by 50 m or soof shales. Fossil s are scaroe; such invertebrates as have been found have been assigned to the Upper Ordovician. Deposition of this arenaceous group was followed by a series of marine fossiliferous shales with arenaceous intercalations, forming the Bokkeveld series. The topmost series of the Cape succession is known as the Witteberg series, which consists of alternations of fi nely bedded whitish quartzites with i n tercalated dark m icaceous shales, ending with a stage of shales with their sandstones. Contained fossils consist

of plant remains, a few fishes, and the peculiar spirally grooved impressions of Spirophyron (which also occur in the upper beds of the underlying Bokkeveld series). Neither of the two upper series has been definitely identified from Natal and Zululand, east and north of Port St. Johns. In this belt, the rocks assigned to the Table Mountain series are mainlywhite sandstones, which become redder northwards. According to Du Toit the thickness of the horst at Port St. Johns is about 1 300 m, about 650 m

in the Eshowe area, diminishing to not more than 200 m in the north, Within the southern folded belt, where the T.M.S. outcrops in a series of mountain ranges, the rocks of the system are strongly folded along approximately E-W axes with movement from the south sometimes resulting in over-folding to th e n o rth.

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AHIICA

Folding in this area continued well into Karroo times, affecting both the Dwyka succession and the lower beds of the Beaufort series lying within and north of the

Cape ranges. The outcrops along the western belt, from the Cape to the region near Vanrhynsdorp, have an approximately meridional strike, and are only gently folded. One prominent anticlinal range of Table Mountain series is the Cedarbergen. To the west of this are long and narrow in-faulted stretches of Bokkeveld beds, and the Table Mountain series extends westwards to outcrop at places along the Atlantic coast.

Thicknesses of this series increase rapidly from the Vanrhynsdorp area southwards, a maximum of some 3 600 m having been estimated for the series at Citrusdal in the Cedarberg area. It is in this belt that the glacial band in the series is best developed. The change of strike between the Cape rocks of the western and southern belts forms the region of syntaxis running in a north-easterly direction from the coast east of False Bay to the Ceres area.

The next succession of rocks is called the Karroo system (or super-system) which covers about half the Republic of South Africa and the whole of Lesotho and is found in large areas in Swaziland, in Mozambique, in the western part of Rhodesia, over much of Botswana, and in South West Al'rica. The system consists of basal glacial deposits (the Dwyka tillite), sandstones, mudstones and shales (largely of continental deposition), and thick lava-llows, all intersected by and interlayered with dykes and sheets of doleritic and allied igneous rocks. The time occupied in its formation, on palaeontological and other evidence, is considered to have extended from the Lpper Carboniferous to the lower part of the Jurassic — a period of slightly more than l00 mullion years. The presence of workable coal seams in a number of areas and of more local occurrences of ferruginous seditnents render the system economically interesting, while the presence of fossil plants and, particularly, of fossil vertebrates has made the succession of outstanding interest to the palaeontologist and stratigrapher. In the southern section. the lower part of the sedimentary section has been subjected to folding, and even over-folding, along axes parallel to those of the folds that have disturbed the underlying Cape rocks; but over the remainder of the large area of out-

crops the beds lie practically unalfected by folding except in the Natal and Zululand areas, where the fold-axes are approximately longitudinal and were initiated in postStormberg tines.

A very considerable number of papers have been published, especially during the present century, dealing with the stratigraphy, palaeontology and economic potentials of the rocks included in the Karroo system and its associated igneous assemblages. It is impossible, in a brief summary of the geology of the South African area, even to outline the varied conclusions that have been adumbrated concerning the history of the conditions under which deposition of the contained rock assemblages was effected. The most complete sequence is to be found in the central and eastern parts of the Cape Province, the southern part of the Orange Free State and in Lesotho and the contiguous parts of Natal. Elsewhere the sequence is either much attenuated or is incomplete.

On lithological and palaeontological grounds, the system in the type area has been broadly subdivided as follows:

GEOLOGY

Stormberg series

Drakensberg Lava stage Cave Sandstone stage Red Beds stage Molteno stage

Beaufort series

Upper stage — C~nognaihuszone Middle stage — Lystrosaurus zone Lower stage — Daptocephaluszone Tapinocephaius zone

Ecca series

Upper stage Middle stage Lovver stage

Dwyka series

( Upper stage Tillite stage

Q

(This nomenclature, as far as stage names are concerned, is not in accordance with present-day concepts; but it is so engrained in much of the literature prior to l 960 that it is retained here for simplicity. Two of the zonal names formerly included in the Beaufort series have been discarded because of new knowledge on the distribution of' the fossil reptiles on which the earlier subdivision was based.) The fullest succession is preserved in the 'Great Karroo basin'. Elsewhere thy succession is interrupted by disconformities indicative of non-deposition, particularly of beds assignable to parts or all of the Beaufort series, even in the more northerly parts of' this large 'basin'. That the Dwyka tillite is of glacial origin is clear not only from the presence of' many erratics within the deposit but also from the existence of' polished and striated Aoors in a large stretch of country from Nieuwoudtville in the west to Durban in th e east which includes classic examples such as those of the Prieska, Griqualand West, Kimberley and D u rban areas. The climate from glacial times onxvards ameliorated, as evidenced from the incursion and evolution of reptiles at the beginning of Beaufort times. until it became desertic or semi-desertic in Stormberg times. Sedimentological studies of'the Dwyka and Ecca rocks in the basin clearly indicate that two major gathering grounds existed from xvhich material was transported — one on the northern and north-eastern Aanks of the area of deposition and one on the south

and south-east. The maximum thickness of the Dvvyka succession is found in the southern 'trough' where it reaches at least l 000 m ~vhife in the same region the thickness of'the Ecca varies between 2 000 m in the west and over 4 000 m west of Grahamstown in the east. North of this trough thicknesses diminish fairly rapidly. Detailed studies of the Dwyka by T, P. Stratten and of the Ecca by P, Ryan deal with these varlatlons. During the deposition of the coal measures of Ecca times in the Transvaal, Natal and the O.F,S. the climate must have been warmer and more humid than in Dwyka

times; while during the Beaufort period there must have been periods of desiccation alternating with Aooding in an area that supported a land-dwelling fauna that was

354

SCIK>i'TIHC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

fairly rapidly evolving. The succession from the Molteno stage to the top of the Cave sandstone gives evidence of increasing temperature and aridity, and of the beginning of the volcanic activity that resulted in the formation of volcanoes of an explosive

type and culminated in the outpouring of the great thicknesses of the Drakensberg ]avas. Outside of the main Karroo basin, deposition of sediments assigned to the Karroo

system occurred in a number of subsidiary basins. In the central Transvaal or Springbok Flats basin, which has an irregular Hoor and extends for sotne 160 km along an ENE axis, the succession is broken by a big hiatus between the Upper Ecca shales and the equivalent of the Red Beds of the Stormberg series, which overlap the Ecca

to lie directly on the Precambrian Hoor. The Middle Ecca beds carry coal. A second basin extended from the Waterberg westwards across Botswana and as far as the

Nossob and Auob areas of S.W, Africa. Here the succession of sediments is known mainly from borecores; but here also there is apparently a hiatus between a lower group (Dwyka, Ecca and possible Lower Beaufort) and an upper group of Stormberg age. Here, too, coals occur in Ecca beds. A similar succession is described from the Soutpansberg-Limpopo belt, where the pre-Karroo Hoor had an irregular topography, with the lowest member of the Karroo succession found only in hollows and valleys in this Hoor. Lower Karroo beds, with coals, in the Wankie-Zambezi basin of Rhodesia,

are also unconformably overlain by Stormberg sediment and lavas. South West Africa, too, has areas in which sediments attributable to one or other part of the Karroo succession are preserved. In the Etjo area of Damaraland recent studies have disclosed the presence of reptilian fossils closely comparable with those of the Upper Beaufort beds of the Inain Karroo basin; while in the Doros area nearer to the present coast line, Dwyka beds carrying .~fesosaurushave been investigated. In the Kaokoveld between the Ugab and Kunene rivers, Karroo rocks are mdespread but not continuous, the

oldest — glacial deposits and shales — being preserved in certain U-shaped valleys running westwards from the inland peneplain. The Hnal Karroo episode in the northern part of S.W. Africa was the formation of central type intrusions that cut the Stormberg lavas. These show a variety of rock types

— alkali granites in the Erongo and Brandberg plutons, a variety in the Messina and the Okonjeje complexes, alkaline rocks at Paresis and Okorusu, and carbonatites at

Eisenberg and Kalkfeld. Between the cessation of Karroo volcanism and the initiation of sedimentation in late Jurassic or early Cretaceous times there was a period of erosion in the subcontinent during which folding in the southern belt of the Cape ceased but monoclinal folding along N-S axes occurred in the Lebombo belt causing an easterly dip. In the Cape folded belt longitudinal valleys were excavated in the weaker strata, while in the western areas ofNamaqualand tributary streams joined a proto-Orange River and formed depositories for sediments. Along the southern edge of the continent the sea began to encroach into low-lying river valleys. The most extensive of the deposits thus formed along the southern coast lies in the Uitenhage area where the series, beginning

with the terrestrial Enon conglomerate, is completed by the brackish-water Wood beds and variegated marls which are overlain by the Sunday's River marine beds of Neo-

355 comian age. Patches of parts of this succession occur in isolated areas between Worcester and the Uitenhage basin and along the Transkei coast. In the coastal area stretching northwards from Port St. Johns through Natal into Mozambique the Cretaceous succession begins with thin plant-bearing terrestrial deposits but is mainly formed by marine beds whose fossil contents show a succession from the Aptian to the Maestrichtian — Danian, with a hiatus during the Upper Cenomanian and Turonian when the sea retreated. The fauna of these beds is an Indian Ocean one and closely comparable arit that of deposits in Madagascar. Along the Atlantic coast the only evidence in the southern area of a Cretaceous

incursion (Upper Cretaceous) is furnished by a small patch of fossiliferous shales near Chameis north of the Orange River; but other deposits of this age doubtless underlie the Tertiary and Recent cover of the coastal belt. It is possible that some of the lowest horizons of the 'Kalahari system' in the Kalahari basin may be of Cretaceous age. A well sunk in the Henkries valley in

Namaqualand yielded, at a depth of some 35 rn from the surface, silici6ed wood and fragmentary dinosaur teeth and vertebrae that were considered by Haughton to indicate a possible Lower Cretaceous age for the sands which carried them. Because of the uplift of most of southern Africa in Cretaceous times it is only along the coastal fringes that marine deposits assignable to the Tertiary, Quaternary and Recent periods are preserved. Basin-like depressions on the land, such as the Kalahari and Congo basins, were the recipients of transported material during these

major

periods. During the past two decades considerable attention has been paid to the geology and palaeontology of the coastal deposits which are preserved in Mozambique, Zululand, in the south-eastern and southern coastal belt between East London and the Cape Peninsula, and along the western coastal belt as far north as the landward end of the Walvis ridge., and also to the submarine deposits south and west of the present coastline. Palaeontological evidence has shown that deposits of various times in the Tertiary and Quaternary are preserved at various places at varying heights above sealevel, leading to conclusions regarding changes of sea-level with respect to the coast line and, in certain areas (particularly on the western side), of differential tectonic warping. As an example of the latter may be cited the Osrrea prismatic' warm-water beach deposit which lies at about 40 m a.s.l. at Alexander Bay but at 24 m at the Olifants River mouth and at l0 m or less just south of Luderitzbucht. The Tertiary history of the inland area is one of intermittent and differential uplifts intercalated with periods of peneplanation or pediplanation. The differential movements produced swells and depressions, the latter becoming drainage channels

for the principal rivers, with one major basin {the Kalahari basin) becoming a repository for sediments. L. C. K ing has distinguished three major periods of Tertiary planation: {I) the end-Cretaceous plane, {2) the mid-Tertiary or Miocene plane, and

{3) the end-Tertiary cycle of erosion. The mid-Tertiary plane is largely covered with a mantle of silcrete or ferricrete, indicative of conditions of aridity. It suffered uplift and gentle warping, resulting in the formation of ridges and basins whose axes had run + NE —SW. Some of the major rivers were antecedent to this uplift — such as the Orange

356

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

and the Hartebeest; the Okavango, which had its course diverted, was ponded back

on the western side of the Kalahari — Rhodesia axis of uplift and now spreads its outflow over a large inland delta. In late Tertiary and Quaternary times, the climate over the interior was not constant. Periods of more intense rainfall caused the major water-courses to erode their valleys, leaving remnants of fluviatile deposits on their sides; these alternated with drier periods during which calcretes, silcretes and ferricretes formed on the surface. Deposits of sand and rubble Sled or partly filled caves in carbonate rocks and, in those with surfaoe openings, these cave-deposits carry mammalian remains of which the most noteworthy are those of the hominids Ausrralopirhecus and Homo, as well as stone and bone artefacts. In conclusion, a stateinent made by Dr C. L. Drake on relinquishing his chairmanship of the Inter-Union Commission on G seems appropriate. It reads:

ogmas

eodynam ics

'Many of the d of my youth have sulfered serious damage. Others are being assaulted by bright young men, and if they can break them down with good data and carefully considered arguments, we must accept this with grace. The combination of

talents and disciplines v orking on the problems of geodynamics' (and, one may add, of geological history as a whole) 'promises to produce a new set of dogmas that, hopefully, may stand the test of time and future assaults by upcoming bright young men.' For me, a lifelong association with geological science has been scientifically exciting and personally stimulating.

THE HISTORY OF GEOM A G N E T IC, IONOSPHERIC MlD COSMIC-RAY RESEARCH IN SOUTH ~ CA *

by A. M. vAN %uK, R, %', Vice and P. H. SToKER

Geomagnetism. Visiting seamen and travellers were responsible for the early magnetic observations in South A f r ica. For example, the earliest recorded

observation of magnetic declination in this country was made at Mossel Bay in 1595 by Houtinan, who obtained a value of O'. Earlier shipborne measurements, made by the Portuguese navigator De Castro on a voyage to Goa in 1538, indicate that the magnetic declination at the Cape at that time was about 6' east of true north. Froni the beginning of the seventeenth to the middle of the eighteenth century at

least eighteen observers, mainly English, Dutch and French, observed the tnagnetic declination at or near the Cape. During this period the mean rate of change of magnetic

dechnation was about 8' per annum westward. By the time the celebrated French astronomer, La Caille,' visited the Cape in 1751, the westerly declination had increased to 19'. La Caille was the first to measure the magnetic inclination in this part of the world. Another Frenchman, Freycinet, was responsible for the first complete determination of the magnetic field at Cape Town. The observations were made in 1818

and gave 26,5 for the westerly declination, — 50,8' for the inclination and 0,3245 gauss for the total intensity.

Most of the above observations are included in a comprehensive list of early results compiled by Beattie (1909). Van Wijk (1950) used these and subsequent data to produce a series of smoothed secular variation graphs of the magnetic elements at the Cape. Conspicuous features of these curves are the reversals in sign of the secular change in declination around 1875 and 1945, and in the horizontal intensity around )900. The second reversal in the secular variation of declination had been speculatively ~ Based on a paper commissioned by the South African National Committee for Geomagnetism, Aeronomy and Space Sciences, for presentation at the Grenoble Assembly of the International Union for Geodesy and Geophysics (Aug.]Sept, I9751. ' See pages 4l 2MI4.

357

358

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

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GEOSIAGNEriC, IONOSPHERIC AND COShIIC-RAY RESEARCH

359

predicted by Lewis (1937). Prior to 1900 a considerable number of observations had been made by surveyors in different parts of the interior, notably by J. J. Bosman and A, Moorrees of the Surveyor General's Department, Cape Town, and by H. G. Fourcade of the old Cape Forestry Department. The observations were made primarily with the object of

indicating the direction of magnetic north on plans and diagrams. By suitable reduction of a number of such readings supplied to him by Bosman, Beattie (1909) produced isogonic charts of the Cape Colony for the epochs 1825, 1850 and 1875. Beattie mentions in his report that a 'Inagnetic observatory' was maintained at the Cape for a short period from about 1841. What little was known about the daily and annual variations of the magnetic elements was deduced from the results obtained at this station. The observations were carried out by a d etachment of the Royal

Artillery stationed at the Royal Observatory of the Cape of Good Hope from 1841 to 1846. Subsequently the work was carried out fairly regularly under Sir Thomas !vlaclear until the magnetic house vvas destroyed by fire in 1853. This early observing station at the Cape was a magnetic observatory in the sense that observations were made at regular intervals (hourly in the case of declination and intensity) over a period of several years. Despite niany attempts to resuscitate it, more than seventy years elapsed before a magnetic observatory worthy of the name hvas established in South Africa, The need for such a station was stressed by Beattie in 1909; by the British Association for the Advanceinent of Science in a resolution passed

at its meeting in Cape Town in 1929; and by Dr A. Ogg, then Professor of Physics at the University of Cape Town in a l e tter to the Cape Times of 1 N o vember 1930.

Dr Ogg's letter was followed a few days later by a no less eloquent plea through t he same medium by Si r H a r old Spencer Jones, then H ,M . A s t ronomer at t h e

Cape. The international Polar Year 1932 — 3 provided the necessary stimulus for an undertaking of this nature. South Africa contributed to this enterprise by establishing a temporary magnetic observatory at the University of Cape Town in 1932. Operation began on 5 August of that year and was continued after the termination of the Polar Year. The new observatory was taken over by. the Union Government in 1937 and thenceforth functioned as a branch of the Trigonometrical Survey 0%oe. Owing to the artificial disturbances experienced at the original site in Cape Town, the observatory was transferred to a new site on the outskirts of Hermanus in 1941, where it soon became the recognized centre for geomagnetic research in South Africa. The observatory's founder, Dr A. Ogg, continued to direct the activities of this institution until his retirement in April 1946. With the subsequent expansion of its activities and the reorganization of research in South Africa, the Hermanus Observatory divas incorporated into the CSIR as a separate research unit on 1 April 1969.

A major undertaking of the Hermanus Observatory during the period 196W75 was the establishment of a network of magnetic 'observatories'. Together vvith the recording stations which the Observatory maintains on South Africa's Marion Island and on the South African Antarctic base, Sanae, the network now the following stations:

comprises

Station

(i) Hermanus (1941 — ) (ii) Tsumeb (1964- ) (iii) Hartebeesthoek (1972 — ) (iv) Grahamstown (1974- ) (v) Sanaea (1960- ) (vi) Marion Islande (1972 — )

Geographical Co-ordi nates

34' 25' S 19 12 S 25 53 S 33 19 S 70 19 S 46 53 S

19' l4' E 17 36 E 27 42 E 26 30 E 220 W 37 51E

The first magnetic survey of South Africa comparable with that of European countries and America was carried out between 1897 and 1915 by Sir Carruthers Beattie of the University of Cape Town, with the assistance of Professor J, T. Morrison of the University of Stellenbosch. Measurements of D, H and I were made with Kew magnetometers and dip circles of the Dover pattern. The results of the earlier observa-

tions, reduced to the epoch 1909, were published by the Royal Society of London (Beattie 1909). The later observations were published from time to time in the Transactions of the Royal Society of South Afrtca, Beattie (1917) subsequently compiled the values of D and I for no fewer than 653 stations in southern Africa. The next significant contribution was made by E. N. Grindley of the University of Cape Town (1947), who consolidated the results of magnetic tneasurements tnade by observers prior to 1931. After reducing all the observations to the epoch 1930,5, he compiled a set of'accurate isomagnetic charts based on observations at 700 stations in southern Africa. During 1928-30 Grindley himself reoccupied about fifty of the earlier stations in order to determine the secular variation data required for the reductions. Among the earlier observers listed in his paper appear the names of Beattie and Morrison, whose monumental work had already received world-wide recognition; Father Goetz who occupied 14 stations in Northern Rhodesia in 19I4 and 11 in Southern Rhodesia in 1916; Colonel Chaves who measured the tnagnetic elements at 15 stations in Mozambique in 1906; two observers from the Carnegie Institution of

Washington who occupied a number of stations in southern Africa during the period 1916-20 (the results of subsequent observations by the CIW were summarized by Wallis and Green in 1947); and two oScers of the Portuguese Navy, Da Fonesca and Vaz, who made observations at 14 stations in Mozambique in 1925. The Department of Irrigation, during a topographical survey extending from 1934 to 1937, made observations of magnetic declination with tubular compasses attached to theodolites. The results were published in the form of an isogonic chart of South Africa for the epoch 1936, with an explanatory pamphlet by A. D. Lewis. 1938 — 9 saw the institution by the Hermanus Observatory of a long-term secular

variation programme under the direction of A. Ogg (1940). A network of 44 permanent field stations was established covering with fairly uniform distribution the whole of ~ South Africa's involvetnent in Antarctic research dates from the hand-over of the norwegian Antarcticbase to South Africa in January l960. The geomagnetic and auroral programmes of the South African Antarctic Expeditions vere directed by the Hermanus Observatory from l960 until l968 and by the Physics Department of Potchefstroom University from l969 until June l975 aAer which the Hermanus Observatory once more assumed responsibility for these programmes,

GEOMAGNETIC, 1ONOSPHERlC AND COSMlC-RAY RESEARCH

361

the Union, South West Africa and Bechuanaland. While in a few cases the sites occu-

pied by earlier observers were considered suitable for secular variation observations, the majority of new 'repeat' stations were established on entirely new sites. To ensure exact reoccupation during subsequent surveys, concrete beacons were erected at each

station to mark the position of the instruments during observations. The network was subsequently augmented and by 1974 comprised 55 stations (not including the eight stations established in Rhodesia in 1948 and the four stations established in Botswana in 1974). Repeat observations were carried out at these primary field stations during 1947 — 8, 1952 —3, 1961, 1966, 1970 — I and 1974 — 5. XVith a view to the co-ordination of secular variation surveys in southern Africa. close liaison was maintained with the appropriate organizations in the neighbouring territories throughout this period. The

resullts of the observations carried out from time to time at the national network of stations were published in the 'MAG -C' series of the Hermanus Observatory. The secular variation stations established in 1958 on Gough Island and Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic, and on Marion Island in 1960, were lost through

natural causes (a volcanic eruption on Tristan and destructive IIoods on Gough) before they could be reoccupied. Marion Island now has a magnetic recording station with

full base line control, Three independent magnetic survey progranunes undertaken in the years foIIowing World War II deserve mention in this review. They were (a) the systematic measure-

ment of mag netic declination by field officers of the Trigonometrical Survey Office, (b) the measurement of vertical intensity along the principal roads of the Republic and South West Africa by field officers of the Geological Survey and (e) seaborne observations of magnetic declination by the S.A. Navy. Since the turn of the century geomagnetic research has included studies of secular variation. The results of the comprehensive magnetic surveys outlined above were analysed by the respective investigators and provided indispensable data for the com-

magnetic

pilation and updating of charts. Scheepers (1969) subsequently made a comprehensive study of secular variation trends in South Africa during the period 1939-66. The investigation included a critical study of observational and computational techniques and resulted in the adoption of i rocedures. Diurnal variation studies have included the analysis (Fourier analysis, vector

mproved p

diagrams, etc.) of the daily magnetic variation at Cape Town (Gotsman 1942u, 1942b); a study of the solar activity dependence of the Sq variation at Hermanus (Scheepers 1964): an analysis of the Sq variation as observed at the South African Antarctic base, Sanae (Kiihn 8c SutcliAe 1973): and a preliminary computation of the 'lunar tide' in the lnagnetic elements at Cape Town and Herrnanus (Van Wijk 4, Bergh 1963). An analysis of monthly observatory data (Van Wijk 1953) led to the detection of an annual wave in the magnetic elements at H ermanus. Subsequent analyses of world-wide observatory data revealed well-defined harmonics of the annual variation (Currie 1974).

An early analysis ol'magnetic activity data for the period 1940-6 revealed periods of geomagnetic activity which are one-third and one-half of the solar-rotation period

(Ogg 1946). Subsequent application of the maximum entropy' approach to power s pe"trum estimation g elded greatIy improved knov ledge of the structure of

the

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

geomagnetic spectrum beyond 2 years. The findings included the Iirst successful line spectrum detection of the solar and double solar cycle variations in absolute geomagnetic data and provided dear evidence of the harmonic structure of these variations

(Currie 1973a). Evidence was also found for a ~

ye a r peak in these data which is

believed to correspond to an internal signal originating in th e Earth's core, with

anomalously low values in the Pacific region (Currie 1973b). Research in the fteld of rnagnetospheric physics has included studies of irregular

geomagnetic pulsations (SutcliA'e 1975) with special reference to pulsations of Pi2 type. Special attention was paid to the harmonic structure exhibited by the power spectra of some of these pulsations, and a relationship was found with the plasmapause position. The whistler investigations and the studies of electron precipitation referred to in the section on Ionospheric Research likewise have a direct bearing on magneto-

spheric processes. Ionospheric Ionospheric research in South Africa had its beginnings in 1936 when Research.

G . D . W a l k er, then a lecturer at the Witwatersrand Technical College, constructed an experimental pulse transmitter and receiver and recorded ionospheric echoes. By 1938 he had improved the design of the equipment, and his manually-swept ionosonde was operated at the University of the Witwatersrand. The equipment was used in an expedition organized by Basil Schonland to carry out observations at Middelburg in the Cape Province during the solar eclipse of October

1940. This work was done by G. D. Walker, E. C. Halliday, J. Elder and A, T. Gibson. Later the equipment. was used to carry out an investigation of propagation at oblique incidence in order to assist in the design of a radio teleprinter link betw'een Johannesburg and Durban for the South African Railways. During the eclipse of 1940 ionospheric observations vvere also made at Queenstown by J. A. Pierce, of the Cruft Laboratory of Harvard University, and at Victoria West by A. J. Higgs, of the Commonwealth Solar Observatory of Canberra. Rhodes University co-operated with the Harvard eclipse expedition and shortly afterwards built its own ionosonde. For many years it concentrated on the ionospheric elfects of solar eclipses. Since 1962 it has operated an ionosonde at the South Af'rican National Antarctic base, Sanae, studying in particular the effects of particle precipitation from the radiation belts, especially in th e r egion of t h e South A t l antic Geomagnetic Anomaly. The National In stitute for T elecommunications Research has been active in ionospheric research since its establishment in 1945. Its first step in this field was to establish a service for the provision of ionospheric data and predictions for southern Africa. During the period spanning the I nternational Geophysical Year and the International Year of the Quiet Sun, attention was given to studies of the lovver ionosphere.In more recent years the emphasis has been on F-region studies. The University of Natal entered this field in 1957, when it carried out observations of radio star scintillations and initiated a p r ogramme of w h i stler investigations. Whistlers have been observed in Durban, on Marion Island, and currently at Sanae. The University of Stellenbosch has caned out a programme of airglow observations

GEOMAGh EIIC, IONOSPHERIC AND COSMIC-RAY RESEARCH

since 1963. Observations have been made at Stellenbosch and at Sanae, on voyages to Marion and Gough islands, and on long-range research flights froin Cape Town, Rhodes University's first involvement in ionospheric research was on the occasion o f the solar eclipse of October 1940, when two students, J. A. Gledhill and M . E . Szendrei, joined the Harvard University eclipse expedition under J. A . Pierce at

Queenstown. In 1943 Szendrei and Gledhill built a manually operated ionosonde. This was used to observe the effects of the eclipse of January 1945 at Grahamstown, and later to study the ionosphere over Grahamstown during the four-nlonth period from November 1945 to February 1946. Proflles of electron density lvere derived by the parabolic method of Booker and Seaton, and a theory of layer formation in an atmosphere with a linear temperature gradient was developed. This work led to an estimated temperature at 300 km of the order of 2000 K, one of' the flrst indications of the high

exospherictemperatures which are now accepted as normal. — An automatic ionosonde was designed and buih, and this was used in an investigation of the ionospheric effects of the eclipse of December 1954. Thereafter theoretical and experimental studies of the effects of solar eclipses on the ionosphere continued for some years. It was shown theoretically that a valley could develop between the Fl and F2 layers, and that this could produce profound errors in the interpretation of ioilogfanls.

Since 1962 Rhodes University has been responsible for the operation of an ionosonde at Sanae. Main interest has been the interaction of particles from the radiation belts with the upper atmosphere. Gledhill 8r, Van Rooyen (1962) predicted the effects to be expected, and it was shown that there was evidence that electrons from the radiation belts constitute an important, variable source of ionization at Sanae and elsewhere. Work has continued on the particle fluxes to be expected in the South Atlantic Anoinaly (e.g. Torr 4 Torr 1967), on the theory of the ionization of the upper atmosphere by precipitated electrons and of their heating effect, Airglow photometers have been constructed and operated in order to compare radiation at 3914 and 6300 A with ionospheric behaviour as shown by vertical incidence ionograms; so far no effects

have been observed. Early in 1946 an automatic ionosonde vvas developed by the Telecommunications Research Laboratory (TRL) of the CSIR, and it was put into regular operation in

Johannesburg in May 1946. In the following year the Royal Navy gave the CSIR the ionospheric recording equipment which they had operated at Durbanville for a period of fifteen months during the war and a second station was established near Cape Town.

In the meantime an improved type of ionosonde had been developed by T. L. Wadley of the TRL and i n 1947 and 1948 respectively ionosondes of the new design were installed at the Johannesburg and Cape Town stations. The data obtained provided the basis for the Institute's ionospheric data and radio prediction service, which has continued without interruption ever since. In 1952 a third ionosonde vvas sent on loan to the East African Meteorological Department, which then established an ionospheric station at Nairobi. The data I'rom this station and from a newly established station in Leopoldville were used to provide predictions for communication from southern Africa to north Africa and Europe. In

SCIENTIFIC EKDEAVOUR IN SOI TTH AFRICA

tt

Dr J. A. Fejer, with part of the equipment used during the International Geophysical Year 1957/58 to measure partial retlections, crom modulation and absorption in the ionosphere.

1957 the ionosonde at Nairobi was moved to Salisbury., where it was operated by the University College of Rhodesia and Nyasaland for the duration of the International Geophysical Year. A fourth station was established on Marion Island and was also operated during the International Geophysical Year. In 1953 J. A. Fejer initiated a series of experiinents directed towards establishing a model of the lower ionosphere. The first approach employed a novel pulse technique for investigating ionospheric cross-modulation. The results provided the first information obtained in South Africa on ionospheric conditions at heights of about 70 km and in addition threw considerable light on existing theories of ionospheric crossmodulation. During the International Geophysical Year J. A. I.ejer and R. %. Vice carried out measurements of the absorption and virtual height of reflection of radio waves of two frequencies reIIected at vertical incidence from the E-layer. Measurements of absorption were also made for a radio wave reflected obliquely from the E-layer on a transmission path from Salisbury to Johannesburg. These measurements provided inforrnaion about the ionosphere in the region from 90 to 100 kin; at the same titne the regions below 90 km were studied by measuring the partial reflections occurring at heights down to 65 km. The results of all these experiments were integrated to yield a model

GEOMAG.'4ETIC; )ONOSPHERIC Atio Coshnc-RAY RESEARCH

365

of the electron density and collision frequency prohles of the ionosphere up to a height of about 100 km. After the International Geophysical Year, and in particular during the International Year of the Quiet Sun, Vice extended the measurements of absorption at vertical incidence to cover a large number of frequencies. and to include radio vvaves reflected from the F-layer. Thereafter increasing attention was given to the development of models of the F-layer. Torr Ec Torr (I967) studied effects of electron precipitation. It was shown that there was a significant correlation between electron precipitation and ionospheric disturbances at all locations below the outer radiation belt and that this was particularly pronounced near the South Atlantic G Anomaly. A theory of the ionizing and heating eA'ects of precipitated particles vvas proposed: these effects were then included in the non-linear ionospheric continuity equation together with terms describing solar ultra-violet radiation, various loss processes, din'usion and transport. Methods for the solution of the equation were developed and

eoma gnetic

these were applied to a number of observed situations in order to test and iinprove the ionospheric models which >vere used, A number of studies of the F-layer morphology have been carried out, These indude a global study of seasonal anomalies and an investigation of ionospheric behaviour over Antarctic stations in relation to movements of the auroral oval. The programme of regular ionospheric observations continued. In 1971 the ionosonde at Cape Town was moved to the Magnetic Observatory at Hermanus and in 1972 the station on Marion Island was re-established. In 1969 the Institute commenced the construction of a tilting-Alter airglow photometer. Operation of a panoramic photometer on loan from the Institut d'Astrophysique in Paris was commenced near Pretoria in June 1971. The photometer developed by the Institute was installed at the same site early in 1973 but later in the year was moved to Sutherland in the Cape. Observations

are made at 3914, 5200, 5577 and 6300 A. The University of Natal commenced in May 1957 a study of the fluctuation of the radiation at 45 M Hz from the radio source Cygnus-A. Later in that year N. D. Clarence started a programme of whistler observations in Durban as part of the synoptic programme of the International Geophysical Year. A vvhistler station was operated between 1960 and 1962 on Marion Island and in ) 970 a whistler station was estabhshed at Sanae in Antarctica. In 1975 the programme at Sanae was extended to include imaging of auroral forms at Iow light-levels. P. B. Zeeman of the Liniversity of Stellenbosch started a programme of airglovv observations at Sanae in 1963 and observations have been niade there since that date. In addition to the programme of observations at Sanae the University also carried out shipborne observations in 1963 and 1964 on voyages to Marion and Gough islands and in the vicinity of' Bouvet Island. From 1964 onvvards, at intervals of' two to three years, long-range research Aights from Cape Town were undertaken with the support of the South African Air Force. Airgioiv observations on northward Aights yielded informauon on l a t itudinal variations. Observations on Aights towards the South Atlantic Geomagnetic Anomaly did not confirm the enhancement in intensity vvhich

had been predicted.

366

sCIKNTlHC EÃDEAYOI.R iN SOUTH AFIUCA

Cosmic Ray Research The first work in South Africa on cosmic rays appears to have in South Africa. been t ha t o f D r B . F . J. Schonland and his student J. P. T. Viljoen at the University of Cape Town. A Geiger counter and recorder were designed. Viljoen measured the direction of arrival at Cape Town of 'the ionizing particles associated with the penetrating radiation' and concluded that 'the radiation consists of both positively and negatively charged particles with a greater * abundance of the positively charged particles (Viljoen 1933). This instrument of'Viljoen and Schonland was used at the University of the Witwatersrand to test the possibility

that fast p-rays may be produced by a charged thundercloud (Schonland & Viljoen 1933). This work was continued at the University of the Witwatersrand by Dr E. C.

Halliday (1934). A later paper (Halliday 1941) confirmed the findings of Schonland & Viljoen by concluding 'that there is a very strong possibility that penetrating electrons are ejected from thunder clouds and reach the earth at considerable distances from the clouds'. Halliday used a Wilson cloud chamber for his investigations. South Africa participated in the first co-ordinated world-wide study of cosmic rays initiated in 1930 by Professors A. H. Compton and R. D. Bennett, both of the University of Chicago, and Professor J. C. Stearns of the University of Denver. Seven identical sets of standardized ionization chambers were constructed for expeditions to dilferent parts of the world, including South Africa. Dr S. M. %aude, who had taken up an appointment at the Physics Department of the University of Cape Town, received his ionization chamber about April 1932. He and his student J. E. C. Coventry undertook ground-based measurements of the intensity of cosinic rays in the atmosphere over a considerable range of altitudes. They later reported the intensities they had recorded at the University of Cape Town and on the top of Table Mountain, at Johannesburg, Pretoria, Mont-aux-Sources and several other places in the country (Naude & Coventry 1933). These intensities all fit vvell to a curve when plotted as a function of local atmospheric pressure. lt appeared that the cosmic ray intensity vs. atmospheric pressure curve for South Africa was very similar to that for Mexico, which has about the same geomagnetic latitude in the northern hemisphere as South Africa has in the southern hemisphere. Comparing the data froin the difTerent expeditions, Compton (1933) concluded that a great part of primary cosmic rays consists of charged particles 'coming into the earth's atmosphere from remote space'. Dr B. F. J. Schonland and his collaborators continued to ineasure the intensity

of cosmic rays in Cape Town during 1933, 1934 and 1935, as part of an international venture under the general direction of Dr E. Steinke of the University of Konigsberg. The instrument was a steel ionization chamber and recordings were continuous on photographic paper, so that diurnal and other variations of cosmic rays could be investigated. No lengthy observations of this nature had been made previously in the southern hemisphere as the Cape Town station was the only one of the group situated below the equator. Upon the appointment of Dr Schonland as Director of the Bernard Price Institute of Geophysics at Johannesburg in 1938, the responsibility of the Steinke cosmic-ray apparatus was taken over by Professor A. Ogg and subsequently by Professor R. W. James of the University of Cape Town, with J. Gaskell immediately in charge of the

GEOMAGNEllC, IONOSPHERIC AND COSMIC-RAY RE%ARCH

t

367

s

Dr E. C. Halliday,

instrument. The data of the Steinke ionization chamber at the University of Cape Town, together with data from other ionization chambers„were used by S. E. Forbush

to investigate the barometric effect, solar diurnal variation, sidereal diurnal variation, and lunar diurnal variation. These results are summarized in the Carnegie Institution

Yearbook (1937). The discovery of a relationship between disturbances of cosmic radiation and of the Earth's magnetism was made by Forbush, using data obtained from meters at diA'erent locations, including Cape Town.

368

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AHIICA

Prof. P. H. Stoker with the Wilson Chamber he used to study the production of electron pairs by energetic muons,

I fp

P

Scientists of Potchefstroom University operating cosmic ray equipment on board a Hercules aircraft during an all-night ~ rc h Sight over the southern ocean.

GEOMAGNETIC, IONOSPHERIC AND COShIIC-RAY RESEARCH

369

Research in cosmic rays during the 1940s was continued at the University of Cape

Town and was mostly concerned with cosmic ray showers and bursts as measured by an ionization chamber under diAerent thicknesses of lead and iron by Mohr & Stafford (1944) and by Juritz (1947). At the University of Stelienbosch Dr P. J. G. de Vos was experimenting with various detectors for cosmic rays together with S. J. du Toit, lecturer in the Department of Physics of the Potchefstroom University. Several tech-

nical reports resulted from their work as well as a paper on the production of penetrating ionizing partides by the non-ionizing component of cosmic radiation by De Vos & Du Toit (1946). Dr P. H. Stoker and Dr M. A. Meyer initiated the cosmic-ray work at the Physics Department of Potchefstroom University in the 1950s with support from the CSIR and the first papers were mainly of a technical nature. Significant results were obtained on the scattering of cosmic ray muons in lead, tin and iron, the production of knock-on

electrons and fast electron pairs by energetic cosmic ray muons in lead. as vvell as on liquid scintillator counters and multiwire spark counters. In 1959 Dr J. F, de Beer returned to Potchefstroom after several years at the Atomic Energy Research EstablishInent, Harweii. The air spark counter muon telescope he had developed at Harwell was set up at Potchefstroom University, together with a relatively small extensive-

airshower recorder for very energetic cosmic rays. From these measurements followed angular distributions of muons in extensive air showers (De Beerer al. 1970). In planning for the International Geophvsical Year 1957 8, — the South African National Committee for the IGY recommended that South Africa participate in the

projected world-wide cosmic ray monitoring programme. Dr P.G. J. de Vos was named co-ordinator of the cosmic-ray work in this country. Dr de Vos himself took responsibility for the construction of an IGY meson telescope, while Dr P. H . Stoker of Potchefstroom University was approached to construct a SiInpson (IGY-pattern) neutron monitor. Both these recorders were placed at the Magnetic Observatory at Hermanus under the supervision of A. M, van Wijk. During the IGY and post-IGY

period the 27-day variation of cosmic rays was investigated by R. van der Walt of the Magnetic Observatory, while O. L. Brickaell and A. M. van Wijk investigated cosmic ray eAects of solar Ilares. The IGY neutron monitor at the Hermanus Observatory dosed down on 3I May 1964 and a 3NM64 neutron monitor started operation on I September 1964. The monitor was subsequently enlarged fourfold and from I August 1973 operated as a 12NM64. A 3NM64 neutron monitor started operation at Sanae on 17 February 1964 under the direction of the Cosmic Ray Research Unit at Potchef-

stroom. Apart from studies of long-term modulation of cosmic rays, the work of Kiihn et al. (1970) and of Stoker & Mischke (1973) may be noted. The research group at Potchefstroont University was interested in investigations on the effect of the Cape Town Magnetic Anomaly on cosmic rays. Consequently the latitude dependence of cosmic rays was investigated by a neutron monitor and other particle detectors on board an aircraft. It appeared that vertical cut-oA'rigidities calculated from particle trajectories in the simulated geomagnetic field correlate well with

cosmic ray intensities. This work led to modulation studies for cosmic rays by Stoker and by Moraal erat, (1974). The latitude dependence of cosmic rays was also analysed

370

SCIEVllPIC ENDEAVOUR I'A SOUTH AFRICA

for sea-level by Van der %alt ei al. (1972). Raubenheimer 8* Stoker (l974) investigated the atmospheric attenuation of cosmic rays from ground level to aircraft altitudes at diAcrent cut-OA' rigidities as a function of solar modulation of cosmic rays, ivhile

Konig et al. (l970) analysed the latitude dependence of charged particle albedo from data obtained I'rom balloon-borne Geiger telescopes.

REFERENCES IlsATrts, J. C. 1909. Report of a nwgnetic survey of South Africa. Proc. Roy. Soc. E.ond,: 235 pp., 9 charts. ~EATrtF, J. C. 1917. Further magnetic observations in South Africa during the years 1913-1915. Trans. roy, Soc. S. Afr. 5(6): 669-684. CAR>wats Institution of Washington Yearbook No. 36. 1937: 353-366. CoMvroN, A. H. 1933. A geographic study of cosmic rays.Phys. Rev. 43: 387-403. CL>Rts, R. G. 1973a. Geomagnetic line spectra — 2 to 70 years, Astrophys.Space Sci. 21: 425&38. Ct-~atE, R. G. 1973b, Pacific region anomaly in the geomagnetic spectrum at 60 years.S. Afr. J. Sci. 69: 379-383. CURRiK, R. G. 1974.Harmonics of the geomagnetic annual variation, J. Geotnag. Geoeiectr. 26 319-328. DE BFER,J. F., DE VILLttas, E. J., REINEcKE, J. P, L. h. VFNTFR, F. A. 1970. The angular distribution

of mu-mesons in extensive air showers, ActaPhys. Aead. Sci. Hung. 29: 657~ Ds Vos, P. J. G. 8c Di; Torr, S. J, 1946. On the production of penetrating ionizing particles by the non-ionizingcomponent of cosmic radiation. Phys.Rev.70 :229-230. GLEDHtLL, J. A. 8' vAN RoonN, H. O. 1962. Cape Town anoinaly and auroral emission,ivature, Land. 196: 973-975, GoTs~tAN, 13. 194m >. The diurnal variation of the Earth's magnetic field at the Magnetic Observatory, Cape Town, 1933-1940. Trans. roy. Soc. S. Afr. 29(4): 319 —34. 3 GoTsMAN, 8. 1942b.Main features of the daily magnetic variations at Cape Town. Terr. Mag. Attn. E/ect. 47; 165-170. GRtNDtsv, E. N. 1947. The Earth's magnetic field in Southern Africa at the epoch I July, 1930. Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. Land,(A) &0: 251-294. HALLtDAv, E. C. 1934. Thunderstorms and the penetrating radiation.Proc. Cambridge phil. Soe. 30: 206-215. HALLtDAV, E. C, 1941. The thundercloud as a source of penetrating particles.Phys. Rev. 60: 101 —06. 1 Jcarrz,J. Vtt.F.194'.Costruc ray bursts and shower spread under large thicknesses of lead. proc Roy. Soc (A) 190 KONto, P.J., MARsr, J, P., SToKER, P. H. & vAN DFR WALT, A. J. 1970. Latitude dependence of charged particle albedo estimated from balloon borne Geiger telescopes. J.Geophys. Res, 75: 1172-1177. KiiitN G J

I V I AREF J p S r oK of Nataf, which included an account of the climate, In

recognize

ostral

1878 he contributed an article to Volume 4 of the Quarterly Journal of the R

Meteo rologicalSoeie0

in hvhich he described the climate of Natal, based upon six years of records from 1860 to 1865. In 1882, the Natal observatory was established at Durban and from then till 1908 the reports of the Natal Government Astronomer included meteorological reports. In 1892 Eve additional stations were added in the coastal region: Stanger, Verulam, Umzinto, Port Shepstone and Polela. Meteorological co-operation between the Natal observatory and the Cape Meteorological Commissioner started in 1884 in a joint scheme for simultaneous observations along the coast at standard times, In the Orange Free State the initiative was taken by Dr J. Brebner, Superintendent of Education. He sent observations of pressure, temperature, rainfall and wind for most of 1878 to the Cape Meteorological Commission for inclusion in their report for

that year. Formal responsibility for meteorology was assumed by the Department of Agriculture, whose Erst report included data covering the period July-June 1904 to 1905, for nine second-order stations observing pressure and temperature, and a con-

390

SCiENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

siderable number of rainfall stations. In the Transvaal the mining companies took the initiative. The first records came

in 1885 from Pilgrim's Rest and from Barberton in 1888. Johannesburg started in 1889 and the first Government rain-gauge was set up in Pretoria in 1894. At that time, the only barometer in the Transvaal was at Joubert Park, Johannesburg, In the confusion of the Anglo-Boer War, meteorological observation was interrupted and many records were destroyed or lost. At the close of the war a new start was made. The catalyst was the South African Association for the Advancement of Science, whose Johannesburg branch petitioned the Governor-General in July 1902 on the need to establish an observatory for astronomy and meteorology. Administrative machinery moved fast in those days, for within a month the Colonial Secretary had replied that His Excellency was cordially in favour of encouraging meteorology but was not prepared to spend money on astronomy at that stage. It was agreed that an observatory and a meteorological observing service be established; the weather elements to be observed were named and the South African Association's advice was sought on procedures for collecting and publishing observations.

epartme nt of meteorology. Sir David

The Colonial Secretary planned a new sub-d

Gill was invited to nominate the first director and Mr R. T. A . I nnes, the energetic secretary of the Royal Observatory, was chosen. 1nnes was an experienced administrator, a devoted astronomer and had shared in the contribution that the Royal Observatory had been making for many years to the work of the Cape Meteorological Commission. A 6-acre site in the hills of eastern Johannesburg, overlooking Bezuidenhout Valley, was offered to the Transvaal Government. provided it would construct and maintain a road. Inthe end the Government received a free grant of 8 acres, bought two additional adjoining acres for D00 and spent Z2 000 on constructing the road. The original observatory building, which still stands. was designed by Sir Herbert Baker. Sir James Bryce in his Impressions of Son(h Afric'a wrote of the site:

'These [hills] have a notable prospect of 30-40 miles of rolling country to the distant Magaliesberg. East and west the horizon is closed by long ranges of blue hills.. . . % h i le standing on this lovely height and looking far away. . . i t is hard to believe that such a restless and strenuous life as Johannesburg is so near.' Seventy years later the view from this site is much changed. Urban housing and some light industry dominate the landscape. Indeed the observatory site is no longer favoured for either meteorological or astronomical observations; it is not typical of the Johannesburg climate and the astronomical seeing is spoilt by ur ban i l lumination and air pollution. Nevertheless in that old Baker building on top of the Observatory ridge, occupied in May 1904. some very good meteorology was done. The new Director, Innes, though always looking forward to th e t ime when his observatory could devote itself to astronomy, built up the netvvork of meteorological observing stations in the Transvaal with great energy. He started with about 150 stations of all kinds, manned by voluntary obsen ers. Some of the early contributors should be mentioned: the Modderfontein

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Dynamite Factory, the Municipality of Johannesburg, J. Lyall Soutter of Pretoria,

T. N. Leslie of Vereeniging and the Transvaal Gold Mining Estates of Pilgrim's Rest. The Government soon sanctioned the appointment of a chief assistant — Mr H. E. Wood — graduate of Manchester University, who, in preparation for his new appointrnent, had been specially trained in weather forecasting by W. N . Shaw — later Sir Napier Shaw — the distinguished director of the Meteorological OI%ce of Britain. The progress under Innes and Wood was dramatic. Within a year the number of reporting stations increased from 150 to 290. Money was found for instruments to be set up at appropriate places in the Transvaal, usually in the care of public oIIicials — stationmasters, otficers ol the police and prison service, country teachers, etc. It was not long before 27 stations were reporting pressure, and about 50 were reportina temperatitre and humidity. Telegraphic and telephonic conimunication was established, and observations were collected from the Meteorological Commission in Cape Town, the observatories in Durban, Bloemfontein, Salisbury. Bulawayo and later from LourenCo Marques, Wood. who had started work in January 1906, felt that the time was right to begin a weather forecast service, and from July 1906 a forecast for the ensuing 24 hours was sent to every postal telegraph service in the Transvaal, for display on their notice boards. This was the start of synoptic nieteorology in the Transvaal. Even before this time meteorological papers began to appear in journals — in the

Tmnsuctions of the South African Philosophical SocierJ',and after the formation of the SOUth African Association for the Advancement of Science in 1903, in the annual r eports of that A ssociation. Both of t hese societies have a notable record in t h e promotion of South African meteorology. J. G. Gamble, hydrologist and meteorologist, and an active member of the Cape M eteorological Commission, was an early writer. In 1880 he read a paper to t he Philosophical Society on summer and winter temperatures, In 1884, he was able to say that inspections of instruments had led to an improvement in the quality of observations. He noted the dilference in the range of temperature between coastal and inland stations and drew special attention to the large daily range in places with low rainfall, such as Clanwilliam and Nelspoort. Warm nights at the coastal stations he attributed to the high water content of the atmosphere and to the inAuence of the Mozambique and Agulhas currents. He mentioned, too, the eflects of outgoing radiation on night teniperatures in the high plateau. In his section on barometric observations, he told of di%culties which were still common fifty years later; mainly the problems of getting accurately-measured heights lor the barometric stations. An interesting example was

King William's To>m. The Meteorological Cornniission had assumed the height of the hospital. where the barometer was situated, to be 1 647 feet, but when the railway was completed and the height could be checked against the station level, the hospital turned out to be only I 313 feet high. Gamble quoted many more such errors which made pressure comparisons and attempts at synoptic maps discouraging. He mentioned, too, the diIIiculties in the practice of reducing barometric pressure to sea-level, and said that for European weather charts, stations more than a few hundred feet

above sea-levelwere not used. Methods of reducing pressure, he said, which were

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suitable for low-level stations could not be applied satisfactorily at great heights and

in any case, if applied, the reduced pressure had no physical meaning. Weather study for prediction purposes was not possible as a public service until telegraphic services had been established. At the turn of the century our knovvledge of the behaviour of travelling weather systems came from the temperate zone and the recorded experiences of mariners. In the light of this Col. Rawson s paper, again to the Philosophical Societv, was an early adventure into what would now be called subtropical meteorology. Rawson wrote on anticvclones and their inliuence on South African v cather. He had made an extensive examination of weather charts based on observations I'rom land and sea, He noted the progressive seasonal movement of the large anticyclones such as the Siberian and Atlantic systems — towards the west in the early months of the year and towards the east in the later months. He asserted that in general the anticyclones over the oceans move, seasonally, to those parts of the oceans where there are the strongest contrasts between air and sea temperatures. The anticyclonic system moves to those areas where the underlying water surface is cooler than the air above. He noticed too the north and south seasonal movement following the sun. Turning to South Africa he referred to two well-de6ned anticyclonic systems — one in the west over the South Atlantic and one in the east, which he called the Australian system. The latter reached its extreme easterly position in February — low pressure prevailing over South Africa from November to February. From March to May the Australian system travelled westwards, at the same time shifting northward with the sun. The Atlantic system was then moving eastwards and extending across South Africa, tending to merge with the Australian system. So Rawson arrived at a theory of South African weather. Rains borne by winds from the south-east are at a minimum in August while those brought by south-west winds (in the Cape) are at a maximum, After A ugust the south-east borne winds increase and advance further inland till 3anuary, after which they retreat and rain declines till August. A. CJ. Howard was another interesting writer. He knew the pragmatic rules for weather prediction from the movement of systems which appeared on synoptic charts. He described the sequence of Cape weather in w i nter when depressions passed; 'During winter barometers would fall with a northerly wind, chopping to the west. Rain was generally brought with a rising barometer, the wind ultimately going round to S.W., evidently due to cyclones passing by eastward.' Howard made his own synoptic charts. In addition to the records of the Cape Met. Commission's stations, he had access to material from the interior of the country. He suggested that winter storms were generated on the sout"em edge of the South Atlantic anticyclone somewhere to the west of Cape Colony and travelled from west to east. The position and size of the anticyclone aA'ects the storm-paths, causing them to advance from WNW. or SW. Position and size of the Indian Ocean anticyclone would aAect the direction in which depressions leave the South African coast. Secondaries, he thought, were common on their northern sides and he attributed much of the Cape winter weather to these. Physical meteorology in South Africa had begun. Of the early writers, none was

54EIEOROLOGY AÃD CLIMATOLOGY

more impressive than J. R. Sutton, the young scientist who was appointed in 1894 by De Beers to establish and run the first first-order meteorological station in Africa — at Kenilworth, about 3 miles from Kimberley. Sutton was a devoted and painstaking observer, aware of the drudgery and difficulties of meteorological observing and the need to know the meaning of the observations he made:. and then to reduce and interpret his observations. He had great enthusiasm for harmonic analysis and subjected

most of his data to this process in the hope of revealing elusive relationships.He wrote profusely, without economy of words, in a fiowing, easy style which might have disturbed the rigorous editors of today. Sutton tackled many problems, some which arose from his Kimberley observations alone but, as data became available froin other parts of South Africa, he turned his interest to plateau meteorology. In one of his early papers he posed the problem of determining true daily values of temperatures and humidity from plateau observations taken at any time. This was a contribution

to standardizing observations, allowing for differences between civil and apparent time. In another he dealt at some length with the semi-diurnal oscillation of pressure and pointed out differences between this phenomenon in mountainous and in topographically even country. In another paper he asks whether mining operations affect the climate of Kimberley and compares the radiative properties of 'blue ground' and iron roofing material with those of the natural vegetation in the open country a few miles away. Perhaps this is the first South African paper on urban climatology! Sutton did much more than manage a meteorological observatory. He gathered climatological data for the whole country and interpreted them. The frustrations of a meticulous scientist emerge in his papers. Referring to the 8 m e teorological omce rain-gauge he says: 'ln earlier years the catch was entered to the ninth decimal place; this unique effort seems to have been accomplished by weighing the catch and converting ounces and grains to inches.' Again ref'erring to records kept at country gaols, he says that 'the rainfall reported from gauges within the gaol premises is usually less than that outside.. . . T h e inference that rain does not fall on the just and unjust alike is plausible but incorrect. Lighter rains are ignored by the observers.' Sutton's excursions into physical climatology are remarkable, considering the paucity of material at his disposal. However, his painstaking attempts to relate variations of temperatures to astronomical parameters would not arouse much interest today, though there are two points which should be mentioned. In his paper on Pressure and Temperature results of the Great Plateau. he says, in discussing the di%culties of reducing pressures to sea-level, 'it is a question whether it would not be possible, if we had the material, to make a synoptic map for the higher stations, reduced to, say, a 4000 foot datum, and another for the coast and middle districts reduced to sea-level, combining the two b y some process'. Forty years later this became standard practice in the forecast room. I n another passage, quoting the Government Astronomer for Natal, Sutton describes a typical 'berg wind' at Durban, v ith record temperatures approaching l l0' F, modified by a sea-breeze during the day but giving rise to a temperature range of 48' F. Sutton follows his description with a discussion of the physical processes of these winds; his understanding of what was happening, though by no means complete, was far in advance of what appeared many

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AHIICA

years later in omcial publications. In the early years of the century, in spite of the diferent governments under which

the four colonies fell, much had been don: towards unifying the South African meteorological services. At the joint meeting of the South African Association for the Advancement of Science and the British Association, held in Cape Town in 1905, C. Stewart, secretary of the Cape Meteorological Commission, was able to report good

progress. Using Government reports from Natal, the Orange Free State, and the Transvaal and Rhodesia, he was able to give a reasonable account of the climate of South Africa, south of the Zambezi. He had ten years of fairly good records with a reasonable coverage of the whole country. He proposed four climatic divisions for the country; the coastal plateau with an average elevation of 500-600 feet, varying in width

from 20 miles in the desert of South West Africa to a very narrow strip indeed in the south-eastern Cape Colony. Inland of that, the Little Karoo lies at an average elevation of 1 500 feet, bounded on the southern side by the Langeberge and Outeniqua nlountains and by the Sv artberg and Zuurberg ranges in the north. The Great Karoo, nluch more extensive and higher — 2000 — 3 000 feet — extending eastwards from the Cedarberg and Bokkeveld, lies between the Suurberg, Swartberg, Witteberg line in the south and the edge of the escarpment in the north. Further inland still lies what was then called the northern Karoo or Highveld, in which Stewart includes the remainder of the Cape Colony, the O.F.S. and the Transvaal. This latter region is the plateau above 3 000 feet in height bounded on the eastern side by the Drakensberg escarpment. Referring to the irregular distribution of' temperature, Stewart draws attention first to an increase of mean temperature from north to south on the lvest coast and in the reverse direction on the east coast and ascribes this to the inRuence of the Benguela and Agulhas currents. A preliminary study of the rainfall, based upon ten years of records — 1885 — 94 —had been made by the Scottish meteorologist, Buchan, Following Struben he divided the country into three rainl'all regions — the summer-rainfall region v ith more than 50;.:,' of the total in the period October to March, the winter-rainfall region with more than 50;:„'from April to September and a region of rain in all seasons,

A simple rainfall map shov s the general decrease in rainfall from east to west and from south to north over the mountains. Stewart accounts for the seasonal distribution by attributing the rainfall of the greater part of the interior to north-easterly winds, which transport moisture inland from the Indian Ocean. Precipitation takes place, he thought, in secondary disturbances that give r se to thunderstorms. Of the depressions that reach the C ape, Stewart says that t hey are not f u ll y d eveloped — rather V depressions. It was apparent at this time that whatever the separate colonial governments were to do about their own meteorological services, the weather of South Africa needed to be looked at as a whole. At the Kimberley meeting of the South African Association for the Advancement of Science in July 1906, the proceedings of Section A were dominated bv meteorology. Sutton delivered his Presidential Address on the Diurnal Variation of the Barometer, Rawson spoke on anticyclones, Goetz — the notable director of the observatory at Buhlwayo —gave a paper on the meteorology of Southern Rhodesia. There v ere others,

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C. M, Stewart

G. %. Cox

7. E. W. Schumann

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too, but perhaps the most influential one came from R. T. A. Innes, the new director of the Transvaal observatory.

Innes applied himself vigorously to his new discipline, plunging immediately into the problems of comparing barometer readings. The only barometer in the interior of the country whose height was known by geodetic levelling was at Johannesburg. Nevertheless Innes produced some interesting results on the annual variation of the barometer. The second section of the paper on Atmospheric Disturbances moves into the held of weather forecasting: 'Annual variation of the barometer and the mean distribution of pressure from

month to month control the more climatic features. A low mean barometer does not necessarily mean rain. Rainfall is not associated with a mean low barometer but generally with a barometer below the mean of the season, fine weather with a barometer above themean of the season.' He goes on to say that the essence of weather forecasting is to detect the presence of a depression and determine which way it is travelling; then the facts that are known about the weather, usually associated vvith different sectors of a depression, provide the basis of weather-prediction. The argument simplifies the problems over-optimistically. He says that collectively his pressure curves show that the movements of the barometer at Cape Town precede by 24-48 hours similar movements at Johannesburg and Durban. Innes began his forecast service w ith some confidence. He said: 'For the purpose of weather prediction in the Transvaal our material though insu%cient is not too bad.' There were no data from South %est Africa and Innes complained of lack of warning of depressions approaching from the north-east. Even in those early days a need was expressed for observations west of Cape Town. Contidentiy Innes wrote: 'The lot of the farmer . . . i s not to be envied. It theretore behoves us to do our utmost to assist him in his work by providing the most accurate forecasts that science can furnish. It . . . w ill soon be in our power to do so with an accuracy unknovvn in Europe or America.' This notable address, concluding with a tribute to the 30 volumes of meteorological observation the %1et Commission had already compiled, hoped that the future would bring forth 'something more than these weighty. . . c o m pilations, each one of which, by the very fact of those that have preceded it, is of less value to meteorological science'. He was optimistic and appeared to believe that subtropical weather could be forecast by watching the movement of travelling depressions. The first attenipts at synoptic maps show a calm winter anticyclone over the high ground of the eastern plateau, a depression east of East London, and a typical winter cold snap, with strong, ahnost gale force southerly winds blowing around a large anticyclone with its centre near Cape Town. The new forecast service decided to assume empirical reductions of pressures to sea-level. First it was assumed that the reading of the barometer and the height above sea-level v ere correct. By using ordinary tables the pressures were reduced to sea-level and isobars were drawn. Then by comparing bet>veen the isobars and pressures of neighbouring stations and noting the prevailing winds a correction to the reduced pressure was determined. This was done

rela tionship

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from day to day tiII the constancy of the correction justified its adoption for regular use. It was to be many years before surface pressures could be reduced in such a v ay as to lead to a map that conformed to the vvind circulation. In the years just before Union, the science of meteorology lost the momentum which the early enthusiasms of the scientific societies had engendered. The last annual

report of the Cape Meteorological Commission appeared in 1908, the Government astronoiner in Natal reported for the last time in the same year and the Transvaal Meteorological Department issued summaries up to June 1910. After Union, in 1912, the Meteorological OIIice of the Union ot South Africa was established in Pretoria as a branch of the Department of Ir rigation under the general control of the Director of Irrigation. Mr C. Stewart, the Secretary of the Cape Meteorological Commission, was appointed Chief Meteorologist. For many years funds were short and no money could be provided for publication or for the scientific study of the atmosphere. The Department had a primary interest in water-resources, in their assessment and distribution. Great attention was devoted to the measurement of rainfall and to the reduction and tabulation of the accumulated rainfall records. In 1927, fifteen years after the establishment of the Union Meteorological OSce, the publication silence was broken. Under the title 'Rainfall Normals up to the end of 1925' and the authorship of A. D. Lewis, there appeared a summary ot the rainfall averages for 3 500 rain-gauge stations within the country. No attempt was made to adjust the normals to a standard period, and the periods of the records varied from less than five to over fifty years. It was a notable piece of work and was accompanied by a general rainfall map ol'the whole country on a scale of 40 miles to the inch and sectional maps on twice that sca.'e. By 1925 the distribution of rainfall over South Africa was known well enough to provide guidance for land utilization policies and to aid in the recognition of areas where crop farming needed irrigation support. The next report trom the Department appeared in 1929 and was in fact tIie annual report for 1926. In his introduction the Director of Irrigation. apologizing for the long delay in presenting meteorological data to the public, said that the gap between the dates had been filled, 'to a limited extent, by the publication of monthly summaries in various journals and, since 1918, by the articles in the OIIicial Yearbook of the Union of South Africa'. The first of these articles, published ~vithout acknowledgement to the Chief Meteorologist, includes a simple generalized map of rainfall on a small scale, several pages of temperature tables and a discussion of the features of general circulation associated with South African rainfall. But the material was essentially similar to that in the 1905 article. Progress in synoptic meteorology had virtually ceased with the L'nion of the provinces. ibVith basic meteorological data ina~ s sibie to scientists outside the ofIicial service, it is not surprising that very little research was done. Yet something v as done. For example F. E. Plummer and H. D. Leppan, of the University of Pretoria, made an adventurous study of the reliability of the country'. rainfall — a feature which in some parts of the country seemed to cause crop failure and unsatisfactory farming conditions. They assumed that annual rainfall over a long period of time vvould conform to a normal curve of distribution and that, knovving the mean and standard deviation, it

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should be possible to estimate, from probability tables, the frequency of occurrence of annual falls of rain between limits that were critical for successful farming. Plummer followed this with a detailed statistical examination of the rainfall of the western Cape Province, as a basis for geographical and agricultural study. Credit for the first observations of the upper air goes to CJ. %V. Cox, the energetic principal assistant to the chief meteorologist. A few observations of upper vvinds made with pilot balloons observed by theodolites were made from Zwartkop airfield in 1918, but it vvas not until the inauguration of the experimental airmail service in 1925 that a sustained prograinme could be undertaken. A year's observations were taken, not in the same year. at five airfields and then three aerological stations were established — in Cape Town. Durban and Pretoria. Only Pretoria could be maintained permanentlyin order to serve the South African Air Force, The stalf at the other tvvo were kept there tor a year, and then the equipment was moved. %t'ith this system of changing sites, it was hoped in time to obtain a general picture of the air circulation over South Africa. Cox. s work on the pilot balloon observations, Meteorological 4feir~oir cV0. I, was published in 1935. At the time its contribution to a p r oper understanding of the circulation over the plateau and coastal area of southern Atrica vvas not appreciated, Cox's diagrams suggested, even then, that there was no seasonal reversal of prevailing winds over the South Al'rican plateau and that anticyclonic circulation predominated in both summer and winter. Later work by jackson published in the South Africnn Geograp/~ical Jota'axialin 1952, which was concerned principally with the circulations near the surface of the plateau, and by Taljaard on circulation in the free air above the layer affected by surface turbulence and friction, have led to a reasonably satisfactory solution of this lingering problem. The results of recent work on South A f r i can air circulation in relation to the pressure and wind systems of the southern hemisphere are presented in

an article entitled 'Climate and %'cather' in the Slandarcl Eucrclopaedia of Southern Afiica. This new work adds some lustre to the reputation of Cox, for it is novv accepted that 'An anticyclonic circulation is the predominant feature over the land, and apart from a weakening and southward movement through a fevv degrees of latitude in the summer, the essential features of the circulation in winter and summer are not greatly diAerent. Yet, the seasonal contrasts of climate are marked' (Sramlard Encl clopaedia). It is claimed that the first forecast for the country as a vvhole v as issued by A. 6, Howard, already known for his writings on South African meteorology, in April 1912. In 1926 the forecasting service, provided after Union from a regional once in Cape Town, was movixi to Pretoria and housed on a screened veranda in very inadequate premises in Schoeinan Street. Ideas on the general circulation over southern Africa, the origin of the rains, and the processes which caused the formation of rain, were inlluenced by the recurrent patterns of strong anticyclones over the eastern part of the country in winter and troughs of low pressure in the summer. These consistent isobaric patterns on the synoptic maps prepared for forecasting were due to the practice of reducing plateaulevel pressures to sea-level in the manner essentially proposed by Innes and IVood. The central problem of preparing a synoptic weather map of southern Africa was

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the reduction of pressures. taken at heights ranging from sea-level to the altitude of the highest observing stations on the plateau, to a standard level in order that isobars could be drawn. Conventionally in European and American countries, sea-level is used as the standard level, The reduction procedure for stations v hich are situated above sealevel and hence at normally lower atmospheric pressure is. in simple terms, to add to the observed pressure the pressure of a column of air equal in height to the altitude of the station above sea-level and having the same temperature characteristics (including lapse rate) as the ambient air in the vicinity of the station, The difficulty lies in determining what the temperature characteristics of the air column should be. If the range of height for which the correction is to be applied is small, an error of a couple of

degrees in the assumed temperature is insignificant, but vvhen the range of height is hundreds of metres, assumption of the wrong temperature makes a great difference to the final reduced pressure, Indeed pressure diA'erences introduced in this way are likely to be greater than the normal Auctuations of the barometer associated with weather

changes In practice the temperature used in the reduction equation was derived roughly from the surface temperature at 8,30 a.m, as observations were taken at that time. On a winter morning after a clear night, when the ground has been radiating freely through a dry atmosphere, temperatures are usually lovv. Hence stations situated on the cold part of the plateau had large corrections applied to reduce their pressures to sea-level. The effect of reducing pressure to sea-level of stations situated near the Lesotho border is to add to the observed surface pressure a corrc".tioII equal to the pressure of a column of air, cold and therefore dense approximately 2 000 metres high. Hence the winter synoptic maps shovved a preponderance of intense anticyclones situated over the high ground of the eastern plateau. Conversely in summer, when the ground is warm, the pressure correction v as applied by adding the pressure of a warm, light column. The practice led to the production of daily weather charts whose isobaric pattern was due more to the isotherms at the time of observations than to the pressure situations giving rise to the weather. Of course the details of the weather maps, and especially the changes in pattern around the coast, were related in some ways to weather events, although they did not have a real relationship to the air circulation. Unfortunately textbook writers and the compilers of school atlases were attracted by the simplicity of the explanation of the South African climate which this synoptic practice seemed to suggest. The view gained acceptance that the summer rainfall of South Africa was brought by the south-east trade winds blowing over the land towards the low pressure of the interior, their moisture supply gradually diminishing as they travelled westwards. In winter the pressure pattern was completely reversed, so producing a seasonal pressure change not unlike that usually associated with the Indian monsoon. In the early days of weather forecasting not enough was known to attempt regional forecasts. In 1933 Dr T. E. ~V. Schumann was appointed Chief Meteorologist and head of the weather service, still under the Department of Irrigation, Schumann was determined to develop the Meteorological OIIIce into a scientifically based weather service

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and he struggled with fair success to obtain funds to achieve this. Additional staff were appointed and a new building was erected in Lynnwood Road, Pretoria, on the southern side of the University site. An instrument workshop was established and the library expanded and systematized. The observational network was improved. Heights of barometric stations were checked by geodetic levelling. Stations were inspected more frequently, more automatic instruments installed and gradually the dependence upon voluntary observers was reduced by the appointment of permanent staff. By 1934, less than two years after Schumann took oi ce, there were six stations from which regular upper wind observations were being made. Temperature and humidity soundings by aircraft started at Pretoria in 1936, and at Cape Town in 1939. Substantial progress was also made in catching up on the backlog of published reports of meteorological data. The Meteorological OffIce acquired i'ts own offset litho-printing equipment, which not only reduced the cost of printing, but also saved

time in printing procedures and proof-readings. A great deal was accomplished, including publication of pressure and temperature data, and also the daily synoptic maps and the accompanying forecasts, The South African service co-operated in the second Polar Year Project in 1932 — 3. Simultaneous observations were taken from a vvorld network of stations and other data, published in separate volumes for research purposes. It is regrettable that hardly any good meteorology followed this gigantic world effort in data-collecting. Schumann assumed offIce as the country was emerging from t h e economic depression and also recovering from a period of drought. The I'arming community and the politicians who represented them were still interested in whether the country was

drying up and in the feasibility of such schemes as the one proposed by Schwartzfor deviating the waters of the Kunene and Chobe rivers into the Makarikari depression and so increasing the rainfall. One of Schumann's earliest research projects was directed to answering questions about the occurrence of droughts and Hoods. He and Thompson studied the secular variations of South African rainfall, using all the rainfall data available at the time, and published their conclusions in a University of Pretoria memoir in 1935. They were able to allay the fears of those who thought there might be a systematic downward trend in the country's rainfall but drev attention to the threat of desert encroachment due to other causes. The variations in rainfall experienced during the period covered by the records were too great to Le attributed to chance and

the more prominent deviations seemed to have real physical sigIIiflcance. %Phile they recognized the existence of climatic inIIuences which Inust operate over longer and shorter periods, they said that the movements of the atmosphere were so complex that it was impossible to recognize any periods except those related to astronomical causes, Much of South A f r ica had enjoyed a period of heavy rainfall around 1890, Australian records showing a similar peak. Australian records also show a rainy period about 1874. South African records Ivere few at that time, but of two South African stations for which there are records, Rietfontein had an extremely high maximum in 1874 and Graaff-Reinet also had abnormally high rainfall. There is enough evidence to suggest that the Australian period of heavy rain about 1874 coincided with similar conditions in South Africa. It is interesting that forty years later P. D. Tyson and his

METEOROLOGY AND CLLMATOUXs Y

colleagues in the University of the %itwatersrand, having the advantages of another forty years of records, tackled this problem again. Analysis of records for 157 stations

with rod s c overing the period l910-72 and for fewer stations going back to 1880 suggests that the view that South Africa as a whole is undergoing progressive desiccation cannot be supported. Instead Tyson *s data suggest the occurrence of readily discernible oscillations of 16 — 20 years and 10-12 years. Attempts are now being made, with some indications of success, to project the climatic record back into the nineteenth century.

Schumann's programme of expansion went on till September 1939, when world war broke out. The meteorological service was put on a w ar footing, to serve the needs of aircraft and ships engaged in transport and other forms of war service over Africa and the neighbouring ocean waters, For a time a division was attempted into civil and military sections of the meteorological service. The military section, under the South African Air Force, v as commanded by Col. N.P. Sellick, director of the meteorological o5ce of Southern Rhodesia, who in association with Commander W. A. Bishop (later Rear-Admiral) of the Royal Navy set up a joint weather service to serve the needs of shipping and aircraft. OScers of the South African Air Force and the Royal Navy worked together in a cordial partnership for the duration of the war, the navy concentrating on serving coastal and ocean areas, and the air force the inland area, including the actual theatres of war operation. It w as an interesting time meteorologically, for there were the resources to set up stations wherever they were needed and to undertake observations as frequently as required. Moreover, young men and women with the right level of scienti6c training came forward as volunteers for meteorological work. Training courses were organized and in these, men and women who had been trained overseas joined the South Africans. Young meteorologists whose training and experience of weather had been entirely in the temperate zone applied themselves eagerly to t h e weather of th e subtropics.

Traditional views on South African synoptic meteorology were challenged and revised. Air masses, fronts, and frontal systems were recognized and plotted on the maps. It became possible to study air mass properties and their changes, for aircraft soundings were made readily available, Ascents were commonly made twice daily for sixteen stations, although not at all of them for the whole war period. The question of reducing pressures to a standard level v as tackled with enthusiasm and discernment and it was decided to abandon single-level maps and to plot synoptic observations for two distinct levels — at I 250 geodynamic metres for the interior plateau and at sea-level for stations situated on the coast and in the lower marginal lands of the plateau. There w as a discontinuity in the isobars near the escarpment which was inconvenient, but nevertheless the dual-level map was a real advance in South African forecasting procedure. Observations throughout the day, at stations manned by men and women on war service, made it possible to study and explain diurnal variations of weather and these variations were taken account of in the issuing of forecasts. During the war years the synoptic maps of southern Africa began to assume an understandable relationship to the atmospheric circulation over the country. The joint South African Air Force and

Royal Navy climatological unit made a survey of those features of coastal climates

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

that alfected air and sea operations. The series of short booklets covered the coastal regions from the Kunene River in the west to Cape Delgado on the Mozambique coast and the work was later extended to include Madagascar. In addition to their observational and operational duties, the wartitne meteoro-

logists found time to write a useful series of technical memoranda on meteorological topics and, by 1945, there was a reservoir of knovvledge which the civilian service could turn to good account. After the war, more than a hundred men and women with suitable ualifications and experience oAered themselves for civilian

mete orological q

employment. Financial approval to employ them permanently was refused and only a few stayed on. Notable amongst these was J. A. King, who took charge of the forecasting service, operation and research, for some years. King's contribution to South African meteorology was a notable one. As weB as forecasting and synoptic analysis, it included a large share in the development of South Africa's international relations in the World Meteorological Organization.

The years following the close of the war v ere a period of expansion and consolidation. There were masses of accumulated observational statistics to process and publish. At the same time the service had to be developed to keep pace with improved facilities for communication. With the scientific advance of meteorology, which had in the previous twenty-five years beconte a demanding branch of theoretical and applied physics, the service was reorganized as the Meteorological Division of the Department of Transport. This transfer was made largely on account of increasing demands for operational advice and weather forecasts for the expanding commercial air services. In 1946 radiosonde ascents for the measurement of temperature and humidity up to

heights corresponding to a pressure of 200 millibars were begun in Pretoria. From one station in 1946 this important and technically diScult service has expanded — Marion

Island in 1949, and at Maun in Bechuanaland (Botswana) in 1950. Aircraft soundings were continued at Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Durban and Bloemfontein. By the first month of the International Geophysical Year, July 1957, five radiosonde stations were operating in the Union of South Africa, South West Africa and Bechuanaland, and one each on Marion and Gough islands. S.A,N.A.E., the South African Antarctic base, hassince been added and the present number is eleven. The measurement of upper winds by radar began in 1952. This was an important advance on visual observations of pilot balloons, for the latter can be followed only when the IIight of the balloon is not obscured by clouds. Observations by pilot balloon have been discontinued as the radar wind-finding network has been expanded, but there are still five stations at which pilot balloon soundings are made once or twice daily. The post-war Weather Bureau inherited from the Department of Im gation the responsibility for the country's climatological records. Much of the credit for what has been here and for the publication of definitive work on climatology goes to Mr 8. R, Schulze. He joined the service in 1925 and was posted to Pretoria in 1928. There he did map analysis, forecasting and climatological work. He prepared the report on the South African contribution to the 2nd International Polar Year (1932-3) and during that period made ten soundings of the upper air with a Dines meteorograph. One of these reached the tropopause at about 16 km. His determination and thorough-

accom plished

MEIIOROLOGY AND CLlMA.TOLOGY

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A. P. Burger

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Col. N, P. Sellick

J. J. Taljaard

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

ness led to notable improvements in the quality of observations and records. He scrutinized returns, sought to correct errors and attended to the publication of annual

reports; he prepared instruction manuals and insisted on station inspections. Under his direction the climate branch of the H eather Bureau became almost a model of perfection. His main published contributions appear under the general title Climate of South Africa in the 'Weather Bureau' series, of which there are nine parts devoted to statistics and general survey of the South African climate. Schulze's achievements are the more remarkable in view of the fact that he digested the massive volume of statistical data without any computational aids, apart from a Hollerith machine and punched cards. Schulze retired in 1968, after forty-three years of devoted service, his

achievements having brought much credit to the country. Mechanical data handling was introduced in the 1950s for the processing and publication of data and for speeding up the long computations which have always been a serious obstacle to meteorological research. Hollerith machines vvere used at first but in 1968 the Weather Bureau got its first computer. Apart from research functions and the production of prognostic charts, it was intended that the coinputer should

assist in processing climatic data and checking their quality, the publication of annual reports and other similar work with extensive tabulations, and eventually vvith the establishment of a data-bank. This latter objective is still a long way olf. A special section of the Weather Bureau with a staff of about twenty-five has been created, as it is expected that the main task will be accomplished by about 1980, Within the past three years, plans have been made for the installation and use of a new cviIER74 computer. The new computer, in order to be able to handle numerical forecasting models, must be able to accept 3 million instructions per second. The largest routine programme will be the Weather Bureau's numerical analysis and prediction system. This system is being developed for a hemispherical domain and will be run twice a day for the main synoptic times, In addition to the conventional daily weather observations throughout the southern hemisphere there are about 800 satellite soundings per day. Part of the plan is to improve meteorological telecommunications in order that these data can be received and used in Pretoria. An interesting experiinent is directed at improving the synoptic network at the surface by releasing small expendable buoys which will drift in the oceans. The buoys will carry sensors for measuring pressure and temperature and will be able to transmit their olservations by first with polar-orbiting satellites. The signals from the satellites will be received in Washington and transmitted to Pretoria on a direct communication channel. Hemisphere maps are already being produced, but the present lack of ground observations limits their value. It will take a few years for the nevv system to be developed to a satisfactory level of elliciency. Another matter of considerable importance during these years of consolidation that followed the vvar was the improvement of the synoptic network. In this King showed a vigorous interest. During %'orld VAr II, when interest centred as much on forecasts for seaward and coastal areas as for the interior of South Africa, the lack of observations over the oceans, especially to the west of the Cape Peninsula where the traveHing depressions come from, was a serious handicap. In April 1942, with the aid

commu nicating

HOROLOGY AKD CLIMATOLOGY

of the Roval Navv, a meteorological station was established on the island of Tristan da Cunha and was maintained there until 1961. In 1947-50 the Weather Bureau, again in co-operation with the Royal Naval Weather Station at Simonstown, arranged for whaling ships in the Antarctic Ocean to send vveather reports to South Africa in exchange for an 'Antarctic Inference', which amounted to a forecatt for the ocean areas in which the whalers were operating. The

exchange was eAected by means of secret cyphers held by the whaling ships and the weather services participating in the scheme. In 1948 South Africa occupied Marion and Prince Edward islands and set up a meteorological station on the former. In 1956 a station was estabhshed on Gough

Island. The ocean gap was being filled in, but there remained a void, in the middle of which was Bouvet Island. It was always one of Schumann's ambitions to have observa-

tions from Bouvet Island. In 1966 a scientific reconnaissance was carried out under the leadership of S. A. Engelbrecht, who had then succeeded to the directorship of the Weather Bureau. In March 1966 Engelbrecht and Winsess, the latter a Norwey'an glaciologist, landed on Bouvet from a helicopter. The only suitable site for a meteorological station was on an ice slope, 300 m above sea-level and about 1 km from the east coast, A station so situated could be maintained only by helicopter and it would have been diScult and dangerous for a team of men to live and work for long periods in such an inhospitable spot. Although the World Meteorological Organization had been in formed of South Africa's intention to set up a meteorological station on Bouvet, the diSculties of the operation long delayed the decision to act. In June 1969, South Africa commissioned the first weather ship in the southern hemisphere, a whaler stationed at 40' S and 10' E. The two meteorological technicians on board carried out the observations and sent up a daily radiosonde. This useful arrangement had to be suspended in 1973 because of high charter costs. At that time it seemed likely that satellites would soon provide observational data for the ocean

areas and so make it unnecessary to incur the high costs of maintaining weather ships. The Weather Bureau's plan to establish an ocean station on Bouvet also receded in view of the promise of satellite observations over the oceans. In international meteorology South Africa has played a part appropriate to the countty's resources and world situation. The International Meteorological Organization was revived in 1946 and South Africa again took part in its activities. In 1951 the International Meteorological Organization became a specialized agency of the United Nations and was renamed the World Meteorological Organization. South Africa contributed substantially to the development of communications and to other aspects of international co-operation in meteorology, especially, but not entirely, within Africa. In 1952 the African Region of the World Meteorological Organisation agreed to support and co-operate in the production of a Climatologica] Atlas of Africa. Financial

support was provided by the recently formed Commission for Technical Co-operation in Africa south of the Sahara. The work was entrusted to the University of the Witwatersrand and carried out under the direction of S. P. Jackson, who was actively supported by the Weather Bureau, the Trigonometrical Survey and the Government Printer. All the meteorological services in Afri c o llaborated by supplying their most

SCIENTIFIC E- tDE4VOUR IN Sot"rH AFRKA

recent data and by applying their local knowledge to the improvement of the draft tnaps that were submitted to them. The atlas was published in 1961, the lirst climatological atlas for a single continent. Another itnportant contribution to i nternational meteorology came from the South African mathematician Dr A. P. Burger who, while working at the International Meteorological Institute in Stockholm, became interested in the problem of the scale analysis of atmospheric motions. Filtered equation prognostic models do not use the

full set of hydrodynamic equations but a simpliiied set. By a careful and systematic analysis of the equations, Burger showed that the usual barotropic vorticity equation

breaks down on the planetary scale of motion {wavelengths 6000-10 000 km) and is therefore incapable of forecasting the evolution atmospheric motion in such a scale. In fact the vorticity equation is a basic equation in any filtered equation models and ail of these models suffer from the defect that they caliot properly handle the planetary

scale of motion. The defect can be corrected partially by adding an empirical term which introduces large-scale divergence. Burger's contribution was that he diagnosed the neglect of a term in the vorticity equation as the cause of the breakdown. He

published his paper in Tellus in 1958. Subsequently Professor Norman Phillips of M,I.T. named a dimensionless ratio that Burger used in his analysis the 'Burger number' or 'B number', References to the 'B number' are common in papers on dynanuc meteorology. The South African service had by this time established its special capability in the field of southern hemisphere synoptic meteorology, The southern hemisphere maps, based on data collected during the International Geophysical Year, were drawn in the Weather Bureau, at the request of the W.M.O. Those for the northern hemisphere were assigned to the United States and for the equatorial regions, to West Germany. Dr J. J. Taljaard has contributed notably to international meteorology in the field

synoptic analysis. Taljaard, after taking a master's degree at emisphere

of southern h

Stellenbosch, studied meteorology in the U niversity of L o ndon and then t ook a doctorate at the University of the Witwatersrand. This, and his long experience of

South African synoptic work, made him an ideal choice for this responsibility. The work began with the recruitment, in 1950, of tsvo German synopticians — E. Vowinckel and W. Schinitt — to the staA'of the Weather Bureau. They immediately started experi-

menting with southern hemisphere circulation maps, using data received by mail. This imaginative ideal aroused the interest of the Director {Schumann) and in January 1951 the Southern Hemisphere Analysis project came into being. Daily sea-level southern

hemisphere maps were drawn for fourteen years till December 1964 and 500 mb maps were drawn from July 1957 to the end of 1964. The Weather Bureau established a special meteorological journal, Ponos, for the publication of data and results derived ft'om the work of the southern hemisphere project. Nineteen volumes were published, the last i n 1 9 70, when the p r oject was discontinued. Taljaard's involvement in t he Climate of the U pper Ai r p r oject arose frotn his coiiaboration with H . v a n Loon, a Dane who had spent two years at M,I.T., working on southern hemisphere

circulation. Taljaard analysed about half of the I.G.Y. maps and Van Loon most of ' Sincethis essay +as written, Dr Taljaard has been appointed Directorof the Weather Bureau.

METEOROLOGY AND CLlMATOLOGY

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SC~ l l F I C ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

the remainder. Taljaard and Van Loon had written many papers together on southern hemisphere synoptic meteorology, based largely on results obtained from I.G.Y. maps. Research, Boulder, Van Loon, having joined the National Centre for At Colorado, continued his interest in the southern hemisphere and urged Taljaard to

mosph eric

join him in the production of the southern hemisphere part of the Climate of the Upper Air project, The resulting publication of l33 maps of the southern hemisphere, in which Taljaard is named as the senior author, is a notable contribution to international meteorology. Soon aftervvards there appeared the American Meteorological

Society's Monograph No. 35 'Meteorology of the Southern Hemisphere'. In this excellent work the chapter on physical features and synoptic meteorology of the hemisphere were written by Taljaard and those on climate by Van Loon.

Interest in Ineteorology and climatology in South Africa is increasing fast. Already committed to extensive support for th e N a t ional Progranune in A n t arctica, the Weather Bureau, with expanded resources and excellent computing facilities, is now able to share in other international activities. After automatic picture transmission (A.P.T.) from satellites was introduced the Weather Bureau was able to make practical u se of satellite observations. An A .P.T. receiver was installed on the roof of t h e Weather Bureau building in Pretoria and since then satellite cloud pictures taken with visual and infra-red light have been received and used in the study of vveather over extensive parts of the oceans around South Africa.

South Africa has been taking part in the drifting buoy programme since August 1975. This programme involves releasing buoys carrying sensors for meteorological elements to drift in the oceans. Signals are received from this via satellites. So far the results, though not completely satisfactory, have been encouraging. Indications are that if the equipment and sensors on the buoys are soundly constructed the system should be a boon to meteorology. Oceanography and Ineteorology are closely linked and the current co-operative programme in the prediction of wave conditions in South African coastal waters is engaging the attention of a team from the Weather Bureau, the National Research Institute for Oceanology and the South African universities. The lov er atmosphere section of the National Programme in Environmental Science has also stimulated co-operative research in lower atmosphere circulation — in inversion climatology and in local circulations, with special reference to the dispersal of pollutants, and also to periodic Iluctuations in the country's rainfall. These latter interests are encouraging co-operation in meteorological work between the universities, national laboratories, local authorities and Government departments.

ASTRON O M Y IN SOUTH AFRICA

By R. H. Srov'

It is most fitting that in this volume celebrating the centenary of the Royal Society

of South Africa mention should be made of astronomy since astronomers, even those like Sir John Herschel whose sojourn in South Africa was comparatively short, have always enthusiastically supported, and indeed actively fostered, the general scientific life of the community. South African astronomers have ahvays been few in number but

emisphere compl ement

during the colonial period, while southern h astronomy was eA'ectively confined to using well-established techniques to work already begun in the northern h their contribution to astronomy was out of all proportion to

emisphere,

their numbers both in i m portance and extent, To appreciate this it is necessary to understand something of the nature of' astronomy which, though the oldest, is, in terms of the number of those actively engaged, one of the stnallest of the formal sciences.

Astronomy is primarily an observational science whose progress is largely determined by the instrumentation available. For thousands of years this was limited to the

naked eye and relatively simple pointing devices. Only spherical astronomy, in which the stars and planets are regarded as points on the celestial sphere, was practicable.

Then in l609 came the telescope which, besides increasing the scope and accuracy of spherical astronomy, made possible descriptive astronomy. The field of descriptive astronomy continually widened as the size and power of telescopes gradually increased and were reinforced by the introduction of new techniques, such as photography in the last century and various electronic devices in this.

Astrophysics began when telescopes had become suNciently large and well enough mounted to carry subsidiary instrumentation and, in particular. spectroscopes. Till the mid-l940s observation vvas limited to the relatively narrow 'optical window' in the

or th's atmosphere; thereafter the 'radio windov' discovered in the l930s began to ' Sections of this ~ y h ave been written by the editor, who must take full responsibility for any errors that may occur therein, (Ed.)

409

410

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AHIICA

be vigorously exploited, particularly by physicists and radio engineers who had been engaged on radio and radar development during the Second World %'ar. Soon afterwards rockets and artificial satellites broke through the atmospheric barrier and opened up the far ultra-violet, the X-ray, and the gamma ray regions of the spectruni for observation. About the same time the infra-red spectral regions were rendered acces-

sible by the developm ent of suitable receivers and in this case the atmospheric absorp-

tions, which are mainly due to water-vapour, can be suIIiciently avoided by observing from balloons, high-flying aircraft or, in dry climates, from high altitude ground-based observatories. Each new spectral region has revealed objects and possibilities whose existence had scarcely been suspected; but the data from all spectral regions are com-

plementary and are being fitted together to give an increasingly solid foundation for a comprehensive view of the universe. The development of astronomy is probably typical of the observational sciences. As observations accumulate and are collated, ad hoc hypotheses, originally formulated to explain observed correlations, gradually evolve into well-established theories covering ever wider fields of observed phenomena. These theories suggest further observations by which their truth can be tested so that observing, which is at first alinost

random 'stamp collecting', becomes more purposeful and qualifies as 'real science'. The next stage is reached when the physical laws underlying the observed phenomena have been successfully fomiulated and it becoines possible to develop the subject theoretically ab initio. Observations are then required only to provide nuinerical data to insert into the theory or to check specific deductions. Their nature rends to change; emphasis is on accuracy rather than on discovery, their goal the next decimal place.

Each decimal place becomes successively harder to achieve and as the inherent limits of the available instrumental equipmeni are approached, observing becomes more of an art than a scient:, a craft whose mastery requires concentration and long practice. The master necessarily becomes a somewhat narrow specialist in just that kind of measurement. The tendency to become so is especially strong in astronomy since the

number of objects which can be usefully subjected to a successfully-established technique of measurement is practically unlimited. Much of astronomy is still in the stamp-collecting phase, with many beautiful separate collections in varying degrees of completeness. In astrophysics, theories of stellar constitution and of the structure of the Galaxy give some coherence to the various data collections, but these theories are far from having reached their final form.

Spherical and gravitational astronomy are rather more advanced and are perhaps worth considering in more detail since it is to these branches of astronomy that some of the more important South African contributions have been made.

Some 4 000 years of visual observation provided an understanding of the heavens which was sufficient for the practical purposes of calendar-making, time-keeping, navigation, and the approximate prediction of the motions of the Sun, Moon and planets. In the late seventeenth century much of this slowly-accumulated knowledge

was crystallized in Newton's laws of motion and of universal gravitation which rendered obsolete all earlier syntheses such as those of Ptolemy, Copernicus and Kepler. Showing that Newton's laws were sulficient to account for even the most minute details

411

ASTRONOMY

of the motions within the solar system occupied many of the great mathematicians throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and it was not till the twentieth that the necessity for reining Newton's theory by the concepts of relativity became

apparent. Before mathematical analysis can be applied to calculating epherimedes such as those required for the various nautical almanacs, the physical dimensions of the solar system and the 'initial' motions of its members must be known. The gradual refmnement of the mathematical theory requires a corresponding improvement in the accuracy with which these quantities are determined, and vice versa. Thus from the eighteenth century onwards, professional practical astronomers, of which there were

never very many, had a dear-cut if tedious task. They had to set up a background network of accurate star positions against which the motions of the Sun, Moon and planets could be measured, they had to measure the distance to the Moon and the scale of the solar system. A necessary part of this work is the determination of the size and shape of the Earth and the numerical values of aberration, precession, nutation,

polar motion, etc., which result from its complicated motions in space. The erst serious astronomical expedition to South Africa, that of the French Abbe de la Caille to the Cape from 1751 to 1753, was largely concerned with these problems as was much

of the work of the Cape Observatory from its foundation in 1820 onwards. Finality is never reached in such measures. Thus in the eighteenth century the which sent out special expeditions to measure short meridian arcs in various parts of the world; in the nineteenth century it had become a problem for geodesists to solve as a by-product of their large-scale national boundary surveys: the most recent results depend on observations of special artilKial satellites. Once the size and shape of the Earth are known, the distance of the Moon can be deduced by comparing its apparent positions in the sky as seen from two widely spaced observatories. But even the long series of special observations made from Greenwich and the Cape never attained anything

cademy

shape of the Earth was determined by the French National A

approaching the accuracy of the routine radar and laser ranging measures now being made. %hen the distance to the Moon is known it is possible to deduce that of the Sun by a detailed analysis of the lunar motion but such an indirect method assumes the truth of Newton's laws and does not carry the same conviction as a direct geometrical measurement of the distance of one of the nearer members of the solar system. Only

one such distance is needed since a scale model of the solar system is provided by Kepler *s Third Law. The planets that come closest to the Earth are Venus (42 million

kilornetres) and Mars (56 million kilometres). Unfortunately when Venus is close to the Earth it is nearly in line with the Sun and its position cannot be measured accurately relatively to the stellar background except through a long series of transit circle observations. At rare intervals, however, Venus crosses the face of the Sun and, as Halley pointed out, provides an opportunity of measuring its distance with relatively

simple equipment by combining observations made at several stations widely spread over the surface of the Earth. Such 'Transits of Venus' occurred in 1761, 1769, 1874 and 1882 and on each occasion various governments interested in the problem because of its navigational implications sent out expeditions to various parts of the Earth,

SCIFNTlHC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AHUCA

including South Africa. As for so inany scientilic band-wagons, the indirect benefits derived from these expeditions greatly exceeded the direct, e.g. the discovery of the

east coast of Australia by Captain Cook. In all cases the increase in accuracy with which the solar distance was deterinined was negligible. Though systematimHy observed at every suitable close approach, Mars too gave disappointing results so that froin the 1870s onwards the attention of astronomers became focused on a number of the nearer minor planets whose eA'ectively stellar discs could more accurately be observed than could the larger discs of Mars and Venus. Conspicuous amongst these ininor planets is Eros, which was discovered in 1898 and which can come within 22 million kilometres of the Earth, Close approaches occurred in 1901 and 1931 and were intensively observed. A still closer approach in 1975 aroused little interest since by that time the solar distance had been determined to a very much higher order of accuracy, both by direct radar measurement of the distances to the planets and by analysis ef the observed motions of various space probes. The Abbe de la Caille. Knowledge of the stars surrounding the south celestial pole was virtually non-existent until 1603, when Johann Bayer published his Uranomefria. Bayer was indebted for his knowledge of the southern skies to Pieter Dircksz Keyer, pilot of a Dutch expedition to the East Indies in 1595. Edinund Haiiey established an observatory on St Helena in 1676, but his resulting catalogue, listing the positions of 341 southern stars, appears to have been of little scientific value. In 1705 Peter Kolb arrived in Cape Town 'sent thither', according to John Maxwe]l. 'by a Prussian Lord . . . w h o l i kewise sent another to the northward each of 'em to take observations especially of C oelestial Phoenomena, for th e i m p rovement of Astronomy and Natural Philosophy; but Astronomy and Natural Philosophy will not, I believe, be much improv'd by this mission'.' And so it proved to be. The stage was set for N i colas Louis de la Cailie's visit to the Cape. Born at Rumigny in the Ardennes in 1713, he obtained employment first in surveying part of the French coast and then in remeasuring the French arc of meridian. He was admitted to the French Academy of Sciences and appointed professor of i n athematics at Mazarin College, where a sinall observatory was set up for him. ln 1750 the Acadeiny, growing ever more concerned at the paucity of astronomical data from the southern hemisphere, decided to take action and its choice fell on the Abbe. On 20 June of that year permission was sought from the Dutch authorities for him to visit the Cape. He embarked, however, before this permission had been granted and arrived in Cape Town on 19 April 1751. While in Cape Town the Abbe stayed in a house in Strand Street, behind which he built a small observatory. Here 'he laid the foundation of exact Sidereal Astronoiny in the Southern Hemisphere' and in the course of a year plotted the positions of no !ess than 9 766 stars. The resulting catalogue, published in 1763, graded for the Iirst time the southern stars according to brightness, as well as revealing a number of new ' Phil. Trans.Roy. Soc. Load. 25 (310): 2423. ' Gill, D. 1902. Presidential Address to the Seuth African Philosophical Society(Transacnons 14 (5)).

414

SCIENTIHC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AHUCA

work, including a survey of Hout Bay and the measurement of the height of Table

Mountain.

La Caille was extremely interested in the shape of the Earth, measurements in the

northern hemisphere having indicated that it was not a sphere but was slightly Ilattened at the poles. He was keen to discover whether observations in the southern hemisphere would confirm this finding. Consequently, on 9 September 1752, he set out for Klipfontein, north of Piketberg, to establish the northern point of an arc of meridian

nearly I) degrees in length, The southern point was, of course, his observatory in Cape Town. The accuracy of the readings he obtained u as later confirmed by Thomas Maclear. La Caille left the Cape in 1753, to return to Mazarin College. In view of what he achieved it is incredible that he actually spent less than two years at the Cape. In addition to his astronomical investigations, his diary, Journal historique du voyage fait au Cap de Bonne-Esperanto (1763), is of considerable interest. The Royal Observatory Th ough other astronomers visited the Cape after the Abbe at the Caye. de la Caille, the next major event was the establishment of the Royal Observatory, in 1820. Its first Director was the

Reverend Fearon Fallows, who built it, the main building being designed by Sir John Rennie. Faliows died in 1831, the victim of scarlet fever, and was replaced by Thomas Henderson, who brought it some fame, though he stayed for only two years and disliked the place. Thomas Maclear, a surgeon turned astronomer, was appointed to the

directorship in 1833. Although until then he had been purely an amateur, he had already won his F.R.S. As His Majesty's Astronomer at the Cape he was entrusted with the building up of the young Observatory and organizing its routine astronomical,

meteorological and magnetic observations. From 1834 to 1838 he worked with John Herschel, surveying the southern sky, and between 1840 and 1847 he remeasured and

extended the arc of meridian surveyed byLa Caille. His work provided a sound foundation for a trigonometric survey of the Cape Colony, Maclear was very interested in the

exploration of Africa and was a close friend of David Livingstone, for whom he reduced many observations of position made on Livingstone's journeys. Knighted in

1860, Maclear retired in 1870. The town of Maclear, as well as Cape Maclear, was named after him, as much for his public-spirited service to the community as for his prowess in astronomy. Slr John HerscheL John Herschel was at the Cape only between 1834 and 1838 and held no oflicial appointment during this period; nevertheless his contribution to the fame of the Royal Observatory and South African astronomy could hardly be overHe was born in Slough in 1792, the only child of Sir %illiam Herschel, discoverer of Uranus. Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of

emphsiazed.

London at the age of only 21 for his work in mathematics, John Herschel quicldy turned his attention to astronomy and in 1833 completed the reobservation of his

father's double stars and nebulae in the northern hemisphere. He at once decided to

ASTRONOMY

make similar observations in the south and set sail for Cape Town, arriving within ten days of his friend Thomas Maclear. Herschel was persistent and untiring in his exploration of the southern sky, publishing his discoveries of double stars, star clusters and nebulae in 1847, after his return to England. His findings formed the chief source for the southern part of Dreyer's Yeiv general catalogue of nebulae and clusters (1888), which is still a reference work. He invented an instrument, the astrometer, for com-

paring the brightness of a star with a reduced image of the full moon, thereby founding objective steflar photometry. He devised a procedure for the delimitation of the constellations. He helped Maclear through a difIicult period at the Royal Observatory and assisted him with geodetic surveys and tidal observations. He sketched flowers and

scenery, helped establish a meteorological committee in Cape Town,

experim ented

with solar cookers and invented an instrument for measuring heat radiation. He even somehow found time to take an interest in public affairs and, with John Bell and John Fairbairn, to propose a scheme for a state system of education in the Cape, a scheme

which was largely adopted and resulted in far-reaching bene6ts, His diaries and voluminous correspondents:, often written on horseback and with a blunt pencil, make

fascinating reading,' Strangely enough, after his return to England in 1838, he paid little further attention to astronomy but devoted himself to other pursuits, notably

photography, in which he made several important advances. Though much of the work of the Cape Observatory has always been directly concerned with evaluating the solar parallax and related astronomical constants, definitive determinations are particularly associated with Sir David Gill and Sir Harold Spencer Jones, The latter, a former Council Member of the Royal Society of South Africa, being His Majesty's Astronomer at the Cape, was appointed by the International Astronomical Union to be Chairman of the elaborate 1931 Eros campaign.

As such he was responsible for co-ordinating extended series of photographic observations made at three dozen observatories scattered throughout the world as veil as visual observations made at a dozen more. The Royal Observatory at the Cape, the Harvard Hoyden Station at B l oemfontein, the U n ion Observatory and the Yale Station at Johannesburg, all took part in the campaign, the data from the Cape being the most extensive. The work of reducing this tremendous mass of material took several years and was not completed until alter Sir Harold had become Astronomer RoyaL

Slr David Gill. Sir David Gill carne to the Cape as Her Majesty's Astronomer in 1879 and without delay joined the South African Philosophical Society, of which he was elected a member and President at the flrst meeting he attended, Few others have equalled this record, which was rather typical of a man who does not seem

to have been encumbered by false modesty, (At one international astronomical gathering he was challenged with having been elected chairman of a committee unanimously. 'Sure,' he replied, 'I voted for myself. I was the best man for the job.' And so he undoubtedly was!) Gill was an Aberdonian who had inherited a long-established clock-making business and had as his principal hobbies rifle-shooting and astronomy. His interest ' Herscltel at (he Cape (ed. D. S. Evans et ttl.). University of Texas Press, 1969. 398 pages.

416

SCIENTTFIC ENDEAVOI:R IN SOUTH AFRICA

Sir David Gill, Her Majesty's Astronomer at the Cape, President of the South African Philosophical Society l879-80, 1891-2, 1901-2.

in the latter was aroused when, at the age of 20and with the help of Professor Thomson of King's College, he established a time service in Aberdeen. He was delighted by the precision with which the observations could be made. Later he gave up business to become a full-time assistant to Lord Lindsay. afterwards 26th Earl of'Crawford, who was setting up an w ell-equipped private observatory at Du n E c ht, an observatory whose library and instruments were later to become the nucleus of the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, when it was transferred to Blackford Hill, It was at Dun Echt that Gill first encountered a helionieter and was immediately captivated by its potentia.l precision for measuring angular distances of the order of one degree or l ess, a measurement now more conveniently made photographically. He took t h e instrumem to Mauritius in 1874 as part of Lord Lindsay's Transit of Venus expedition and while there demonstrated that a few heliometer observations of Juno, one of the brighter minor planets, could determine the solar parallax with greater accuracy than all the numerous elaborate national T r ansit of' Venus expeditions put together. Accompanied only by his wife, he took the heliometer to Ascension and for six months observed Mars during its particularly close opposition of 1877. It was while he was working up these results that he was appointed Her Majesty's Astronomer. The heliometer came with him to the Cape and most of Gill's personal observing there was done either with it or with a larger version he extracted from the Admiralty in 1884,

extreme ly

ASTRONOMY

417

The series of observations of the 1888 and 1889 oppositions of the minor planets Iris, Victoria and Sapho, organized and reduced by Gill, led to the values of the solar parallax and related constants that were used up to 1968 for computing the various astronomical almanacs, the change in values implied by the Eros campaigns being not su%ciently great to warrant the confusion that might result from altering the adopted constants. The heliometers were also used for determining the distances of a score of southern stars by observing the displacement relative to neighbouring background stars produced by the Earth's annual motion round the Sun. Such parallactic shifts are extremely minute and, though they had been searched for diligently from the time that Copernicus had propounded his heliocentric system, they had not been certainly detected till the 1830s. One of the first to be detected was that of Alpha Centauri, which showed up in an accurate series of mural circle observations of its declination made bv Thomas Henderson when he was His Majesty's Astronomer at the Cape. The Cape heliometer measures of stellar distance provided reliable data for an extended sample of representative stars when such data were extremely scarce. Their essential accuracy has been fully confirmed by later photographic measures made with longfocus telescopes. Another of Gill's activities directly relevant to determining the size and shape of the Earth, a vital step in evaluating the distance to the Sun and the stars, was his initiation and honorary directorship of various large-scale surveys of southern Africa. One of his objectives was a complete triangulation of the 30th east meridian from South Africa to Norway, the longest arc of meridian measurable in the world. He saw this work started but did not live to see its completion, after the Second World War. Basic to the discovery of interesting or unusual celestial objects is a comprehensive survey of the sky. The desirability of such a survey has always been realized but during the first half of the nineteenth century the search for minor planets and the circumstances of the discovery of Neptune seemed to render such work essential. Comprehensive charts of the northern sky were prepared in the 1850s by Argelander and his associates at the Bonn Observatory by the tedious, and at that time the only, method of observing each star individually and noting its position and brightness. This Bonner Durehmusrerung (survey), usuaBy known as the BD, included about 324000 stars north of the equator. It was extended down to declination 24'S by the Bonn astronomers and to the remainder of the southern sky by those at Cordoba, though these extensions were not completed till 1932. Meanwhile Gill, svhile examining photographs of the Great Comet of 1882 taken on the recently introduced dry plates, had been impressed by the large number of star images that were also recorded and immediately realized the potentialities of photography for star charting. He quickly organized a complete photographic survey of the southern sky and gratefully accepted the offer of the Dutch astronomer Kapteyn to measure and reduce the resulting plates at Groningen. The resulting Cape Phorograplrtc Durchnnvsterung(CPD) was fully published by 1900 and represents one of the first extensive applications of photography to astronomy. The three durchmusterungs are still one of the astronomer's indispensable working tools which provide identifications vvith approximate positions and magnitudes for over a million stars.

418

SCIENTIFIC EVDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

The tremendous potential of the new photographic method was also recognized by the astronomers of the Paris Observatory and their enthusiasm led to the initiation

in 1887 of an ambitious international scheme, usually known as the Carte du Cie/, in which from the beginning Gill played a leading part. The object was to produce a catalogue giving accurate positions for all stars in the sky down to magnitude 11.0 and charts showing all stars down to magnitude 14.0. About a dozen observatories took part in this project which proved too big for several of them and it was not till the 1960s that the catalogue was ltnally completed. Soineof the observatories completed their quota of charts but most did not since the need for them had been eliminated by the Franklin Adams Charts which covered the whole sky and showed stars down to about magnitude 16. These charts were reproduced photographically from plates taken between 1902 and 1915 in England and South Africa, initially at the Cape and later at Johannesburg. The Cape Observatory undertook one of the largest zones of the Carte du Ciel, that between southern declinations 40 and 52', an extremely interesting zone since it passes close to the galactic centre and through a wide range of galactic latitude. The vvork on this zone was done extremely thoroughly so that this is still one of the best observed parts of the sky. The 3 000-odd photographs and associated meridian circle observations vvere all obtained by the due date (1900) but the resulting measurements and reductions took the comparatively large stalF over t wenty years to complete. Gill planned the original work, assembled the stafF and saw the work started but it was his Chief Assistant and successor, Sydney Samuel Hough, the lirst President of the Royal Society o'f South Africa, who developed the detailed methods of reduction and saw the work through to publication. The Royal 01iservatory Ho ugh was a highly-gifted mathematician who before coming to the Cape in 1898 had been a Fellow of St John's College, after 1900. Cambridge and worked with Sir George Darvvin. Unfortunately Hough died before the Carle da Ciel work was completed, so the latter portion of the eleven-volume catalogue had to be passed through the press by his successor, Sir Harold Spencer Jones. One of Jones's first actions at the Cape was to initiate the rephotography of the vvhole zone so that the proper motions of the stars could be obtained by comparing the original photographs vvith the new ones taken some twenty to thirty years later, Measures were confined to about 40000 of the brighter stars but even sothe work took over ten years and was completed under Dr John Jackson, who succeeded Jones in 1933. The tinal volume of the series relating to the Carte du Ciel and related investigations was sent to the publishers in 1939 but vvas not issued till atter the Second World War. Gill had assembled a stalF that was particularly suited by temperament and training to carry out long pieces of routine work vvhich involved much skilled observing and even more measurement and calculations which had to be carried out extremely conscientiously and always checked and counter-checked, the kind of work that vvould now be contemplated only with the aid of automatic machines and electronic computers. This staA' was approaching retirement in the 1920s and it fell to

measuring

ASTRONOMY

Jones to appoint their successors. He saw no reason to change its basic composition and the only difference was that the new sta6'was recruited locally instead of overseas, It was this South African staff that Jones selected and welded into a closely knit, eIIlcient team that carried the Observatory on into the 1960s.' As the Carte du Ciel work ran out, Jones introduced a somewhat similar but less ambitious programme to match work that had already been started in the northern Iiemisphere by the Yale, Bonn and H observatories. This was to obtain precise current positions for about ten stars per square degree, i.e. about 400000 over the whole sky, and, where possible, to derive proper motions for them by comparing these new positions with existing old ones obtained visually with a transit circle or photographicallv for the Carte tIu Ciel. Instead of using the Carte tIu Ciel astrograph with its relatively small field, a modern camera having a shorter focal length but covering a wider field was used. This meant that relatively fewer stars had to be observed with the transit circle. The 1931 Eros campaign delayed the start of this work so that although Jones assembled the necessary equipment it fell to Jackson to get the project really started. Like inost projects it took much longer than planned and the final volume of the resulting catalogue was not published tiH 1968. In addition to positions and proper motions. this Cape Photographic Catalogue for J950.0 gives spectral types and newly determined photographic magnitudes and colours. This new photometric data had been visualized by Jones but proved very much more dilIicult to obtain than he had anticipated, The reduction of the first routine observations quickly showed that the existing photometric standards were quite inadequate for the inherent precision of the equipment. It therefore became necessary to set up a network of photometric standards covering the southern sky, a long and tedious task for which, however, the structure of the Observatory team was weH suited. The Iirst satisfactory solution was obtained

amburg

with the Fabry method of photographic photometry which had been suggested by Professor Redman and exploited by Dr Cousins, but this method was quickly overtaken and replaced by photoelectric photometry, by which the standards used for the catalogue were eventually set up. The obvious successor to the Cape Photographic Catalogue for J950.0 would be one for 1975.0 in which improved techniques could be used and full advantage taken of the extra 25 years to strengthen the proper motion determinations. Plans for such

a catalogue depending only on Cape work were formulated but were replaced by an essentially similar international project which covered the whole sky and in which the Cape participated. The United States Naval Observatory and the Pulkovo Observatory sent expeditions to South Ainerica and the Hainburg Observatory to Australia, all fully equipped with modern instruments. The Argentinian and Chilean astronoiners also took an active part so that for the first time for over half a century fundamental star positions in the southern hemisphere did not depend solely on observations made with the Cape Reversible Transit Circle which Gill had designed and installed just before his retirement. ' A more extensive and very interesting account of the history of the Royal Observatory has been published to commemorate iis sesquicentenary (Laing, J. D. (ed.).The itoyttl Observatory ot the Cape ttf GoodHope. /820-l970. Published by the Royal Observatory, 1970).

420

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

R. T. A. Innes andthe Of G i l l 's services to astronoiny not the least was the way in Union Observatory. wh ich h e w ould inspire, encourage and help other astronoIners, both amateur and professional. One such case was that

of Dr R. T. A. Innes, the first Union Astronomer. Innes was born in Edinburgh, left school at the age of 12 and received no further formal education — his doctorate was an honorary one from Leiden. In spite of this he became an amateur astronoiner, particularly interested in celestial mechanics and was able to contribute original papers on this subject to the Royal Astronomical Society. Emigrating to Australia at the age

of 23 he became a prosperous wine merchant in Sydney and devoted his leisure time to the discovery and measurement of double stars. When he was 35 and well established, he wrote to Gill offering his services as an assistant at the Observatory. Gill was only able to create a temporary post of Secretary, Librarian and Accountant but Innes accepted it, carried out these multiple duties conscientiously and still found time and energy to vigorously pursue his double star work as well as to investigate numerous variables and other interesting objects encountered in preparing a supplementary volume to the Cape P/~orograpIIic Durchmusierung. This latter work brought him into close contact with K apteyn and helped to forge the close links that have always existed between the Union Observatory and the Dutch astronomers. When a meteorological observatory with a time department was established in Johannesburg in 1903, Innes, on Gill's strong recommendation, was appointed Director and was there able to continue his astronomical work. Just before Union, Innes persuaded the Transvaal Governinent'to order a large 26.,'-inch refractor which became the Union Observatory's

principal instrument. Unfortunately this instrument was delivered only a short while before Innes's retirement, but two of his successors as Union (later Republic) Astronomer, Dr W. H. van den Bos and Dr%. S. Finsen, were outstandingly gifted double star observers who were able to do justice to this very fine instrument and the superb seeing conditions to be found on the Highveld. The Union Observatory became the centre of southern hemisphere double star astronomy, though other routine observations were also made there, including a systematic patrol of the southern oppositions of minor planets and comets, and of occultations of stars by the Moon. This latter programme arose from lnnes's interest in the inotion of the Moon and from a discussion of occultation results he was able to produce the first indications of the irregularities in the rotation of the Earth. Another notable discovery of lnnes's made in the course of a systematic search was that of Proxima Centauri, the Sun's nearest stellar neighbour. In 1894 a British amateur astronomer, Frank M c Clean, ofFered to the Cape Observatory a powerful new instrument. This was the Victoria Telescope, a 24-inch photographic refractor twinned with an 18-inch visual one. The latter was intended for observing double stars and the former for studying the 'new astronomy', astrophysics, and vvas furnished with objective prisms and a slit spectrograph. The spectrograph was specially designed for measuring the radial velocities of bright stars with high precision since Gill desired that the first use of the new equipment should be a systematic study of the radial velocities of stars near the ecliptic in order to deduce from the annual changes in them produced by the Earth's motion round the Sun the linear dimensions

of the Earth's orbit and to see how the value of the solar parallax so derived compared

ASTRONOMY

Ql

I

I• i

~

v '

•

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The 2Q refractor at the Union Observatory about l928. Standing on the platfoan are,from left to right, R. T. A. Innes, W. H. van den Sos and H. E. %'ood. Seated at the desk is %. S. Finsen.

SCIENTIEIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AEMCA

with that found by other methods. The instrument was ready for use only just before G ill retired so that this programme was carried out under the supervision of Dr J .

Halm who had succeeded Hough as Chief Assistant. The only other extensive programrne for which this spectrograph was used was to determine the radial velocities of southern stars bright enough to be observed with it and, in 1925, for a study of Nova Pictoris. The motnentum of the radial velocity programme was lost during the First World War and was nor, regained till the early 1950s when the Cape Observatory was given access to the new Radciiffe Reilector in Pretoria. Moreover the Observatory staff in the 1920s was not by temperament or by training adjusted to astrophysics, so in 1926 Jones decided to use the Victoria Telescope for determining trigonometrical parallaxes (distances) of the southern stars. At that titne twelve northern observatories were engaged on this work and none in the south, though the Yale Observatory was preparing to establish a southern station in Johannesburg for this sole purpose. The methods used at the Cape were essentially those developed by Charles Davidson at Greenwich where there was a very similar telescope. These in turn were based on Frank Schlesinger's work earlier in the century, Ilrst at the Yerkes and then at the A llegheny and the Yale observatories, Except for a short break during the E r o s Campaign, the Victoria Telescope was entirely devoted to the parallax programme, vvhich became Jackson's special interest, from 1926 to 1950. During that time about one-quarter of a million photographic exposures were made and measured, furnishing trigonometric parallaxes for over I 700 stars. Slightly more than this number had been observed at the Yale Southern Station so that by 1950 the two southern observatories had overtaken their northern counterparts. Other Astronomical As the superb observing conditions to be found on the Highveld became known, South Africa became a natural location for Stations. southern stations of northern observatories wishing to complete ' all sky' programmes. The Yale Southern Station situated in the grounds of t h e University of the Witwatersrand from 1925 to 1952 has already been mentioned. It was equipped with a single instrutnent. a long 26-inch photographic refractor specially designed and built for the determination of trigonometrical parallaxes and used solely for this purpose up to 1945. Most of the plates taken were shipped directly back to America but those for a few selected stars were measured on the spot by the resident observer, Dr H. L. Al den. From 1945 the Station was jointly sponsored by Yale and Columbia Universities and began to be used for more varied observations, the resident observer being Cyril Jackson, who accompanied the Station when it was moved to Australia. In 1 927 the H a r vard College Observatory moved its B o yden Station f r o m Arequipa in Peru where it had been established in 1889 to Maselspoort just outside Bloemfontein. From then till his death in 1950 Dr J. S. Paraskevopoulos aided by only one or two assistants took an immense number of plates, both direct photographs of the sky and ones taken through objective prisms for spectral surveys. These plates were shipped directly back to the Harvard College Observatory where they formed the basis of much of the work done there in the 1930s, especially that on variable stars, on

ASTRONOMY

extragalactic nebulae and„more particularly, on the Magellanic Clouds. Another southern station, that sponsored by the University of Michigan, was also established at Bloemfontein in 1927. This was the Lamont — Hussey Observatory on Naval Hill, its single instrument being a long 27-inch visual refractor specially designed for the discovery and measurement of double stars. Its purpose was to make a survey of the southern sky similar to that already carried out in the north at the Lick Observatory by Hussey and Aitken. Unfortunately Husscy, who was to have used the instrument, died before its completion and the survey was carried out by Dr R. A. Rossiter between 1927 and 1952. Double star work was continued by Dr F. Holden until the instrument was finally dismantled. The telescope had also been used by Dr E. C. Slipher of the Lowell Observatory for observing Mars during its close approaches of 1939, 1954 and 1956. From the early 1920s the Union Observatory made its instruments available to a resident observer seconded from Leiden, The first such observer was Professor E. Hertzsprung who worked on double and variable stars, the second Dr W, H. van den Bos who later became the third Union Astronomer. In 1938 Leiden installed an instrument of its own, a hvin 16-inch photographic refractor specially designed for the systematic discovery and observation of variable stars. Plates taken at Johannesburg were all shipped back to Leiden for examination and measurement. After the Second World War Leiden inoved this instrument to the Union Observatory's Annexe at Hartbeespoort, where it later also installed a 36-inch reflector specifically designed for photoelectric photometry. The Radcli8'e Observatory. However, the most aotable import from the northern hemisphere during the 1930s was undoubtedly the Radclifle Observatory. This had been located at Oxford since 1771 but in the 1920s Lord Nu%eld ofl'ered to purchase the site and buildings for the adjacent Radcliffe Infirmary. Dr H. Knox-Shaw, then RadcliHe Observer, decided to use the money so acquired to move the Observatory to the southern hemisphere where the need and opportunities for astronomical observation were so much greater than at Oxford. A suitable site was found just outside Pretoria and in 1937 the Observatory was transferred there. The old instruments were left behind so that all the available funds could be concentrated on a modern 74-.inch reflector with appropriate subsidiary equipment. The spectrograph was designed with radial velocities in mind since Knox-Shaw's original intention was that the new Observatory should undertake much the saine sort of prograrnmes in the south that the Victoria Observatory, B.C., with its 72-inch reflector, had so successfully done in the north. Unfortunately the Second World War intervened and it was 1948 before the 74-inch mirror reached Pretoria and 1951 before the main spectrograph was ready for use. By this time Knox-Shaw had retired and Dr A. D. Thackeray had become Radclifl'e Observer, The war had also reduced the observatory's etfective income so that it was no longer large enough to support an adequate staA'capable of exploiting to the full the enormous potential of the largest telescope in the southern hemisphere located, moreover, on an extremely fine site. About half the observing time with this instrument v as used by the resident stafl; while the remainder was leased to

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

the Cape Observatory and to overseas visitors. Under Thackeray's direction the telescope was kept in continuous use and, in addition to the main radial velocity pro-

grammes, was engaged on a very wide variety of observations, Among the remarkable discoveries made at the Radcliffe Observatory during the 1950s was that of an early-type star shotving no lines of hydrogen, which is the most abundant element in the cosmos. This discovery vvas the result of a deliberate search when only one other such example was known. Such stars have eccentric orbits and are believed to have exhausted the hydrogen in their interiors, 0th:r notable work during this period included the study of the motions of globular clusters by T. D. Kinman and the critical observations of double stars, especially Alpha Centauri, by A. J. Wesselink, while Thackeray and Wesselink achieved signal advances in the held of direct photography, particularly with respect to the Magellanic Clouds which lie iust outside the Milky Way. Research continued into the 1960s vvith observations of'the minor planet Icarus and of the newly discovered cornet Ikeya Saki, The installation of a Coude Spectrograph, which began regular operation in 1960. also stintulated research during this period. The instrument has been used mainly for detailed ana,lysis of stars of special interest and of the narrow interstellar lines appearing in the spectra of distant stars. The greatest instrumental innovation has come, however, with the installation of'an Image-tube Spectrograph in 1970, an instrument which allows the amplification of light through electron optics.

A fuller and extremely interesting account of the history of the Radclifle Obsen atory is given by Thackeray (1972).'

emisp here

for observing In the 1950s the pressure on telescopes in the northern h time had become very great. Moreover. many northern astronomers had new ideas

which they vvished to test in the south. As travelling had become very much easier, it is not surprising that many astronomers and their graduate students began to look towards South Africa, where there was good observing time available with very emcient telescopes at Pretoria, Bloemfontein and Cape Tovt n. Following the visit of Professor Bart J. Bok, the work of the Boyden Station became more varied and more dominated by visiting astronomers and students, who became even more numerous al'ter 1954 when the Station passed to the control of a consortium consisting of the Armagh,

Dunsink, Hamburg, Harvard, Stockholm and Uccle Observatories and was renamed the Boyden Observatory. The flow of visitors to all three observatories received fresh impetus trorn a proposal, flrst mooted in 1953, that the nations of Western Europe should combine to run a large southern station, preferably in South Africa. Site-testing began in 1955, but it was flnally decided to locate the new observatory in Chile, to which country and Australia the main centres of astronomical activity in the southern hemisphere began to migrate in the 1960s. It is a great pity that there were so few indigenous South African students of astronomy to take advantage of this stream of visitors from whom they could have learnt so much. The flrst step towards the local training of astronomers was taken by the Royal Observatory at the Cape in 1944, when provision was made for ' Thackeray, A. D. I972. Tire EadciiJfe Obsertaroryi772-l972. The Radciiffe Trust, Riverside Press, London 56 pages.

ASTRONOMY

Professor R. H. Stoy at his desk in the Royal Observatory, C'ape Toast.

two students each year to take part in research during the summer vacation. These students usually came from the University of Cape Tov n, with vvhich closer links were gradually built up until, in 1958, a Department of Astronomy was established there, the present writer becoming the honorary Professor. In B l oemfontein the

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTHAFRICA

University of the Orange Free State appointed its Iirst Professor of Astronomy in 1968. This was A. H. Jarrett who, by agreement with its Council, was also Director of the Hoyden Observatory, which later became incorporated into the Astronomy Depadment of the University. The South AI'riean The CSIR t ook o ver the control of the Republic Observatory

Astronomical Observatory.

(formerly the Union Observatory) in 1964, and the following year the Science Research Council of Great Britain assumed responsi-

bility for the Royal Observatory at the Cape. Both these observatories, being situated in large and growing cities, were experiencing severe limitations

due to artiIIcial illumination of the night sky and smog resulting from industrial development and domestic heating. An agreement was therefore reached between the Science Research Council and the CSIR to build a new observatory on a suitable site in South Africa and to share the cost of the venture. The result is the South African

Astronomical Observatory in the vvestern Karoo, near Sutherland. This wellnigh ideal site was chosen by Dr R . H . Stoy and Dr D. S. Evans. It was OIIIcially opened in

March 1973, by which time much equipment had been transferred from the Cape Observatory and the Republic Observatory. The timing of this venture could hardly have been better, particularly as it allowed Sir Richard van der Riet Woolley to take over the directorship of the new Observatory on his retirement as Astronomer Royal of Great Britain in 1971. Sir Richard is a graduate of the Universities of Cape Town

and Cambridge and his tirst astronomical post was at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. In 1939 he was appointed Director of the Commonwealth Observatory

at Mt Stromlo, Australia, and he became Astronomer Royal in 1956. His research interests lie in the fIelds of globular clusters, Magellanic Clouds and the evolution of galactic orbits. The main thrust of the work at Sutherland is in photometry and spectroscopy, and the Observatory is well equipped to make major contributions in these fields. The facilities include a 100 cm reflecting telescope, which was transferred from the Royal Observatory in Cape Town, This telescope can be used either in the conventional way

at the prime focus (f/4,6) or at the Cassegrain focus (f/20), or it may be converted by to a pseudo-Schmidt camera (f,'3,9) the addition of a special correcting system in covering a flat fIeld of 2 x 2 ' . T h ere is also a 50 crn rellecting telescope and a third dome houses a Multiple Refractor Mounting which carries an astrometric camera and two photometric cameras, one corrected for blue light, the other for yellow light. The study of variable stars is another main line of research and a symposiutn on this topic was held in conjunction with the opening of the Observatory. The site is manned continuously by observers who spend part of their time at the Observatory and part in Cape Town, working up the results of their observations. The South African Astronomical Observatory has saved a deteriorating situation and gives promise that the outstanding work on the southern skies accomplished in South Africa in the past will continue into the future.

SOME HIGHLIGHTS OF ENGINEERING RESEARCH IN SOUTH AFRICA.

by E. A. Beer

Modern eny'neering has crystallized into various branches such as civil, electrical,

mechanical, agricultural, chemical or mining engineering, and South African university engineering faculties also include land surveying. The link between them is their common scientific approach to problem solving and the need to work towards clearly defined objectives. The attainment of these objectives calls for the exercise of analytical, experimental and managerial talents; economic aspects are also of increasing importance, while applied mathematical techniques, particularly those involving computer

simulation, are increasingly shaping the pattern of investigative work, especially in the fields of mining and vvater research,

In engineering research, categories ranging from 'basic' to 'applied'arerecognized, but it is generally agreed that much of such research is linked to (and may be inseparable from) what is known as development'. Although operating principles may be well known, much research is often still needed before full en~sneering operation is achieved. The South African technological scene seems set for a period of particularly rapid development, partly as a result of the oil 'crisis' of l973, which brought home to the world the need for a vigorous pursuit of new energy sources and the better utilization of existing ones. This need has motivated the construction of p lants such as the country's first nuclear power reactors, that for the local enrichment of natural uranium, the new oil-from-coal plant known as SASOL II , a s well as other petrochemical

developments, a new port (Richards Bay) and a high voltage AC coal-carrying railway line to serve it. Other developments include the construction of the advanced SishenSaldanha iron-ore railway line, the introduction of a technically superior television

service and the beginnings of an international electricity grid linking major thermal, hydroelectric and nuclear power plants which will enhance the widespread use of

electricity derived from coal. To this list may be added various engineering projects in the defence field.

SCIENIIHC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AHtICA

KIectricaI Power Comparative standards of living in various countries can be gauged Generation. q ui te a ccurately from a knowledge of their total rates of energy consumption. The average value for South Africa in 1969, expressed in tons of coal equivalent per capita of total population, was 2 670, almost the same as the fIgures for Japan and New Zealand, and higher than that for many European countries, including Italy. The world average is I 804, while that for the whole of Africa is only 291. The close relationship between gross national product (G,'VP) and energy utilization has been expressed empirically for various countries in terms of the following formula: GAP =

aX - , bY

where a and b are constants, X is the net annual electrical energy input into the economy, and Y is the corresponding thermal energy input. Even when allowance has been made for conversion efliciency, the value of a in South Africa (as in the UK and the USA) is greater than b, so that there is an incentive to increase the electrical percentage of the total energy supply; every effort is being made to do this and in

June 1976 the power supplied by the Electricity Supply Commission (ESCOM), which generates by far th e m ajor portion o f S o uth A f rica's electrical output, exceeded 11 000 M%. ESCOM had as one of its predecessors the quaintly-named Victoria Falls and Transvaal Power Company (VFP), founded in 1906 with the intention of supplying electrical power, at a transmission line frequency of only 3,', or 7 Hz, to gold-mines on the %itwatersrand. It was intended that hydroelectrical power be drawn from the Zambezi River. This imaginative concept was in fact not realized until comparatively

reoently when the Kariba (Rhodesia and Zambia) and Cabora Bassa (Mozambique) stations at the heads of their respective man-made lakes became operative. A name long associated with the VFP was that of Dr Bernard Price, its Chief Eny'neer, who is commemorated by the Bernard Price Institutes. The Victoria Falls Company was absorbed by ESCOM in 1948. Until recently all South Africa's major power stations were thermal, several very large units being sited in the Transvaal, adjacent to the country's coalfields, which are believed to represent between 60; a n d 80 y„' of all African coal resources. Since the founding of the VFP, major advances have taken place in the size and capacity of generating sets. In the 1930s it was felt that the relatively narrow South African railway gauge would set a power liInit to electrical generators of about 60 M%, but improvements in design, particularly with regard to stator and rotor cooling, have led to present-day generators of 500 M% capacity being very little larger. A recent ESCOM advance is that of the 'dry' (waterless) cooling tower, which has been proved in conjunction with a 200 M%' generating station at Grootvlei in the Transvaal. The success of this venture means that the capacity of the power station in q uestion can be augmented in the future, even though there is no provision for additional cooling water

supplies. Two significant deveiopnIents in power generation in southern Africa have taken place in recent years. The first of these is the belated realization that the area possesses considerable utilizable hydroelectric potential.%ithin South Africa the highly seasonal

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Orange River is now being controlled by two major dams, the Hendrik Venvoerd and the P. K. le Roux, the power stations of both being integrated into ESCOM's power network, while further hydro schemes are afoot in the lower Orange, in the upper reaches of the Tugela River and in the Transkei. The Cunene River, which forms part of the boundary between Angola and South West Africa, possesses the capacity to provide all the power necessary for South West Africa and the pioneer 240 MW power scheme at the Ruacana Falls is approaching completion. The Ruacana project was preceded by a thorough investigation of the hydrology of the Cunene basin in Angola in order to predict river Ilows. It would be a sad commentary on human affairs if political considerations should make impossible the complete harnessing of such a valuable regenerative source of power as the Cunene River. A further major development is the building of the 155 m high Cabora Bassa Dam and Power Station by a South African-led consortium at an ideal site, the narrow gorge of the Zambezi River near Tete in M~ mb i q ue. This has been built on the site of the former rapids at Kebrabasa (meaning, appropriately enough, 'The work is finished') which I ivingstone missed when he took a short cut on his 1856 journey to assess the navigabihty of the Zambezi. This power station, at 2070 M l V i nstalled capacity (ultimate capacity: 4 000 M W), will be one of the largest hydroelectric stations in the world, and South Africa will be its biggest customer. The Cabora Bassa power scheme is the world's first major scheme to use solid state rectifiers and inverters to convert between direct current and alternating current. and may thus be seen as a combination of good known technique and cautious development of a new one. The second important d arises from the fact that South Africa has large uranium resources; this has provided the opportunity for power generation using nuclear reactors in areas remote from the Transvaal coalfields. The stage v as thus set for the award in 1976 of a contract to a French consortium for the construction of a nuclear power station at Koeberg, on the coast north of Table Bay, consisting of two 920 MW uruts ot the well-proved pressurized water reactor type. Every attention has been paid to justifying this design in terms of past experience, water usage, aesthetics, economics, safety and environmental effects, and the location of the power station on the Atlantic side of Cape Town will ensure that the elevated sm-water temperature will be no higher than that measured in near-by False Bay. A technique to help meet the peaks ot power demand, and hence of outlay on plant, is 'pumpedstorage'. This concept arose a half-century ago in Germany but v as largely neglected until recently. The technique effectively permits the storage of electrical energy in the form of v ater at an elevation, for the purpose of meeting peak demands as need arises. The steady, or base, load may thus be supplied by the thermal or nuclear components of the power system, leaving the peak loads to be supplied by the release of previously pumped and stored water through hydraulic turbines. Pumped storage schemes are being constructed in the Drakensberg and in the mountains of the western Cape, One such scheme will serve the joint purpose of relieving the hard-pressed Vaal River ( w hich provides water for th e W i t watersrand industrial complex) by pumping water from the Tugela River downstream of the Drakensberg escarpment during off-peak hours to a storage reservoir near Harrismith from where

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SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

it will be released as required to find its way to the Vaal Dam, while during power peak hours some of the stored water will be returned to the lower level to generate a contribution of up to I 000 MW to the national grid.

Dr Henry Qlivier is examining the possibilities inherent in various South African water schemes with a view to increasing the viability of the 'homelands'. Already South Africa receives electrical power from M oqaiiibique and exports some of it back to Maputo as well as to Botswana; power developed in the south bank power station at Kariba finds its way north t o Z a m bia, and so on . T hi s degree of international co-operation shown by the sharing of power between various African states is in marked contrast to their political utterances — although it must be admitted that many major political chaiiges of recent date have come about more rapidly than the engineering works referred to — wtuch may have a gestation period of ten to fifteen years. The possible electrical reticulation in southern Africa is as significant to the continent in our age as was the dream of a Cape-to-Cairo railway in Rhodes's time. Oil from Coal. Th e development of the South African Coal, Oil and Gas Corpora-

tion (SASOL) has been described as an 'exercise in courage'. It was founded in I950 to make South Africa strategically Inore secure in respect of 'petrochemicals' (chemicals from crude oil), many of which had to be imported, and followed earlier pioneer work by t h e A n g lo-Transvaal Consolidated Investment Company

('Anglovaal') which in l935 acquired a licence for the production of liquid hydrocarbons from coal, using the German Fischer-Tropsch process — which was put to use in Japan, Germany and elsewhere to produce synthetic fuel during World War II. A further licence was acquired in l 943 for the American (M. W . K ellogg Coinpany) version of the process. Although the Fischer-Tropsch process was not considered econoinically viable, it nevertheless worked and the first synthetic oil was produced from the South African plant in l 955, using local coal. Numerous refinements have been inade subsequently, particularly in respect to making South Africa independent of imported catalysts, and the activities of SASOL have expanded to include ammoma production from coal-derived gas and town gas as well as high-grade waxes for foodwfappl ng. The flow process used is based on tivo variants of the Fischer-Tropsch process, each of which has certain advantages: the Arge process — based on the experience of ARbeits-GEmeinschaft Lurgi and Ruhrchemie — a fixed-bed synthesis plant, and the a larger moving-bed plant. The main modification developed by the Kellogg C stages in the process are: (I) gasification of coal, (2) catalytic conversion of synthetic gas to petrol and o ther liquid h y drocarbon products, and (3) product recovery, Starting with a m l l ection of semi-developed or commercially unproven processes,

ompany,

SASOL has made many contributions leading to its becoming a fully Iledged technology, so that today it is the only practical system for producing liquid hydrocarbon motor fuel and bulk petro-chemicals from coal. In l966 SASOL entered the field of crude-oil refining and a company, National Petroleum Refiners (Pty) Limited (NATREF), with the French Total group and the National Iranian Oil Company as partners, was formed. All motor fuel sold in the

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inland areas of South Africa now contains 7 ~', of fuel derived from SASOL. The cost of producing this fuel is higher than that of iinporting crude from Middle Eastern countries, but this is olfset by the fact that the range of plastics now made and sold are

highly profitable and are increasingly taking the place of wood-derived products in South Africa. The comparatively recent realization that oil resources are not infinite has directed world attention to the success of the SASOL process. This has led to the decision to establish a second plant, greater in output by a factor of 20, in the area east of the Witwatersrand, adjacent to the large Ermelo coalfields. This development could lead to South Africa becoming independent of imported oil within a few years. Australia is planning a similar large plant, for siinilar reasons. Mining and Th e fac t t hat South Africa is richly endowed with mineral resources Rock RIechanics. ( particularly coal, diamonds, platinum, chrome, gold, and t h e associated uranium) had led to much research and development in connection with the industries that have grown up t o e x tract and process these resources, South Africa's unique mining expertise is now being applied as far afield as Yorkshire, Peru, the Philippines and the U.S.A. More specifically, Magma Copper has adopted the South African method of coohng, using the mine service water; this has also been adopted in Canada, and in collieries in the United Kingdom and Europe. The fact that the ores are particularly low grade has probably stimulated much of this development work. The size of the mining industry is illustrated by the fact that 28'j of all electrical power generated in South Africa is now used on the mines, much of

this being consumed in pumping, as well as in hoisting, milling and cooling operations. The fact that a major portion of the free world's gold is mined in South Africa has stimulated research backing of the South African mines. For example, whereas the machines generally needed for coal and strip mining can be bought overseas, the goldmining industry, being by far the largest of its kind, has had to rely almost entirely on its own resources to develop the sophisticated equipment required. In the early days ot gold-mining. there was little research, although considerable advances were made in winding and in shaft-sinking, which was taken to the stage where a shaft could be sunk at a rate of over 300 m/month — a feat unknown outside South Africa. The introduction of the Blair twin-rope systein (which uses an electrical balance in place of a mechanical balance between the two loads) meant that the 'rate of working' could be constant, regardless of load. Such a winder absorbs nearly 15 M%' of power at peak

load. The rapid rise in gold revenue in the years following the establishment of the free gold market in 1968 made it possible for the Chamber of Mines to announce in 1974 that it intended to intensify its collaborative research and developinent programme in gold production and this is now spread over seven specialized laboratories in the Johannesburg area. Over the next decade this threefold increase in eA'ort is expected

to absorb behveen R100 and R150 million, The gold-bearing reefs are layers of quartzitic conglomerates from 10 to 50 cin in thickness occurring in the Witwatersrand System of sediments which outcrop in a

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rough ellipse surrounding the Vredefort granite Ring Structure. The Vredefort Ring is a later granite that has been punched up in the centre of the ellipse' and for which a meteoritic origin has been suggested. The gold-bearing outcrops form part of the

peripheral axi-symmetric syncline of the Witwatersrand System which slopes downward at an angle of about 30 , a l t hough traces of gold have also been. found around the central Vredefort Ring. To mine these reefs, access faces or 'stopes' only l00 cm in height are driven forward into the rock. Workings now reach 3,7 km below the surface (achieved ia 2 or 3 stages — otherwise the self-weight of the steel winding ropes becomes excessive) and there are plans to continue to 4 km, but this is not yet deep enough to take advantage of any Battening out of the dip — where the presence of gold has not,

of course, been proved. Multiple reefs also occur; it has happened that mining teams have met at a mmmon boundary and found that they were mining difFerent reefsl The annual tunnelling efFort on the gold-mines is currently equivalent to tunnelling

from Johannesburg to Durban (~600 km). Many investigations have been directed to understanding how the gold has come to be distributed in the various reefs in the first place. Examination of the carbonaceous

material (thucolite) in the Carbon Leader Reef (which is only a fev cm thick) has shown that the carbon derives from lichenous plants which appear to have had a great affinity for gold — and for uranium, which now occurs as pitchblende or uraninite. Since present-day lichens grow in patches, this might explain why the gold deposits also seem to be concentrated in patches, separated by distances of 10 to l00 m. The problems associated with the removal of gold-bearing ore are basically the following: (a) The hazards associated ivith sustaining enormous thicknesses of rock

and with underground releases of seismic energy (rockbursts) of as much as 10'- J per occurrence — which result in 'cave-ins' — have called for a considerable research eBort into rock Inechanics. (b) Environmental control; since at the greatest depths the increase of virgin rock temperature over that at the surface is some 45 C. In addition, there is the increase in temperature of the air pumped down shafts for ventilation by

the process knowTi as 'autocompression' (conversion of potential energy into thermal energy). (c) The need to pump water through a considerable height. This has been achieved through the use of pumps able to lift l 000 m in a single stage. W ork in the field of rock meclianics was initiated in l952 when Dr F . G. H i ll of'the Rand Mines Group organized a research team, ivhich included Dr H. G. Denkhaus and Dr A. J. A. Roux, to investigate the problem of rockbursts — which have also been defined as 'sudden ruptures of rock in situ in which movements into the excavation result from forces other than, or in addition to, the dead weight of the rock which has moved' — that is, artificial earthquakes caused by mining. This definition rules out mere faB of rock from an unsupported roof; sidewalls, Boor or roof may move in to close an excavation without warning, with resulting death or injury. I t w as early recognized that a rockburst occurs as a result of the disturbance of the energy balance in the ground by an excavation and represents a release of elastic energy. This occurs when the local concentration of stress exceeds the strength of the rock. Rockbursts were found to depend particularly on the proneness of the rock to brittle fracture and on the concentration of high stress near excavations. Such stress peaks seldom occur

Dr R. L Straszacker, Chairman of the Electricity Supply Commission since 1962. (Photo: ESCON)

Professor G. R. Bozzoli, Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Witwatersrand. (Photo: %its University)

/) Dr A. 3. A. Roux, Chairman of the Uranium Enrichment Corporation of South Africa.

Pro f essor E. A. Bunt, the author of this essay.

SCIKNTli'IC ENDEAVOUR 1N SOUTH AFRiCA

on the East Rand workings, where the existence of soft shale bands below the goldbearing reefs (ia place of' the normal quartzitic layers) results in ductile, rather than brittle, dissipation of the stress energy.

The research on rock mechanics influenced the geometry of rock excavation inasmuch as islands of unexcavated rock result in the formation of dangerous stress concentration regions; while the islands are bring removed, rockbursts are more likely to occur. The simplest excavation geometry is thus the safest. These geomechanical principles have also guided much civil engineering work. Rock is not, as commonly thought, a continuum. Methods have therefore been developed to investigate the distribution of fissures and this has led to a 'geomechanics classification of jointed rock masses'. ranging in quality from 'very good' to 'very poor'; this classification assesses the geological parameters needed for the engineering design of, for example, tunnels. The tunnelling research team of the Geomechanics Division of NM E R I ha s been involved in in situ stress investigations connected with the feasibility assessments of, for example,the underground caverns of the Tugela—V aal and the Ruacana hydropoiver schemes and the long Orange-Fish River tunnel, and has also been active in developing equipment for the measurement of stresses in rock. An earlier model of the CSIR 'strain cell' is used in many countries and the latest triaxial form of strain cell is marketed in both Australia and India. The work of this CSIR team achieved international recognition: Dr Denkhaus served for several years as Vice-President for Africa of the International Society for

Rock Mechanics(ISRM), while the current holder of this office is Dr Z. T. Bieniawski (presently head of the Geomechanics Division of the National Mechanical Engineering Research Institute), who also heads the t u nnelling research team at th e C SIR . Dr Denkhaus is also Chairman of the South African National Group of the %orld Mining Congresses. The research aim of establishing both the cause and the mechanism of rockbursts and of devising ways of controlling or preventing them was achieved through parallel w ork started at th e B ernard Price Institute of Geophysics and continued in t h e Chamber of Mines Laboratories after 1963. This particular team postulated an explanation of the causes, confirmed its vali ditythrough underground tests and then introduced into mining various methods for controlling and preventing them. Dr W. S. Rapson, formerly Research Adviser to the Chainber of Mines, has stated that '.. . the equipment and methods being devised on th e basis of k n owledge derived from rock mechanics should reduce the number of rock falls which account for half of al! inine fatalities'. One of the methods devised was computer simulation, which provides a means for 'synthetic experimentation' of the mining process. This technique, using a program referred to as MI N S I M, de veloped out of t h e e arlier use of an e lectrical analogue computer (which represented rock stress and strain in terms of currents and voltages) and the rock stresses induced by, for example, the mining of a stope, can now be followed instantly on an operator's Visual Display computer terminal. Similar techniques are used to assess the potential value of existing support methods and design

support systems (STOPESIM). These and other developments led to the award in 1971

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437

of the Gold M edal of th e Associated ScientiAc and Technical Societies of South Africa to the Rock Mechanics team headed by Dr N. G. % . C o ok, Director of the Chamber's Mining Research Laboratory, and to Dr M . D . G . Salamon, Director of the Collieries Research Laboratory and presently Research Adviser to the Chamber

of Mines. Although mining research efforts are now being directed towards 'making the mines fit for people to work in', Arstly by massive air-conditioning and secondly by actual cooling of th e r ock, inuch valuable earlier work was concentrated. on the problem of heat stress, physiological tolerance, and acclimatization of workers to the severe thermal environment of a deep mine. Ventilating — or 'air-conditioning' — of deep inines has long been practised to provide a tolerably cool atmosphere for work, while water is supphed for suppressing dust — the quantities typically used being 1Q tons of air and 1 ton of water per ton of rock mined. The presence of the warm water raises the relative humidity to a value exceeding 85; i; in hot working places, while in the summer the autocompression of the air- at depths greater than about 2 kni makes it i mpossible to maintain wet-bulb temperatures below 28 C. R efrigeration is t h us imperative. However, instead of cooling the air, which is heated by the rock as it passes to and along the working face, research is now being directed to cooling the vvater that is supplied for dust control, and field trials involving the supply of water at temperatures as low as 8'C have confirmed that all extra-hot working places can be virtually eliminated due to the efAcient cooling provided by this cold service water. A side effect is that shafts can now be designed mainly in terms of hoisting capacity rather than air-handling capacity, Other research work undertaken by Chamber of Mines Laboratories relates to Are detection and limitation, (The fire hazard arises from the extensive use of timber

in mines for roof support.) The mechanization of mining operations, using nonexplosive rock-cutting techniques, is also proceeding apace and work is continuing on the use of such devices as rock-cutters, swing-hammers, impact rippers, and very high

pressure water-jets to break up rock faces. as well as the use of rapid-yielding hydraulic props to replace timber rock support underground, The significance of the latter

developments is not only that the hydraulic props can be collapsed and removed as need arises — whereas the timber has to be left behind — but since the purpose of the props is to preserve the integrity of the immediate surroundings. this is better achieved

by hydraulic props which can be pre-set to yield in a controlled manner, whereas timber inust be compressed before it can take a load (and then breaks under load).

L'ranlum

Sou t h Africa'suranium output is largely a by-product of gold-mining.

Enrichmen. A l t hough it wai k n own as early as 1923 that low concentrations of

uranium oxide (335 parts per million of ore by weight) existed in the gold-bearing reefs, the motivation to extract uranium arose only much later. Research into extraction procedures was inaugurated in 1945 in South Africa, Great Britain and the United States; the successful process that emerged was based on hydro-metallurgy

and ionexchange. Many of the materials needed (rubber, sulphuric acid, manganese oxide, eic.) are produced locally.

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

The 1969 decision to build a pilot uranium enrichment plant at Valindaba, near Pretoria, made South Africa the fourth country in the tA'estern world to have a programtne of uranium enrichment. This followed a decade of research at the National Nuclear Research Centre at near-by Pelindaba, in a prolpamtne covering the use of radio-isotopes in industry and medicine, the development of special materials and the investigation of suitable reactor types for future nuclear power.

The pilot plant for uranium enrichment at Valindaba. (Photo: Uranium Enrichment Corporation)

ENGINKHUNG RESEARCH

South Africa's first reactor (set up in 1960) was designated SAFARI I, and was of the 20 MW Oak Ridge research type. This initiated a period of eli'ort covering electronics, metallurgy and heat transfer, with the aim of developing a useful power reactor using natural uranium to niake the most of South Africa's indigenous reserves but with the aim of being independent of overseas processing facihties. This vvould have involved cooling by liquid sodium and the use of heavy water as a inoderator. By 1967 a zero energy critical core using aluminium (to simulate sodium) and slightly enriched uranium was in operation. However, the Atomic Energy Board (AEB) decided not to pursue this particular approach. One reason was the likely high cost of construction; another was that Dr R. E. Robinson (until recently Director-General of the National Institute for Metallur~ ) had developed superior methods of extracting uranium, while the AEB had by then itself initiated work on a process of uranium enrichment which was showing promise — in fact, by its means the isotopes of argon had been successfully separated in 1963. This work was consistent with the realization that. power reactors

would be based on uranium slightly enriched (from 0,71;~ to 3;.') in respect of the fissionable component '~U. At that time the two well-established methods of uranium enrichment were the gaseous diA'usion process, which involves a very high investment for a plant of economic size, and the highly sophisticated gas centrifuge process. The South African process is of an aerodynamic type and makes use of a 'separating element' (which is in eAect a high performance stationary-walled centrifuge using UF, in hydrogen as the process IIuid) combined with a cascade technique involving axial Row compressors which can simultaneously tmnsmit streams of different isotopic composition without significant mixing. The process has the great advantage of being 'inodular', capacity being increased by simple duplication of stages. By 1969 the process had been sufficiently well proved for a pilot enrichment plant at Vaiindaba to be designed. The Uranium Enrichment Corporation was set up, the principal process investigators (Dr A. J. A.

Roux and Dr W. L . G rant) being appointed Chairman and General Manager respectively. By April 1975 the first part of the pilot plant was in operation, 90 ~' of all equipment used being of local manufacture. A full-scale plant is expected to be operational by 1987. The Corporation is also investigating the possibility of selling the 'separative work' of the commercial plant to overseas users of enriched uranium for purposes of power generation, as in the 1980s nuclear power stations are expected to proliferate and the large uranium reserves of South Africa will then be much in demand. Railway Cl o s ely allied to developments in the power generation field are thoseconTraction. nected with the railways of southern Africa. Of first interest is the somewhat

unusual track gauge, 3 ft 6 in. (1,065 m), which South Africa shares with parts of Australia, New Zealand and Japan, and which set the pattern for the whole

southern half of Africa (and Egypt) in. expectation of the eventual completion of the Cape to Cairo Railway. This latter idea is popularly attributed to Rhodes but was more Jikely the contempt of Sir Charles Metcalfe, a railway consulting engineer at the turn of the century. This railway might, in fact, have come about (it is more than half

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

completed) had it no t been for the development in this century of l ong-range air transport. The first section of track, on vvhich construction was started in l 859, was the 93 km section from Cape Town to Wellington, which employedwhat was by then

regarded as 'standard' gauge (4 ft 8;,' in. or l,435 m). 2 ft (610 mm) gauge track was also in use — there are still sections of narrow-gauge track in the Richmond district in Natal and between Port Elizabeth and Avontuur (the Apple Express). However, in l867 diamonds were discovered and, since it was thought necessary to rush the construction of a railway line from Cape Town to Kimberley, the Cape Parliament decided on 3 ft 6 in., as a compromise between 4 ft 8.'; in. and 2 ft, in order to negotiate the sharp curves and steep gradients of the Hex River Pass, through which the line was to climb to a height of l 093 m. Since the contractors for this line were paid by distance covered, they preferred to go around high ground rather than through it, with the result that over the last fifty years the South African Raihvays have been straightening many sections of track hastily laid in the late nineteenth century. It is interesting that

the new 864 km Sishen-Saldanha ore line was originally proposed as a special line of standard gauge, but the decision has reverted to the use of 3 ft 6 in. for the sake of uniformity; the remaining railways'of South West Africa were converted from 2 ft to 3 ft 6 in. only a few years ago — otherwise southern Africa might now be experiencing

some of the problems that beset multi-gauge Australia. The relatively narrow South African gauge has not restricted sideways and upward of locomotives and rolling stock up to the limits of the loading gauge employed on standard track overseas — all that has suA'ered is speed — and there have been many examples of South African steam locomotives being the largest and heaviest of their kind in the world. The relatively long trains operated are nearing the limit of draw-bar pull i n t h e c o uplings, however, and a c ommittee (the 'Slave Working' Committee) is looking into problems that may arise if several locomotives controlled from the leading locomotive are distributed throughout a long train. A problem of a diA'erent kind was encountered with the new Richards Bay line, which was intended for multiple diesel operation. The problem arose with the tunnels — each of the locomotives raised the temperature of the air between intake and discharge, so much so that the air temperature at intake to the last locomotive caused it to be automatically shut dovvn. This increased the load on the remaining locomotives, so leading to progressive failure! In all probability, there is also an oxygen deliciency problem, si nce such trains emerging from tunnels are often accompanied by vast clouds of black smoke — presumably as a result of there having been insuIIlcient oxygen for c omplete combustion. Consideration vvas given to a n A m erican solution to t h i s problem: the use of closed doors at each tunnel end in order to force unheated air back betvveen train and walls while the train passes through. Such doors are opened automatically as required to allow trains to enter and leave. In the case of the Overvaal tunnel, the solution adopted to enable diesel working to continue was to excavate long open approach portals in preference to the less economic one of providing air shafts. Subsequent to World War II, the United States, in particular, made an over-hasty conversion from steam to diesel railway traction in the interests of pollution reduction.

developm ent

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Being a coal-rich but oil-scarce country, South Africa has engineered this conversion in a much more orderly manner and only when econoinic considerations of locomotive life have made such a change desirable. In engineering, there is sometimes merit in delay (or at least in not being the pioneer); the oil crisis of 1973 drastically simplified South Africa's problem of wluch way to go from steam and although the intention had been to opt for diesel-electric traction, rapid electrification of main lines is clearly now the answer. The pattern of electrification at 3 000 V DC (as advised by Messrs Merz 4 M cLellan), which started in 1923 in Natal, was intended to make possible heavy tm%c oa steep gradients and the major heavy gradient lines — particularly the Hex River section — have all been electrified on t hi s basis. Although the Cape Town suburban railway electrification, cominenced in 1927, used 1 500 V DC, this was later phased out. Dynamic braking — using the motors as generators when going downhill, the current so generated being returned to the supply circuit — was also practised originally on the pioneer Natal section and doubtless saved brake wear, though it is not now used in this form, An improved mode of working was to absorb the surplus energy in resistances at the sub-stations, while the latest development is the use of 'rheostatic braking', the energy being dissipated in resistances on the locoinotive itself. This form of regenerative braking foreshadowed the use of solid state rectification and inversion equipment on the Cabora Bassa high voltage link, and the availability of relatively light sohd state rectifiers now makes it easier for the rectifying equipment to be carried on the trains (instead of being installed in sub-stations en route as heretofore), thereby enabling overhead power to be supplied direct to locomotives at a much higher AC voltage, This approach, which considerably reduces the amount of copper necessary in the overhead conductors, was developed in France, and is now being widely applied; the Sishen — Saldanha line will in fact use 50 kV AC supply lines and locomotives, leaving newer lines such as those to Richards Bay and to Thabazimbi to be operated at 25 kV AC , wh ich is more suitable for the overhead installations in existing tunnels. A problem that has arisen with the relative lightness of electric units, as compared with steam locomotives, is the 'weight transfer' moment iinposed on the power units by the non-alignment of draw-bar pull and tractive force at starting. Since each axle is supplied with a separate motor, the problem has been largely overcome by decreasing the torque on the leading bogies (by weakening the magnetic field in the appropriate motors) and by attaching each bogie to a suitable sub-frame. A signiTicant technical advance in mechanical engineering has been the design of a new type of raihvay bogie by H . Scheffei, a mechanical engineer working in the roffing stock design section of the South African Railways. This high stability, 'cross anchor' bogie danips out the lateral forces which produce the vibration known as 'hunting', while the special tyre profile p automatic accommodation of the inner and outer wheels to produce true rolling action despite the fact that each pair of wheels is fixed to its axle. Curving ability is achieved by allowing each axle to rotate relative to the side frames to take up a truly radial direction when rounding a curve. The result has been enormously reduced wear on both wheel and track. The cross-section of raihvay lines today is still basically that introduced by George Stephenson in 1825

ermits

SCIENTIHC ENDEa.VOUR IN SOVTH APRICA

Model of high stability cross anchor bogle designed by H. Schelkl. (Photo: S.A.Merhaniea/ Engineer)

and Scheffel's bogie may be regarded as the first major mechanical improvement to the design of wheel and rail since that time. This invention has attracted interest throu@out the world and is being introduced into all new SAR goods trucks from

April 1977, while conversion of the SAR's fleet of 3 000 ore-wagons commenced in September 1976. The fleet of 1 750 ore-wagons for the Sishen-Saldanha project will likewise be equipped with Schelfel bogies and the principle is also being applied to passenger coaches and two-axle short trucks, The accumulated reduction in SAR maintenance costs — at R130 per bogie per year — is estimated to amount to R430

million (in 1976 currency) by the end of the century. ln 1975 Scheffel was awarded the Shell prize for industrial design and in 1976 he was awarded (together with Dr T. bradley) a Gold Medal of the Associated Scientific and Technical Societies of South Africa. Reference must also be made to track improvements in the design and operating

fields. Concrete sleepers (and spring steel c/ips) are beginning to replace wood and metal sleepers, and 'slab track' — continuously welded track aflixed to a concrete slab up to 3 or 4 km in length — is now standard in all tunnels. This advance makes for

noisy running, however, and suitable cushioning is having to be developed, but maintenance is much reduced. There have also been advances in centralized tra%c control:

for example, Kimberley now controls all traIIIc as far afield as Sishen and Klerksdorp, and this technique has contributed to increased carrying capacity of existing lines. Suneying. Historicai decisions were often of great importance for future generations. Such a decision was made about 100 years ago when Sir David Gill' ' See pages 415-418.

ENGlNEERING RESEARCH

reahzed the need for maps in the Cape Colony and hence for a geodetic survey. When Gill put a proposal to this effect before the Governor, Sir Bartle Frere, the latter, still

fresh from his Indian service, was receptive and ordered the work put in hand. After gold was discovered on the Witwatersrand in 1886, Gill felt the need to press the survey further into the Orange Free State and the Transvaal, and persuaded the Presidents of

those territories of this need. (In this connection, it has been reported that President Paul Kruger was a 'fiat earther' but this statement is probably apocryphal.) Work on the extended survey was sporadic, for financial reasons, and was completed only in 1902 by the Royal Engineers, after which it was also extended into the area controlled

by the British South Africa Company (Rhodesia). Many years later, the eA'orts of Gill and others were crowned by the completion of the survey of the 'great arc of the meridian' (the 30th meridian east, representing a distance roughly equal to that between Durban, 31'S, and North Cape, Norway,

71'N), which is the longest arc of meridian measured by triangulation on Earth. The final gap in this triangulation chain was closed in 1955 when the Ethiopian survey control frarnevvork was extended by American surveyors as part of a geodetic aid

programme co-ordinated by the International Association of Geodesy.It is likely that the linking of the African and European geodetic surveys could have been further delayed but for the strong personality and inliuence of Brigadier Martin H o tine, Director of Colonial Surveys and survey adviser to the British Government in the years

following World War II, Mainly due to his own eA'orts, the observation and computation of the great arc through the British colonies in Central and East Africa were

completed in less than ten years, The accurate mapping of large tracts of land depends on the prior establishment of a triangulation control network. These networks were, prior to 1955, always based on short base lines, measured with invar tapes. Calculation of the triangulation framework has to be undertaken on a mathematical surface, notwithstanding the fact that all observations and measurements are taken on the physical surface of the earth — a

non-mathematical surface. Today it is common knowledge that the surface which approximates sea-level — or the geoidal surface — is very closely an oblate biaxial ellipsoid. It is over 300 years since Isaac Newton presented evidence that the Earth was oblate. The French savants, thinking that 'France was the royal arcanum of the sciences, and that England vvas a Nazareth from which no good or true thing could come', looked askance at any interruption to the continuation of the measurement of

the arc begun by Jean Picard by royal command of Louis XIV. The elder Cassini completed Picard"s triangulation between the 'most southern and m ost n o rthern extremities' of France and obtained the result that the length of the degrees of latitude increased towards the equator. This meant that the Earth was prolate, Aattened at the equator rather than at the poles. Even though the Richer pendulum experiments at

Paris and Cayenne supported Nhvton's oblate ellipsoid hypothesis the French Academy of Science gave its support to the prolate hypothesis, but was unable to convince mankind and disprove the views of English origin. In order to resolve the matter, the Academy, in 1735, sent an expedition to Peru under the direction of Pierre

Bougner to measure a degree of latitude at the equator. The Bougner expedition's

SCIENTIFlC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

findings vindicated Newton's ideas. An early astronomer at the Cape, the Abbe de la Caille,' who was a protege of the elder Cassini, measured just over a degree of latitude near Cape Town, in latitude 33 1 8 ' S. i n 1750.His result supported the prolate hypothesis but it was not accepted. The results of a remeasureinent and extension of his triangulation in 1848 by Sir Thomas Maclear, carried out under the auspices of the British Admiralty, showed that a degree in latitude 35 = S was shorter than the French measurement of one degree in latitude 40- N. Maclear's result thus supported the idea of an oblate Earth. In 1954 a young electrical engineer, Dr Trevor Wadley, revolutionized surveying ivith his invention of the 'Tellurometer'.' It is related' of Dr Wadley that on a visit to the United Kingdom in 1954 he checked a line some l3 km long on Salisbury Plain by means of the then new instrument and astonished the authorities there by uncovering a discrepancy of 1,5 m in its length! Wadley *s 'Tellurometers' are now used all over the world, A further name of importance in surveying is that of Dr Willem van der Sterr. As first Director of the South African Trigonometrical Survey, he established,

in 1919, the Trigonometrical Survey OIIIce (TSO) in Mowbray, Cape. His 'decision of vision' was the selection of the Gauss Conform(al) projection for the national survey, a most appropriate projection for survey purposes in a country such as South Africa. The use of this projection was greatly lacilitated by tables produced by Oscar Schrei her while Chief Computer at the TSO (and a son of General Oscar Schreiber ivho had earlier been involved with the Survey of Prussia). In 1943 the TSO published the tables which were largely computed by him during some thirteen years of spare-time activity. Since these tables were in terms of Cape roods, Dr H. S. Williams, of the Departnient of Surveying at Witwatersrand University, published a metricated version in 1975. More recently, Dr W i l l iams has mapped the metrical precision threshold of analytical aerial triangulation and has addressed himself to the problem of in-Sight calibration of aerial survey cameras. Another problein in connection with the recently opened Orange — Fish River Tunnel, that has also been investigated by Williams, is whether ttus tunnel — at 83 km in length, the longest single tunnel in the world — could actually be drained after being filled, in view of the presence nearby of various gravity anomalies. He has shown that there is no problem! A significant advance in the application of surveying methods to mining practice was made by G. B. Lauf, who held the Chair of Surveying at Witwatersrand University froin 1952 to 1975. This uses the gyrotheodolite (invented by Rellensman in Germany) and makes possible the transferring of a direction on the surface to one deep in a mine, without involving the vertical connecting shaft. Prior to this development it had been necessary to use two wires suspended down a mine shaft to determine a directiona method which interfered with the normal operation of the shaft and also sneered from inaccuracy due to the diIIIculty of suppressing all wire movements. The gyrocompass had been in use for many years in submarines and at high latitudes — in fact this possible use of the gyroscope had been foreseen by Foucault in the mid-nineteenth ' See pages 4I2-414 ' See pages 78 79. — 3 It has noi been possible Io confirm this story, which may be spurious.

ENGINEERING RESEARCH

•

.

". y p

Professor G. S. Lauf operating a gyrotheodolite underground. (Photo: XVits University)

SCIENllEIC EM3EAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

century, only he lacked suitable bearings and a satisfactory means of running up to speed to achieve it — and Lauf in 1951 made use of an actual submarine gyroscope, The gyroscope precesses about its axis of suspeasion until it aligns itself in the plane of the north-south meridian, a process which takes about three minutes. Use of the gyrotheodohte has enabled sections of mine tunnels excavated from vertical shafts, many kilometres apart, to be aligned with an accuracy of a few centimetres. The

method has been applied to the majority of mines in South Africa, Rhodesia and Zambia, and to many in Australia. In 1969 Professor Lauf was invited to the United States to introduce gyroscopic surveying methods into mining practice there, for which work he was in due course awarded the Military Order of St Barbara by the U.S. Army

Field Artillery School, A further advance made by Lauf was his development of the theory whereby co-ordinates in any one map projection could be converted into co-ordinates in any other, using the mathematical procedure known as conformal transformation of

complex numbers. Lauf has shown — to the horror of a certain well-known. South African statistician — that it is perfectly satisfactory to extend the method by inter-

polating between such complex co-ordinates. A major contribution to photogrammetry has been made by Dr H. G. Fourcade. Having spent much of his life as land surveyor, forestry oilrcer and botanist, he was a

man of many parts and was on corresponding terms with many of the distinguished scientific personalities of his time. He announced the fundamental principles of the

stereocomparator in a paper to the South African Philosophical Society in 1901 and later published ideas for a stereo-plotting instrument, Fourcade is also remembered

for his discovery of the 'want of correspondeace theorem' on which the spatial orientation of overlapping pairs of photographs depead. The influence of his intellect was felt far beyond the boundaries of South Africa. Both Brigadier Hotine and Colonel E. H.

Thompson (who died in April 1976 in London) were strongy aAected by the original ideas of this quiet, shy man. During the latter twenty-five years of his life Th was Professor of Photogrammetry at University College, London, and incorporated maay of Fourcade's ideas in instruments that he designed. On his death in 1948, Fourcade'seA'ects became the property of the University of Cape Town

ompson

Industrial On 21 March 1947, when Sir Ernest Oppenheimer laid thefoundationDiamonils. stone of the Diamond Research Laboratory in Johannesburg. he said:

'In this age of mechanical progress industrial di amonds have achieved the status of a strategic material, for which there is no substitute.' Twenty-five years later

(by which time the Laboratory had produced synthetic diamond) his son, Mr Harry Oppenheimer, who had succeeded Sir Ernest as Chairman of De Beers Consolidated Mines, reiterated that '... we are preparing diamonds for all maaner of industrial uses, and the work of this Laboratory has led to a new,' manufacturing industry'. This that the hardest natural substance, particularly in powder form, has many

empha sized

uses other than for gemstones and is viral for many engineering operations involving grinding and drilliag or polishing. Both natural and synthetic diamonds are used for industrial purposes. Whereas

ENGINEERING RESEARCH

unacce ptable

natural industrial diamonds are those which are as gems because they are either badly formed or of poor quality (boart), synthetic diamonds have the advantage that they may be generated in a given size range (economically up to about 1 mm cube) or 'tailor-made' for a particular purpose, South Africa's involvement in d iamond synthesis began in June 1956 when, at the urging of M r E . T. S. Brow' , ' then Executive Director of the Anglo American Corporation, a team was formed to repeat the synthesis of diamond achieved the previous year by the General Electric Company of America, as this latter work had been subjected to a security embargo. The embargo was relaxed in August 1959, at which time the process was patented. In the meantime, however, the South African team had designed and built equipment to

convert graphite into its valuable allotropic modification and by 16 September 1959 the necessary conditions for local manufacture had been achieved. This process was also then patented. There resulted a long drawn-out legal action which General Electric brought against De-Beers,— charging infringement of patent rights, even though there had clearly been no possibility of access to their process on the part of De Beers. In due course the validity of the General Electric patents was upheld and it was established that there had been no contravention. General Electric then agreed to the production and market-

ing of synthetic diamond on a royalty basis.

\

i

Drs Custers, Senior, %'edepohl and Dyer, the synthetic diamonds team, examining anX- rayd'action picture. (Photo: De Beers)

Synthetic diamond research was initially concerned with the theoretical graphitediamond equilibrium diagram as a function of pressure and temperature, and was derived by R. Berman at Oxford University. The existence of a high energy barrier between graphite and diamond inhibits direct crystallization from graphite, even when this is theoretically possible. In the synthesis process one or more metals which act both as graphite solvents and catalysts are therefore introduced to mitigate the required conditions; even so, the temperature and pressure necessary are 3 600 K and 17 Gpa. ' Mr Brown was also the prime tnover in the Cabora Bassa power schemeconsortiumdiscussed earlier.

SCIENTIRC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AERICA

The timewycles of heating and cooling provide a control of the size and type of diamond

required, Other aspects of diamond research are concerned with their recovery from mine gravel,in an endeavour to achieve 100,' recovery of ever smaller sizes.For example,

if a stream of concentrate is allowed to fall through an X-ray beam, then since generally diamond displays a blue fluorescence when irradiated by X-rays, it activates an air jet to deAect it into a diAerent collector. A further advance has been concerned with the development of nietal cladding of diainonds to secure their better adhesion to resin bond grinding wheels, since the metal coat adheres better to resin than does diamond itself,

Besides its many uses such as deep-hole drilling on the mines (diamond crowns are used on the drilling heads), diamond also has uses in electronic microcircuitry arising out of its unique combination of electrical non-conductivity coupled to a thermal conductivity value about five times that of copper, Microcircuits mounted on diamond are novv widely used in satellites. This ability to convey heat away rapidly is also important in the industrial use of diamond as a cutter, since the teinperature at the point of contact can be very high. De Beers synthetic diamonds are now manufactured in factories in South Africa,

Sweden and Ireland, and distributed all over the world. Besides General Electric, Japanese and Russian production nov constitutes the major competition to the South

African company. Bleenglneerlng. Wo rk on heat stress in deep mines has mainly been associated with the names of A. J. Orenstein and, latterly, C. H. Wyndham. Due to

the foresight of Sir Basil Schortland (then President of theCSIR), of Drs F. G. Hill and A. J. Orenstein and Mr M . Barcza of Rand Mines Limited, the Applied Physiology Laboratory (later designated the Human Sciences Laboratory) of the Chamber of Mines was set up in 1950. This Laboratory is equipped with a unique climatic chamber,

a form of human wind tunnel, designed by Dr W. L. Grant, who is now DirectorGeneral of the South African Atomic Energy Board, One result of the work conducted there has been the dramatic reduction of the death-rate of 25 from heat-stroke in 1930

(when 14000 workers were at risk) to a negligible number in 1968, when the corresponding work force at risk was about 80 000, An important parameter in the aetiolo~ of heat stress was identified as the wet-bulb temperature of the air at the work face, and 32 C wet-bulb is now regarded as the value beyond which the risk of heat-stroke rises sharply, while 28 C wet-bulb is the upper limit for maintaining full productivity. Other work has led to the development of a microclimatic cooling system, ~vhich is particularly useful underground for a non-acclimatized person. This is effective for about four hours and involves the use of an ice vest — a form of waistcoat containing frozen water. Further work is now being directed at using 'dry ice' (frozen CO 2) in such a garment, The 'Bolos'. Th e ' D o los' is an anchor-shaped concrete 'armour unit' used for the protection of breakwater and other foreshore works, invented by E. M.

'Doios' breakwater construction at Richards Bay (with a Doios inset to show desiiut). (Photo: CSIR)

Merrifield, Harbour Engineer at East London. The Afrikaans name refers to the

knucklebone(Astragalus) of the sheep or goat and is also the term applied to one of the dignation bones used by Alrican witchdoctors. From early times, breakwaters have been constructed of massive masonry sections,often supplied with keyed or other close-fitting joints, but these have usually failed during violent storms as they merely reSect wave energy without converting it. In I944 many of the randomly placed 33 t rectangular blocks on the breaksvater at East London were carried away in a storm. Although these were replaced by heavier blocks, it was estimated twenty years later that 60', of them were no longer in place: a more e8'ective form of amour unit was

clearly called for. Various armour units are available from other countries, including 'tetrapods'

(French), Stabits (British), Akmons (Dutch), Tribars (American) and 'tetrahedrons' (Japanese). Memfieid's approach was to design a unit with a high void to solid ratio to aid in the dissipation of wave energy, which interlocked well and which was easy to manufacture. Model tests were conducted at the Hydraulics Research Unit of the CSIR and it was established that a Dolos block is approximately five times more

eA'ective than any other @pe of block used in a similar manner for conditions of the same wave height; indeed it need be only one-fifth of the weight. The final result is shown below. It takes the form of an H with one arm tvvisted through 90'. 20 t Dolosse are nosv used at East London, Further research and applications have been undertaken on this South African invention in many parts of the world.

450

SCIENBFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AERICA

Mr Merrifield has never patented his design, in the belief that its use belongs to all mankind. In 1975 he was awarded the Gold Medal of the Associated Scientific and Technical Societies for his achievement. RaIIarin I

t is o f ten diIIicult to pin a precise label such as 'Physicist' or 'Engineer'

South AI'rica. on to outstanding men because their abilities transcend the field they

have been trained in. Sir Basil Schonland (1896-1972) was one of these, and the Bernard Price Institute (BPI) at the University of the Witwatersrand, which he directed at the outbreak of 8'orld War II, was well placed to enable him and Professor D. J. Malan, amongst others, to concentrate on the natural phenomenon of

lightning (for which work he received an FRS). It is therefore appropriate that he should be the author of the authoritative article on this subject in the Ha>utch der Physik. Schonland's atmospheric work also enabled him to make a direct contribution to mining engineering in the form of a storm-warning device. Blasting is widely practised on the gold-mines to break up the rock face and many lives were lost, prior to

Schonland's invention, by premature detonation of charges due to lightning striking a mining headgear, the current continuing on down the cable. The use of this stortnwarning device enabled blasting operations to be postponed until any atmospheric hazard had passed.

Radar — RAdio Detection And Ranging — was first employed in 1923 by the American scientists Breit and Tuve, who used it to measure the height of the ionosphere. Its modern use, however, dates from the pioneering work of Sir Robert Watson-Watt in 1935 and the resulting chain of radar stations on the east coast of Britain later

played a highly significant part in the Battle of Britain. In September 1939 Dr Schonland placed his Institute at the disposal of the Department of Defence to develop such a systetn for South A f r i ca. With li ttle guidance beyond the knowledge that Radio

Direction Finding (as it was then known) was possible, Schonland assembled a team consisting of himself, an electrical engineering lecturer, G. R. Bozzoli, a BPI geophysicist, Dr P, G. Gane, W. E. Phillips, N. Roberts from the University of Cape Town, and F. J. Hewitt. The members of the teatn were assigned various tasks in assembling

a radar unit, Bozzoli constructing the tuner and receiver, Gane the transmitter. Using only equipment assembled from commercially available radio components, they proceeded to demonstrate their first radio echo from the Northcliff Water Tower in Johannesburg on 16 December 1939.

By the middle of the following year, thisequipment hadbeensu%ciently improved for it to be taken to Mombasa to detect Italian bombers approaching down the coast and in 1941 South African radar stations in the Middle East vvere integrated with the RAF stations. In South Africa, the Special Signals Services were formed, Major G. R. Bozzoli becoming second-in-command and Chief Technical OIficer. It was at this time that Colonel Schonland, Major Phillips and six graduates from H o ward College, Durban, sailed for the United Kingdom to commence serious radar training before being posted elsewhere. Schonland finally became Scientific Adviser to Montgomery in the field with the rank of Brigadier. For his war work he was later awarded the CBE. His wartime reputation was such that it has been remarked that 'Not only was South

KNGEAEERI'46 RESEARCH

Alrica s contribution to winnirg the War considerable, but even if Schonland had been its only contribution, South Africa's contribution would still have been considerable'. So much for the rest of us!

After the war, Schonland played a leading part in the foundation of the CSIR' before returning to his Chair of Geophysics at Witwatersrand University. In 1954 he became Director of the Atomic Energy Estabhshment at Harwell and was knighted on his retirement therefrom in 1961. It was during his directorship that the main work on the Zeta thermonuclear toroidal pinch rnachine was conducted. The subsequent careers of several of the other members of the original radar team were also distinguished. After many years as Director of the Tel~ mm u n i cations Research Laboratory, Dr F. J. Hewitt is now Deputy President of the CSIR, Professor

W. Eric Phillips is Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Natal, while Professor G R . B ozzoli took up the Chair of Electrical Engineering at the University of the Witw«ersrand in 1948 and has been Vice-Chancellor since 1968. Mathematical With the advent of the modern computer t i has become feasible 1Vludellingin to simulate mathematically the effects of man's activities on Resuur~ S t udies. natural processes and in some instances to predict the future in relation to various assumptions or scenarios. That the world population will exceed six thousand million before the end of the twentieth century is a matter of great concern to planners who have to assess the steps «b e taken now to ensure that twenty or thirty years ahead there will bc enough water, «od and shelter as well as electricity, oil and other essentials to provide adequate corn"orts The Club of Rome, founded by the Italian industrialist, Dr Aurelio peccei, has initiated a series of far-reaching computer studies with the so-called 'World Model'. T"e Model utilizes about 100000 equations and operates on recent world trends in Population, gross national product, eA'ects of pollution in industry, and standards of

li»ng (expressed in terms of energy consumption). On the basis of the assumptions m«e the Model has predicted that a major breakdown in the pattern of life we have grown accustomed to. based on technology, will occur early in the next century, Subsequent work has emphasized that the breakdown will not occur everywhere simultaneously, because the initial assumption of aggregate or uniform conditions through-

out the world was too great an

over simplification.

In 1975 two mechanical engineering students of the University of the Witwatersra«, A . F o rsyth and J. Thorby, set up the World Model for the South African scene

o» » m pie 'disaggregated' basis. Account was taken in the input data of diferent living ~t~ndards for the two basic population groups (black and white). The main predicted results are summarized below: () the resource base declines to about half between the years 1900 and 2100; (c) capital investment (40',~ of which is associated with the black population) peaks ' See pages 7$-77,

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

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Computer predictions of changm in population, natural resources and capital investments, to the year 2I00.

at the end of the present century and falls away to a fraction of its present value at the end of the next century; (d) ' black' and 'total' curves tend to approach each other asymptotically.

These effects must be seen as being due to the uncontrolled depletion of non-renewable natural resources through rapid increase of industrialization, and emphasize the compulsion to recycle al/ resources as far as possible if stable material li i~ng standards for a stabilized population are to be reached. The outcome for South Africa is not as severe as that computed for the world as a whole, but the result is indicative of the changes that wilI come about if present trends are maintained. Another field using mathematical modelling is water resources studies. The Hydrological Research Unit of the University of the Witwatersrand, under the directorship of Professor D. C. Midgley, is modelling a wide range of hydrologic and hydraulic systems. Midgley came to the newly created Chair of Hydraulic Engineering in the University's Department of Civil Engineering at the beginning of 1956 — following thirty years to the day that other ex — Irrigation Department engineer, Professor %. G. Sutton, who in 1955 left the Department of Civil Engineering to become Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University. Midgley brought with him strong interests in water r esources engineering, having three years earlier been awarded a Ph.D. b y t h e University of Natal for his survey of the surface water resources of South Africa. It was the devastating Natal Hoods of 1959, however, that prompted Midgley to set up a research unit to work on hydrological problems. His research team was initially sup-

ENGtNEER1NG RESEARCH

453

ported from funds mustered by the South African Institution of Civil Engineers. The team assembled and analysed all relevant hydro-meteorological data on storms and floods and ten years later published a compact design flood manual. It is now possible to 'design' a storm for any return period anywhere in the country and to estimate the flood response. The manual, subsequently updated and metricated, became a university t extbook and a w i dely-used reference to civil engineering olflces throughout the country. Sir Angus Paton, C.M.G., F.R.S., at the time President of the Institution of Civil Engineers, when launching the British Floods Report at Wallingford in I 975, remarked that he knew of only one other country in the world that had completed such a comprehensive study of floods — namely South Africa. Concurrently with its flood studies, Midgley's research team revised the surface water resources inventory for the Du Toit Viljoen Water Plan Commission. This was also published in l969. In l970 the team became a formal CSIR — University Council Research Unit and when the Water Research Commission came into being Midgley became a member and his Unit b egan to receive financial backing to undertake research in fields of interest to the Commission, principally in mathematical modelling. A major work on modelling of the behaviour of St Lucia lake system in response to a variety of a l ternative ameliorative measures was completed in l 976 and some progress has been made in modelling the water and waste water circulation in t he Pretoria — Witwatersrand-Vereeniging system with the object of rationalizing the control of water use, water recycling and pollution throughout the area. Valuable work

has also been done on developing models for predicting the eff'ects of floodplain encroachment and. for performing benefit-cost analyses for flood mitigation measures. All the hydrological models are reliant, however, on catchment or watershed models which convert rainfall input and evapo-transpiration output to streamflow on a monthly, daily or even hourly basis. Models comparable with the best in other parts of the world have been developed. Their usesrange from the sizing of reservoir storages to the identifying of influence on streamflow or afforestation or other catch-

ment land-use changes. Even flood routing and prediction can be successfully performed for large catchments with these models; and the benefits can be considerable. Flood-warning systems can be greatly improved once the catchment models have been interf'aced with weather radars. The Orange River floods of l 974 were extremely severe.

Professor Midgley records the passing of the peak beneath the deck of the high-level Sir Ernest Oppenheimer Bridge at Oranjemund with about one metre to spare — a matter of some interest to hi m as it was he who a decade earlier had persuaded De Beers to raise the original level by l , 5 m . M i d gley retired from the Chair of Hydraulic Engineering at the end of l976 to devote himself full-time as Director of the Unit, which now has the status of a University Council Unit. South Africa's reputation in general water management is reflected in the recog-

nition accorded by the International Commission on Large Dans (ICOLD). The 74-nation body recently elected Dr 3, P. K r iel, South Africa's Secretary for Water

Afl'airs, as one of its six vice-presidents and has accorded South Africa places on ffve of its technical committees. Professor Midgley is Vice-Chairman of the South African National Committee of ICOLD.

20 THK AMATEUR SCIENTIST

by A. C. BRowN

8'ebster's Dictionary gives three definitions of the word 'amateur'. Originally it meant 'a devotee; one who loves a particular subject or pursuit'. In modern times, however, it has come to incan 'one who engages in a pursuit, study, science or sport as a pastime rather than as a profession'. A third, derogatory meaning has also evolved, 'one lacking in experience and competence in an art or science'. Indeed the adjective 'amateurish' is associated exclusively with this latter definition. Naturally I am not concerned in this essay with the incompetent or the mediocre but only with those outstanding South Africans who have engaged in scientific study and research for the sheer love of it. In this context, whether they have been paid for their work is largely irrelevant — they would have done it anyway. It may be borne in mind that every worth-while scientist becomes an unpaid amateur, for it is a very poorly motivated scientist who does not carry on with his research vvork after retirement or, while still in harness, does not undertake far more than he is actually paid for, I am certain that in science the original meaning of the word 'amateur' is still the only valid one, as a few examples inay demonstrate. Henry Harford, lieutenant in the 99th Regiment in Natal at the outbreak of the Zulu War, had an exemplary record except for a single, but serious, Ilaw — the mis-

regi mentalgin, which he used to preserve

appropriation of considerable quantities of

his collation of natural history specimens. 11 January 1879 saw the invasion of Zululand, with Lieutenant Harford one of the first io cross the Bu8'alo River; indeed it was he who scouted one of the drifts used in the crossing. The first action of the Zulu War took place the very next day, with Harford in the van, though it was in fact the very first time he had ever been under fire. Only a few shots had been fired when Harford suddenly dropped to his hands and knees, much to the alarm ofhis commanding oScer, who was appalled at the thought of this bright young man being the first casualty of the war. Commandant Haniilton-Browne rushed to the side of the apparently stricken

mia, determined to have him carried back vvithout delay. Iminediately, however, Harford rose to his feet and was seen to transfer a small, and apparently rare, beetle to a metal box, which he placed carefully in his pocket. The fighting intensified and the lieutenant, rallying his men, charged into battle. In the skirmish that followed he took four Zulu prisoners single-handed and wounded at least one more, escaping death

himself by the narrowest of margins when his assailant's pistol failed to fire. Indeed, sich was his bravery that day that he was never reprimanded for the beetle incident. Surely only a true amateur could think of tus beetle collection in the midst of battle. In the early 1950s John Morgans, at that time research assistant to Professor J. H. Day, at the University of Cape Town, determined to map the distribution of benthic

organissmliving below the tidal limit in False Bay, not by catching them in nets or

grabs but by taking a look for himself, by diving. Diving had not yet caught on as a sport and diving gear was very expensive, far beyond the ineans of the Zoology Department. So Morgans designed his own; heavy boots with lead soles to keep his feet down,

a weighted belt and, over his head, a para%a tin with a window, strapped to his shoulders and with a tube attached to it through which air could be pumped. Morgans not only designed this death-trap, he actually used it, repeatedly, and was fortunate enough to surrive and write scientific papers about the discoveries he had made with it. Both these stories show the amateur spirit and I believe the fact that Morgans was

being paid as a scientist, while Harford was not, is totally irrelevant. If a professional is one who does things for money, while an amateur. does things for the love of them, then all good scientists are amateurs. It is not just that scientists are so badly paid, in South Africa as in most other countries, that they would inevitably be better oA'doing something else, but also that the scrupulous honesty which must be the chief characteristic of science is more to be associated with love than with money-making. Neither are the risks frequently taken by scientists to be explained other than by a hobbyist's dedication. It was not professionalisrn that induced Bill Oliff, of the CSIR, to cross

crocodile-infested rivers on an inllated inner tube to sample the fauna in the 19SOs. It was not the thought of financial reward that made John Day and his team of marine

biologists ignore gale warnings and put to sea from Mossel Bay in an unseaworthy vessel, so as to complete their research programme before going horne. Of course it is not essential to take such risks, or even to display great activity,

in order to be worthy of amateur status. Professor J. Orner-Cooper, of Rhodes University, was by no means an active scientist but was nevertheless my favourite

amateur. Very few professors actually look like professors. Very few talk like professors. Very few are, in my experience, absent-minded. Joe Orner-Cooper was, however, an exception on all counts. His well-built but shghtly stooped figure, clothed almost invariably in a brown corduroy suit, his slow and thoughtful gait, his chubby face, inade triangular by his reddish beard, all caused him to resemble, to a startling degree, the beetles which were his special interest. This reseinblance was by no means attenuated

by his appearance at lectures in academic dress. To Joe, acadeinic dress meant simply donning over his corduroy jacket an unbelievably ancient, tora and mildewed, originally black academic gown, a gown which IIapped upon his back like the of an

electra

elderly water-beetle. He was a great talker, both in and out of the lecture room, and his

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

talk was ahvays worth listening to, for in addition to an alert mind he had a great feehng for words and for shades of meaning, a flashing non-inalicious wit and an infectious laugh. He was very fond of paradoxes and seeming contradictions and would go out of his way to startle his hearers with statements which were apparently quite untrue but which, on reflection, had hidden within them considerable truth. Joe OrnerCooper was not a great scientist and during his tenure of the Chair of Zoology at Rhodes University he published remarkably little; but he loved both his subject and his students, qualiTying doubly for amateur status. Although I feel strongly that the amateur attitude is an essential aspect of all good scientists, it is nevertheless my purpose in this brief essay to pay tribute particularly to those South Africans who have helped to further science without flnancial remuneration, receiving their income from other sources and generally pursuing scientific investigations in their spare time, It is my intention to pay tribute to such men as Alfred J. Gibbs, professional violinist and leader of the Cape Town Orchestra for many years, a musician of the very front rank who nevertheless found time to study protozoology as a hobby. He developed this interest in the living microscopic world while still a boy, at Rondebosch Boys' High School, but though he continued to pursue it after matricu-

lating, and while studying music, he keenly felt the lack of any formal training. In 1937 he therefore studied for six months under Dr R obertson at the School of Tropical Medicine and wrote his first scientific paper. On his return to Cape Town, Mr Gibbs continued his research, despite an increasingly demanding musical life. So successful was he that his papers were accepted by international journals, the University of Cape Town recognizing their o utstanding merit b y a p p ointing him h o n orary research assistant in the Department of Zoology in 1949. In the same year he v as awarded the Certiflcate of Merit by the South African Association for the Advancement of Science. Mr Gibbs never made full use of the facilities oflered to him by the University of Cape Town, reinaining over-modest and shy of professional scientists. He continued to work at home, however, and to such good elfect that the degree of Master of Science, honoris causa, was conferred upon him by the University of Cape Town in 1955. By his largely self-taught labours, Mr Gibbs has enrofled himself among the amateurs in the old and honourable sense of that term. I want to pay tribute to inen such as Gowan C. Clark (1888 — 1964), engineer on the South African Railways and at the time of his retirement System Engineer of East London, amateur lepidopterist and natural historian. As is the case with so many amateur scientists, Gowan Clark's painstaking work on South African butterflies has never received the recognition it certainly inerits. He did not simplycollect butterflies but was in particular interested in their life-histories, breeding them out from the eggs and tending them right through to the adult stage, painting each stage with remarkable precision and a great attention to detail. This was pioneering work for the southern African region; the only previous worker along the same lines had been Roland Trimen, but whereas Trimen had described and illustrated some 35 lepidopteran lifehistories, Gowan Clark achieved over 300, a monuniental spare-time undertaking. The recognition that did come his way was largely from unexpected sources — from the British Museum of lqatural History, with a request to help them with a problem, and,

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Charles Gordon Campbell Dickson, who has been mentioned above, is also an amateur and worked with Gowan Clark as an engineer on the South African Railways. He has published numerous scienti6c papers of the highest standard and has had seven speciesof butterfl y named after him. He was awarded an honorary Master's degree from the University of Cape Town in 1974. South Africa can boast a large number of distinguished amateur botanists. Perhaps the most outstanding was Harry Bolus' but in some ways even more remarkable was his niece, Mrs Harriet Margaret Louisa Bolus. She was born in Burghersdorp in 1877 and went to school in Port Elizabeth, matriculating in 1898. She then studied at the South African College, obtaining the degree of B.A. Honours. In her spare tiine she

assisted her uncle in his herbarium and learnt the elements of floral structure and plant classification. Among other things she helped her uncle complete his monumental work on the Ericaceae for the Flora Capensis, published in 1905. In 1903, the year after she had obtained her degree, Harry Bolus appointed her curator of his herbarium. On his death in 1911, the herbarium was left to the South African College but it was stipulated that Louisa was to be its curator. She held this position until 1955, when she was 78, and the University of Cape Town then appointed her honorary Reader in Plant Initially ill-equipped for botanical research, she had one advantage over most professionally-trained systematists — a thorough grounding in Latin, obtained for her B.A. degree. The necessary description of new species in the Latin language thus presented no difflculty to her. According to Mrs M. R, Levyns,' she may well hold the record among modern botanists for the many hundrtxls of new species she described

Taxonom y.

in Latin. In her early days she devoted herself mainly to the heaths and to orchids, later becoming attracted to the Iridaceae and in particular the Mesembryanrhenncm

group, which became the most important part of her life's work. In all she published over 200 original research papers and described in the neighbourhood of seventeen hundred species. Anything to do with nature conservation also had a claim on her energies. She was one of the founders of the Wild Life Protection Society and she was a Council member of the Botanical Society for many years. She received many honours during her long life, including an honorary D.Sc. from the University of Stellenbosch. With advancing years she appeared to shrink physically; her diminutive size was particularly in evidence when she was driving her car and, as one member of stafl remarked, 'if you see a small car proceeding slowly in the middle of the road and without an apparent driver, you may be sure the driver is Mrs Bolus'. She died in 1970 at the age of 93. Another remarkable amateur botanist was Captain Terence Salter (1883 — 1969),

who served in the Royal Navy from the age of 17 until his retirement in 1931. He served in many famous ships but it was while stationed at Simonstown during the period 1927 to 1929 that he became interested in the flora of the Cape Peninsula and made his 6rst collections here. On his retirement he settled in Cape To+TI and devoted his full-time attention to botany. He was primarily a field worker and believed that taxonomic

problems could be resolved only through knowledge of the living plants, gained by ' See page 478. I J. S. Afr. Sot, 36 (4): 319 —30 3 (1970).

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Louisa Bo/us.

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personal field experientx:. He was a less proli6c writer than Mrs Bolus but virtually all his papers were written after his retirement froin the navy. He was honorary Reader in Systematic Botany at the Bolus Herbarium for 30 years and his contributions to South African botany were further honoured in 1955 when the University of Cape Town conferred on him the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa. Understandably, the niajority of amateur scientists in South Africa, as elsewhere, have been attracted to biological subjects. Few untrained amateurs have worked in the

fields of physics or chemistry and non-professional mathematicians are very rare indeed, this being a subject generally regarded as requiring an intense and lengthy formal training. The notable exception was Sir Lancelot Hogben, Professor of Zoology at the University of Cape Town from 1927 to 1930 and the author of a nuinber of popular works on scientific disciplines. His book Mathrmancs for the Millions may be the only book ever written on mathematics to become a best seller. It may also be noted that the veterinarian, Sir Arnold Theiler, vvas an amateur mathematician.

The field of palaeontology, on the other hand, has had many non-professional .adherents. Sidney Henry Rubidge, for example, was one of South Africa's most exceptional amateur scientists. He was born at GraaftReinet in 1887 and after matriculating at the local High Scbool was 'put to farming', to use his own phrase. The farm %ell-

wood, founded by Sidney's grandfather, Charles Rubidge, in 1840, was an extremely diflicult one to manage and to make a success of it might have been expected to imply

full-time application. Sidney Rubidge did indeed make a success of farming and Wellwood soon became famous for its Merino stud. Nevertheless, he somehow found time and enthusiasm for a variety of other interests, becoming quite an authority on the

fauna and IIora of the Karoo. He kept meticulous rainfall records and speculated on meteorology and climatography. He became interested in history, in art and architec-

ture, and it was largely due to his elforts that Reinet House, in Graaff'-Reinet, was restored. However, he embarked on the work that was to make him v orld famous

relatively late in life. In 1934 his 1 I-year-old daughter, Peggy, discovered the skull of a mammal-like reptile; this event rekindled a former interest in fossils and he devoted his spare time henceforth to their collection and investigation. In this he v as aided by Robert Broom and later by J. %. Kitching and A. S. Brink of the University of the %itwatersrand, All his fossil material came from the Karoo shales of GraaA'-Reinet and the surrounding areas and by the time of his death some 840 skulls had been carefully collected, named and catalogued. No less than 117 of these are the type specimens of new species. In 1949 the South African Association for the Advancement of Science awarded him its Certificate of Merit and the following year the University of the Orange Free Stateconferred on him the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa. By then he was an acknowledged authority on Permian — Triassic vertebrates and probably the world's best-known amateur palaeontologist. He died in 1970, leaving a collection which is novv appropriately housed in the private Jtubidge Museum, a cottage on the %'ellwood Farm. Astronomy is another field which has bene6ted inarkedly from ainateur interest. Outstanding amateur astronomers have included Dr A . W . R o b erts, of Lovedale Mission, who made over a quarter of a million observations of variable stars. Mr R. P.

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de Kock of Cape Town is a world leader in this field and has received international recognition for his painstaking and devoted work. Comets have also been studied intensively by South African amateurs. Mr %. Reid and Mr A. F. I. Forbes are both renowned for their discovery of'new comets, An important new comet was first sighted in 1969 by Mr J. C. Bennett of Pretoria. Amateurs also provided the manpower for the 'Moonwatch' teams which were formed in 1957 to observe artificial satellites. Undoubtedly the most controversial amateur scientist South Africa has produced was Eugene Marais; a hero to soine because of his contributions to the Afrikaans language and because of his devotion to the Boer cause in the early years of the present century; in the opinion of some writers a scientist of stature and mature insight, in the view of others a charlatan, a prime example of the dangers of dabbling in science without sufficient training. Unlike most of the other amateurs inentioned in this essay, a great deal has already been written about Eugene Marais and a very brief account of his life will thus sufIIce here.

He was born in Pretoria in 1872 and went to English-medium schools there and in Boshof, in the Orange Free State, completing his schooling at Paarl, in the Cape. By

1889 he had returned to Pretoria, where he became a parliamentary reporter. Before long, however, the Volksraad resolved to ban hiin from the press gallery as a result of his disrespectful and biting newspaper reports on their proceedings. He then took on the editorship of' several papers, both English and Dutch, continuing to write caustically until his criticism of President Paul Kruger and his support of General Joubert led to his arrest on a charge of high treason. He was eventually acquitt&, but the incident must have contributed to his decision to give up journalism. ln 1895 he left for Europe to study law and qualified as an advocate at the Inner

Temple in London. He may also have devoted some time to the study of medicine bef'ore it was interrupted by the outbreak of the Anglo-Boer War, Enthusiastically proBoer, he took part in an expedition to smuggle arms, explosives and medical supplies through central Africa to the Boer forces. Hov ever, peace vvas declared long before the expedition reached the Transvaal and all Eugene Marais achieved for his pains was a severe attack of malaria. Back in Pretoria he earned his living as an advocate and began to write articles and poems in the new language — Afrikaans. His poem '%'inter-nag' is otten referred to as the work vvhich adumbrated the Afrikaans Inovement. In 1910 he moved briefly to Johannesburg and then to the Waterberg area.

His solitary life in the Waterberg, soured by drug-addiction, his disillusionment with mankind in general and his dislike of British rule in particular, was enriched by his love of nature and it was during this period that he wrote, in Afrikaans, the articles on termites, later to be translated into English and published as The soul of the shire

ann Marais himself considered his most important work to be The soul of the ape, a study of the behaviour of apes and baboons and a comparison ot their mental processes with those of man. Poems, stories and articles in Afrikaans continued to IIou from his pen, while at the same time he wrote scientific papers in English. He died in 1936. His scientific work will no t be evaluated here; suffice it to say that, despite his lack of

training, he was a pioneer in the field of animal behaviour, of an extremely original turn of'mind and with the inost acute povvers of observation.

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Many amateur scientists, particularly in earlier days, eventually held positions of great scientiGc responsibility; held them, inoreover, with no less distinction than their professional colleagues. Among such, no name is more famous than that of Sir Andrew Smith, sometimes referred to as 'The Father of South African Zoology'. He was born

in Scotland in 1797 and was the son of a humble shepherd. On leaving school he studied medicine at Edinburgh University, qualifying in 1819 and joining the Medical Department of the British Army. He served in Quebec, Nova Scotia and Malta before being posted to the Cape of Good Hope in 1820. On the voyage he became fluent in Dutch. His military work in South Africa was of a routine nature and he was able to acquire a lasting interest in African ethnology and to devote much time to his hobby, zoology. Such a reputation did he achieve in this Geld over the following five years that in 1825 Lord Charles Somerset appointed him unpaid Superintendent of the South African

Museum, which had just been established in Cape Tov n.' The following decade saw the Museum grow at a startling rate, entirely due to his enthusiasm and boundless energy. In 1828 his military duties took him to northern Namaqualand, to report on conditions among the San, Khoikhoi and the half-caste peoples, and to ascertain their attitudes to the policies of the colonial govermnent. This mission, executed in the guise of an ornithological collector. was so successful that in 1832 he was sent on a similar mission into Zululand to interview the Zulu chief, Dingaan. Meanwhile, in Cape Town, he had been instrumental in founding the South African Institution in 1829. In 1833 an account was delivered to the Institution of a journey to the Limpopo undertaken by two traders, David Hume and Hugh Millen, and the interest aroused by this spurred the members to plan a scientific expedition into the far interior, led by Andrew Sinith. In 1834 he consequently set forth for Transvaal,' his party including the draughtsinan George Ford and the artists Henry Lowe and Charles Bell. One result of this expedition

was a ser ies of colour plates, published in hard covers in 1849 under the title I/lusrrati ons of rheaZoology of Sourh Africa. It is noteworthy that Andrew Smith neither received nor sought any remuneration for this maminoth undertaking. His reputation continued to grow and many references to his opinions are to be found in the works of Charles Darwin. whom he met at the Cape. Despite all his zoological activities, Smith never relinquished his post with the British Army and in 1837 he was recalled to England, where he rose rapidly to be appointed Director-General of the Army Medical Department in IS53, just in time for the Crimean War. For his part in this campaign he was knighted by Queen Victoria in 1S58. He died in 1872 at the age of 75, his contribution to British military history being second only to his contribution to South African

zoology. Many others, like Andrew Sinith, were medical men who undertook scientific research on the side. Indeed until modern times this pattern was almost the rule rather than the exception, medical men being in great demaiid in the country while pure science was considered a luxury. Even in the present century the tradition has been continued vsith men like Dr Peter le Fras Nortier. Quite a number of these gave up their medical or other profession in order to devote all their time to scientific research, sometimes in a paid capacity. Dr Robert Broom' is the outstanding example of a ' See pages I &I 6. ' See pages 231 — 237 and 325-335. ' See page 61.

Andrew Smith, Iirst Superintendent of the South African Museum, 1825-37. (Photo: South African Museum)

SCIENTIHC E~~EAVOUR IK SOUTHAFRICA

medical practitioner turned professional scientist. Van Riet Lowe, on the other hand, gave upengineering for an archaeological career. Clarence van Riet Lowe was born in Aliwal North in 1894. He went to school there and got to know Alfred ('Gogga') Brown, who introduced him to the world of natural history. After completing his schooling at Zastron he entered the South African College as an engineering student. His studies were interrupted by the outbreak of the First World War, in which he served with the South African Field Artillery in Palestine

East Africa and Egypt, and with the Royal Field Artillery in Palestine, Italy and France. Not only did his war service mature his character, it also introduced him to classical archaeological sites, renewing a childhood interest in the subject. Back in

South Africa, after graduating as an engineer, he was employed by the Department of Public Works, building bridges, His archaeoloycal interest was again stimulated by the discovery of old implements at several bridge-building sites in the Free State. He wrote to Professor Radcliffe Brown about them and his letter was passed on to A. J. H. Goodwin. Thus began a fruitful collaboration between him and Goodwin which lasted until Van Riet Lowe's death. Van Riet Lowe studied no less than 300 prehistoric sites in the Free State, shedding new light on the Late Stone Age and eventually publishing, with Goodwin, The Stone Age cullures of South Africa (1929). Despite this intensive archaeological activity, he continued to advance as an engineer and in 1931 he became Chief Engineer of the Department of Public W orks. However in 1935, with the powerful patronage of General Smuts, the Bureau of Archaeology was established in association with the University of the Witwatersrand, and Van Riet Lowe divas transferred from the Public

Works Department to become its first Director. The Bureau later becanie the Archaeological Survey, its aims being 'to be a research institute, an information centre for alI who were engaged in archaeological studies, and it was to promote aiid encourage general public interest in South African prehistory.' His work in this new position was of such distinction that many awards came his way, including the South African Medal

and an honorary D.Sc. from the University of Cape Town. He died in 1956, two years after retirement. James Constantine Adarnson was a scientist who alternated between being professional and non-professional, paid and unpaid. He was born in Scotland in 1797. He went to Edinburgh University„where he inade friends with Carlyle and published several papers on mathematics. He also collaborated with Robert Stephenson, inventor of the steam railway engine. He v as ordained in 1827 and immediately set sail for Cape Toww to become the 1'ounder and first minister of St A ndrew's Presbyterian Church. He soon became a prominent figure, devoting his boundless energy to a large variety of undertakings, both inside and outside the Church. He helped to found the

South African College in 1829 and became the erst Professor of both Science and Classics, holding both positions until 1850. He was also the most active and voluble

member of the College Council, for many years conducting almost single-handed both the business and the teaching duties of the College. In 1841 he resigned from St Andrew's to devote himself full-tiine to the College, though the financial state of this ' S. Afr. nrchaeol. Bul/. 25: 9I,

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institution was such that he received his small salary only intermittently and remained unpaidfor many months of theyear.He was not,however, a good teacher and tended to talk over the heads of his students. In 1848 the College appointed Langham Dale as Professor of Classics and English, and he and Adamson soon clashed. His autocracy challenged, Adamson presented his resignation in 1850 and departed for the United States of America, never to return. Another theologian to turn scientist vvas John Croumbie Brown, grandson of the

more fatnous John Brown. Like Adamson he was born in Scotland, in 1808. He served the London Missionary Society, 6rst in St Petersburg, Russia, and from 1844 to 1848

in Cape Tov n. %bile in the Cape he became acquainted with the agricultural problems from which the country suH'eted. However, in 1849 he became a minister in Aberdeen, Scotland, vvhere he devoted his spare time to the study of science, and particularly to botany. In 1&62, following the death of the first 'Colonial Botanist', Dr C. W. L. Pappe,

Brovvn was appointed to the post. His duties included taking an intent in all matters pertaining to plants — not only pure botany but also agriculture and forestry. He acquitted himself well in all fields, but it was particularly in agriculture that his presence was felt. In his numerous reports to the Government 'he dealt with matters like diseases of fruit-trees, grass and other pasture plants, chicory, fertilization, lupins, and the improvement of the agricultural potential and the vegetable products of the country in general.

The preservation of agricultural resources, especially natural forests, and the planting of trees, were of great importance to him, and he advised the Government and others in this regard.' He undertook several journeys into the interior, sotnetimes paying for them out of his own pocket. His ideas on soil conservation were lucid and advanced and, if he were remetnbered for no other reason, he vvould continue to be recognized

as a pioneer in the Aght against soil erosion, His post was abolished in 1866 but he continued with his interests and wrote a Hydrology of South Africa (1875),The 8'ater Supply of South Africa (1877) and Management of Crown Forests at the Cape of Good Hope (1887). X~'o account of amateur scientists in South Africa could overlook the valuable work done by the numerous scienti6c societies and their amateur members. Societies such as the Royal Society of South Africa are limited in their membership to professional scientists, but this i s th e exception rather than the rule and m any scientificallyorientated societies simply could not exist without their amateur members. This is

particularly true of the many biological societies, the Archaeological Society, the Geological Society, etc. A number of these societies have actually been started by atnateurs, though the pattern vvhich has generally emerged is a leadership drawn from professional scientists, with amateurs making up the major part of the membership. Fairly typical of this pattern is the South African Ornithological Society, founded in 1930 with its headquarters in Pretoria. Atnbitiously, it began publishing its own journal, The Ostrich, in the same year. In 1950 the headquarters were moved to Cape

Town. Though professional ornithologists such as G. J. Broekhuysen and J. M. %interbottom have always been associated ~vith the Society. notably in presidential and editorial capacities, many activities have been initiated and run by amateurs. The ' J. P. Venter, in Standard &ryctopaedia of souftu.rn Ajiiea 2: 537.

SCtENTIFlC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRtCA

bird-ringing scheme, for example, was started in 1948 under an amateur organizer, Dr Hugh Ashton, while the initial organization of the extremely valuable Pan-African Congresses was due to Mrs J. P, Mackie Niven, whose work not only for the Society but also for South African ornithology in general is beyond praise. Mrs Nivenreceived atRoedean, Johannesburg, a formal schooling which followed

on a wider education fostered in her home and in the environment of Jock of the Bushveld, for she was the fourth child and only daughter of the author Sir Percy FitzPatrick. It is only natural that the bushveld background would develop in her a keen interest in wild life, and in pursuit of this she travelled widely, in Africa, America, Asia and Europe. Largely as a result of her efforts, the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology was established, as an institution affiliated to the University of Cape Town, in 1960. Mrs Niven became the irst Chairman of the Board of Control. Such h as been her inliuence that today the whole community is indebted to her for the devotion with which she has furthered the studies essential for the proper preservation

of our avifauna. It is largely due to Mrs Niven, her husband Jack and to the amateur membership that the South African Ornithological Society has grown until it now has branches in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Port Elizabeth and Salisbury, with a sub-branch in Bulawayo. Many amateur members of the Society have made useful contributions to ornithology and a few have developed such enthusiasm that, like

C. J, Skead, they eventually turned professional. The Cape Bird Club is another ornithological society which caters mainly for,

and relies on, amateur membership. It was founded in 1948 by a small group of professional and amateur ornithologists which included G. J. Broekhuysen, Richard Liversidge (then a student), Jack McLeod and John Martin. Leonard Gill was elected the ffrst President, with Ger Broekhuysen as Chairman, a position which, except for two short periods, he held until his death in 1975. The inaugural meeting was attended by 39 people but membership has grown to over 500, a great tribute to the enthusiastic activities of the Club. The contributions to research of amateur members has been

considerable and the Club has consistently co-operated with o%cial and semi-official bodies in furthering both research and conservation. It currently acts as a watchdog to assist statutory bodies and it also makes financial contributions to the publications of the South African Ornithological Society. A notice in the Cape Times of 16 March 1922 stated that 'the ffrst of the series of natural history rambles organised by the Mountain Club and the Biological Society

will be held at Camps Bay on Saturday for the purpose of studying the marine life of the seashore. The guides, Miss E. L Stephens and Mr K. H . Barnard, v ill be on the spot from 11 a.rn. to 4 p.m.' The success of this 'ramble' led to the formation of the

Cape Natural History Club, which held its inaugural meeting 11 days later, enrolling 48 members. However, although the Camps Bay meeting appears to have acted as a catalyst, the essential liame was provided by the two guides, both professional biolo-

gists, and in particular by a highly gifted and enthusiastic amateur, Mr E. J, Steer. Indeed, according to the erst issue ofThe Cape Naturalist, published in 1934, the Club 'may be said to have originated among that fascinating mixture of books, microscopes,

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Cecily and jack Niven, whose furtherance of ornithology is mentioned in these pages.

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SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOLTH AFRICA

Ger Broekhuysen, a professional scientist vrith an amateur's enthusiasm.

telescopes, cameras and specimens which fills the private den' of Mr Steer. At that first meeting Mr Cyril French. who was to be a considerable factor in the success of the Club, gave a talk on his beloved reptiles, illustrated with living specimens, mostly produced from his pockets. Among those he infected with his enthusiasm was Vlr 8. Peers, who later started and managed Peers Snake Park in Cape Town. Regrettably Cyril French met his death in Australia in 1927, from the bite of a Tiger Snake he divas demonstrating to a patty of schoolchi/dren. It is said that, having been bitten, he calmly and efficiently demonstrated to the party the first-aid measures which should be taken for snake-bite, knowing however that t h e b it e o f t h e T i ger Snake is

invariably fatal. Over the years many professional and leading amateur scientists have been associated with the Cape Natural History Club. Early olIice-bearers included the

geologist J. V. L. Rennie, R. F. Lawrence, %%alter Rose, the expert on amphibians and

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reptiles, R. S. Adamson, H. G. Eaton and %. G. Andrews. The symbiosis between professional and amateur proved extremely healthy and many published observations and new records of plants and animals orilpnated from amateur members of the Club. Two years after its foundation Dr Leonard Gill, Director of the South African Museum, wrote: 'when I came to Cape Town a year ago, I found two organisations that were surprisingly good — the Cape Town Orchestra and the Cape Natural History Club. I have been connected with quite a number of natural history clubs and societies, and this one strikes me as being the best managed, the most vigorous and the most helpful of them all.' It is not surprising, then, that the Club continued to IIourish, having over

200 members and its own printed magazine by the end of 1934. If the success of the Cape Natural History Club has been due to many people and to co-operation between them, the success of the Cape Piscatorial Society has been due to just one man, its founder, Arthur Cecil Harrison. He is one of those men dear to the heart of Izaak Walton; who-wrote that 'there be~en of wisdom, learning and

experience which love and practise this art, this pleasant curiosity of Fish and Fishing; for it is a rest to the mind, a cheerer of spirits, a diverter of sadness, a calmer of unquiet

thoughts, a moderator of passions, and begets habits of peace and patience in those that practise it'. Calmly, industriously, unostentatiously, for more than 60 years, Arthur Harrison has enriched the world of learning as an amateur freshwater biologist and piscatorial expert. His list of scholarly publications on trout, bass, eels 'and many exotic

fishes, is long and impressive. He served as secretary of the Cape Piscatorial Society since its inception in 1931 and has been editor of its journal, Piscator, continuously. In 1952 he was appointed secretary to the Advisory Committee for Niature Conserva-

tion and in 1960 he was awarded an honorary M.Sc. by the University of Cape Town. The Conchological Society of Southern Africa is one of the younger societies and was founded entirely by enthusiastic amateurs, largely in fact due to the eiI'orts of

Mrs Leila Kerr. Mrs Kerr had a lifelong interest in molluscs and their shells and had long dreamed of starting a society devoted to their study. This dream was realized with

the first meeting of the Conchological Society on 6 May 1958. Professor John Day was elected the first President. From the start a monthly circular was sent to all members; this undoubtedly encouraged the growth of the Society and by 1961 it had over 150

members, nearly all amateur. The high standard of news incorporated into the circular was, from the first, quite remarkable and keys to species, distribution records and check

lists of southern African Mollusca were soon being issued. Among the foundation members of the Society, the most outstanding amateur was undoubtedly Mrs C. M . Connolly, whose extensive knowledge of molluscs, their habits and their life-histories, enabled her to undertake valuable field work for D r K . H . B a r nard, of the South African Museum, as well as to contribute to the knowledge of'the Zoology Department of the University of Cape Town. In 1961 the Council of the Society co-opted three country members, from the

Transvaal (Mrs H. Boswell), from Natal (Mr P. Elston) and the Border (Mr D. H. Kennelly) and less than two years later Natal and Border formed their own branches.

The Transvaal formed its own group in 1968, under the leadership of Mr A. Jenner. During this period the value of the Society was acknowledged by a number of museums,

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SCKVTIFIC KVDEAVOI& IN SOUTH AFRICA

Mrs Leila Kerr, founder of the Conchological Society of Southern Africa.

both in South Alrica and abroad, becoming members. Mrs E.K. Giles became Secretary at this time, with Mr M. C. Giles as Treasurer. Both have been extremely active, both vvithin the Society and in the Iield, and have contributed significantly to the known distribution of South African Mollusca, providing both the University of Cape Town

and the South African Museum with valuable specimens. Members of the Society have organized displays of shells in many parts of the country, some of these exhibitions

being highly ambitiousand successful, while Mrs%. Richards arranged a Shell Museum in Mossel Bay and Mrs H. Jelferies presented the shells of 2 500 species to the village of Kei Mouth. This collection is fully docuinented and is now suitably displayed in a small museum built for the purpose by the Kei Mouth Village Management Board. The death of Mrs Kerr, in March 1972, was a severe loss. The best tribute to her memory is the Society which she founded and encouraged in every way to carry out

the aims established in its constitution. The Society remains one of the most energetic and one of the most helpful that I have encountered. I am proud to be its current President. The Botanical Society of South Al'rica was founded in 1913, in the same year as the National Botanic Gardens of South Africa at K i r stenbosch. Indeed the prime

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purpose of the new Society was 'to give moral and Imanciai support' to the Gardens

which, in the early days, was starved of public funds. The very close association between the Gardens and the Society was recognized from the outset and when the original Board of Trustees was set up to control the Gardens, provision was made for one Trustee to be appointed by the Society 'which was then in the course of formation'. This is a remarkable comment on Government action in those days. The system has never been changed and the Societynow has two Trustees on the Board, For many years the Society has had its premises at Kirstenbosch and the two bodies continue to work hand in hand, most of the Iinancial surplus from the Society still being handed to the Gardens. Although the formation and aims of the Society were quite diA'erent

f'rom those societies I have already mentioned, non-professional members have played a leading part in its activities. Two of' these, Mrs Louisa Bolus and Captain Terence Salter, have been mentioned previously.' In 1965 the Council of the Society instituted an award to be made to persons who, though not professional botanists, have made outstanding contributions to botany in South Africa. The award is known as the Bolus Medal and has so far been awarded to five amateur botanists, all on the strength of

published scientific work. The Geological Society of South Africa goes back to 1895, though there was an earlier Grahanistown Geological Society, which functioned in the mid-1800s but was apparently short-lived. The preface to Vol. 1, No. 1 of the Transacrions of the Geological Society of South Africa (February 1896) states that 'several attempts to form a Society for this purpose have from time to time been made, but for want of support they have invariably collapsed. Some years ago Dr Exton. . . e n d eavoured to interest a few of the leading inen of Johannesburg in forming a Geological Society, but the response to his appeal was so weak that he decided to leave the matter in abeyance for a time. In the latter part of 1884 the Witwatersrand Chamber of Mines engaged the services of Mr David Draper, F.G.S., to collect specimens of the rocks in this part of the country, and to make a sectional drawing of the position of the various strata. When this was completed and exhibited in the Chainber of Mines, a great deal of interest in geological matters was aroused amongst the population of the mining town of Johannesburg, and the promoters ofthe present Society considered it a favourable time to appeal to the public for their support.' Dr H. Exton, the first President of the Society, was, like so many scientific enthusiasts, an amateur, being a medical man by profession, There were, in fact, very few professional geologists in South Al'rica at that time and it comes as no surprise to learn that the early membership, too. consisted a1most entirely of amateurs. Over the years, however. the non-professional membership of the Society has declined so that now amateurs do not play a leading role in its affairs. The greatest amateur to be associated with the Geological Society, and indeed one of the most important geologists in the history of the country, was that colourful

character Andrew Geddes Bain (1797 — 1864). Born in a little toxvn on the storm-swept cliff-bound coast of northern Scotland, among sturdy folk who lived by fishing and

by quarrying great IIagstones, he served apprenticeship to a saddler in Edinburgh, migrated to the Cape in 1816, married the daughter of an ex-o%cer of the former Dutch ' See pages 458-460.

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AHIICA

a4

Andrew Geddes Bain.

garrison, and in 1822 settled in Graalf-Reinet. Here he set up business as a saddler. In 1825 — 6he was trekking beyond Kuruman as a hunter and ivory trader, penetrating farther north into Tswana country than any recorded traveller before him. In 1829 he was trading among the Xhosa near the present site of Kokstad. In 1834, on another excursion far to the north, he had to IIee when his camp and ivagons at the Setlagoli River were plundered by Mzilikazi's Ndebele. Bain escaped with his life — but little else — to return to fight in the Sixth Frontier War as a captain in the Beaufort Levies, a corps newly raised among the Hottentots of the Kat River Settlement, commanded by White ollicers. In his leisure moments he read Shakespeare, wrote witty doggerel verse and contributed humorous commentaries on current events to delight readers of the GraaIf-Reinet and Cape Town press. He was also the author of a diverting topical sketch, Eoaj te Eekkelbek or Life among the Hottenttots,staged by an amateur company in Grahamstown in 1838 and later published in a Cape Town periodical. From 1836 he was engaged with the Royal Engineers in the construction of military roads in the frontier districts, beginning with the 'Queen's Road' from Grahamstown northward to on Fort Brown, on the Great Fish River, and on to Fort Beaufort. While employed

THE AMATUER SCIENTIST

473

this work in 1837 he visited a friend, Capt. Colin Campbell, Civil Commissioner in Grahamstown, and picked up a book in his library. It was Lyell'sPrincipfes of Geology. At the age of 40, Bain at last had found his metier and the key to his life's work. Work on the Queen's Road laid before him 'perhaps the most continuous and easily accessible section through a great thickness of the upper part of the Cape System, the Dwyka, and the Ecca Beds' and led to the first discoveries of the remarkable fossil reptile fauna of the Beaufort Series. If not already 'bitten' by geology, Bain certainly was from the day in 1838 when he unearthed a reptilian skull with only two teeth, but teeth so impressive that he immediately dubbed it 'the Bidental' (Dicvnodon). In 1844

he dispatched a large collection of'reptilian fossils to the Geological Society in London and was able to outline, for publication in the Transactions of that Society, the structure of a wide tract of country extending north and south of the localities of their occurrence, to the Orange River near Colesberg and to the coast at the mouth of the Great

Fish River. From 1845 Bain was engaged in the construction of Michell's Pass, and in 1853 he completed Bain's Kloof; Appointment as Inspector of Public Roads in 1848 brought hiin new opportunities to travel, and after fourteen years of field work he vvas able to complete 'the first attempt at a geological map of South Africa' south of 29' S. In 1852 he was recoinmended for appointment as Cape Geological Surveyor, but in the event no funds were available for this purpose. His Journals were published by the Van

Riebeeck Society in 1949. No population in southern Africa has been more active, both scientifically and culturally, than that of South West Africa. The South West African Scientific Society was founded in Windhoek in 1925 and within two years was publishing its own Journal, under the editorship of M r H a n s K i sker. It is indeed remarkable that this small, relatively isolated community of scientific-minded people in Windhoek were suIIIciently motivated not only to found such a Society but to expand its activities over the years. Tw;o of the founder members, Senator Dr K . Frey and Dr H , H . G. K r eft, are still living in Windhoek and can look back on over fifty years of signal success with the

Society, a success in which amateurs have played a leading part. It is perhaps even more remarkable that the tiny community in the isolated village of Swakopmund, on the edge of the Namib Desert, has had its own scientific society since 1968. This Society, the Gesellschaft fiir Kit'issenschaftiche Entwicklung, Swakop-

mund, and its Journal Nawib used ~Meerhave been a potent force in scientific and conservation circles in South West Africa since their foundation. The Society's success m ust be ascribed in large ineasure to the dedicated and far-sighted elforts of Dr A . Weber, a local dentist, who has been the driving force behind it for many years. Both these societies in fact rellect the tenacity of German scholarship and culture, even under the inost isolated African conditions. I have been able to mention only a few of South Africa's great amateur scientists in this brief essay. It is, indeed, a subject which warrants a whole volume. Reviewing the long list of distinguished South Africans who have contributed so notably to science -without any thought of financial gain, I could wish for nothing better at the end of my . professional career than to be granted amateur status.

A HISTORY OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF SOUTH AFRICA

by A. V. HALi.

The Royal Society of South Africa can look back with pride on a distinguished and successful history. Founded in 1877, it is the oldest general scientific society in southern Africa. Its roots may be traced back well beyond its founding date, to the meetings of learned men at the Cape in the I 820s. The Society's history mirrors a period of astonishing growth in the sciences. With this growth, the contribution the Society

has made in cross-linking the work of scientists of many disciplines continues to increase in urgency and importance. The Society had an auspicious beginning. The founder and first President was * Queen Yictorias High Commissioner to South Africa and Governor at the Cape, Sir Bartle Frere.' A man of the widest cultural interests, Sir Bartle Frere knew the importance of the Royal Society in Great Britain, of v hich he was one of the distinguished Fellows. Although much of the character of the British Royal Society was encouraged in the new body, it could not initially aspire to the responsibility of a Royal Charter.So the new body was founded, on 22 June 1877, as the South African Philosophical Society. In the same month, a membership of seventy-eight persons was

recorded. This membership was drawn from among the subscribers to a literary and scientific periodical, the Cape Month/y Maga=-iue. This had been published since 1857, when it appears to have replaced a sinall and distinguished organization known as the South African Literary and Scientific Institution. This organization had been formed twentyfive years earlier by the inerging of the South African Institution and the South African Literary Society. These two earliest bodies were both founded in June 1829, after several attem pts at establishment had been thwarted by the previous Governor, Lord Charles Somerset. This period is of great interest to us as it shows the firm iinportance attached at the ' See Frontispiece.

THE ROYAL SOCIEIY OF SOUTH AFRICA

time to having a body that would act as a forum for the exchange of scientific informa-

tion, following the lead set by the Royal Society of London. The first attempt at establishment was launched at a meeting of influential persons in Cape Town on 11 July 1824. The meeting unanimously resolved to found a 'Literary Society', which would cater chiefly for the sciences and would encourage a taste for

reading and enquiry. Carefully excluded from the Society would be the contentious topics of the time; politics, religion and slavery. The required licence to act as a Society was to be sought from the Governor, who would then be invited to become the Society's Patron. However, before there was even a chance to arrange a deputation for this, the Governor quite unexpectedly took extraordinary steps to crush the new body.

He had the chief proponents warned of being charged with holding 'illegal meetings', and even went as far as berating his Chief Justice, Sir John Truter, for becoming a provisional member. Lord Charles Somerset had seen in th e fledgling Society a

possible platform for his opponents, especially John Fairbairn and Thomas Pringle, yvhose Sourl> African CommerciaI Advertiser he had recently censored out of existence, bringing a storm of accusations of restricting the freedom of the press. Although both Fairbairn, later a member of Parliament and Chairman of the Council of the South African College, and Pringle, South Africa's first poet in English, had assisted with the meeting, there was certainly no hint of political activity, which was indeed specifically

excluded (Crawford 1934). Faced with the threat of legal action, the Society could not continue. Nevertheless, a fresh attempt at establishment was started in September of the same year. John

Pringle forwarded a memorandum from several persons, seeking approval for a 'South African Literary Society'. lt yvas pointed out that the rules and regulations would be the same as those of the Royal Society of London, which we may note had already seen 164 years of a valued and distinguished existence. However, the Governor still could not overcome his suspicions, and on refusing the application wrote that 'it was inconsistent with duty to permit the establishment of an association which might have

a tendency to produce political discussions' (Crawford 1934). A final attempt to persuade Lord Charles Somerset to allow the establishment of

such a body, this time termed a 'South African Literary and Philosophical Society', was made in a letter and memorandum dated 22 July 1825 (Fallows er al, 1825). The attempt was led by His Majesty's first Astronomer at the Cape, the Reverend Fearon Fallows, who had recently been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London. %ith Dr Andrew Smith and six others. the Reverend Fallows put forward a somewhat austerely framed approach, carefully set to avoid the pitfalls of the previous year. The sole objects were to be the 'cultivation of science and general literature'. Only a limited membership would be aflowed. The rules and regulations ivere to be 'framed upon the models of scientific- societies which have stood the test of time and experience'. Any change in the rules would first have to be approved by the Governor prior to

adoption by a general meeting. No trace of a reply to this appears in the records and we can ordy assume that the Governor's evident refusal was given in the course of discussion.

Lord Charles Somerset was later recalled to England and was succeeded on

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

9 September 1828 by Sir Lowry Cole. Renewed efForts the following April to establish the Society met with immediate success, with the full approval of the new, Governor. 27 June 1829 saw the Inaugural Meeting of the South African Institution, founded for 'investigating the Geography, Natural History and General Resources of South Africa'. Sir Lowry Cole agreed to be the Institution's Patron and took an active interest in its

afFairs, on at least one occasion acting as the chairman of a meeting (Anon. 1835). The IIrst President was the Honourable Lieut-Col John Bell, Secretary to the Cape Government. The four Vice-Presidents were the Reverend F. Fallows, His Majesty' s Astronomer at the Cape; the Attorney-General, A. Oliphant; the Receiver-General, the Honourable J. W. Stoll, and an advocate, J. A. Joubert. The Treasurer was F. S.

Waterrneyer, Accountant to the Colonial Office in Cape Town (Anon. 1830; Grieg 1831). The Secretaries were the Reverend James Adamson and Andrew Smith, who with the office-bearers and nine other Council Members made an impressive team. James Adamson, said to have been one of the most brilliant persons to have come to the Cape, was largely responsible for the founding, on 1 October 1829, of the South African College, which later gave rise to the University of Cape Town (Robinson 1969). Andrew Smith had been responsible for a small museum' started in 1825, which in 1830 came under the care of the new Institution. Under Smith's expert guidance the

museum was expanded and later became the nucleus of the present large collections of the South African Museum in Cape Town. By request of the Trustees of the Museum, the Royal Society of South Africa is today represented on its Board, a reflection of the work, nearly150 years ago, of the Society's predecessor. The South African Institution held regular meetings, and the results of research were published in a new periodical, the South African Quarterly Journal. The Institution's membership rose to some seventy persons and its activities were based at rooms in Looyer Plein, near Government House in Cape Town. The famous astronomer, Sir John Herschel, took a keen interest in the Institution in the tour years he spent at the Cape, and he was made its President soon after his arrival in 1834 (Evans e( al.

1969). The early scientific papers published by the Institution reflect the spirit of' the times. Among important descriptive papers in zoology, botany, meteorology and geology, one may read detailed accounts of the exploration of the little-known interior

of South Africa (Chase 1834). Such accounts helped inspire the founding of The Cape of Good Hope Association for Exploring Central Africa, which sponsored a major eighteen-month expedition led by Andrew Smith, from 1834 to 1836 (Kirby 1939, 1940). The 'Instructions addressed to the Director of the Expedition into Central Africa',

published in the Journal shortly before Smith's departure, make enticing reading (Wade eral. 1834). Other papers were published on such diverse subjects as vaccination, earthquakes, tide observations, chemistry and geometry. This scientifIc activity in the 1820s and 1830s was in fact based on a very small community. Indeed most of the Institution's members v ere persons trained and active in other fields, who regarded the sciences as an attribute of wider learning. This is ' See pages 60-61.

THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF SOUTH AFRICA

well reflected in the rapid merging of the Institution v,ith the South African Literary Society after only three years of separate existence. Regrettably, the combined body, the South African Literary and Scientific Institution, did not sustain the fine eflorts of its early years, and by the mid-l8SOs, when it was replaced by the Cape Monlhly magazine,very few of its functions remained (Crawford 1936). This sketch of the early history is important in showing the change introduced in 1877 when Sir Bartle Frere's South African Philosophical Society was established. For the first time since 1832, a Society wholly devoted to the progress of science and the publication of research results was available to the newly growing scientific community. The Philosophical Society's first Council consisted of both able administrators and eminent scientists. With Sir Bartle Frere as President were the Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Cape of Good Hope, Sir Langham Dale, as Vice-President; Roland Trimen, entomologist and Curator o f t h e S outh A f r ican M useum, was General Secretary; Harry Bolus, a renowned botanist, the Treasurer; the Honourable John X. Merriman (later Prime Minister), the medical authority Dr H. A. Ebden; a mathematician, Professor Francis Guthrie; the engineer Dr John G. Gamble; and the geologists

Dr D. Hahn and Dr J. Shaw (Trimen 1880). For the first few years the growth of the Philosophical Society was rapid and the accounts of some of the meetings make remarkable reading. On 2 November 1877 the explorer H. M. Stanley addressed a large audience on the discoveries made on a recent journey from Zanzibar across Central Africa to the mouth of the River Congo. In the same vein, the explorer and hunter F. C, Selous reported on more than one occasion his findings in the regions north of the Zambezi. The very maps of South Africa were still uncertain. In a stirring Presidential Address by Sir Bartle Frere in 1879, members were reminded of this, and much else, in a masterly commentary on the unexplored sciences. One is told that 'a few years ago Kimberley was in most maps 20 or 30 miles out of its true position and the continent was by so much too narrow' (Frere 1880). Sir Bartle Frere remained President for the customary two-year period, thereafter keeping a close interest in the afl'airs of the Society as a member of Council, until, with widespread regret in th e C olony, he was recalled to Britain i n September 1880. Dr David Gill, Her Majesty's Astronomer at the Cape, succeeded him as the Society's President. In the following years the Society becaine firmly established in the life of the

Ipowing scientific community. The eminent persons who accepted its presidency reflect the esteem in which the Philosophical Society xvas held. By 1909, eighteen volumes of its Transactions had been published, reflecting a valuable record of contributions to science encouraged through the Society's regular monthly meetings. The Society's influence extended widely. On 8 May 1878 the Society's Council wrote to Sir Bartle Frere asking him to enquire about the resumption of the work on classifying the immensely rich plant life o f S outh A f r ica. This had been started privately in the years 1859 to 1865 by William Harvey and Otto Sonder, who published the first three volumes of the great F/ora Capensis. Since that time, an amount of K600 set aside for the project had remained unused, largely due to a prior interest at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in moving ahead with the account of the Indian Flora

SCIENTIPIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

I

f

Harry Bolus, President oF the Philosophical Society of South Africa 1886.

(Anon. 1925). The Society repeated its concern about further delays in 1894, this time with success. the next volume appearing two years later, and finally, by 1925, the fuII vvork which covered I 1 705 species had been brought to completion. In quite another field, we find the Society's Council of 1893 preparing a deputation consisting of the President, Dr R udolf M a rloth, D r T h omas Muir and R oland Trimen, to see 'the Minister in charge to urge the necessity of commencing a Geological Survey of the Colony' (Anon. 1893). In 1902 and 1905 the Society made a strong case for the metrication of weights, measures and coinage in South Africa, an attempt that failed due to pressures exerted in the British Parliament.

THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF SOUTH AFRICA

479

Professor Peter MacOwan, President of the Philosophical Society of South Africa I885.

In later years, the Society was to play an important role in providing, through Government grants, funds for deserving research project». The first to be negotiated was for the brilliant and many-talented Henri Fourcade, botanist, forester, mathematician andsurveyor. On 2 October l90l Fourcade, a member of the Society. read a paper at one of the monthly meetings on a stereoscopic method of photographic surveying that he had perfected. This proved to be the first announcement of an approach which, paralleled by another worker a year later in Germany, has becoine of fundamental importance to land surveys throughout the world (Adams I 975). Fourcade's paper was

480

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

immediately published in the Transactionsand a grant of K200 was obtained by the

Society for the construction of equipment to the highest standards of the day. This equipment is still kept in accurate vvorking order in the Land Survey Department at the University of Cape Town.

Silhouette portrait of H. G. Fourcade.

In the IIve years from 1897 the number of members more than doubled from 100

to 203 persons, and in 1903 the Society resolved to apply for the cherished Royal Charter, mentioned as so high an aspiration as far back as 1891 by Dr Louis Peringuey

in a Presidential Address. Surprisingly, the application was challenged by other societies and it was only when the constitutional arrangements were clarifIcd that the objections were dropped. A provisional Council was formed by Sir David Gill, F.R.S.,

Mr S. S. Hou@, F.R.S., Professor Hele-Shaw, F.R.S., and nine other persons, to adapt a Constitution to the provisions of a draft Royal Charter, along the lines of the

Royal Society in London, The proposals were accepted and on 25 January 1908 the Royal Charter was granted by King Edward Vil of Great Britain. The Society first met under its title of the Royal Society of South Africa on 6 April 1908. Much of the work behind these important events has been ascribed to the drive and initiative of Dr Louis Peringuey, the Society's Secretary and Director of the South African Museum. The Royal Charter provides for tvvo special grades of association with the Society, besides membership. Persons who have done outstanding work in the furtherance of science in South Africa can be elected as Fellovvs, of which there may be not more than one hundred at any time. In addition, a strictly limited number of Honorary Fellowships can be bestowed on persons of the highest eminence in science. The past Rolls

THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF SOUTH AHUCA

of the Fellows make remarkable reading. Among the many distinguished names one

may quote those of the palaeontologist, Dr Robert Broom; the physicist and erst Principal of the University of Cape Town, Sir Carruthers Beattie, who was a former President of' the Society and for many years its Librarian; Sir Frederick Spencer Lister, the bacteriologist and Director of the prestigious South African Institute for Medical Research; the geologists, Dr Alex L. du Toit and Dr A. W. Rogers; the statesman and philosopher, the Right Honourable J. C. Smuts; the botanist, Dr Rudolf Marloth; the veterinarian, Sir Arnold Theiler; the mathematician and Superintendent-General for Education, Sir Thotnas Muir (a former President of the Society), and many others. The traditions of the bestowal of up to Ave annual Fellowships are maintained as

strongly today as in the past. The high honour of the Fellowship continues to lend a special note of prestige to scientilic life in South Africa. Presidents of the South African Philosophical Society, with their dates of taking oflice. 1877 Sir H. B. E. Frere

1879 Dr David Gill

1893 Dr Rudolf Marloth 1895 Dr T. Muir

1881 Mr J. G. Gamble 1883 Mr R o l and Trimen 1885 Mr Peter MacOwan

1897 Mr T . Stewart 1899 Dr L o uis Peringuey

1886 Dr Harry Bolus

1903 Dr J. D. F. Gilchrist 1905 Dr J. C. Beattie

1887 Mr W . H . F i nlay

1889 Dr Louis Peringuey 1891 Dr David Gill

1901 Sir David Gill

1907 Mr S. S. Hough

Presidents of the Royal Society of South Africa, with their dates of taking oSce.

1908 Mr S. S. Hough 1912 Dr L. Peringuey 1918 Dr J. D, F. Gilchrist 1923 Dr A. Ogg 1928 Dr W. A, Jolly

1955 Dr S. H. Haughton

1933 Dr A . W. Ro gers 1936 Prof. L. Crawford 1942 Prof. A. Brown

1964 Dr W . S. Rapson 1966 Prof. W. J. Lutjeharms

1957 Prof. E. Newbery

1959 Prof. A. J, H. Goodwin 1960 Dr S. Meiring Naudh

eans

1962 Dr M. R. L

1946 Prof. R. S. Adamson 1949 Dr J. Jackson

1968 Dr G. G. Campbell 1970 Prof. P. V. Tobias 1972 Prof. N. Sapeika

1950 Prof. R. W. James

1974 Prof. W. J. Talbot

1953 Dr S. H, Skaife

1977 Prof. A. W. Sloan

The eighteenth and Anal volume of the Traasacti onsof the South African PhilosoIthical Society w as issued on 31 M a r ch 1 909. Part I o f t h e e r s t v o lume of t h e 7ransactionsof the AoJ'al Society of South Africa was issued on 22 July of the same year. The format vvas almost the same, with papers giving the results of original research, written and presented to the highest standards. This prestigious publication has allowed the Society to r eceive, on exchange, the periodicals of several hundred Learned

4S2

SCIE'ATIFlC ENDEAVOUR IN SOI;TH AFRICA

Institutions throughout the world, among them the Royal Society of London and

bodies of similar title, The periodicals have been arranged to form the Society's valuable Library of Scientilic Periodicals, which at the time of the Centenary canes over 33 000 volumes, Important parts of the Library were received as gifts, the first on record, which in fact formed the nucleus of the Library, was a set of volumes from Sir Bartle Frere himself. These are still preserved in the Library, which is kept at the University of Cape Town. Under its new name, the Royal Society of South Africa continued with renewed

vigour the discussion and publication of the results of original research. Distinguished scientists from a wide range of disciplines held the prestigious office of its presidency.

The Iirst volume of the newly titledTransactionscarritxI papers in an astonishing range of subjects: zoolo~, botany, entomology, palaeontology, ethnology, pedology, geomorphology, mineralogy, chemistry, physics, meteorology and mathematics, To promote discussion on research activities, the Society decided to hold a

Conversazione 'along thelines of the Royal Society in London', at the Hiddingh Hall of the South African College, on 18 September 1912. This took the forni of an exhibi-

tion of the research projects of members of the Society. The exhibits ranged from procedures for evacuating Rontgen tubes for making the still mysterious X-rays

discovered seventeen vears earlier (Professor O'. S. Logeman), to studies of fungi (Miss Ethel M. Doidge) and desert plants (Mr Neville PiHans and Dr Rudelf Marloth), and to Bushman paintings(Dr Louis Peringuey) and speech (Miss Dorothea F. Bleek). To give a gracious atmosphere, visitors moved among the exhibits to the strains of Mendelssohn and Bizet from a small chamber-music group (Anon. undated). Professor J. C. Beattie s exhibit was a topical one: the present state of magnetic studies in South Africa. The Society's Council was at the time making strong representations to the Government for the establishment'of a permanent magnetic station in South Africa. A Magnetic Observatory v as eventually founded in Cape Town in 1932. From time to time, the Society entertained the scientists and chief o%cers of visiting Antarctic expeditions. In 1910, a banquet was arranged for Captain Robert Scott aiid members of his fateful last expedition to the South Polar regions. A token giTt of f25 was presented 'as an expression of interest taken by the Society in the expedition'. Scott and his party were spending a short while in South Africa on their way to New Zealand and Antarctica, where he and several of his met such a tragic death on the way back from the South Pole a little more than nineteen months later. In 1935, the President, Dr A. lV. Rogers, announced to his Council that a medal was to be presented to the Society by King George V, in recognition of its fine work over the years. To its already solid achievements in promoting scientific research, the Society added in the period 1943 to 1945 a milestone study in conservation, This was a detailed and thorough examination of the problems fame by the famous vegetation of the south-western Cape (Wicht 1945). The Society had previously voiced its concern on conservation: as far back as 1903 the Society had written to the Rhodes Trustees seeking, on the strength of observations of Dr Rudolf Marloth, a reserve for the Ilora of the Matopos hills near Bulawayo, where there is today a National Park. The %'icht

com panions

THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF SOUTH AFRICA

483

R. S. Adatnson, Professor of Botany at the University of Cape Town l923 —O,S President of the Royal Society of South Africa 1946-8.

Report, as it has come to be knovvn, is a tragic catalogue of the 'rapidly deteriorating * state' of one of the world s great floras. It ends with the comment: 'as temporary custodians with an obligation towards future generations, we are collectively respons ible for preserving it in all it s manifold richness, diversity and beauty.' With t he

increased pressures of a doubled human population thirty years later, these sober words are, at the time of the Centenary, more urgent than we have ever known, Prospects

for more rapid doublings bode ill for all such resources throughout South Africa. Yet another conservation interest was the support given by the Society, in April l 944, to the need to prevent a group of coastal rocks at Sea Point, near Cape Town, from being

SCIKNTIFIC KiiDEAVOUR IN SOliTH AFRICA

covered by construction of a concrete terrace. The rocks showed a famous geological formation which today is protected in perpetuity by the National Monuments Council. The Society holds a Iirm interest in commemorating the achievements of the past. In 1903, the Society had a handsome plaque, designed by the brilliant architect Sir Herbert Baker, mounted on a building at the lower end of Strand Street in Cape Town, to commemorate the 1751 site of the astronomical observatory of Abbe Nicolas

Louis de la Caille. Both the half-Jubilee of the Society and the erection of the plaque were celebrated by a special banquet in Cape Town, attended by leading scientists of the day and civic dignitaries. Shortly before the present Centenary (1977), the building carrying the plaque is being replaced by a large and modern structure. The plaque, commemorating the visit of the erst internationally renowned scientist to come to South Africa, will be restored to its former site, interestingly in the hundredth year of the country's oldest scientific society. Down the years, the Society has developed cordial relations with other bodies. The Iirst President of the South African Association for the Advancement of Science, Sir David Gill, was at the same time President of the South African Philosophical Society. In 1903, Sir David clarilied the relations between the Association and the older Society as being similar to those for the British Association and the Royal Society of London. A cordial relationship is maintained with the Royal Society of London, as well as with the national academies of a similar nature throughout the world.

Collaboration with other scientilic societies in South Africa has been enjoyed on many occasions, and in 1968 the Royal Society of South Africa assisted in the establishinent of a Joint Council of Scientilic Societies. A very close relationship is kept with the

Athenaeum Trust, which maintains a 5nely proportioned Victorian building at Newlands near Cape Town for the meetings of the Society and other bodies. This link goes back to 1947 when a group of Fellows of the Society assisted the Honorary General Secretary, Professor John Goodwin, with both his courageous purchase of the fine old

building and with the fund-raising campaign that followed. The chemist, Professor Edgar Newbery, and the geologist, Dr Alex L. du Toit, lent. with others, time,. energy and private funds to the project, and their eff'orts are commemorated with those of

John Goodwin in the-names of the main rooms in the building, which is novv called the Athenaeum. Fund-raising was far from easy in the lean post-war years. One cainpaign, with 4 480 circulars, brought in only two pounds after expenses had been paid! Happily, with the generosity of later donors and an anonymous benefactor, the early troubled financial times are past for the Athenaeum. Costly renovations have brought its generous rooms to almost palatial standards and are fully in keeping with the Society's needs in the Cape. The Society's headquarters are by statute in Cape Town. On 21 February 1911 the first branch of the Society was inaugurated in Johannesburg. %ith a small membership, it had a brief existence and there are no records of it beyond 1913. In rment years, the Society has held meetings in Johannesburg which have been notable for their distinguished nature and large aitendances. In response to this interest, a new Transvaal branch was founded on 24 November 1976. On 16 March 1962 the Society's Council authorized the opening of a branch in Natal. Under the strong leadership of Dr George

THE ROYAL SOCIEI'Y OF SOLTH AI RICA

4,

Jli s„

.

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Professor Edgar Newhery, Professor of Chemistry at the University of Cape Town and President of the Royal Society of South Africa I957-8.

SCIENTIFIC ENDFAVOI,'R IN SOUTH AFRICA

eP:

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s I

I

Professor A. J. H. Goodv~dn, Professor of Archaeology at the University of Cape Town and President of the Royal Society of South Africa I959.

THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF SOUTH AFRICA

Campbell, an Honorary Fellow of the Society and Chancellor of Natal University, the branch at once began a vigorous growth. Since the Inaugural Meeting on 25 April 1962, the branch has won an important place in the life of the scientific community in Natal and many new members have been attracted to the Society through its work. The chief business of the Society continues to be the discussion and publication of the results of original research. This takes place in a setting where alf scientific disciplines are represented, allowing firm links to be forged among research projects. In a more general sphere, the widest perspectives of science in South Africa can be discussed at the Society's meetings, often a valuable contribution to an emnorny based largely on the discoveries of the pure and applied sciences. One may say that the Society OKers an escape from the bounds of narrow specializations. It can well olfer a seat in the orchestra that plays the grarid symphony of the sciences. The Society's first hundred years have indeed been proud ones. Ably supported by a growing number

of firm followers, there is every sign of an assured and valuable future. REFERENCES AnAMs, L. P. 1975. Fourcade. S. A fr. J. Photogratnutetry. 7: 4 — 20. sioi;s. 1830. Proceedings of the South African Institution. S. Afr. Quart. L Set. I, 1: 82. Avewvsiocs. 1835. Votices of the Proceedings of the South African Institution, S. Afr. Quart. L Ser. 1, 5: 104. Axotwstou>s. 1893. Minutes of a Meeting ol' the Council of the South African Philosophical Society held on Thursday October 19, 1893.Manuscript, in records of the Royal Society of South Africa. ANONYMOUS. Undated, probably 1912. Convetsazione, Hiddingh Hall, South A f r ican Cogege. Leaflet, in records of the Royal Society of South Africa. AxoNvMous. 1925. Sir William Thiselton-Dyer and the 'Flora Capensis'. Rattle, Lund. 116(2917): 47~75. CHAsz, J. C. 1834. Progress and piesent State of Geographical Discovery in the African Continent, made from the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. S. AP. Quart. L Ser. 2: 97 — 106,129-137, 161 — 168, 193 —206, 225 — 23 2. Caxwroan, L. 1934. The South African Literary and Scientitic Institution, 1832 — 1857. Trans. roy. Soc. S. Afr. 22: 313 —20. 3 Caxwroao, L. 1936. The South African Literary and Scientific lnsiiiution, 1832 — 1857. In: Minutes of Proceedings for 1934. Trans. roy. Soc. S. Afr. 23: xiii — xiv. EvzNs, D. S., DxEiun o, T. J., Evens, 8. H. k. GoLoswaa, S. 1969. Herschel at the Cape. Diaries and correspotulence of Sir John Herschel, l83>t-1838. Austin: Univ. of Texas. I — 398. FALLOWVs> F., COLLlso'>i> H., CI.OETE> A. J., ATHEas1QNE> J., JARDINE> A. J., SKiaaow> T., CROZIER> R.

8i SiurrH, A. 1825, hfanuscript of a letter and tnemorial to Lord Charles Some'. South African Archives ref. Co. 235>'9/112. Fasaa, H. 13. E. 1880. Proceedings of the South-African Philosophical Society for 1878 — 79. Trans. S. Afr. Phil. Soc. 1: xxxvi — I. Gaiso, G. 1831. The South Apican Ahnanac aud Directory for the year 1832. Cape Town: G. Grieg. 1-330. Kianv, P. R. 1939, 1940. The Diary of Dr. Andrew Smith, director of the 'Expedition for Exploring Central Africa', 1834 — l836. Cape Town: van Riebeeck Society. I — 413, I — 342. RoatwsoN, A. M. L. 1969. Footnote, in Evhxs, D. S. et al., Herschel at the Cape. Austin: University of Texas. p. 69. Tiusrsw, R. 1880. Proceedings of the South-African PhilosophicalSociety for 1877 — 78.Trans. S. Afr. Phil. Soc. I: iii. WxnE, T., HEascNe„J . , OL IPHAi> T, A., ADtu>iso', J» MAcLKAR, T., CLOKTK, A. J., Vow Luowio,

C. F. H., WnrsastEvsa, F. S., CHxss, J. C. 1834. Instructions addressed to the Director of the Expedition into Central Africa. S. Afr. Quart. J, Set. 2: 257-266. Wicm', C. L. 1945. Report of the Commiiiee on the preservauon of the vegetation of the South Western Cape.Spec. Publ. roy. Soc. S. Afr. I — 56.

NOTES ON THE AUTHORS

ALEXANDER CLAL'DK BROWN, the editor of this volume and contributor to two of the essays, was born in Cape Town in 1931 and went to Sea Point Boys' School, from which he matriculated in 1948. He then entered Rhodes University, Grahamstown, majoring in Zoology and Chemistry, and took a first-class Honours degree in Zoology in 1952. He completed the M.Sc. degree with distinction in 1953, while holding the Duerden Scholarship. Concurrently with these activities he studied music, particularly composition, and forined an orchestra which he conducted for two years. After a brief period as temporary lecturer in Zoology, he joined the sta6'of the Water Treatment Division of the CSIR and worked on the ecology and water quality of the Tugela River in Natak In 1955 he took up a position in the Zoology Department of the University of Cape Town, completing a Ph.D. deyee and rising to a senior

lectureship in 1962 and associate professorship in 1969. He now holds a Personal Chair in Marine Biology and is alternating Head of the Zoology Department. Professor Brown has worked at University College, London, and at the Uiuversity of Cambridge. He has been visiting professor to the University of Manchester and has lectured w~dely in the L'nited Kingdom as well as in southern Atrica, He has published over 60 research papers on sandy-beach animals and their ecology, his favourite research animal being thc sandy-beach whelk Bullia. His international reputation in marine biology was recognized by the award of a Fellowship of the Royal Society of South Africa in 1968

and a Life Fellowship of the University of Cape Town in 1975. He has done valuable work on marine pollution and co-operates closely with the CSIR and the Department of Planning and the Environment in combating this problem. He has been an active member of the Councils of the Royal Society of South Africa, the Zoological Society of Southern Africa and the South African Association for the Advancement of Science. He has been the Honorary Editor of the Transactions of (he Royal Society of Sarah

Africa since 1968. He is a Fellov' of the Zoological Society of London and of the Royal Entomological Society. He is also the President of th e Conchological Society of

489

490

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOURIK SOUTH AHUCA

Southern Africa and a yast President of the Western Cape's Experimental Biology Group. The conflict between his musical and scientific interests, apparent since his

school days, was largely resolved in 1970, when the University of Cape Town appointed him Honorary Deputy Dean of its Faculty of Music. At the time of going to press he is the Acting Dean of that Faculty. He has given numerous lectures on the history and

philosophy of science and has for many years thought of compiling a book on the history of science in South Africa. %lIL I A M J . T A L B OT, who contributes the introductory chapter to this volume, was born on the Isle of Wight in 1908. In 1925he was awarded a County University Scholarship and p r oceeded to U n i versity College, London, t o s t udy Geography and Geology. He w a s a warded the H o n o urs degree and the M a r y Broderick Prize in Geography in 1928 and was appointed assistant lecturer at Glasgow

University. In 1931 he was awarded a Commonwealth Fund Fellowship to study at the University of California, where he embarked on research under Carl Sauer in the historical geography of the Spanish colonization of Alta Cahfornia. In 1934 he returned to Glasgow as a lecturer, continuing his research activities until his appointment in 1936 to the newly established Chair of Geography at the University of Cape Town.

Until 1943 he was the only Inember of stafl'of his Department and even at his retirement in 1973 the staff-student ratio was not an enviable one. Undeterred by these diIIiculties, Professor Talbot continued his research, undertaking a detailed survey of land use and soil erosion in the western Cape between 1943 and 1945 and producing with his wife,

Anna Marie, the eddasof the Union of South Africa (Pretoria 1960). In 1948 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of South Al'rica and a Fellow of the University of Cape Town in 1961. He has been visiting professor to the Universities of Cahfornia, Michigan and Oregon. In 1965 he becaxne President of the South African Geographical Society and he was elected President of the Royal Society of South Africa for the period

1975-6. VERNON S. FORBES was born in Rondebosch in 1905 and served in the -Standard Bank before working his JIassage as cattleman on axI Italian tramp steamer bound for Genoa. He then entered Christ's College, Cambridge, where a brilliant undergraduate career in geography, including the award of College Exhibitions and distinctions in geomorphology and economic geography, culminated in his appointment to an Honorary Bachelor Research Fellowship of the College in 1929. He also received the rare distinction of being elected to honorary membership of the Sedgwick Geological Club. In the same year he was awarded a Commonwealth Fund Fellowship and elected to study geology, petrology, mineralogy and palaeontology at the UniveI'sity of California. On of these studies, he sailed by schooner to Sir Wilfred Grenfell's Mission in newfoundland and to the Eskixno settlement at Hopedale, before returning to England and then to South Africa and Rhodesia, where he worked in a small gold-mine. In 1933 he sailed for India to become Vice-Principal of Rajkumar College, a school serving the sons of Indian princes and the landed aristocracy. In 1935 he was awarded the King-Emperor's Silver Jubilee Medal. He left India at the end

compeltion

NOTES ON THE AUTHORS

491

of 1941 and took up an appointment as lecturer in Geography at Rhodes University College, Grahamstown. After several periods as Acting Head of that Department, he

was appointed Professor of Geography from 1966 until his retirement at the end of 1970. Professor Forbes's many publications, the earliest dating from his undergraduate years, are the result of long and careful study and rellect a great deal of original thought.

Scholarship, painstaking research and, above all, enthusiasm for his subject shine through everything he writes. STKFAN MKII N G

N A UDRwas born at De Dooms in 1904. He

obtained the degree of M.Sc. rum laude in physical chemistry from the University of Stellenbosch in 1925 and studied in Berlin under Planck„ Einstein, Nernst and Von Laue, obtaining the degree of Ph.D. curn laude in physics in 1928. After undertaking further research on molecular spectra and X-rays and dismvering the existence of the Nitrogen 15 isotope, at the University of Chicago, he returned to South Africa in 1931

as senior lecturer in physics at the University of Cape Town. In 1934 he became Professor of Physics at the University of Stellenbosch. In 1946 he was appointed the first Director of the National Physical Research Laboratory of the CSIR and in 1952 he became the Council's President. On retiring from this post in 1971, he accepted the position of Scientilic Adviser to the Prime Minister. He is a past President of the Royal Society of South Africa, of the Associated Scientific and Technical Societies, and of the South African Association for the Advanceinent of Science. He has been Chairinan of the Akademie vir %etenskap en Kuns and is the present National Chairman of the Simon van der Stel Foundation.

JOHN H. O. DAY was born at %hisboro Green, Sussex, in 1909 but was educated in South Africa, being awarded the B.Sc. degree with a double first

in Zoology and Chemistry lrom Rhodes University College in 1931. He then proceeded to the University of Liverpool, where he gained the Ph.D. degree in Oceanography in 1934. He lectured at the University of Durham from 1935 to 1938 and then at the University of Cape Town until 1940, when he joined the RAF. He quickly rose to the rank of Squadron Leader in Bomber Command and was twice decorated. After losing a leg in action, he returned to the University of Cape Town at the end of the war as Professor of Zoology, a post which he held until his retirement in 1974. He also held appointments as Dean of the Faculty of Science from 1955 to 1957 and as Director

of the Institute of oceanography from 1958 to 1959. He is a Fellow of the Royal S ociety of South A f rica, of the L i nnean Society and, from 1953 to 1974, of t h e University of Cape Town. He is an internationally acclaimed authority on marine biology, being particularly interested in the ecology of estuaries. He is also an authority. on the systematics of the Polychaeta. His research work has brought him numerous awards, including the Gold Medal of the Zoological Society of Southern Africa, an Oppenheimer Meinorial Fellowshipand an Australian Research Fellowship. He is at

present Emeritus Professor of the University of Cape Tovvn and continues to be extremely active in marine biological research.

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

REGINALD F REDERICK L A W RENCE, author of t h e essay on 'Insects, Arachnids and Peripatus', was born at George in the Cape. After attending

St Andrew's School in Grahamstown he entered the University of Cape Town, graduating in 1922 after his studies had been interrupted by the First World War, in which he served. He then joined the South African Museuin as curator of arachnids, myriapods, reptiles and amphibians. Within the next few years he participated in three pioneering expeditions to the Kaokoveld and Ovamboland, at that time reinote, httle-

explored territories where travel by ox-wagon was often obligatory. The resulting large collections formed the basis of his thesis on the Arachnida of South West Africa, on which he was awarded the degree of Ph.D. in 1928. In 1935 he was appointed Director of the Natal Museum, a post which he held until 1948, when he resigned to devote all his time to research, first as a research fellow of the CSIR and later as a Professional 0%cer. On retirement in 1966, he moved to the Albany Museum, where he still does part-time work. He has published over 200 research papers, mainly on arachnids, inilli-

pedes and centipedes and is an international authority on these groups of arthropods. His masterpiece is perhaps The biology of the cryptic fauna of foresrs, a book which is unique in content and outstanding in execution. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society ol South Africa in 1935, in 1953 he became President of the Entomological Society of Southern Africa and in 1956 he was aivarded the Medal of the South African Association for the Advancement of Science. The Natal Museum published afeslschrifi in his honour in 1964 and in 1973 the Zoological Society of Southern Africa awarded him its Medal 'in appreciation of, and adiniration for, his completion of half-a-century of distinguished scientiTic work'.

DOUGLAS HEY', author of the essay on Nature Conservation, was born in East London in 1914. He went to Maclear High School and then to Rhodes University, where he majored in Zoology and Chemistry. He was a schoolteacher for a year before joining the research staff'of the Jonkershoek Hatchery. In 1942 he became

Director of Inland Fisheries, by which time he had been awarded the M.Sc. degree curn laude and a D.Sc in Zoology from the University of Stellenbosch, In 1949 he was

awarded diplomas in Limnology, Hydrobiology and Pisciculture from the University of Louvain in Belgium. In 1952 he was appointed Director of Nature Conservation for the Cape Province, and was awarded the Queen's Coronation Medal in 1953 and the Danish Galathea Medal for Outstanding Limnological Research in 1955. He held an American Leader Exchange Bursary for a study tour of the United States in 1959. In 1970 he was Visiting Professor to Colorado State University and in 1974 held a similar appointment at Utah State University. The progress of nature conservation, not only in the Cape but in the country as a whole, owes much to his drive and enthusiasm, and there have been fevv important committees in this Iie]d of which he has not been either chairman or an active committee member. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa and a Council Member, having been tye Society's Treasurer for several years. He has also been an active member of Council of the Zoological Society of Southern

Africa and serves on the Boards of Trustees of a number of organizations, including the South African Museum and the National Botanic Gardens.

NmES ON THE AUTHORS

493

B. C. JA N S KN, author of the essay on veterinary science, took the

degree of B.V.Sc. nun laude at the University of Pretoria in 1944, and was awarded the ArnoM Theiler Medal. In 1949 he joined the staA' of the Veterinary Research Institute, Onderstepoort, as a research worker in Protozoology. He was subsequently transferred to the Section of Bacteriology, where he studied the pathogenic members of the genus Clostridi~rm, resulting in no less than 33 published articles. In 1956 he was

awarded a Nulneld Fellowship for Research in Biological Sciences, which afforded him the opportunity to f urther his training at the Wellcome Research Laboratories in Great Britain. He obtained his doctorate cuInlaude in Veterinary Science in 1960, in which year he was promoted to the position of D eputy Director of the Veterinary Research Institute. The following year he became its Director. In 1966 he was awarded

the degree of D.Sc. in Microbiology and followed this with his third doctorate, a Ph.D. in Medical Science, in 1971. In the meantime, in 1968, he was promoted to the newly created post of Chief D irector of Veterinary Services in the Department of

Agricultural Technical Services and in 1974 he was given the additional responsibility of Chief Director of Animal Husbandry and Dairying. He continues to hold these two posts. In addition to the above-mentioned responsibiliues, he began an academic career at the University of Pretoria in 1958, hy accepting a senior lectureship in Infectious Diseases, and in 1963 he became professor of this subject, a post he held until 1973. From 1963 to 1969 he was Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Science. In 1976 an Honorary Professorship of Infectious Diseases was conferred on him. He has been awarded the Havenga Prize for Agricultural Science by the Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns and has served as vice-president of the World Veterinary Association. He is Chairman of the South A f r ican Veterinary Board and a member of the executive committee of the South African Medical Research Council.

JOHN FLEMING BROCK was born in Port Elizabeth in 1905 and after attending Grey School studied medicine at the University of Cape Town. He was a Rhodes Scholar and completed his education at Oxford and at the London Hospital.

He was also a Leverhulme Research Scholar of the Royal College of Physicians, using this Scholarship to study and undertake research at Harvard University. In 1934 he became Medical First Assistant at the British Postgraduate Medical School, Hammersmith, and in 1936 was appointed Assistant Director of Research in Medicine at the University of Cambridge, He returned to South Af rica in 1938 as Professor of the Practice of Medicine at the University of Cape Town and Joint Head of the Department of Medicine at Groote Schuur Hospital, He became its sole Head in 1953. Since 1949 he has been Nutritional Consultant to the World Health Organization and from 1965 to 1968 he was President of the South African College of Physicians, Surgeons and Gynaecologists, His many honours and avvards include the Silver Medal of the

Medical Association of South Africa (1961), an Honorary Fellowship of the American College of Physicians (1966), Honorary Membership of the Association of Physicians of Great Britain (1967) and Honorary Fellowship of the South African College of Physicians (1973). In 1971 the University of Natal conferred on him the degree of Doctor ofScience honoris causa, and an Honorary LL.D. degree from the University

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

of the Vfitwatersrand followed in 1975. Professor Brock's numerous research papers deal mainly with human nutrition and it is in this ftefd that his influence has been most felt. His interests are wide, however, and there can be few branches of medicine that have not benefIted from his ideas and advice. Indeed his interests extend to the history

and philosophy of medicine and in 1971 he vvas made Honorary Professor of these fields by the University of Cape Town. Though now retired, he holds an Emeritus Professorship of the University and continues to be active in research and in the

guidance of others. PHILLIP V . T O B IAS was born in D u r b an in 1925 and attended Durban Boys' High School before entering the University of the %itwatersrand from which he graduated with a B.Sc. degree in 1946, the Honours degree in Anatomy in

1947, M.B.B,Ch. in 1951, Ph.D. in 1953 and D.Sc. in 1967. He has been Head of the Department of A n atomy at t h e U n iversity since 1959. Apart from anatomy and

cytogenetics, his area of research is human biology, with special reference to hominid evolution and the living peoples of sub-Saharan Africa. His researches have included intensive studies on the San or Bushmen, the Griqua and the Tonga. He has investi-

gated hominid fossils from most parts of'Africa, Asia and Europe and has been closely associated with researches on the early hominid sites in South and East Africa for some thirty years. During the last decade he has organized and led the team conducting long-term excavations at the fossil site of Sterkfontein, in the Transvaal. In 1964 he was Visiting Professor to the University of Cambridge and he has lectured in all five continents. He has been awarded a number of fellowships and medals, Honorary Member-

ship of the Anthropological Societies of Paris and Vienna and of the Geographical Society of'Lisbon. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa in 1960 and has served on its Council I' or many years, being its President in 1970-1. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland and of the Linnean Society of L ondon, In 1976 he was elected to the Permanent Council of the International Union of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences. He is one of South Africa's most profifIc writers, having published half a dozen books and

over 350 articles, chapters and research papers. ROBERT A L L E N D V E R has co n s istently a nd co n t i n uously advanced the prestige of South African botany beyond the borders of the country. He was born in Pietermaritzburg in 1900 and twenty-three years later completed his master's degree under Prof. J. %'. Hews at the University of Natal. In 1925 he joined the Division of Botany of the Department of A g riculture as personal assistant to Prof. Selmar Schonland, Honorary Regional Director of the Botanical Survey in the eastern Cape. On the retirement of Seltnar Schonland in 1926, Allen Dyer took over the botanical survey duties and was also appointed Honorary Curator of the Albany Museum herbarium. In 1930 he filled the post of S outh A f r i can botanist at the herbarium of the Royal Botanic Garden, Kew, but was transferred to the National Herbarium in Pretoria in 1934, where he completed a thesis for the degree of D.Sc, In 1944 he became Director of Botanical Services for the Department of Agriculture, a post

NOTES ON THE AUTHORS

«vhich he held until his retirement in 1963. Thereafter he was re-employed to continue his research and to prepare an account of the genera of South African flo«verjng plants, Thjs monumental work was published in t«vo volumes, in 1975 and 1976, by «vhich tjme his botarucal publications numbered over 400. He was elected a Fellow of the, Roval Socjety of South Africa in 1944 and has also been honoured by the South African Biological Society, the South African Association for the Advancement of Science, the South African Association of Botanists and the American Amaryllis Society. He received the degree ot D.Sc., honoris causa, from the University of the %jtwatersrand

in 1976. DANIEL M A LAN J O U B ERT, author of the essay on agricultural

research, was born in Pretoria in 1928 and obtained his B.Sc.(Agric,) and M.Sc.(Agric.) (quipu laude) from the University of Pretoria. He then studied at the University of

Cambridge, being a«varded the Ph.D. degree of that University in 1955. He joined the South African Department of Agriculture in 1950 and in 1960 was appointed Professor of Sheep and %ooi Science at the University of Pretoria. In 1962 he became Assistant Djrector (Research) for the Transvaal Region of the Department of A gricultural fechnical Services and in 1970 was appointed Director of P r ofessional Auxiliary Ser«jces in thjs Department. Concurrently he «+as Secretary-General of the Southern A ff jean Regional Commission for th e C o nservation and U t i l isation of th e S o il

(SARCCUS), «vhich oSce took him on 27 missions to neighbouring African territories, In 1973 he v as appointed Director of the Transvaal Region of the Department of Agricultural Technical Services. Dr Joubert is a past Chairman of the South African Society of Animal Production and past President of the South Af r ican Biological Society, He is Chairman of the South African Board of Professional Animal Scientists,

Chairman of the Liaison Committee for Professional Societies Concerned «vith Agriculture, and President of the Joint Council of Scientific Societies. He serves on the Council of the University of Pretoria and is Chairman of the Board of Management of'its Mammal Research Institute, He is the author of over 200 scjentjflc and technical

papers. In 1963 he was elected a Full Member of' the Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir +etenskap en Kuns and he was awarded its Havenga Prize in 1966. In 1967 the Junior Chamber of South Af'rica voted him one of the Four Outstanding Young Men of the year and in 1972.he «vas a«varded the Gold Medal of the South African Society of Animal Production and the Senior Captain Scott Medal of the South African Biological Society, In 1977 he «vas appointed Vice-President of the CSIR.

FRANK LOUIS WARREN, born in 1905, was educated in London and obtained his Ph.D. degree in 1929 from the University of London. He then undertook research on anti-knock compounds and later on the dipole moments of organic

compounds. During this period he demonstrated at the Royal College of Science during the day and at Birbeck College in the evening, as well as studying biochemistry and bacteriology at Chelsea Polytechnic and glass-blowing at the University of Leiden. In 1931 he joined the staA'of the Department of Chemistry at Fuad I University, Cairo,

as 'Maitrede Conference. He worked on benzanthrone dyes, phenenthrene and the

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

dipole moments of tautomeric and mesorneric systems, and spent his vacations back

in London, studying spectroscopy, and in Austria, studying micro-analysis. In 1940 he succeeded Prof. R. B. Denison as Head of the Department of Chemistry at Natal University College, Betermaritzburg. He was soon also acting as Adjutant to Major Tomlinson, Commanding 0 % cer o f t h e P ietermaritzburg Police Reserve, which mounted guard nightly at all strategic centres. From 1942 hc worked under the auspices of the War-time Research Committee on the production of rubber from Euphorbia, lanoline.from wool vvashings and sulphur from coal. In 1945 he vvas seconded to the Department of Commerce and Industries as adviser on post-war research. He returned to Natal U n iversity College in 1946 and started teaching chemical technology in Durban (now the Department of Chemical Engineering). He was a founder Inember of the Boards of Control of the Sugar Millers' and Paint Research Institutes, and acted as director of both during transition periods. He undertook research on alkaloids, terpenes and steroids and in 1951 was avvarded a D.Sc. from the University of London on his collected papers. In 1954 he was seconded to the South African Embassy in Washington for six. months and on his return became Head of the new Natural Products Research Unit of the CSIR. Professor Warren retired from the University of Natal in 1965 to become Dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of Cape Town, v here he continued his researches on insect pheromones. He received the Medal of the S 2A~ in 1961 and was the first gold medallist of the South African Chemical Institute in 1967. He was elected to Fellowship of the Royal Society of South Africa in 1968 and in 1972 an honorary D.Sc. degree was conferred on him by the University of Port Elizabeth. Natal repeated this honour in 1973. MICHAEL A . C L U VKR was born in Caledon in 1942 and educated at the Paul Roos Gymnasium, Stellenbosch, where he matriculated in 1960. He then enrolled for the B.Sc. degree at the University of Stellenbosch, majoring in Zoology and Chemistry. He was awarded the M.Sc. degree ~em laude (Zoology) in 1966 and a Ph.D. in 1970. In the meantime, in 1966, he joined the staH'of the South African Museum, Cape Town, as Professional 0%cer in Palaeontology. Since 1973 he has been the Head of the Museum's Palaeontology Department Hi s research interests centre on vertebrate structure and function. Most notably, hc has applied the principles of adaptive morphology to problems of taxonomy in the Dicynodontia. In 1972 — 3 he spent a six-month period preparing and studying the South African Karoo reptiles housed in museums in London, New York and Washington. THOMAS H . B A RRY re ceived his training at t he U n i versity' of Stellenbosch, where he was awarded the B.Sc., M.Sc. and D.Sc. degrees, specializing in comparative anatomy. He lectured in Zoology at the University of Pretoria from 1955 to 1958. In 1959 he was appointed Director of' the Albany Museum, Grahamstown, a position he held until 1964, when he assumed the directorship of the South African Museum. He has served two tem s as President of the Southern African Museums Association, Ave terms as Vice-President of the South African Association for the Advancement of Science and hvo terms as Chairman of the Committee of

NOTES ON THE AUTHORS

Heads of Declared Institutions. He is a Fellow of the Zoological Society of London and of the Linnean Society. In 1962 he received a CSIR Research Bursary to study

fossils housed in museurns in Sweden, England, France and Israel, and in 1965 a Carnegie Bursary to study M useum Education Systems in th e U n ited States of America. His main research interest is the evolution of the Dicynodontia.

SIDNEY H. HAUGHTON was born in Bethnal Green, London, in 1888. He was educated at %althamstow Technical Institute and Trinity Hall College, Cambridge, where he was both Exhibitioner and Scholar. He graduated with a B.A. in geology in 1909 and joined the staA of Clayesmore School, where he taught for three years before accepting appointment to the post of Geologist at the South African Museum, Cape Town. In 1914 he was promoted to the Assistant Directorship of the Museum but i n 1 918 joined the staff of t h e U n ion G eological Survey as Senior

Geologist. He obtained the degree of D.Sc. from the University of Cape Town in 1924, In 1934 he became Director of the Geological Survey, Pretoria, a post which he occupied until his retirement in 1948. In the same year the University of Cape Town conferred on him the degree of LL.D. honoris causa. He remained with the Geological Survey as oScer in charge of Uranium Investigations until 1954, when he accepted the post of Geological OScer for Africa South of the Sahara under the C.C,T.A. with oi ces in the Geological Survey headquarters in Pretoria. He still retains part-time

employment with the Survey in an editorial capacity. As the leading authority on South African geology, Dr Haughton has received numerous honours and awards. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of London and has received honorary D.Sc. degrees from the Universities of Natal and the Witwatersrand. He has twice been President of the Geological Society of South Africa and was President of the Royal Society of South Africa for 1955-6. He has also received the Murchison Award of the Geological

Society of London. A. M. VAN %IJK was educated at the Franschhoek High School and Rhodes University College, where he attained the M.Sc. degree in physics in 1935. He gained his fust practical experience in the newly established Physico-Chemical Section of the Transvaal Chamber of Mines. His work led to the introduction of novel measures to reduce the dust content of' mine air and provided quantitative data on particles retained in the lungs during breathing. He also investigated the silicosis

hazard in Rhodesian mines. In 1938 he joined the Magnetic Observatory in Cape Town, assisting in its transfer to Hermanus in 1941. He returned to Cape Town in 1943, as physicist in the Instrument Factory of the Director-General of Supplies. He was appointed Director of the Magnetic Observatory in 1946, a position he continues to

hold. His publications include numerous observatory yearbooks and research papers on cosmic rays, seismology, Antarctic research, g variation and the compilation of magnetic charts.

eoma gnetic

P. H. STOKER ob tained his M,Sc. at the University of Cape Toom,

afterbeing awarded the bachelor's degree from Potchefstroom, In 1952 he gained a doctorate from the Free University in Amsterdam and then returned to Potchefstroom

SCIENTIFIC Eh13EAVOIJR IN SOUTH AFRICA

University as semor lecturer in Physics. When the Cosmic Ray Research Unit was

established there in 1960, he became its Director, a position he holds concurrently with the headship of the Department of Physics. Professor Stoker's research interests have included direct electron pair production by muons, neutron monitoring, the effect of the Cape Town Magnetic Anomaly on the latitude distribution of cosmic rays and the stratospheric effects of precipitating electrons in the Southern Radiation Anomaly region. He directs the Antarctic cosmic ray research programnte. R. W. YICK we nt to school in De Aar before entering the University of the Witwatersrand. His studies were interrupted by three years' service in the South African Army but he returned to take his degree in Electrical Engineering in 1948. He then joined the staff of the Telecommunications Research Laboratory of the CSIR, his first project being a survey of ground-wave propagation conditions over the whole of South Africa and South West Afric , a task which lasted several years. In 1955 — 6 he spent a year at the Jodrell Bank Experimental Station and after his return worked on ionospheric research as part of' the South African contribution to the International

Geophysical Year. A few years later he assumed responsibility for the ionospheric programme of the National Institute for Telecommunications Research, In 1964 he succeeded Dr F. J. Hewitt as Director of the Institute.

WALTER SCHAFFKR was born in Cologne in 1906 and was brought to South Africa 1'our years later. In 1926 he was awarded the B.Sc. degree from Rhodes University College, with a double first in Physics and Mathematics. He then taught in various schools, returning to Rhodes for the Higher Education Diploma in 1931

and the M.Sc. degree in 1936. In 1940 he was awarded the degree of Ph.D. for his research in the field of electrical discharges in gases. In the same year he joined the South African Air Force, where he underwent training in meteorology. In 1942 he was appointed OScer-in-Charge of the advanced forecasting unit in the Western Desert and Tripolitania. He later went on missions to Britain, Canada and the United States, and represented South Africa on the Meteorological Committee of the Combined Chiefs of Staff in Washington. Before the end of the war he became OScer-in-Charge of Forecasting and Research of the South African Air Force Meteorological Section. He was demobilized in 1946 and became Lecturer in Physics at the University of Cape Tovvn. He was promoted to a senior lectureship the follovving year. In 1953 he was elected Dominions Fellow of St J o hn's College, Cambridge, where he undertook research into crystal structure as revealed by X -ray di ffraction, in Sir L a w rence Bragg's team. The University of Cape Town appointed him Associate Professor of Physics in 1954 and in 1957 he became full Professor and Head of the Department. He subsequently studied electron diffraction at Imperial College, London, and was elected to two terms of oSce as a member of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics. In addition to reading a number of research papers, he helped to organize international conferences in London, Paris, Rome and other cities. Despite his academic achievements and activities, he retained his interest in school education and represented the University of Cape Town for many years on the South African

NOTES OR THE AUTHORS

Joint Matriculation Board, being its Chairman in 1970. In 1969 Professor Schaffer was appointed the University's Assistant Principal (Academic). On retirement he was made Professor Emeritus and shortly afterwards he emigrated to Israel, where he lives at present. He will long be remembered at U.C.T. for his strength in time of crisis, his

wisdom in committee and the tactful advice he dispensed to his younger cofieagues. STANLEY P . J A CKSON w a s e ducated at the U n i v ersity of t h e

Witwatersrand, obtaining his B.A,(Hons) degree in 1931 and being appointed to the staff in the same year. He was awarded his M.A. in 1937 but further study and research was interrupted by the outbreak of war and from 1939 to 1946 he served as meteorologist in the Royal Navy. He attained the rank of L ieutenant-Commander and was appointed Head of'the Meteorological Planning section in the headquarters of Supreme Allied Commander for S.E. Asia, Lord Louis Mountbatten. In 1946 he returned to the University of the Witwatersrand as Senior Lecturer in Geography and divas awarded the Ph.D. degree in 1951. In 1954 he headed the African Climatology Unit, which produced the Climatological Atlas of Africa under the auspicesof the Commission for Technical Cooperation in Africa south ol the Sahara. He was appointed Professor of Geography in 1958 and became Dean of the Faculty of Science in 1960. From 1965 to 1973 he was Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Witwatersrand. On retiring, he was invited to assist in the direction of the Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research and was also consultant to the CSIR on national and international scientific programmes, His university conferred the honorary d egree of Doctor of Laws on him in 1976, in which year he was also elected a Fellow of the South African Geographical Society in recognition of outstanding scholarship in the

fieldof geography. RICHARD H UG H STOY, who contributes the essay on Astronomy,

is a graduate of the University of Cambridge, where he was awarded the Ph.D. degree in 1936. He came to South Africa in the same year and was able to complete the programme of positional astronomy initiated at the Cape by Sir Harold Spencer Jones in the 1920s. He introduced and directed a major programme of stellar photometry which has resulted in more photometric material being available in the southern hemisphere than in the northern hetnisphere. The international standing of these programmes was recognized by Professor Stoy's appointment as President of commissions of the International Astronomical Union on stellar magnitudes and positional astronomy. He v as also elected Vice-President of the Union. It was largely due to his efforts that a Chair of Astronomy was established at the University of Cape Town in 1972. He has been a dedicated worker and oII1ce-bearer of a number of scientific societies, including the Royal Society of South Africa, the South African Association

for the Advancement of Science, the Royal Astronomical Society and others. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His distinction as a leading astronomer was recognized in 1957 by the award of the C.B.E. and in 1975 by a special retirement conference dedicated to him and held at the Royal Greenwich Observatory, He left South Africa for Edinburgh in 1968, serving as deputy and acting Director of the

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

Royal Observatory there. He returned briefly to the University of Cape Town in 1976, to havethe degree of Doctor of Science honoris causa conferred upon him. EDGAR A. BUNT was born in Johannesburg but attended and matriculated from Rondebosch Boys' High School in Cape Town. He at ftrst aspired to be a Civil Engineer but his interests became aeronautical after serving as pilot of

an RAF flying-boat. In 1947 he graduated in Mechanical Engineering from the University of the Witwatersrand, where he later completed theM.Sc.(Eng.) and Ph.D. degrees. In 1954 he joined the English Electrical Co. in Rugby, England, during his tenure of a James Clayton Fellowship from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, and he also attended diploma courses in Aerodynamics at the College of Aeronautics, Cranfield, with the help of a bursary from the Royal Aeronautics Society. He then worked as Assistant Research OIIIcer at the High Speed Aerodynamics Laboratory of the National Research Council in Ottawa, before returning to the University of the Witwatersrand as senior lecturer in 1957. The following year he joined the Applied

Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University, Maryland, as senior physicist and was appointed to the principal staff of that laboratory by President Eisenhower in 1962.

There he vvorked on the problems of thermal plasma generation for the simulauon of re-entry conditions. For this work he was awarded a Doctorate of Science in Engineering by the University of the Witwatersrand, which appointed him to its De Beers Chair of Fluid Mechanics in 1968. He was Chairman of the School of Mechanical Engineering from 1972 to 1975. Professor Bunt has been a member of Council of the South African Institute of Mechanical Engineers since 1969 and became the Editor-in-Chief of its Journal in 1971. He vvas awarded its Thomas Price Prize in 1954 and was its President

in 1975 — 6. Besides South Africa and the United States, he has lectured in Rhodesia, Sweden,Canada and theUnited Kingdom. ANTHONY YA CH T

H A L L was born in Bedford, England, in

1936. After attending schools in Great Britain, the United States of America and South

Africa, he entered the Lniversity of Cape Town, being awarded the B.Sc. degree in 1955. After a year's research in hydrobiology at Rhodes University, he returned to Cape Town, where he completed a Master's degree with distinction and then a doctoral degree in Botany. His field of research was plant taxonomy and this led, together vvith studies at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew and the Imperi a College, London, to

related interests in ecology and computer-based classi6cation. Throughout his career, Dr Hall has been deeply concerned about the increasing human pressures on the environment and since 1974 he has led a research project on plant species threatened with extinction. He is Assistant Curator of the Bolus Herbarium and Senior Lecturer in Botany at the University of Cape Town. He is a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London and of the Royal Society of South Africa. He has held oIIIIx as Honorary General Secretary of the latter Society since 1968. He is also the Honorary Secretary of the Athenaeum Trust, the Founder-Chairman of the Co-ordinating Council for Nature Conservation in the Cape and is an Honorary Life State Forest OIIIcer. He serves on numerous committees devoted to ecology and conservation and has organized several symposia and conferences concerned with these topics.

(h1ajor references are in bold type. Asterisks denote pages bming photographs or other illustrations of the relevant subject.)

Aarts, W. H., 383 Acocks, J. P. H., 13" 246, 54, 272

Adams, E. B., 202, 208, 21 • Adarnson, J., 65, 66, 46+, 476 Adarnson, R. S., 236, 241, 243, 246, 256, 320, 468, 481, 483» Addn National Park, 135, 138» Adler, E. D., 280

A frican Explosives tkChemical Industries IAE >lk Clk 288, 298 Agard, C. A., 86 Agricultural economics, 277-279 Agricuhural Economics Society of South Africa, 979

Agriculture, 23, 24, . 6, 69, 251, 265 282, 465 Agr»aa»'calla, 279 Agree?>e»»'p?>psiea,279 Agronomy, 274-276 Agroplaarae,279 Ahrens, L. A., 83 Aitken, R. D., 246 Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns (see SuidAfrikaanse Akademiel Akerman, C., 122

Albany Museum, 64-65, 70, 109, 118, 126, 156, 242. 243, 334, 492, 494, 496 Alberts, L., 383. 384 Alden, H. L.,422 ALxander, Anne, 123, 131 Alexander. R. A., 178, I?9, 180, 181 Algology, 86, 87. 92 — 93, 105, 254, 56 Alkaloids 294 = 298 Allamand, J. N. S., 35. 36, 38 Allanson, B. J., 157 Allanson, B, R., 107 Allen, A. L, 223 AIIerton Veterinary Labonttory, !0, 165, 168, 193 Allison, h1., 146 Altmann, A., 202, 208 Arroebiasis, 199 Arrphihia, 133, 150. 151 Anderson, Fay, 258, 259 Anderson„Frank, 83 Anderson, W., 341 Andersson, C. J., 16 Andrews, W. G., 468 Andrews, W. H., 168 Anglo AmericanCorporation, 289, 447

Anglovaal, 432 Animal gt Dairy Science Research Institute,270, 281 A»r>als of the lga>al >M>rse»»>, 65 Annccke, D. H. S.. 199 Anthropologv, 193, 21Z, 214-239, 494 Antonis, A., 202 Arachnida, 119 — 129 Ararnbourg, C,. 233 Archaeology, 215, 464 Archbell, J., 54 Archibakl. Eilv E. A., 253,

Amdt, R. R., 291 Arnold, G., I I I Ashton, H., 466 Associated Scientifrc IL Tcchnical Societies of South Africa, 72, 442, 450, 491 Association of Surgeons of South Africa, 72 Astor Peake, W. H., 380 Astronomical Society of South Africa, 71, 72 Astronomy, 4, 16, 44-50, 67, 40%426, 460, 461,

499

Athenaeum Trust, 484, 500 Atherstone, W. G., 21, 64, 321

Atomic Energy Beard, 73, 75, 79, 213, 343, 380, 384, 439, 448 Auge, J. A., 5,41 Aughrabies Falls Reserve, ]37 Autret, M., 200 Axelscn, E., 215

Bacteriology, 24, 170-174, 240, .49 Baily, F., 47 Bain., A. G.. 17 — 19, 64. 3.0, 321, 322, 340, 471-473, 472» Bain, T., 323, 3.4 Baker, H., 390, 484 B aker, H. A, 5 8 Balfour, F. hL, 131 Baiiantyne, B, 88 Bally, P. R. O., 259 Bank, 8.„207 Bantu Bmr Research L'nit, 79

Barbet, G, O., 20Z

Barcza, M., 448 Barker, Winsome F., 242 Barkly, Gov. H., ZI, ". ~, C. N. , 206, 209,» 211 •

ВСЮИТ$НС ЕИВЬИ О$.К !$ $ ЮСТН АГ К$СА

Вапиг д, К. Н., 63, 90, 9$,' 97, 103, 113, 466, 469 Вапиг с$, Т. Т., 252 Заг аев, Н. О., 204 , , 10-12, 17, 19,38,49,50,52,53,56 Вану, Т. Н., 61, 64, 496 , ., 90 Вапоп, Е. Б., 87 Ваыоп, Р. А., 183 Ва!!еп, Аипо1, 259 Ваитапп, Н., 78, 79 , . ., 200 % 246 253 254 298 ., , 412 Вса!оп, О. К., 227 ! , ., 357, 359,360,375, 377," 481, 482 , .,237 Всс$сег, В, А Р., 212 ВссЕег, ОогогЬу, "Ю Всс1сег, Е., 92 ВсдГогд, О. А. Н., 115, 118 18 , .,227 ВсП, С. О., 15, 321, ЗЛ, 462 ВсП, А, 415, 476 Пеппе!!, $. С., 461 Веппеп, К. О., 366 Вспоп, Р. $ . А, 122 Всппап, С., 204, '! 2 Всг пагс$Рпсе Гоипс$а!!оп, 236, 334 Всг паг й Рг 1ск !ми!и!с Гог Ое орЬуяса1 ,72, 82,83,366,385,436,450 Всгпагд Рг1се !пав!1!иге Гог Ра$аеоп!о1о81са1 ,72,234, 334, 335,499 Вег лпе1п, К. Е., 212, 227 ВегзоЬп, 1,, 202 ВсИег , А. Г., 9, 10,45 Вежа., А Ж., 243, 246, 494 Всуегя, Е., 288 В1еп1аъя$с1, Х. Т., 436 В1еаЬеиуе1, 8., 81, 212 В18айе, К. О., 156,!75 ВПЬага1а, 199 В1!Ьагг1аьь Г1еИ $/п1$, 199 1 8$ 8,448 В1гдь, 13, 16, 33, 38, 39, 61, ЮХ, 133, 144, 151,

465, 466 В1г$сь, А В., 384 В1ас$с, М. 1Ч., 310 В1аЬег, 8., 107 В!ее!с, Оог ойеа Г., 23, 223, 482 В1ее$с, 1Ъ * . Н. 1., 217

В1е1осЬ, %., 31

В!ег о, Г., 265

Во!с Во!се!тапп, Нсг сЬа, 259 ! , ., 248, 256, 258,458,477, 478,4' 48! ! ,242,243, 256, 258, 262, 458, 460, 500 ! ,$. $ ,113,243,248,249, 259,458,459,~ 460, 471 Вопяпа, Г. М., 269 Полата, А С., 269

ВолгеЬо1сЬ$а$$опа1Раг1с, 135, 158, 160,~ 161 Воопяг а, Е. О., 383 , 1.. .,328,329,~ 330,332,333 Вогс$е1, А, 166 Вог 8Ьок1, Ооу. А, 135, 146 , .,86 Вояпап, О. А, 275 Вояпап, А А, 359 ВожеП, Н., 469 Во!алка! КеьеагсЬ !пьбги!е, 152, 254, 258, 259, 260, 261, 263 Во!алка! Зос1егу оГБои!Ь А1г ка, 71, 152, 241, 249, 253, 458, 470, 47! Восапка! Яигмеу Ас$ивогуСотт1ггее, 71, 152, 243, 246, 248, 249, 253 $ ,243,246, 248, 253, 254 Восапу, 4, 5, 7, 1 1, 12,26,41-43, 66, 86, 87, 105, 240 = 264, 267, 458, 460, 465, 476, 477, 478, 482, 483, 494, 500 , .$. , 69, 168,243 Войа, М. С., 208 ,243, 248, 249, 258 Войт а, А с$иР., 156 ВосЬве!1, Т. Н., 203, 205. 209~ Вопогп1еу, Ауп!, 249 '1 , ., 202

Воус1еп Ааггопописа! Ьса!!оп„4! 5, 422, 424 Воыо11, О. К., 435,~ 450 Вг а1п, С. К., 232, 234, 277 Вг а1п, Р., 2Ю Вг апсЬ, О. М., 96, 106 Вг апд, Ргся. А Н., 22, 65 Вг аипь„Н., 111, 126 Вг еа1сэа!его, 449 Вг еЬпсг, А, 389 Вг ецег, Н. О., 68, 381 Вг еи11, АЬЬе Н., 239 Впс$спс!1, О. $, 369 Вг 1с$8еп~, А. В., 280 Впп$с, А. А, 196, 198,~ 21о 213, 307 $ ,. ., 334, 460 Впп$с, С. Г., 9, 35, 40, 47 Вг 1п$с, С уап с$егМ., 313 ВпыЬ Аыос1ас1оп Гог йс Ас$чапсетепс оГ ,88,92, 246, 359,394 Вг ос1с, А., 234 Вг ос$с, $. Г., 200, 201,' 223, 493-494 Вг ос$1е, Ю. Н., 219 $ , . , 96, 106,465,466,468' Вг оП1, Г., ЗЗ! -8! , ., 200, 202, 208 Вг ооп1, К., 193, 221, 223, 226, 231, 232,* 234, 236, 237, 325,~ 326, 328, 329, 330, 331, 334, 335, 342, 460, 462, 481 Вг огЬегь, О. А, 111 В И П, О ., 2 3 7 Вг ожп, А., 324, 481 , . ., 96, 97, 470,489-490 Вг оеп, Е. Т. Б., 447

,

,

.,465

,259

INDEX

Bruce, D., 165, 174, 193, 195,* 197 Brune, O. H. W'„386

Bryce, J., 390 Building Research, 80, 81 Bull, J. R.,300 Bunt. E. A., 435,» 500 Burchell, %. J., I ", 13,» 15„17, 50, 64 Bureau of Archaeology, 72, 464 Burger, A. P., 403.* 406 Burger, B. V., thg Burger, J. F., 269 Surges, Edith K., 259 Burkitt, M., 239 Burrell, R. J. EV., 204 Burrow», J,, 16 Bursell, E., 131 Burtt Davy, J.,26, 7» 71,152.240, .41,242,243 Bush, S. E., 65 Bushmen (see San) Butzer, K., 234

Buys, C., 38

Cabora Bassa Dam and PopoverStation, 429 Callaway. H., 217 Campbell, G. D., 211 Campbell, G. G., 83, IOO, 103, 481, 484, 48. Cancer Research. 203-204 Cape Astronomical Association, 71 Cape Biological Society, 466 Cape Bird Club, 466 Cape Departmcm of Nature Conservation, 72, 137, 138, 149, 153, I 6 Cape Forestry Department, 359

Cape,t fonrlrly stfogacine. 62, 70, 4!4, 477 Cape MountainClub, 466 Cape Natural History Society, 466-469 Cape .'vaiuralisr, 466 Cape of Good Hope Association for Exploring Central Africa, 476 Cape ofGood Hope Geological Survey, 70,74, 341. 478 Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve, 149, 155 Cope Photographic Dart ha;us(erung,417, 420 Cape Piscatorial Society, 469 Cape Pomological Society, 73 Cape Society of Civil Engineers, '71 Cape Toxvn Orchestra, 456, 469 Cape Veterinary Department, 165 Carbohydrate Research Unit, 309, 310 Carlgren, O., 90 Carte du Ciel, 418 Carter, B. O., 258, 259 Cartography, 7, 9-11, 44-50, 446 Casalis, J.-E„ 15 Cedara College of Agriculture, 69, '. I, 116, 118, Ceramics Research Lait, 81

Chamber ot' Mines,385,433,436,437,448,471

Champion, H., 100 Chaves, J, 360 Chemical and Metallurgical Society of South Africa, 70

503

Chemistry, 28, 30, 31, 66, 67, 68. 2&3 — 317, 373, 380 Cherry, R. D., 378 Chippindall, Lucy K. A., 252, 272 Cholnoky, B. J., 256 Cilliers, A. C., 380 Cilliers, P., 266 C illiers, %'. A., 378 Citrus and Subtropical Fruit Research Institute, 273 Claasen, M. I., 256 Clarence, N. D., 365„383 Clark, F. L., 289 Clark, G, C.. 113, 456 Clark, J. D., 39 Claudius, H., 45 Clean Land Association of South Africa, 161 Cleaton-Jones, P., 226 Clement, P., 45 Climatology, 388-408 Clusius, C., 41 Cluver. A. !rt., 496 Cnoll, G., 55 Coal, 21. 2~, 55,?4, 34". 4 ",4 8. 429,43',433 Coaton, %. H., 116 Codd. L. E,, 258, 263 Coetse, J., 9, 35 Coetzee. J. A., 256 Coetzec, J. N., 197 Cole, Sir Lorry, 18. 65, 475, 476 Coles, J. D., 179 Colonial Bacteriological Institute, 70, 165 Comminee For Environmental Science, 144 Cornpton, A. H., 366 Compton. R. H., 241, 242, 248, 257 Computer Society of South AFrica, 73 Conchological Society of South Africa,469%70, 489 Connell, hl. E., 259 Connolly, C'. M., 469 Cook, Capt. J., 5, 7, 38 Cook,!rtary A., 241 Cook, Vi. G. %.,437

Cooke, H. B. S., 233

Coordinating Council I'or VatureConservation

in the Cape, 161, 500 Coornhoop 266' Cope, E. D., 322 Coppens, Y., 233 Corbett, J. H., 310 Cornv-allis-Harris. %'., 15, 134 Corrosion Research Unit, 79 Corstorphine, G. S., 324, 341 Cosmic ray research, 366-370 Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). 3, 67, 72. 7S-&5, 100, 144, 155, 182, 192, 194, I96, 199, 202, 203, 204, 218, 45, 256, 260, 293, 300, 305, 309, 314, 343, 359, 363, 380, 381, 384, 426, 436, 449, 451, 453, 455, 489, 491,49" 496, 498,499 Council for the Environment, 153 Council for the Habitat, 159

SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA

Coutts, S., 383 Coventry, J. E. C., 366 Cox, G. W, 395' 398 Craivford, L., 481 Craib, W. H., 194, 195* Cresswell, C. F., 263 Crisbrook, C. H., 320 Crompton, A. %., 63, 335, 336 Cronuright-Schreiner, S. C., 133 Cruythof, P., 3 Cutnming, G., 134, 182 Curson, H. H., 172 Custers, J., 447~ Civaka Agricuhural College, 154

D'Almeida, F., 2 Da Gama, Vasco, I

Dale. L, 465,477 Danckert, J., 3 Danysz, T., 166

230, 231, 234, 236, 237, 238 DarN in, Charles, 17, 2ZI, 2Z7, 228,462 Daspoort Veterinary Laboratory, 167. 168 Davidson, C. F., 29 Davies, D., 83, 99, 100, 103 Davis, D. H. S., 115, 117, Z04 Day, J. H. O. 95 101 ~ 102 103 105. 106, 455, 469, 491 Deacon, G., 88 Dean, G., 204 De Beer, J. F., 369 Dc Beer, Parnela, 226 De Beers Consolidated Mines, 393. 446, 447, 448, 453 Dc Bruvn, J. A., 263 Dc Bruin, M., 228, 229 De Castro, D. J., 357 Dcfant, A., 88 Defence Research, 81-82 Degrandprc, L, 51, 52 De Kock, G., 182 De Kok, R. P., 461 De Kok, %., 83 Delf, E. M., 199 Dc I'Isle, G., 45-47 Dc Mcillon, B., I I I, 115, 117, 199 De Vlist, J. A. U., 11, I"., 38 Dcndy„A., 89 Denisori, F., 383

Dcnkhaus, H. G., 434, 436 Dental Association of South Africa, 72 Department of Agricultural Credit and Land Tenure, 153, 154 Department of Agricultural Tcchnical Scrvicics 73, 5, 118, 151, 15=,267,270. Z75, 276, 277, 280, 493, 495 Department of Agriculture, 88, 89, 265, 267, 271, 272, 277, 389, 494, 495 Department of Bantu A dministration and Deve!oprnent, 154

Department of Forestry, 72, 79, 133, 148, 151, 153 Department of Industries, 153

Department ofIrrigation,79,360,397.399,402 Department of Mines, 329, 343 Departinent of Planning and the Environment, 73, 75, 100, 153, 159, 489 Department of Water AAairs, 139, 153 De Saldanha, A., I De Villiers, F. J.. 291 Dc Villicrs, Hertha,?23, 226, 227, 23i De Vigiers, L. S., 212 De Vore, I., 223 De Vos, Miriam P., 252 De Vos, P. J. G., 369, 380 De tiVaal, H. L, 286, 289, 290,~ 293, 294, 306 De Winter, B., 263 Diamond Research Laboratory, 446 Diamonds, 21, 24, 54„103, 383, 446-448

Dias, Bartholomew, I,53

Dickson, C., 457, 458 Dietrich, G., 88 Dippenaar, B. J., 273 Division of Sca Fisheries Ixee Sea Fisheries Branch) Division of Veterinary Services, 153 Dixie, Ethel M., 258 Dixon, J., 47 Ddhne, J. L., 15 Ddhne Research Station, 269 Dohsc, E. W., 81 Doidgc,Ethel M., 240, 249, Z76, 482 Doke, C. M., 223 Dolos, 448, 449' Dormehl, P. J., 271" Doivdle, E. B, 04, 206, 210, Z12 Draper, D., 341, 471 Dri'.gc, J. F., 24Z Drenncn, M. R., 193, 221 222 ' 226 233 238 Dreives, S. E.. 305 Dreycr, J., 226 "I " 4 38 Drever T F Duerden, J. E., 270 Dunn, E. J., 340, 341 Du Plessis, C., 115 Du Plessis, D. J., 207 Du Plessis, Enid, 49, 59, 262 Du Plessis, S. J.,276 D'Urban, Sir Benjamin, 66 Duthie, Augusta V., 249 Du Toit, A. L., 236, 276, 326, 342, 481. 484 Du Toit, C. A.,95 Du Toit hlalherbc, D. F., 68, 381 Du Toit, P. J., 180, 185, 186 Du Toit, S. J., 369 Dye, A. H., 107 Dyer, H., 447~ Dyer, R. A., 246, 257, 260," 494-495 Eales, L., 200, 204 Eastern Province Literary, Scientific and Medical Society, 64

INDEX

Eastern Province Society of Engineers, 72 Eaton, H. G., 468 Ebdcn, H. A., 477 Ecklon, C. F., 24Z Ecological Institute, 157 Eddie Rubinstein Reserve, 149 Edington, A., 165 Edwards. D., 260 Elder, J., 362

Electricity Supply Comm ission (ESCOM), 28, 30, 31, 428 Electric power generation, 428-432 Electron Microscopy Society of South Africa. 73 Electron Microscopy Lnit, 213 Ellerton-Frey, W'., 389 Ellis, R., 2S9 F.lolf, J, N., 294

Elsdon-Dev;, R., 199 Elsenburg College ol' Agriculture, 69, 70, 72, 118, 267, 268,» 269 Elston, P., 469 Endocrinology, 2IO-211 Engelbrecht, J. P., 307

Engelbrecht. S. A., 405 Engineering. 385, 427%53, 464, 472-473, 500 Enislie, T,, 319 Enslin, P. R., 291,299, 302 Entomological Society of South Africa, 72, 117, 279, 492 II9, 165, 267, Entomology, Z3, 24, .5, 63, 109 — 277, 456, 457, 458, 492 Erasmus, T., 107 Esterhuysen, Elsic, 253 Estuaries, 105 — 108, 144, 153 Ethnography, ~~, 23, 214 — 239 Etosha Game Park, 141 Evans, A. le., I I I Evans, C. T. R., 381 Evans„D. S., 426 Ewer, D. tV., 131 Experimental Biology Group, 490 Exton, H., 4? I

Fairbairn, J., 66, 415, 475 Fairbrother, J. A. V., 383 Fallows, F.,414, 4 5, 476 Faure, J. C., 113, 115, Z77 Feder, R,, 378 Fejer, J. A., 364» Fertilizer Society of South Africa, 275 Field, J. G., 103, 104 Finlay, W. H.,481 Finsen, W. S.,420,421 Fischcr, A., 380 Fish, 40, 41, 54, 83, 86, 88, 100, 106, 107, 134, 142, 143, 144, 153, 154, 4(i9 Fisheries Development Corporation (FISCOR), 72, 99, 100 Fishing Industries Research Institute(FIRI),72, 85, 312, 313 Fish oils, 310-312

505

Fitzpatrick, P., 157, 466 FitzSimons, F. tiV., 237

FitzSimons, Vivian, 24. Flanagan, G, 56 Fioro Copensis, 7, 248. 262. 458, 477 Fio»eri)tg Pinnrs nf Snnrh Africn, 243 Food Research Institute,202 Forbes, A. F. 1., 461 Forbes, Helena M. L, 51 Forbcw, V. S., 42, 43, 490 Forbush, S. E., 367 Ford, G.. 462 Forestry, 23, 24, 66. 13» 133, 148, 156, 465 Forsaer, J. R., 38 Forsyth, A., 451 Fossils (see Palaeontology) Fourcadc, H. G., 271,» 359, 446, 479. 480» Fourie, P. J..l., 17" 204 Fox, F. W., 199, 200 Frahn, W. E.. 380 Franks, Millicent, 258

Freeman, P., I I I

French, C, 468 Frere, Gov. Sir Henry Bar(le, frontispiece,» 214, 217, 218, 443, 4. 4 4. 7. 481, 48Z Frey, K., 473 Freycinet, P., 357 Fricke, A.. 104' Fridcrici, J. C., 49, 50 Fritsch, G., 219

Fruit Research Station (Institute), 273, 313 Fuel Research Institute, 72. 74 Fuggle, R. F., 156 Fuller, C., 116 Furstenberg, J. P.. 107

Gabbema, A., 3, 44 Galfner, G,, 293 Gale, G. WV., 246 Galloway, A., 220,» ZZI, 223 Galpin, E., 256 Galton, F., 50, 216, 217 Gamble, J. G., 391, 4!7, 481 Gane, P. G., 450 Gaskell, J., 366 Garbers, C.. 291, 304 Gear, H. S., 223 Gear, J, H., 193, 198,» 223 Geochronology, 386-387 Geographical Society of South Africa, 71, 490, 499 Geography. 2= 17, 26, 68. 476, 490. 491 GeologicalMuseum, Johannesburg, 70 Geological Society ot South Africa, 2"., 70. 339, 340, 341, 465, 471 Geological Survey of South Africa, 71, 74, 103, 229, 328, 329, 341, 342, 361,497 Geology, I I, I &22, 28, 29, 50-54, 66, ! 4, 103, 318, 319, 3Ã, 336, 337, 339= 356, 385, 386, 433, 434, 473, 476, 478 Geomagnetism, 357 — 362, 388 Gervais, A., 3'0

506

БСІ ЕИТІ ГІ С ЕХОЕАУ01І І І І Х БОІ І ТН АГІ І І СА

Оева11всйаГІ Гйг %і мепзсйаГІісЬ І е Епі аі сі ~8, , 473 Оезз, Г.,! 11 Оечаг ь, %... 212 ОІ ЬЬ, А. 3., 456 Оі Ькоп, А. Т., 362 СІ Ьзоп, Зале!, 259 СІ І сЬпя, 3. 13. Г., 67, 83, 89,' 90, 97, 142,481 ОІ І ея, Е.К., 470 Оі і ю, Ы. С.,470 Оі І ез, К. О. Г., 312 Оі Н, І З.. 47, 389, 4!5-418, 416, 419, 420, 422, 442, 443, 477, 430, 48 І , 484 Оі Н, 1., 63, 466,469 ОІ І І І пап, 3., 200, 205 Ої і і гпап,Т., 200, 205 1 ,. .,64 ОІ апчі 11е, Магу, 64 СІ едЬі І І3. , А., 363, 384 О1еп СоПе8е оГ А8гі сиІ І иге,69, 71, 118, 267 ,., 206, 360 Со1д, 23, 29, 88, 385, 428, 433, 434, 450 8,433,434-437. 450 ОоЫеп ОаЇ е Ні 8ЬІ апдь РагЕ, 137 Сопдег , І 1., 168, 176 Оооді еі .В. 1 .. 378 ~ , . 3. .,239,464,481,484, 486 Сооьеп, А., 312 , .3.,5,7,9,10,17,35,36,38,43,48, 49,57,» 58 Оог доп-Сг ау, КаІ ЬІ ееп, 253 Оо~чег , БІ е11а, 2'9 Ог аЬапмг овп Оео1о8і са1Босі агу, 471 Сг апІ , %. 1 ., 439, 448 Ог аяі апдБосі егуоГ БоиІ Ь Аі гі са, 279 Ог еу СоПе8е, Ві оеІ пГопгеі п, 67, 70, 221, 238, 383 Ог ау, С., 388 Ог і пді ау,Е. І ~., 360, 378 Сппді еу, 3., 107 Ог оЬЬеІ ааг, С. Б., 226 Сг оЬЬеі ааг, Л., 252. 294 Сг оЬЬеі ааг, Р. Н., 81 Сг оЬІ ег, Р. О. %., 135 Сг оепа~чоид,Р. %. С., 314 Сг ооєГопсеі п СоПе8е оГ А8гі сиПиге, 69, 71, 267 Сг оиапЬ, С., 331 Сг оа5і iорГ, .І . Г. %,, 278 Ог ипоiч, А., 87 Сг иьі дп, ~і ., 227 Сиейе, К., 378 Сиі і і аггпопд, Агпу 3., 252 Сипдг у, Р. О., 381 , .248,249, 252 СиІ Ьпе, Г., 477 СиІ Ьгі е,1.оиі аа,249 Оуг оІ ЬеодоІ і і е,444, 445» Наа8пег , А. К., 157 НаеІ пагоі о8у, 208 , 1 . .,55,66,67, 375, 477

Наі 8. 13. А., 179, 18І Наі паз, С. С., 114 Наі ез, А. 1., 385 НаН, А. 1, 341 НаП, А, ч'., 259,500 НаНеу, Е., 412 НаПі дау, Е. С., 362, 366, 367,» 381 НаІ І п, 3., 422 Напьеп, Н. 3., 128 Напаеп 3 13 І 200 202 211) 223 Наг депЬег8, С. Р., 114 Наг ду, Г., 117 Наг Гогд, Н., 454, 455 Наг ї п8І оп, 3. Б., 204 Наг репдї п8, Н. С., 226 Наг рег, Б., 307 Наг гі ь, К. Н. Т. Р,, 115, 174 Наг гі ьоп, Л. С., 469 Наг г і юп, Е. К., 258 Наг г ї ьоп, О. О., 23, 207 Наг І Ьоогп, А. М.. 145 8, ., 5,4 1,284 Наг і чі 8, Е. К., 113 Наг чеу, %. Н., 87, 477 8 , .., 63,229, 237. 326, 328, 330, 331, 334, 342, 343,' 481, 497 Напчагдеп, 3., 3 НауІ ей, І З. С., 275 Нааг і 1І і ьеме апд Ог8ап ТгапьрІ апІ І пяі І иі е, 206 Неап І гапьрі апа, 206, 210 Неі пг Н. 3., 223 НеІ е-БЬат, Т., 480 НеПі ег , 3. В., 271" НеІ єпе, С. Е., 233 Непдегьоп, Т., 414 ' , 429, 430» Неппеаьу, Еяпа, 253 Непг і сі , М. С. А., 251 НерЬиг п, С. Л., 116 Неппапп, Р., 5,41 Неппапм Ма 8пег і с ОЬьегчаі огу, 358,* 359, 360, 361, 365, Зб9, 375, 336, 497 , ., 257,» 258, 259 3. ,,66,321,383,409, 414,4 Нег ьсйеі , %.. 414 Наг і лргип8, Е., 423 Назва, А. 3., 111, 113 ,3.,4,41 Неч'ї гг, Г. 3., 450, 451, 498 Неьі г і , 3., 64, 122, 126, 127, 128 Неу, 13., 156, 492 Нау, 3. О., 378 Неудог п,А. Е. Г., 100 Ні 88ї пв, А., 324 Ні 88і пюп, .І ., 204, 205 Н188а, А. 3., 362 ННІ , В., 107 НІ П, Г. О.,434 Ні йі агд, 01ї че, 253

Ні чі , Б., 121

Ні аі опс Мопигпепй Соипсі 1, ! 55, 1

507 Hluhluvve Reserve, 116, 139, 176 Hodgcs, D. B., 383 Hoffenbcrg, R., 20, 210 Hoffman, A. C., 221. 238 Hogben, L., 90, 92, 193, 460 Holden, F., 423 Holliday, R. A.„ 131 Holincs, E. M., 87

Holzopfel, C. VY., 30» Hop, H. > 9,4!

Hopkins, C. H. E., I I I Horn, D. H. S., 288 Horticuhure, 273= 274 Horticultural Research institute> 273,274, 302 Hottentots (see Khoikhoi) Hough, S. S., 418, 480, 481 Houtinan, P., 35 • Hovvard, A. G.> 392, 398 Hov ard, C. W., 114

Howell, F, C.. 232

Howell, P, G.> 174, 179 Hughes. A. R., 23., 234 Hughes, G., 158 Huline, Maim, 259 Human Sciences Research Council, 73, 7», 81 Hutne, D.. 15,462

Humley, H. E., 381 Hutcheor,. D.. 16» Hutchins, D. E.> 2> t» Hutcbinson, J.. 46, 247 Huxley, T, H,, 321 Hydraulics Research Unit, 449, 45.

Ichthyology (see Fish> Immelman, hi. N., 383 Immuno logy,196, 208 Industrial Development Corporation, 88 inland Fisheries Division ol' the Cape, 72, 137. 492 Innts, R. T. A.> 390, 391, 396, 398, 420, 421» insects I tee Entomology) Inskecp, R. R.. 239 institute for Biostatistics, 213 Institute for Freshwater Studies, 157 I nstitute for Sevvage Purification, 79 Institute for the Study of hian in Africa, i3 institute of Crops and Pastures, 275, 281 international Association for VYater Pollution, 80 international Cotnmit tec on Large Dams (ICOLD), 4»3 International Geophysical Year, 362, 364, 365, 369. 406, 498 International Polar Year, 359, 400, 402 I nterpro v incial Technica ICommit tee for Nature Conservation, 155 Ionospheric re~eh, 362-365 Iron and Steel Corporation (ISCOR), 289 Iron overload (in man), 205 Irving, J, T, 12 Isaac, E., 92 lsaacson, L., 210, 212

Jackson, C., 422 Jackson, J., 418, 481 Jackson, S. P., 398, 499 Jackson, tV. P. L., 210, 211 Jacobson, A., 226 Jacot-Guiilarmod, C.. 64, 113 James, R. %., 293, 366, 378, 379,» 481 Jansc, A. J,, 111 Jansen, B, C., 493 Janssens, J. SY., I I Jarrett, A. H., 426 Jcffcrics, H., 470

Jenner, A,, 469 Jeppe, Barbara, 2»9 Jessop, J. P., 262 Joint Council of Scientific Societies, 73, 263, 484 Jolly, K., 23? Jolly, %„193, 481 Jones, H. S., 359, 415, 418, 419. 422, 499 Jones, J., 49, 50 Jones N. 239 Jones, T. R., 0, 22 Jonkershock Fish Hatchery, 14., 143,» 144, 492 Jordcn, T. J. %.,289 Joubert, D, M., 270, 280, 495 Joubert, J. A., 476 Joubert, S. hf., 204, 212 Joubert, T. G. Ia G., 273 Jotir!tol of Sotu): Af iico» Botany, 242

Jubb, R. A.,99, 151 Junod, H,, 215 Juritz, F. C., 271," 284 Juritz, J. %. F., 369 Kalahari Getntbok National Park, 135 Kalk, Margaret, 96 Kannemeyer, D. R., 324 Karoo Garden, Matjiesfontein. 152 Karrovsky, M. L., 310 Karsten, M. C. • 43 Kauri, H., 129 Keen, E. X., 212 Keen, J. A., 2Z6 Kcith, A., 221 Kekale, %., 217 Keller, K.. 310 Keller, P., 210, 211 Kemp, J. C. G., 245» Kencb, J. E., 21. Kennelly, D. H., 469 Kenslev, B, F,, 95, 97 Keppler, H. H., 298 Kerr, Leila, 469. 470' Keyer, P. D., 412 Khoikhoi (Hottcntots),, 3, 4, 14, 15, 33, 50, Z15, ZI 6, 217, 219, 221, 223, 226, 227, 286, 462 Kidd, Mary hi., 259 Killick, D. J. B., 254, 260 Kinberg, J, G. H., 87 Kinman, T. D., 424

SCIENTIFIC EhDEAVOUR IK SOUTH AFRICA

King, J. A., 40-',403» Kingweil, D. G., 293 Kipps, A,, 197, 38» Kirby, P. R., 2H Kirsch, R„202 Kisker, H., 473 Kilching, B., Z38 Kitching, C. J., 334 K itching, J. W., 234,238, 334,335,» 460 Klesser, Patricia, 252 Kloppers, P. J., 202 Knox-Shaw, H., 423 Koch, C. L., 113, 121 Koch, H., 24 Koch, R., 165, 176 Koeberg Nuclear Power Station, 429 Koepper, B. H., 309 Kohl-Lsrsen, L., 233 Kolb, P., 10, 33, 34, 36=41, 44, 412 Kolbe, F, F. H., Z79 Kbnig, P. J., 370 Kotze, J. J., 269 Kramann, R., 29 Krarner, S., 204 Krauss, F., 87 Kreft, H. H. G.,473 Kriel, J. P., 453 Kroniein, J. G,, 217 Kropmsn, M., 295 Kruger National Park, 70, 135, 145, 159, 183 Kruger, Pres. Paul, 69, 135, 166, 443, 461 Kdtzing, F., 87 Kynaston, H., 342 La Cailie, AbbeIt. L. de, 4, 33,40, 45, 48, 357, 388, 412&14 «413.» 444, 484

La Guerre, J. de, 34 Laing, G. D., 223 Laing, Jean, 223 Laing„M., 293 Lamont-Hussey Astronomical Observatory,42> Lamoral, B., 122, 123, 126, 128 Laneridee, V., 312 Lansdell, Kalhleen, 258 Lategan, A. W., 310

Lateran, P.N., 74

Let imer, Courtenay, 97, 98 Lstrobe, C, J., 54 Latsky, J. M., 00 Laubscher, F. X., 275 Lauf, G. B., 444,445,' 446 Laurence, Gertrude, 252 Lavvrence, D. A., 177, 183 Lavvrence, R, F., 65, I ~~, 125,» 127, 128, 129, 131, 468, 492

Lsyard, 61, 63 Leach, L., 258 Leakey, L. S. B., 229,» 233, 234 Leather Industriet Research Institute, 72, 85, 305 Lee, R. B., 223, 227 Le Ftas Nortier, P., 462

Legau, C. E,, 243 Le Gros Clark, %. E., 22! Lehfeldt, R. A., 381 Leighton, Frances M., 253 Leisegang, E. C., 291, 296 Lemrncr, R. H.. 384 Lepfetn, H. D., 121, 278, 397 Le Riche, H., 231 Leslie, T. N., 391 Lessert, R., 122 Letty, Cythna, 25~ 259

Le Vaillant, F., 7, 10, 33, 35, 39, 43, 50, 51, 164 Levine, E., 227 Levy, P. R., 212 Levyns, Margaret R., 249. 250,» 458, 481 Le«vis, A. D., 359, 360, 39. Lewis,Gwendoline J.,252 Le«vis, Joyce, 242 Le«vis, O. A. M., 263 Liaison Committee for Professional Societies Concerned w!th Agriculture, 279 Lichtenstein, M. H. K., 11, 12, 35, 44. 50, 52, 54 Limnological Society of Southern Africa, 73, 118 Linnaeus (Carl von Linng), 5, 41, 86, 110, IZI Lister, F. S., 193, 196,481 Liver perfusion, 207. 208 Liversidge, R., 466 Livingstone, D., 164, 197, 414 Logetnan, W. H., 383 Logeman, W. S., 482 Logic, H. J., 381 Loman, H., 128 Lombard, S. A., 137 Londt, T. J., 113 Loubser, J. H. N.,383 Lounsbury, C. P., A, 25,' 114, 165, 16'? Louw, J. H., 194, 206, 09* Louw, J. T., 221 Louw, T. A., 114 Lowe, H., 462 Liitjehsrms W. J. z«» Zt6 481 hIacCrone, I. D., 223 hIaclear, T., 359, 414,41«, 444 Mscnae, tV., 96 MacOwan, P., 245, 2! I, 479.» 481 MacVicar, N., 200 Maglio, V., 233 Magnetic Observatories, 360, 361 Magnetic Observatory, Hermanus (see Hermsnus Magnetic Observatory) Xtaingard, L. F., 223 Maison Vcrreaux, 60 Melan, A. F., 208 Melan, B. D., 239 Melan, D. F., 98, 99 Melan, D. J., 385, 450 Malaria, 31, 199 Malherbe, E. G., Z91 Malherbe, I. de V., 2'?6 Malherbe, W. E., 380

Mally, C. W., 114 Mammal-like reptiles, 325 — 336, 460 Mainmal Research Unit, 156. 495 Mammals, 16, 33-38, 133 — 148, 174-184, 320, 325 Mann, R. J., 389 81anton, 8 M., 130, 131

Manyeleti Game Reserve, 154, 158 Marais, C., 286, 294 Marais, E., 461 Marais, J, S., 274 Mara Research Station, 269 Marchand, J., 89 Marcus, T., 115 Margaretha Mes Institute, 252 Marine BioloI0'. 40, 67, 86-108, 455, 4$9, 491 Marks, I. N., 207 Marloth, R., 126, 243, 245, 256, 258, 2$4, 285,~ 304, 3$0, 478, 481, 4$2 Marshall, L., 223 Martin, E., 288 Martin, J., 466 Mason, C., 47 Mason, Hilda, 259 Mason, J. H., 172, 179 Masson, F. 5-7, 9, 38 39 42 43 53 Mathematics,66, 68, 79, 117,170,374. 380,381, 383, 3$4,418,446, 451, 45i 460 Mauch, K. G., 21 Mauve, Amelia, 242, 252 Mavrogordato, A., 203 Maxwell, J., 412 Maynard, G. D., 193 May's Vinegar Factory, 290 McClean, A. P D., 254,273 McClean, F., 420 McDowell, J. J. H.. 379 McFadden, P.. 234 Mclntosh, B. M., 177 Mclntyre, C., 173 McLachlan, A., 107 McLeod, J.,466 Medicine, 43, 44, 66, 69, 74, 85, 192-213, 227, 372, 493, 494 Meester, J. A. J., 156 Meiring, A. J. D., 221 h1entzel, 0. F., 10, 33, 38, 41-43 Meredith, D., 272 Merrifield, E. M., 449, 450 Merriman, J. X., 341, 477 Merskey, C., 208 M es, Margaretha G., 251, 252 hf etcalfe, C., 439

M eteorologi calCommission, 70, 389,390,391, 392, 396, 397 Meteorological Coinmittee. 70, 3$8 Meteorology, 28, 56-58, 372, ~ , 460 Metbuen, H., 61 Mettam, R. W. M., 182 Metz, J.„203, 208 Meyer, F., 74 Meyer, K. F., 168

Meyer, M. A., 369 Microbiologv Research Unit, 79 Midgley, D. C.,452, 453 Millard, Naomi A. H., 106 Millen, H., 46 Miller, P. C., 331 Miners Medical Bureau, 203 Miners' phthisis. 203 Mining, 21,23,28. 29, 66, 68, 342, 383, 384, 385, 428, 433-437, 444, 448, 450 Mitchell, D. T., 168 Modlin, M., 210

Modderfontein Dy namite Factory, 391

Moflat, R., I&16 Mohr, C. B. 0., 369 Molengraaff, G. A. F., 341 Molteno, C. J., 288, 310 Mgnnig, H. O., 155 Montagu, J., 18 Moore, W., 114 Moorrees, A., 319 Moraai, H., 369 Morgans, J. F. C., 100, 102, 455 Morrison, J. T., 360, 378, 380 Moseley, H. N., 87, 130, 131 Mossop, E. E., 44 Mountain Club of South Africa, 161 Mountain Zebra National Park, 135, 15$, 161 Mouton, W. L,380 Muir, J., 256, 478, 481 Muller, W., 3 Munro, H. K., Ill Murray, J. F., 193, I98,'i 208 Museums Assoc. ation of South Africa, 61, 72, 496 Myburch, B., 210

Myburgh, A. C., 277 Myburgh, J. A., 207 Mycology, 240, 249, 256, 262, 276 Nabarro, F. R. N., 381, 383 Nachenius, R, J„312 Namib Desert Park, 141, 156 Namib Desert Research Station, 156 Xamfb and Meei, 473

Napier, G., 66 Napier, J. R., 234 Nassimbeni, R. L., 293 Natal Cane By-products, 288, 289 Natal Institute of Enaineers, 71

Natal Museum, 65, 71, 116, 118, 492 Natal Observatory, 389 Natal Parks Board, 140 Natal Society, 65, 70 Natal Tanning Extract Co., 305 National Bird Ringing Unit, 155 National Botanic Gardens, Kirstenbosch, 71, 152, 240, 241, 242, 308, 470, 471, 492 National Building Research Institute, 78 National Cheinical Products, 288 National Chemical Research Laboratory, 72,7$ 79, 81, 298, 3ti0, 302, 304, 310, 311, 313

510

SCIEIsTIFIC Els,DEAVOLtR LX SOUTH AFRICA

National Committee for Nature Conservation, 73, 155 National Defence Research Institute, 82 National Electrical Engineering Research Institute, 79 National Herbarium, 71, 72, 152, 242, 243, 245, 252, 262, 264 National Institute for Metallurgy, 73, 439 National Institute for Telecommunications and Ionospheric Research, 362, 387 National Institute for Water Research, 73, 79, 100 National Institute of Virology, 213 National Mechanical Engmeering Research Institute, 79, 436 tNational Monuments Council, 155, 484 National Museum, Bloemfontein, 65, 70, 221, 324, 328, 334, 335 N ational Museum, Windhoek, 65, 72 National Nuclear Research Centre, 438 National Nutrition Research Institute, 73, 79, 85, KO, 202 National Parks Board, 72, 137, 148, 149, 152, 155, 158 National Personnel Research Institute, 78, 81 National Petroleum Refiners, 432 National Physical Research Laboratory, 72, 78, 79, 81, 82, 386 — 387, 491 National Prognunme for Environmental Sciences, 155 National Research Institute for Mathematicai Sciences, 79 National Research Institute for Occupational Diseases, 74, 85, 203

National Research Institute for Oceanology, 73, 408

National Veld Trust, 72, 159 National Zoological Gardens, 157 Natural Products Research Unit, 313, 496 Nature Conservation, 132= 163, 492 Naude, S. h1., 78,» 84,» 194, 366, 380, 386, 481, 491 Ndumu Game Reserve, 148 Neethling, J, H., 274 Neitz, W. O., 176, 177, 179, 182 Nel, L. T., 341 Nesvbery, E., 481, 484, 485» Nesviands, G., 122, 123, 128 Nicoiaysen, L. O., 385 Niehaus, C. J. G., 272 Niven, Cecily J. P. Mackie, 157, 466, 467» Niven, J. P. Mackie, 466, 467» Noble, R., 66, 375 Nuclear Physics Research Unit, 381 Nunn, J. R., 288, 291, 309 Nurse, G. T., 223, 226, 227 Nutrition (animal), 181-182 Nutrition (human), 199-203

Nutritional Diseases Research I;nit, 85 Oberholzer, P. C. J., 273 Oakley, H. W., 63, 323

Oakley, K. P., 239 Oceanographic Research Institute, Durban, 100, 108 Oceanography, 67, 82~, 87, 88, 100, 10", 103, 108, 372, 408, 491 Odendaal, H., 138 Oenologicaland Viticultural Research institute, 272 Genie, G., 204 Ogg, A., 359, 360, 361, 366, 375, 376,» 378, 381, 383, 384, 481 Oldenland, H. B., 5, 41, 284 Oldroyd, H., lll Olilf, W., 100, 455 Oliphant, A., 476 Oliver, E. G. H., 258, 262 Olivier, H., 432

Orner-Cooper, Joseph, 455-456 Orner-Cooper, Joyce, 113

Onderstepoort Veterinary Research Institute, 69, 71, 114, I 18, 168, 169,' 170, 176-185, I 87, 188, 193, 196, 204,251, 284, 286, 293, 303,493 Oordt, H. F., 135 Oosthuizen, M. J., 116 Oosthuysen, S. F., 85, 194, 198» Oppenheimer, E., 446 Oppenheimer, H., 446 O.F.S. Botanical Gardens, 152 O.F.S. Department of Nature Conservation, 139 Orchard, E R., 276 0"Rell, M., 132 Orenstein, A. J., 193, 195,» 199, 448 Orford, Margaret, 223 Organ transplantation, 206, 207 Ornithology (see Birdsl Orpen, J. IVI., 322 Osterhofl; D. R., 269 Ostrich, The,465

Osven, R., 321, 322, 340

Page, Mary M., 258 Paine, H. H., 381 Paint Industries Research Institute, 85 Pa?aeoaro?ogia africaaa,334 Palacontology, 20, 54, 55, 63, 227 239, 252, 256, 3Ig — 338, 460, 496 Palmer, Eve, 258 Papcnfuss, G., 86, 92, 93, 95 Pappe, C. W. L., 242, 284 Paraskevopoulos, J. S., 422 Park-Ross, G. A., 199 Parolis, H., 309 Parrish, I. R., 313 Partridge, T. C., 233, 234 Paterson, W., 7, 9, 10, 43, 54 Paton, A., 453 Pearson, H. H. W., 152, 240, 249 Peckham, E. G., 122 Peckham, G. W., 122 Peers, B., 468 Pegler, Alice, 256 Pennam, T., 38

INDEX

Pennintpon, K. M., 111 Penrith, M., 95 Penzhorn, K. E. W., 279 Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, 73, 108, 157, 466 Perez. S. M., 380 P/ ringuey, L. A., 62,» 63, 110, I I 1, 126, 219, 221, 480, 481 Peripatus, I2&I3I Perold, A, I., 272 Perold, G. W., 288, 289, 308 Peters, W., 87 Pettey, F. W., 114

Phenanthrenes, 308 Pheromones, 3I3-3I4 Phillipst E. P., 240, 243, 245, 248, 256, 258 Phillips~ J. F. V., 253. Phillips, W. E., 450, 451 Philosophical Society (see South African Philosophical Society) Physics, 66, 68, 357-387, 498, 499

Pott, Reino L., 242, 248, 252 Potter, P., 3, 44 Potts, G., 243

Powell, S. J., 199 Pregnancy tests. 92, 193 — 194 Pretorius, A., 134 Price, B., 334, 428 Prmgle J. A. 65 457 Pringle, T., 475 Prins, A. J., 111 Prosser, W., 218 Protozoa, 174-177, 197, 199, 4S6 Protsch, R., 237 Pterocarpanoids, 307 — 308

Public Library and Museum, Cape Town, 63 Purcell, Anna, 122 Purcell, W. F., 121, 122, 126, 127, 128, 131 Purchase, F. H., 305 Purchase, I. H. F., 203 Purves, L R., 212 Putterill, A. W., 324, 328

Physiologi cal and Biochemical Society of

Pycratt, W. P., 237

Southern Africa, 73 Phyrop/0/acrr'ra, 279

Queenstown Nature Reserve, 155 guin, P. J.,273

Pickard-Cambridge, 0 F., 121

Pickstone, H. E. V., 24 Pienaar, U. de V,, 145 Pierce, J. A., 362, 363 PBlans, N. S., 240, 241,» 482 Pimstone, B., 202, 210 Pinhey, E., I I I Pirie, J. H. H., 193 Pitchford, W., 165 Pitman, Norah, 258 Pittard, E., 221 P. K. Ie Roux Dam, 429 Plant protection, 275-277 Plant Protection Research Institute, I I 8, 275 Player, I., 159

Playfair, J., 17

Plummer, F. E., 397, 398 Plumstead, Edna, 252, 253 Pneumoconiosis, 69, 85, 203 Pneumoconiosis Research Institute, 85 Poch, R., 219 Pocock, Mary, 92 Pocock, R. I.. 121, 123., 126 Pole Evans, I, B., 26, 240, 243, 244,» 245,' 246, 248, 249, 251, 253, 254, 276 Poliomyelitis Research Foundation, 74, 197 Pollution Research, 100, 101, 139, 408, 440 Poison, A., 197 Polythene Research Unit, 304 Pomeroy, A., 102, 103 Pomology, 273 Pongola Game Reserve, 70, 13S Porphyria, 204-205 Port Elizabeth Museum, 107, 108, 457 Potchefstroom College of Agriculture, 69, 71, 267, 275 Potchefstroom University, 67, 68, 70, 118, 360, 368, 369, 383, 497, 498

Raab, R. E., 383 Radar, 45~ 1 Radclitfe Astronomical Observatory, 423-424 Railways I,'see South African Raihvays) Rail, G. J. H., 30/ Rand Afrikaans University, 68, 73, 291, 342, 383, 384 Rapson, W. S., 287, 288, 291, 292,» 308, 310, 311, 436, 481 Rath, J., 217 Raubenheimer, B. C., 370 Rautenbach, W. L., 380 Rawson, F., 392 Reid, J., 212 Reid, W., 461 Reinhold, T., 87 Reinecke, O. S. H., 24 Reitz, D., 137 Reitz, President F. W., 65 Rennie, J. V, L., 414, 468 Reptiles, 33, 133, 150, 151, 468 Research Grant Board, 71, 74 Reuning, H., 223 Reynders, S., 126 Reynolds, G. W., 256, 257 Rhem, S., 302 Rhenius, Governor, 135 Rhodes, Cecil John, 147, 439 Rhodes University, 63, 67, 70,? I, 83, 85, 92,93, 97, I 18, 121, 123, 157, 243, 252, 291, 293, 313, 362, 363, 375, 383, 384, 455, 456, 489, 491, 492, 497, 498, 500 Rice, Elsie G., 259 Richards,W., 4 70 Richardson, Margaret F., 295 Rightmire, G. P., 226, 237, 238 R imington, C. R.,204, 286, 293, 302, 303

ЬСiКМПНС

ИМОЕАУО1і К П І БО))ТН ЛГК)СА

Кі пд), М. М., 294 Кі р)еу, 1., В., 114, 116 КЬей, )3. Е. А., 294, 300, 302, 304 КоасЬ, Ю. А., 204 8,17-18,472-473 КоЬег)з, А. %. • 460 КоЬег)ь,, М., 450 КоЬі пзоп, Е. М., 170, 180 ,. .,232,' 235 КоЬі пзоп, К. Е., 439 Кос)І І песЬапі сз, 433-437 КоеІ єег, С. Г., 122, !28 8 ,, %'.,326,339,340,341,342,481,482 КопІ ег, А. Б., 331 Копдец)еі Ві п) Бапс)цагу, 149 Козе, Е. Г., 204 Козе, %., 150,» 151, 468 ,.,2)2 Козз, С. К., 271» , 3.., 248, 280 Коззі )аг, К. А., 423 Коцг )се, 3. Р., 242, 308 , ,3. .,79,380,386,434, 435,» 439 Коцх, В. С., 305 Коцх, І .. І ., 269 , 3. » ',,280 Коуа) ОЬзаг~а)огу, Саре Товп, 60, 70, 359, 388, 389, 390, 414=419, 420, 422, 424, 426 Коуа1 БосІ е)у оГ Боц)Ь АГгі са,70, 71, 1 І 2, 161, 214, 229, 236, 256, 259, 360, 376, 4! 5, 418, 465, 474 =487, 489, 490, 491, 492, 494, 495, 497, 500 ) 8 , . .,340 8 ,. ., 333,334,460 Кцд8е, %'. А. 13., 383 Кцрег ), АЛІ оп, 158

Кусгой. Н. В., 241 БаЬі ОапІ е Казегге, 135 Ба)апюп, М. О. 0 .,437 )) ,. ., 246, 256,458, 471 Бап (Вц4нпеп), 4, 15. 36, 43, 215, 217, 218, 21 9, 221, 223, 227, 237, 286, 462 Бареі )са,Х., 481 Баиег, Р. О., 155 Бацпдегз, А. К., 275 , i ., 139 ,. 3.,202,204 ,207 ,%., 498-499 БєЬапiгоІ Ь, І ., 212 , .,288 ) , .,60

БсЬеарегз, О. І . М., 361 БсЬе)Ге), Н., 441, 442 БсЬс)ре, Е. А. С. І . Е., 258, 262 Бс)і ерегз, О. %. Н., 231 БсЬ)гк, Н., 219 БсЬпІ агда, І .. К., 87 БсЬпцІ І , Ю„406 БсЬІ пі га, Г., 87 ) , .. .,75,76,' 78,245, 291, 362, 366, 378, 384, 448, 450, 451

, .,64,121,243,245," , ., 15 ,.,444 БсЬпг е, У., 211 ,3.,331 БСЬгучаг, І ., 3 БсЬц)І ге, 1, 219 БсЬц)л, К. С. А., 173 ) , . ., 395,» 402, 404 БсЬц)і е-Ргої аз)су, 1, І І 3 БсЬигпасЬег, .І ., 35, 49 , . . .,395,» 399,400 БєЬыаггх, Е. Н. С., 324 БсЬхаг г, Е. Н. 1., 341 БсЬвеі с)І егдІ , Н. С., 251 Бсі еп)і а І юееайо Соипсі ) Гог Бсі еп)і йс апд І пдизггі а) Кезеагс)І ), 77,' 291 Бєі еп)і 6с Соипсі ) ГогАІ гі єа БоиІ Ь оГІ Ьа БаЬага (СБА), 186, 187 БсIаІ ег,%Ч. І , 63, 88, 89 Бєогрі опз, 123-з26 Бсоп, 3. 1 ., )43» Бсоп, К. М. Г., 113 БєцІ чу, 2

,77 89,92,97,99,105, 106, 153, 154 8 ,. .,92,93,254 Бадаі ці с)(, А., 131

) , . ., 323, 324 БеГІ е), Н. С., 202 Беі пег, Г., 219 БаПі є)І , И. Р., 401, 403»

, . ..,381 Бе)оиз, Г. С., 477 Бепі ог, В., 447" Ба)сЬеП, %. А., 87 Бава8а І гаагпІ епІ , 80 БЬарі го, М., 208 БЬарі го, Н. А., 194 БЬаь, 3. С. М., 223, 341, 477 БЬгцЬзаП, Г. С., 219 ,3.,288 БЬцІ І )сжогІ Ь, К. О., 288 ЯеЬег . Н., )68 Бі е8Ггі ед, %. К., 108 Бі Iі созі з,69, 203 Бі І поп, Е., 121, 122, 126, 128 БІ І поп, 1., 378 Бі І попз, К., 93 Бі пІ рзоп, А., 100 БІ І прзо11, С. В., 1 14 Б)І прзоп, Е. Б. Ж., 83 Бі пІ зоп, Г. Ю., 203

8 ,.,223, 237 Бі п8ьi:і дхі , Кезегче, 135 Б)озгадІ , г'., 116 БЕаі Га, Б. Н., 99, 112,» 113, 151,481 БІ І еад, С. У., 466 Яа)ег , Ю. Л. В., 138

)

,. .,423

БIоап, А. »»'.,481 I , .,246

513 Stnalherger, 306 Small, J. G. C., 263 Smallpox, 44 Smit, B., 118 Smit, P. J., 226 Smith, Andrew, 15, 16, 61, 86, 87, 88, 109, 462, 463,» 475, 4i6 Stnith, C. A., 286, 295, 389 Stnith, D., 218 Smith, F. G. A. M., 115 Smith, J. L. B., 83, 97, 98, 99, 106, 314 Smith, Margaret, 98, 99 Smithers, R., 122 Smuts, J. C., 29, 75, 230, 236, 242, 246, 247; 48, 251,481 Smythe. P. M., 202 Societv for the Protection of the Environment, 161 Soga, T., 217 Soil and Irrigation Research Institute, 275

Soil Science, 276 Soil Science Society of Southern Africa, 279 Solid State Physics Research Institute, 73, 381, 383 Solifugae, I26- 128 Solomon, L, 2. • Somerset, Lord Charles, 60, 61, 46, 474, 475 Somerville, sIV., I I Sonder, O., 477 Sorensen, %., 128 South African Air Force, 36S, 398, 401, 498 South African Antarctic Expeditions, 360 South African Antarctic Society, 73 South African Archaeological Society, 72, 36~, 46S South African Association for the Advancetnetn of Science, 71, 214, 236, 240, 250, 253, 254, 262, 264, 284, 390, 391, 394, 456, 484, 489, 491, 492, 495, 496 South African Association of A n alytical Chemists, 71 South African Association of Botanists. 73, 253, 263 South African Association of Engineers and Architects, 70 South Af'rican Association of Food Science and Technology, ! 3 South African Association of Marine Biological Research, 72 South African Astronomical Observatory, Sutherland, 73, 426 South African Biological Society, 71, 495 S.A. Chamber of Mines, 69, 227 South African Chetnical Institute, 71, 7, 293, 496 South AI'rican CoHege, 23, 61, 6S-AI6, 68, 70, 89, 240, 324, 341, 342, 3/5, 377, 458, 464, 465, 475, 476, 482

South African Comn tereial Adverttyer, 475 South AfricanForestry Association, 72 South African Genetics Society, 73

South African Institute for Agricultural Extension, 279

South African Institute for Medical Research, 69, 71, 74, 85, 115. 117, 118, l92-194, 196, 199, 202, 203, 204, 208, 212, 213, 227 South African Institute of Agricultural Engineers, 73, 279 South African Institute of Civil Engineers, 71, 73 4s3 South African Institute of Electrical Engineers, 71 South African Institute of Forestry, 73, 279 South African Institute of Mechanical Engi-

neers, 70, 500 South African institute of Mining and Metallurgy, 73 South Atrican Institute of Physics, 73, 383 South African Institution, 15, 61, 70, 474, 476, 477 South African Invemion Developmettt Corporation, 73, 79 Sottth Afric'att Jottrnal of Agricttltural Science, 279 South African Literary and Scientific Institution, 4.4, 477 South African Literary Society, 474, 475, 477 South African MathematicsSociety, 73 South African Medical Association, 71 South Atrican Medical Research Council, 73, 74, 75, 8, 19', 196, '02, 203, 204, 213, 493 South African Museutn, 15, 611-65, 64,» t0, 86, 88, 89, 90, 91, 95, 109. 110, 118, 121, 126, 131, 328, 3"9. 330, 333, 334, 33S, 340, 462, 463, 469, 476, 477, 480, 492, 496, 497 South African N ational A n tarctic Base tSAIs AEI, 73, 359, 362. 365. 369, 402 South Al'rican National Committee on Oceanographic Research ISANCORI, 73, 82 South Al'rican Nature Foundation, 158 South African Navy. 82, 361 South African Oil from Coal Corporation (SASOL), 289, 343. 427, 432-433 South African Ornithological Society, 72, 159, 465-466 South African Philosophical Society, 70, 214, 217, 377, 391, 392,415, 416,474,477-481,482 South Afric an Qttarterlc Jottrttal, 61, 70, 320, 4 c6

South African Railways, 23, 24, 362, 427, 439-441, 456, 457, 458 South African Regional Council for Conservation and L'tilization of the Soil, 152

South African School of h1inesand Technology. 68, 375 South African Society for Quaternary Research, 73, 236

South African Society of Animal Production, 279 South Al'rican Society of Crop Production, 279 South African Society of Dairy Technology, 2t9 South African Society of Electrical Engineers, 70

Бонг Ь АГг1сап Бос!е1у оГ Р!ап1 Ра1Ьо1о8у апд ! ! 8 ,279 Зонй АГг !сап Бн8аг Атос!а!!оа, 276 Зонй АГг !сапТл8опог пе!г!с Бнг~еу, 359, 405, 444 Бонй АГг !сап Ъе1ег!пагу Амос!а1!оп, 71, 72, 279 Бонг Ь АГг !сап %!1дПГе Мапа8еглелг Атос!а1!оп, 159 Бон!Ьег п 1.,лиген!г!еь 1Чнс!еаг 1пьдйг е, 379, 380 Бон1Ь %евг АГпса Рагйь Воагд. 140, !41 % ! ! 1 ,72,473 Зонг !ег ,3. 1., 39! Браг йь, А. А., 3!2 Браг ппап,А.. 5,7, 8,* 10, 12,33, 35, 36, 39, 50, 51, 55, 56, 1!0 Бр!дел, 119 — 123 ' 8, 1 , 24,67, 70 Б! 1 нс!а Ке.-егуе, 139 Б1айогд, С. Н,, 369 1 ,. 3.,80 ! ! ,. ., 477 Б1ареПы, Е. В.,41 1 ,3. .,4! Б!а!е Суг ппаянв, Рг е!ог!а, 68 Бг ауог!пн~, Я. З.,43 3!сад, К., 210 Згеапь. 3. С., 366 З!ееп~ап-Ме!вел, Е., 100 ! ,. 3.,466 3! ! 8,. ., 226 Б!еийе, Е., 366 ! , ! , 24,67, 70 !,3., 249 ЗгерЬеп, А. М., 291, 309 1 , 1, 249,466 1 , ,95 ! , .., 92,93,94,~ 95, 105 Б!ег пе, М., !72 Б!его!в, 298-380 Б!енаг (, %., 212

3!ечспзоп-НалнПоп,3., !35, !36~ 3!еиаг 1, С. М., 394, 395,~ 397, 481 ! , . ., 284, 286,293.301, 302 Б!еуп, Р. А. 1, 273 [ , .., 305 , ., 219, 223 Бшлркоп, %., 87 ЗгосЬ, М. В, 202 Згос!стал, Б., 167 З1о!гег, Р. Н., 368,~ 369, 497-498 !

, 3.%., 476

Б!ов, С. %., 19, 20,~ 2! . 22, 340 , . ., 425,~426, 499-500 БггасЬал, А. 3., 203, 205 ~ , ., 380, 386 ~ ,. 1.,435"

, .,23

1,3.,89 З1нс! епЬег8, В. К., 65, 111 Б!нсйепЬег8, Рапи!а, 111

Бн8аг МППп8 КеяеагсЬ!пав!!1н1е, 28, 85 Бн!д-АГгйаапае АЕадепне чг %е1епйар еп Кнм, 71, 491, 493,495 БМ, Ъ'., 219 Бнпилегь, К. Р. Н.,64 8 ,206-208 !8,4, 10,!6,44—50,442-446, 479 Бнйег !апд, Р. С., 19,340 Б оп, !3. А.,291,3!1,313 ЗнВоп, 3. К., 389, 393 Зн11оп, %. О.,452 ~~ . 200 ' ,.,226 Бжаперое1, О. Н., 111 ! , ! ., 288, 310 ЗвеПеп8геЬе1,Х. Н., 199

Бг епдге1, М. Е., 363 ТаЫе Монп~а!п Ргеиегча!!оп Воагд, 155 ТасЬаг д, О., 44, 5! Та!Ьо1, %. 3., 30,» 481,490 Та1Ьо!, Аппа Маг !е, 490

. , 60 !~ ,3.3.,398,403,' 406,407 Тау1ог, 3. 3., 116 ! ! ~ ! , 363. 4«1, 498 ~ ,79, 444 ,3..207 ,300-302 ,. 13..423.424 ТЬаа1, О. Мс С., 23, 2! 5 ТЬеПег А. 24 25 69 164-$78 !84 185 196 243, 251, 265, 269е 284, .94, 460,481 ,3.3.,276 ТЬег гпа! ~рг!п8а, 55 ТЬодау, О., 241 ТЬол~, С., 3!9, 320 ТЬояаь. А, О., 180 , ., 15 ТЬог лрьоп, Маг у, 249 ТЬопьол, %., 380 8, .., 5, 6,7,9, 10, 12, 17,33,38, И-44, 52-54, 56, 86, 110 ТЬог Ьу, 3., 45! Тип Ьег КеьеагсЬ ~Лй, 8! 1 ! , 275, 276, 28! 494 Топйпьоп, Р. К., 278 Тоо! е, Р., 116 ТооЕе, %. Н., 214 Т, В . О. , 365 Тох!со1о8у,184 Тог г . М. К., 365 Тг альчаа1 В!о!о8!са1 Зос!е1у, 71 Тг алъчаа! Сапм Рг о!есбоп Бос!ец, 71 Тг апаааа! ОЬ~егчагогу, 71 Тг алаеаа! Мед!са1 Бос!е!у, 70 Тг апьчаа1 Мменг п, 65, 71, 113, 118, 126, 156, 231, 232, 234, 242,248,252, 324, 326, 328, 334

INDEX

Transvaal feature Conservation Department 7', 137 Transvaal Technical Institute, 68, • I,!80 Transvaal L niversity College, 68, 71, 184, 268. 381 Trevor Jones, R., 231 Trigardt. Louis, 174 Trigonometrie Survey Hc e South A f r ican Trignnometric Survey j Trimen. R., 63. 110, I II, 456. 457,* 477, 478. 481 Troughtnn, S. C.. 54 Trustvell. A. S.. ~23 Truter. J., 65. 475 Trutcr. P. J.. II. 14 Tsitsikama Coastal Park, 137 Tucker, R. IV. F., 122 Tugela-Vaal Pumped Storage Scheme, 429,431, Tuiba«h. Ryk, 5, 135 Tunnel rcsearch, 436, 440, 444 Turner, G. A., 219 Turton. %. H., 90 Tysnn, P. D., 400, 401 Tyson, IV.. 87 Tyson, A'. J. 2.1'

Univer ity of the Orange Free State, 67, 70, 71. 157, '1, 24, 256, 268, 294, 305, 30"„ 383, 4.6. 460 University of the VVestern Cape. 73, 384 Uni versity nf thc VVitvvalersrand, 68. 72, 78, 193,

223. 226, 227, 231, 233, 237, 259, 263. 308, 334, 362, !66, 381, 384. 385, 401„ 4", 444, 4%,451,452, 464, 494. 495, 497, 498, 499, 500 f,'rano>te!ria. 412 Uranium enrichrnent 29, 437-439 Uvarov, B. P., 115 Vaccine Institute, Cape Tovvn, 70, 196 Valentyn, F. H. H., 10, 33, 288 Van der Bos, tV. H., 420, 421,' 423

Van den Er:de, M., 195." 197 Van der Byl, P. A., 2!6 Van der Byl, W., 3 5 'Van der Horst, C. J., 96 Van der Lineen, J. S., 381, 382' Van der Merv;e, C. R.. 276

Van der Merk. J. H., 380, 381 V an der Plank J E ' 5 4 Van der Riet, B. de St, J., 284, 300, 304 Van der Riet V'oclley, R.. 426

Ulyett, G. C., 117 Umfolnzi Nature Reserve, 139. 149, 177

U mtantvunafeature Reserve, 148

Union Astrnnomical Observatnry. 71,415. 420. 421.*4&. 4 6 Union Meteorological Olhce, 71 Ltniversity College of Johannesburg, 6R, 72 University oH. ape Tovvn, 67-68, 70. 71, 82, 83. 85, 89, 9., 96. 101, 102, 103, 156. 19., 193, 194. 19 (, 200. 204, 206, 207. 208. 210, 212. 2sg 262 ~6t 2 8 2 8 8 , 291. 93, 309, 310. 312, 358,» 359, 360, 366, 367, 369, 375, 376. 37t. 379, 380, 386, 425. 4N. 455, 456, 458, 460. 464, 466, 469, 480 481. A', 485, 489, 490, 491, 492, 493, 494 496, rt97. 498, 499, 500 University of Fort Harc, • I. 268 University nf b,ataI, 71, 85, 100, 118, 131, 199, 204, 08, 210, 211, 212. 213. 24(, 251. 53, 259, 268, 8 , 288, 290. 298, 313, 362. 365, 375. 383, 451, 432, 487, 493, 494,49L 49? University of Port Elizabeth, 68, !3. 85, 107, 259, 263, 312, 496 University of Pretoria, 68. 71, 7'-, 156. 158, 184, 197, 202, 206, 22!, 231, 251, 254, IL59, 64, '"3, 278,~ 286, 380, 381. 397, 400, 493. 495, 496 University of Rhodesia, 234, 30!. 364 University of South Africa. 68, 70, 71, 249, 308 University of Stellenbosch, 67, 68, 70, 71, 118, 156 158, 206, 212, 213, 226, 252, 257 259, 263, 274,« 313, 326, 328, 360, 36', 365 369, 380, 458, 491, 492, 496 U niversit y of the Cape ol'G ood Hope. 24, 66, 68, 70, 342, 477

Van der Skijß, H. P., 54, 263 Van der Spuy, E., 380 Van der Stel. Governor Simon. 3. 9, 17, 36, 44, I 35. 2M, 339 Van der Stel. Governor VVillem A.. 60 Van der Ster!, VV., 444

Van der Q'al:, R., 369, 370 Van Haiiardnn, J.. 44

Van Hille. J. C., 113 Van Ho pen„E. C. Iv'.. 65, 326, 327.' 328, 329 Van Loon. H., 406, 407 Van Luschan, F., 219 Van Meerhof, P., 3 Van Plettenberg. Governor J,, 135 Van Putten, tV., 55 Van Rcenen, J. F., 9 Van Reenen, S., 9. 35 Van Rensburg, 4. J.. 310 Van Rieheeck. Jan, 4. 35, 60, 134. 135, 265 Van Rieheeck Society„43 Van Riet Lo~ic. C., 239, 464 Van Rooyen. G., 145 Van Rooyen. H. O., 363 Van Schalkvvyk, T. G. D., 384 Van Son.G.. III Van Oarmelo, K. T., 262 Van kVijk, A. M., 357, 361, 369, 497 Van tVyk, A.J., 299 Van %'yk, C. B., 383 Van Zinderen Bakker, E. M., 157, 256 Van Zyl„A., 212 Van Zyl, P., 42 Varder, R. Vy., 375, 383-384 Vari, L., I l I Veglia, F., 168 Verdoorn, Inez C., 251

SCIEIxTIEIC ENDEAVOUR IV SOUTH AFRICA

Viljocn P. E., 17',383 Villet, C. VI.. 60 Virchoxv, R., 219 Virology, 177-lgl. 193, 196, 197 Virus Research Unit. 197, 208 Visser, J. L., 3

Wesselink, A. J., 424 Westphal, E. O., 159 Whaits, J. H.,324, 3 6 White, A.,246 2»7 Wicht Report. 482, 483 Wiechers, A., 296 Wiid, D. H., 384 Wikor, H. J,, 35,40 Wildcrne»s Leadership School, 159 W'ildlile management. 14k-I48. 151. 156, 158 XVildlife Protection Society of South Africa, 71. 4'»8 Wildlife Society of South Africa, 71 XViles, G. G., 381 IViltem Pre:onus Garne Reserve, I 39, 148, 158 W'illiams F "4»'

Viticulture. 272

Wtlltam», H. S.. 444

Vleggaar, S., 306 Vogel, J., 237

Voslttaer. A.. 38

Williams, I., 258 Wilman, Maria, 251 VVilmot, A., 199 Wilson. B., 212 W'ilson, 3. H., 15 Wilson, Monica, 215 Wiltshire, S., 164 Winterbottom. J., 465 Wintcrvogel, 3., 3

Voss, V., 381 Vrba, Elizabeth, 23t, 234

XVolfou ltL, B., 6 XVood. H. E., 391, 398, 421"

Verleger, H., 381, 382' Verreaus, A., 320 Vervvoerd, D. W., 181 Veterinary Field Services, 170 Veterinary Research. 23, 24, 25, 164-191 Vice, R. W., 36', 365, 49$ Victoria College 268„284, 342, 380 Victoria Falls ik Transvaal Pouer Co.. 428 Viljoen, J. A., 288 Viljocn, J. P. T., 366

Vogts. hlarie, 53 Von Bclov;. Irtna, '»'8, 259

Von Bonde. C.,89 Von Heune, J.. 330, 331 Von Luschan, F.. 219 Vovvinckel, E., 406

Wadlei, T. L., 78,» 79, 363. 442, 444 Wahl„R. C., 116

Wahlberg, J. H.. 87. I IO Wales, W.,47 Walker, A. D. kl., 383 Walker, A. R. P.,200, 202, 205, ' 7 VValker, G. D„23, 362 Walker, 3., 170

wallace, 3., 108

XVaqvvaq (Wakvvak), 215 Warren, E., 6', 116 Warren. I=. L., 288. 291, 296, 298, 49~96 Waterrneyer, F. S., 476 Watermeyer, J, C., 143," 271" Water Research Commission, »3, 80 Water Treatment Research Unit (Diss»loni,79, 80, 489 Watkins-Pitchl'ord, W., 193, 203 Watson, D. M. S., 328, 331, 334 Watson, S. W., 384 Weather Bureau, 8'-, 402, 404, 40», 406, 407 Weber, A., 473 Wi